TLDR: a fun, closed-door romcom with enough character development and mostly realistic relationship building that it turned out to be a page-turner for me.

When I first started, I could not STAND Blake’s character. On page 1, I actually wondered if the story was starting from when he was 12 because his inner dialogue sounded like a twelve year-old. When I realized that he wasn't 12, I thought that I might not be able to finish the book.

But I kept reading. Like I tell my students, you have to give a book a fair shot, which is at least a chapter or two.

Then, I didn’t like how much the two brothers constantly put their whole life on social media. Ugh. I somehow missed that part as I was skimming the book blurb. And don’t we have enough of social media in the world already?

But I kept reading.

And when Blake finally began to get some sense knocked into him - quite literally at times - I started to enjoy it more.

The author did a great job showing Blake’s character development from an irresponsible flight risk to a still-spontaneous, but far more disciplined and responsible adult. It was satisfying to follow his progress and the growing relationship that, apart from one unplanned, passionate kiss, was kept not-physical while Blake and Janna trained. The author did a great job being inside both of their heads. I mean, how does one person imagine being like Blake and then switch hats so we understand who Janna is too? Since I’m not a novel writer, I’m not sure, but she did a great job.

Was I a big fan of the boxing aspect of the story? Not really. I don’t like people hitting other people, even if they both agree to it. However, I do understand the gratification of training hard and seeing progress. And while boxing played a big part, it also wasn’t so full of details that someone like me wouldn’t enjoy it.

If you want a slightly ridiculous, comical, and sweet story, pick this one up!

P.S. - I loved all the boxing puns that were in the book blurb. And the content/trigger warnings. I wish more publishers did that!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review!