5 Stars Knockout Read

This is the second ARC by this author I have discovered c/o Netgalley- Love Sarah Castille’s work.

I was drawn to this book because boxing/ kickboxing classes are a hobby of mine as well as a ❤️ for HEA romance!
This book was amazing from the first few pages to the happy epilogue!!

Shay & Zack are amazing characters. Young lovers who tragically separated for reasons they thought best at the time- never getting over the love & feelings they have for each other. Several years later Zack a professional MMA fighter now recruiter discovers Shay training at the Redeption boxing club where he has come to recruit a young fighter ...

This book & storyline are so well written & has everything any romance lover could want .....

Very highly do I recommend this book & author !!!

5 Star Read

4.5⭐
I love a good Mama story and Strong Hold had all the ingredients. As well as being a great second chance romance, and I really enjoyed the characters, the development and the pace of the story. As well as the relationship between Shayla and Zack. Which built nicely and had a great mix of heat and warmth. Plus, they were both extremely likable and relatable, and they had a nice strength and resilience to them too. Which was so enjoyable and great to read. And is one of the many reasons why I was hooked throughout. And it's also why I would happily recommend Strong Hold to others.

Well written second chance at love story.

Sarah Castille's Strong Hold kept my attention from the very start. Shayla's empowerment from who she had been to the strong confident MMA fighter she worked to become was inspiring. The chemistry between her and Zach was amazing and I was very happy that they got their HEA.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

This second chance was everything I wanted. I love when broken love is repaired and everything is right in the world. I loved the whole »let's keep it professional« vibe they agreed upon but failed miserably at it. I loved the persistence in Zack. It was felt through every page how much he wanted Shayla back. And i loved his way of looking out for her: "I'm goind to kiss every part of your body, so when you get hit tomorrow, you'll remeber i was there first." . Oooo Zack.

I loved how she came back after being left to die, to be a professional MMA fighter. I secretly always wanted to try MMA but never really gathered the courage to do it. I think after reading this I need to find my own Redemption. I’ve got to say that I can’t believe that this is my introduction to the Redemption family. Seriously have I been living under a rock??? I need to change that ASAP!
LOVED the cover (i can't find to words to describe how much i fricking LOVE it) and the story. Can’t wait to see what happens next :)

***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***

Yay Shayla's book! I loved seeing MMA from a female perspective. It made me wonder if I could do it. :) I liked this one more that others in this series. The characters had some weird motivations that I wasn't really on board with but I thought their romance was believable. Castille is one of my go to authors. She writes MMA very well.

I have really enjoyed this series so it pains me to say at 66% I have no desire to finish. The story line was decent but I didn't feel it was executed well, I never felt invested. It felt extremely rushed in the beginning laying everything out and it felt like there was more telling than showing happening. I felt it continued to be overly fast paced from there. I really wanted to like Shayla and Zack, sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't, honestly I never really warmed up to them. Having read all the other books in the Redemption series, I've gotten to know the secondary characters, I have to say this time around they felt very surface to me and that fun feeling I always got from them was missing, that group dynamic and camaraderie. Maybe it's just me, timing, mood, I don't know but this isn't working for me and I really, really wanted it too. I'm sorry to say I'm going to go ahead and DNF. This one just didn't do it for me.

Zach Grayson is a recruiter for a top MMA promotion company, and is always on the prowl for the next great fighter. Shayla Tyler is an up-and-coming MMA amateur fighter, and the last person Zach expects to see when he walks into Redemption -- they had a history; he'd walked away from her 7 years earlier in order to give her the chance to live out her dream of being a prima ballerina in NYC. She'd been through a lot in the interim, including a marriage to a man who almost killed her, while he'd gone on to win 4 titles. Now, being thrown into daily contact, he sets out to make her -- and himself -- heal.

This is the 5th in the Redemption series, and all of the other fighters are back andjust as crazy as ever.

I received a ARC copy and have reviewed this on my own.

This series continues to pack the punches. Strong Hold is the fifth book in the Redemption series. They can be read as stand alones but you're going to get lots of spoilers for the other couples, so I recommend reading in order for a better experience. I love how you continue to get the entire group in each book, Redemption really is a family.
Shayla "Shilla the Killa" Tyler came to Redemption to learn to defend herself. She's been broken and put back together more than once. Now she's ready to take her fighting to the next level.
Zack Grayson is the four time championship belt winner in MMA and now he's a recruiter. After a devasting end to a fight he hasn't been back in the ring. And he gave up so much for his chance to become a star. When he walks into Redemption he didn't expect to get back the girl he let go so long ago. But he has a fight on his hands and he plans for them both to win.

Great story and so hot!!
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I have read two other books by this author so far, including book 4 in this Redemption series. I have rated both of her other books 5 stars as well. This is unique for me as I do not give 5 stars easily, and yet, it tells me something. This writer has the amazing ability to touch something deep inside.

I am not usually a fan of MMA stories, for the most part. Reading about the pain and injuries as a way to punish yourself, or hide your feelings, is hard. You have to be in a good place in your own head to dive into something like this.

But on the flip side, you also get the in-depth, deep emotional connection of the characters. In this case, both Zack and Shayla are in pain because of their past but that will not stop Zack from proving he still is there and all in for her.

Loaded with passion, intense scenes, vivid imagery, raw grit and gruesome description, this story is one that will leave a mark. Make sure you are prepared for the deep emotional connection..

