Down For The Count

Down For The Count
by Christine Bell
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
Luckily this one wasn't too long because I just couldn't put it down. It's always nice when you find a great book that you can't leave but you still finish it at a reasonable hour. I think this one took me 2-3 hours, so I only had to stay up a little past midnight.

I had been pretty iffy on this book when I read the blurb because I'm not really into the fighter books that are so popular right now. Galen is a boxer and I don't know, I just don't tend to see the appeal of someone who makes it their job to beat people up and get beat up in return. I know lots of people must have a different opinion because of how popular that trope is in romance novels right now, but oh well. I just finished up my first Christine Bell book and knew that I had to get another hit.

Lacey starts out the book finding her 2-hours-old marriage voided when she catches her new hubby cheating with a bridesmaid. She's heartbroken and angry, but man does she seem strong and in control. She was a force to be reckoned with, even as she looked at herself as weak. She's got quite a code of ethics and her internal systems keep her toeing the line all the time.

She's a control freak and I think she was most upset because her honeymoon was supposed to be her time to let go. After a night of drinking her pain away, Galen convinces her to take the honeymoon anyway to relax. It takes her a while, but she does start relaxing. She's able to look at her life a little and start looking for what would make her happy.

Galen is in between fights so he has some free time. There's some sense of obligation for him starting out. He has to take care of his little sister's friend. But then he starts realizing he's not doing it because he has to. He's hot and knows what he wants, and yet gives Lacey space to come to terms with her life.

Galen and Lacey have a shared history. Years and years of little-sister's-friend banter. They have an comfortable, if slightly awkward, friendship. Secretly, Lacey's had a crush on him forever. So in the process of letting go, in paradise, with her secret crush, Lacey lets some of her inner sexuality come out too. It was awesome to see Lacey and Galen start figuring each other out. It all progressed so organically that you just knew they were at the right point to take their relationship further. The sexy-times were pretty scorching, but also sweet.

They still had their bumps and bruises along the way. Lacey's mom was a piece of work and things were not magically better because Lacey stood up for herself. It's always sad to be in that part of a story, but the book also had a good dose of sexy romance and some humor too. I had lots of feelings for these two; good, fun, sexy feelings as things were going well, and sad, depressed feelings as they had to deal with setbacks and problems. Now I can't wait to read the follow up novella for these two and see what else they've been up to. Then I'll have to move on to Galen's sister's book too.