Until You're Mine

I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion. 4.5 stars — OK, that one ended with a freaking bang man. I was actually a little wary at the beginning, b/c while I was enjoying myself, I worried it might not be a complete winner for me personally purely based on the focus on Shane’s muscles…which, you’re going to say, are you nuts Lenore? Well yes, I suppose I am. You see, I belong to this strange small subsection of humans (I was going to say women, but I’m sure gay men might feel similarly) who isn’t that attracted to large muscles. Tone? OH YES. Muscles? Ummm… *shrugs* Don’t throw stones. When it comes to the physical appearance aspects of a hero, my draws tend to be in eyes and smiles and cute butts. And quite honestly, personality and attitude always trumps all of that. So when Brooklyn obsessed over his muscles and his arms and his shredded abs, well…I might have felt my attention wandering. *gasp* right? What can I say, I’m a unicorn. So all that to say that I was worried that this would be a romance based mostly on the physical, which are cool, but don’t tend to be rockstar winners with me, you know? BUT THEN…OMG THEN… Then Ms. Madsen came out with the double whammy character clincher!! A hilarious kickass heroine, that I have basically zero in common with, but that made me laugh and feel for and root for; and a swoony hero, who despite his alpha tendancies, had a seriously kind heart and vulnerable chewy center, and did I mention he was also hilarious and a smartass? Yup, I was done for. Honestly, the two together had so many witty rejoinders, I was in “want to highlight it, but seriously Lenore why are you highlighting that?” heaven. I did rein myself in…a bit. And I was so freaking worried about the boyfriend!! Cheating is a button issue for me, so I dance around it like I’m walking on coals, people. But Ms. Madsen balanced it nicely so that I didn’t end up hating Brooklyn, or Trey, or Shane. She amped up the sexual tension to the max, but didn’t cross that line. And all without making anyone a bad guy, not easy to do… Well, except Conrad, but he was supposed to be. And the great thing about the way the plot was set up is that we got to see Brooklyn and Shane connect on a deeper level b/c they couldn’t initially give into their chemistry…which just made that moment when they finally good that much steamier. And damn, this one had good heart too. I totally got weepy a few times at the end. I loved the way it played out, even if I was worried for a bit. I thought the elements of MMA (which I don’t follow, though have watched a bit with my bro) and training really added to the story… I really loved how Shane saw Brooklyn as strong, and not just for a girl. And I loved the elements of her paintings that were added in, and I really kind of wish they were real, b/c I can picture them in my mind. I also really loved the way Brooklyn’s relationship with her Dad worked out. I don’t like easy magic turnarounds, and this was believable for me… And DUDE, Finn and Liam are da bomb!! I can’t wait for their books. I’m so curious about Liam and Chelsea, and I’m already halfway in love with Finn, so I want him to have a good love story too… Now for the painful waiting exercise…something I’m definitely not good at. So yeah, despite the rocky start with all those muscles, this one ended up being a total hit for me.

Three and a half stars. Brooklyn Roth was born into a family of MMA fighters and her family owns an MMA gym/ training centre in San Diego. After living and breathing MMA her entire life she realised her father, three brothers and boyfriend Conrad all thought her dreams were subservient to MMA, and Team Domination, their MMA team. When Conrad cheated on her she declared enough was enough and left for San Francisco to pursue her dreams of being an artist. Shane left Team Domination and her family blamed her for mixing the family business with pleasure. Now her boyfriend Trey is the opposite of all those testosterone-fuelled alpha-male MMA fighters - and that's the way she likes it. Solid, dependable, safe. Now, at her brothers' request Brooklyn is back to try to wrestle some kind of control over the finances of the business, apparently all four men are too busy to pay the bills and keep the books and have allowed a series of book-keepers to let the accounts get into a shambles. When Brooklyn arrives she finds her father still thinks her art is a waste of time and that she OWES the business - because Conrad cheating on her and then leaving the Team put the gym in a black hole. Basically Brooklyn is not a daughter, more of a business asset to attract and retain fighters and do the stuff the men can't be bothered to do. When Brooklyn arrives her eye is immediately caught by a new fighter, Shane Knox. He's cocky, talented and pushy. No matter how much Brooklyn tells herself he's no longer her type, she is irresistibly drawn to him. But she's only in town for a few months to fix the books and she has a boyfriend. Shane Knox was on his way to the big time when his mom caught cancer and he lost a few fights. Faster than a speeding bullet his girlfriend and his so-called friends and trainers deserted him like rats from a sinking ship. Now he's back and starting right at the bottom, but this time he won't let anything stand in his way. Although the boss' sassy daughter is certainly easy on the eye and he just lurves annoying her. But Shane has learned that people can't be relied on to stick around, and he can't risk his comeback on a woman who isn't planning on staying. I love Cindi Madsen but I'm not a fan of MMA novels so I was interested to see where this novel feel - the answer is just about in the middle. I don't like alpha-male posturing as exemplified by Brooklyn's father, some of her brothers and her ex. This lacked the humour I associate with Cindi Madsen's other novels but, as I said, I'm not a fan of MMA novels generally so the above average rating is pretty good - if you like MMA novels you will probably rate this much higher. Having said all that, I am intrigued about Brooklyn's brother Liam and his relationship with Chelsea - what happened there? So, maybe I'll request the next book in the series after all. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Until You’re Mine was my first book by author Cindi Madsen, it certainly won’t be the last though. This was a heart-thumping fast-paced story set in the world of MMA. Shane Knox was set to reach the height of his fighting career when he started to lose control. After being defeated in one match too many, his manager, his girlfriend and the people he thought were his close friends all turned their backs on him. Months later, Shane is ready to get his life and his career back on track. He’s got a new coach and is training with Team Domination in San Diego, he’s ready to take it to the next level. Everything is going great, until she walks in the door. Brooklyn Roth grew up watching men like Shane, she even fell for one once and had her heart trampled in the process. She’s always been at the center of the action but her love is for art. She’s an artist and when she needed space, she walked away from her father’s gym in San Diego and started over in San Francisco. She’s happy there and has a nice steady boyfriend. When her brothers ask her to come back to the gym to help out for the summer, she’s hesitant to do so. She and her father didn’t part on the best of terms. But familial ties are hard to break. Shane was the first thing Brooklyn saw when she came home. She pegged him as just another arrogant fighter, but as she starts to spend more and more time with him, she finds out the there’s more to this built, sexy as sin bruiser. Shane just needs one good fight to get his career of to a brilliant start and Brooklyn’s dad’s knows exactly who that should be. Brooklyn’s ex-boyfriend. Conrad ‘Croc’ Rochenski. But, life is never simple and Brooklyn is forced to make a decision when she finally gets a place in a gallery exhibition in San Francisco that she’s been hoping for. Now she has to choose between her dreams or Shane’s. They can’t have both, or so it seems. She’s been down this road once before and it never worked. Can she let Shane go? Will he let her? Or will he tell her he won’t give up, Until You’re Mine.