Thank you netgalley! I have never read anything by Sarah Castille , I really enjoyed her book , she has a easy reading style that I enjoyed , the dynamic between characters was fantastic!

Great read I’m really looking forward to reading some of her other books

"We all have a past. It's what you do with it that determines your future."

I took a chance on this author and this series in 2014. She won me over and I've never turned back. What a journey I've taken with the Redemption team. They are a crazy bunch that keeps me laughing, but they are also strong and supportive. You can't go wrong if these guys and girls have your back, but that doesn't mean it won't hurt. They take 'tough love' to a whole new level sometimes, but it's always entertaining. I guarantee that if there was a local facility nearby I probably wouldn't survive these classes, but I'd sure enjoy observing #getFITorDIE #PUNCHorPERISH and #DISCIPLINEwithDICK.

While some of the stories in this series are more lighthearted, where I've actually spent a good portion laughing out loud, that's not the case with Strong Hold. This one went deeper, pulling my heartstrings and touching my emotions. This second-chance-romance took me back to a time when a young boy and girl were each other's everything. And then he walked away from their love and broke both of their hearts...

I'm a sucker for broken characters and the author gave me a double dose in this story. As she put me inside their heads and hearts I became so invested in their relationship, or lack thereof, that I'm sure if they could actually hear me they would tell me to shut up. But truthfully, they didn't need my advice, they handled things just fine all on their own. I'm just impatient and wanted to turn the pages faster than I could read, anxious for all their broken pieces to be put back together because I was hurting with them. "—But sometimes you need to get hurt so you can learn to see the danger ahead of you. You need to fall so you can learn how to get up again." The author did such a good job of telling their story that I felt their pain.

But I also felt the fun and family that's always present with the Redemption members. They have lots of rules and some silly names, but they are amazing people that I enjoy spending time with. I'm really looking forward to meeting the woman that finally captures the doctor, she'll have to be something special to convince him to change his manwhore ways. The line forms here...

3.5 stars. I have read all the other titles in this series and enjoyed this one. It was good but there is something missing that I couldn't put my finger on. But it is a quick and fun read.

Firstly, a big thank you to Netgalley and Sarah Castillo for my advanced copy for which I leave my honest review:) Sarah Castille is one of my go to authors as her books pack a powerful punch (yes, yes, MMA pun intended)! Shayla is the one character I have had a love hate relationship with since this series started and she found herself amongst our Redemption family, but purely for the reason that no one knew much about her and even though she fought well, she was a loner which ultimately made me sad - yes I’m much too attached to my characters when I read:) But finally her story is here, together with the man who broke her heart years ago, but he’s also a man willing to fight for her now and show her that they are both worthy of a great romance and life together!

I usually like to give more of a breakdown of the story but reading this story will pack more of an uppercut to the chin without any reveals! I would definitely recommend reading the previous books in this series as all characters are repeated throughout each and because they are kick@ss books:) Happy reading but sad to see this series end. I will always remember these characters and their stories fondly!

I’ve only read the first book in this series when it first came out. I have the second in my tbr pile. This one is #5 and it was pretty good. I enjoyed all the details with the fighting. It definitely makes me want to read the other 3. I didn’t have a hard time following along with the other fighters. Zack and Shayla were pretty hot together. They were making up for lost time in the bedroom, multiple times, and twice on Sunday. Heh, just kidding. I think they only made it to the bedroom once. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

This book is part of a series so to get a better feel for book I suggest that you grab a copy and read. This book was a second chance one between Shayla and Zack. These two were once high school sweet hearts but Zack left and destroyed Shayla, now he wants to know more about her, how does someone who was a ballerina is now an MMA fighter and can he fix the problems between them? They go back and forth until we finally get what happened and what they are doing to correct, I enjoyed getting to know her and appreciating how tough this woman really is.

My first book from this author. Well written romance book. Steamy strong characters
. A good introduction to this author.

I just loved this book, it's everything a second chance Romance should be. From anger, devastation, reconciling, to happiness, you get all these emotions. This is definitely my favorite of the series and the most heartbreaking and heartwarming. I love this author's work and can't wait for more.

Shayla is ready to put her plans on hold as a ballerina in New York to follow Zack who is her first love to San Diego so he can train to be a fighter. He leaves her broken hearted to go find his dream. She goes to New York to pursue her dream of being a ballerina. She gets married but due to an accident, she can no longer dance and the marriage ends in divorce. As she is training in a gym as a fighter herself, in San Francisco, Zack, the Slayer walks in. Fireworks, chemistry, anger and misery all combust causing fireworks so hot they may burn them both alive. A hot sexy novel of love and second chances. Two fighters who stop fighting each other. I loved this book for how Shayla fought to get her life back after abuse and loss. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This book was really good. It kept me hooked the whole time. Finished in one sitting. I can not wait to read more. Love the writing style of the author. Thank you for letting me read and review this book.

Redemption is one of my favorite series and Sarah Castille has quickly become one of my auto-buy authors. Strong Hold is a solid addition to the series as a story of childhood sweethearts reunited.
I thought I would have a hard time with the heroine since Shayla is "Shilla the Killa" - an amateur MMA fighter. I don't enjoy brash, bold heroines. But Ms. Castille gave Shayla enough vulnerability to make her seem real, and much more feminine than I expected.
Zack was a delicious combination of alpha male and a broken hearted man full of regrets. While the love scenes were few and far between, they were HOT. Zack is a man who knows how to take control in the bedroom and give his woman what she needs.
By the end of the book I was rooting for their happy ever after.