Real by Katy Evans (Real, Raw & Ripped #1)
Contemporary Romance
April 8, 2013
Self Published

Reviewed by Mandi

I had heard some good buzz about this book on Twitter and the blurb definitely caught my eye so when the author offered this book for review, I grabbed it. There is something about a boxing hero that makes me weak. Especially a dirty talking, broken, dark boxing hero. And as our story starts, Remington is all of that. Having been banned from professional boxing for bad behavior, he spots Brook in the audience in an underground fight one night. He is an extremely popular boxer, makes a lot of money at what he does, and tears down pretty much every opponent he faces. Brook catches his eye and they both have instant chemistry. Brook got dragged to the match by her best friend, and didn’t really want to be there but she can’t deny the feeling she has when Remy looks at her. Brook used to be a rising Olympic star, until she severely injured her leg years ago. Picking up her life, she is now a certified physical therapist and is job hunting. After the match, Remy tracks her down, does a little snooping into her background, and offers her a job as his physical therapist for the next eight weeks while he is on tour. Brook agrees, and off she goes.

The more Brook comes to know Remy, the more she realizes he has a dark, broken side that he has trouble dealing with. She learns his secrets, and soon gains his trust. While their physical attraction is easy from the start, Remy keeps her at a distance knowing how easy it would be to hurt her.

As I said, the beginning of this on is pretty good. Intense, dirty talking, I liked the set-up. I like that Brook gets hired to travel with him to keep his muscles in top form. Her being a PT and having to give him massages kicks up the sexual tension. But, the sexual tension lasts forever in this book. To the point that when they actually have sex I was tired from the build up and it was too late. They spend nights just kissing. They spend nights sleeping together without touching the other etc… Just do it already! It felt too drawn out.

There were also times where Brook comes across as immature. Constantly questioning whether Remy likes her or not, or just the way she deals with her impending sex with him felt like she was very…young. Seriously, if she had questioned in her head one more time why he wouldn’t have sex with her, I was ready to toss my kindle.  I didn’t like her interactions with her best friend, so when she came into the picture, things went go down hill for me. Remy is bi-polar and I personally don’t know a lot about it but I got the feeling it wasn’t portrayed well in this book. I needed more details and facts, rather than just Remy’s eyes turning black and laying in bed for days. Did anyone seriously care that he has this issue? It was all very confusing.

There is also a time later in the book where Brook sees someone she knows at a match (won’t say who for spoiler) and she is shocked, yet doesn’t do anything about this situation for days. This whole twist thrown in felt very weak to me. It felt like it was there just to cause Remy to take a certain action and Brook’s part in it should have been much more involved.

I can’t really recommend this one. I think book two sticks with this couple and takes place in Remy’s point of view. Maybe things will start to get more fleshed out. I don’t think I’ll pick it up unless I read some really good reviews.

Rating: C-

Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – A-
Fiction Vixen – C
Kaetrin’s Musings – B
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