No Limits (Ultimate, #1) by Lori Foster
Romance Suspense
E book, 384 pages
September 1, 2014
Harlequin

Favorite Quote: “Dude, you are seriously heaving like a caveman and it’s just not like you. It’s making me uneasy, and you don’t want to fuck me. I can only imagine how the little lady feels.”

Cannon Coulter, a mixed martial arts champion nicknamed ”the saint”, finds his life turned upside down when a surprise inheritance places him in direct contact with a young woman he never forgot. Cannon rescued Yvette Sweeny from kidnappers three years ago and while he was attracted to her in the most carnal ways…her age forbid him from acting on it so he let her down as easy as he could.

After her traumatic experience at the hands of vile kidnappers, Yvette left town and made her way to California and with it a new life. Her grandfather’s death has brought her home but Yvette has changed and no longer wants to be the victim she thinks everyone sees. She is positive she can wrap everything up and go back to her life.

Cannon is determined to not make the same mistake he made last time-letting Yvette go. Spending time with her, he realizes her scars run deeper than he ever imagined and his protective instincts rise to the surface, almost obliterating the control he is famous for. Her grandfather’s will charged Cannon with helping Yvette find her way home again and Cannon intends for that home to be with him forever.

I was excited to see that Ms. Foster was writing a new MMA series. I adore her SEC series and reread it often. I haven’t read her Love Undercover series in which this is a spin off. You don’t have to read the Love Undercover series to understand this one as they are autonomous of each other but readers may enjoy reading it as the characters and some of the storylines cross over into this new series. We first meet Cannon Coulter in Getting Rowdy. Dash of Peril tells of Cannon’s involvement in saving Yvette. A quiet but forceful young man who used his MMA fame and street smarts to help clean up his neighborhood and built a rec center to encourage the youth of the town off the streets.

Cannon grew up with Yvette and while he always attracted to her, she was far too young for him to pursue anything with her. Now that she’s older, Cannon sees no reason not to pursue her and see where this can go. Cannon pushes his way into Yvette’s life and bed with relative ease, though any sexual play is extremely limited and the actual love making happens way late in the book-almost towards the end.  The chemistry is hot but it felt manufactured at times. Yvette doesn’t put up much of a fight which confirms her crush for Cannon is still going strong.

I had some issues with this story. First off, it has a strong new adult feel to it with the overly dramatic emotions, the internal monologues that Yvette and Cannon continuously indulge in, and the way Yvette acts in general. She gives off the victim vibe that new adult is famous for. Everyone loves her; she’s perfectly damaged. Not a problem if Lori Foster was writing a new adult romance but she’s not. I expected something similar to her SEC series and it definitely falls short on that aspect, but that’s on me. I expected strong alpha hero and a strong independent heroine who doesn’t roll over for anyone. Instead, I got a very horny hero and a fluffy insubstantial heroine.

Well written with nice lead up, some humor via secondary characters, and a decidedly interesting premise. Yvette brings trouble with her in the form of a stalker and an anonymous tormentor who wants her gone from town. The romance dominates ¾ of the book. We see very little of the subplots until the last 20% of the book. The third party narrative is jarring at times, especially with all the internal and external dialogue. And I warn you, this book is 80% dialogue. Lots of tell and too little show.The majority of their thoughts center on Cannon  going caveman and beating his chest that he is so sexually attracted to Yvette he is about to burst and Yvette’s thoughts are she doesn’t want to be a burden or a victim anymore. Oh, and his chest. She focuses a lot on his manly sculpted chest.

Cannon is very alpha and protective. His back story reassures us that he is one of the good guys and gorgeous to boot. I was put off him though in the first chapter when he practically sets himself up with two random hookups only to cast them aside when he runs into Yvette. I had the impression that if he hadn’t seen Yvette, he would have had his one night stand with either of them and Yvette would have never been the wiser. Of course, Yvette sees this and manages to make it all her fault.

When so many others wanted his time and attention, her actions reeked of selfishness, making her stomach burn. Cannon had just gotten into town, but not only had she dragged him away from his friends, she’d apparently interrupted his romantic plans.

That impression is at odds with the internal thoughts Cannon has concerning Yvette when he learns he will be sending a lot of time with her.

They needed to talk. In no way did he feel entitled to her inheritance; the only thing he’d take from her was her time, her attention. Her sexual interest. 

Yeah, he wanted that. More so by the second.

It’s as if he has her on this pedestal. Unfortunately, Yvette plays into this with the issues she has concerning her sexuality.

The storyline focuses almost mainly on Cannon trying to break through Yvette’s walls and build a relationship with her. Of course, this would have been made easier if Yvette wasn’t so clueless. He wants a life with her and she thinks he just wants a roll in hay and neither really say anything contrary to that fact. What saved this story for me was the secondary characters. Meeting Armie, Stack, Denver, and the other MMA fighters was fun. They are a rambunctious lot, especially Armie, and bring a lot of humor and motion to the story. We are given clues to their possible HEAs and the women who will bring them to their knees.

The ending comes at us fast and hard. Yvette’s stalker is contained (despite some of the bad decisions she makes regarding them) and the mystery surrounding her grandfather’s business is wrapped up nice and neat. I enjoyed both subplots and really wish more time had been spent on developing them. As I said earlier, the last 20% is where all the action occurs. I think a better balance between the main storyline and the plotlines would have gone a long way of keeping my attention engaged. The romance quickly became tedious, repetitive, and boring.  As it was, I found myself wanting to skim a lot of the scenes where Cannon and Yvette were alone.

All in all, No Limits isn’t bad but it isn’t Foster’s best attempt in my honest opinion. I have read her backlist and it far outshines what’s offered in here. Regardless, the secondary characters shined through enough for me to be willing to read the next one. If only to see if maybe this was an anomaly.

RATING: C-

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