Fighting Dirty by Lori Foster (Ultimate #4)
Contemporary Romance
Released: February 23, 2016
Harlequin
Reviewed by Helyce
With the life he’s led and the muscles he’s gained, Armie Jacobson isn’t afraid of anything. Except maybe Merissa Colter’s effect on him. It’s not just that she’s his best friend’s little sister. Fact is, she deserves better. Women pursue him for one night of pleasure, and that’s all he wants to offer. Until rescuing Merissa from a robbery leads to the most erotic encounter of his life.
Good girl meets bad boy. It’s a story that rarely ends well. But Merissa is taking matters into her own hands. No matter how he views himself, the Armie she knows is brave, honorable and completely loyal. And as past demons and present-day danger collide, they’re both about to learn what’s truly worth fighting for.
As a long time fan of Lori Foster, I’ve always given anything she writes a try! This series is no exception. A sort of merged spin-off of her Love Undercover and SBC Fighters series, this series focuses on a group of young men who are up and coming in the SBC fighting world and, of course, the women who love them. Though Cannon Colter held my heart through the Love Undercover books, I was disappointed in his story and I believe it colored my enjoyment of the subsequent books in this series.
Until Fighting Dirty, that is!!! In this story Ms. Foster gives us exactly what fans have come to love and expect in her books.
Armie has interested me since the beginning. I just knew there had to be more to him and that there had to be reasons for the way he lived his life. Best friends with Cannon Colter since their teens, Armie and Cannon have a bond as close as brothers. Which is why, even though Armie has had it bad for Cannon’s little sister Merissa for years, he would never act on it. Instead, he’s built himself quite a reputation as a ladies man, and the women flock to him and his special brand of loving.
Merissa Colter has been in love with Armie since she was 16 years old and her older brother Cannon would bring him around. She’d watched him and hungered for him over the years. It didn’t stop her from exploring her own relationships, but after her recent break up she’d realized that Armie was it for her and she’d begun to pursue him in a not so subtle way. Armie wasn’t giving in though.
Things change fast for these two when Merissa’s bank is robbed and Armie just happens to be there. His quick thinking and fighting skills disturb the robber’s plans enough that they make a run for it. Merissa is a bit banged up, but otherwise not severely hurt. Armie’s protective instincts go on high alert after this and Merissa is not above using this event to get close to Armie, any way she can.
While I felt the strong chemistry between Armie and Merissa throughout this series, I wondered just how Foster would bring these two together. Armie is no angel and his exploits with women are well known. While Merissa is not exactly the virginal maiden, I wondered how a woman could get past a man with such a womanizing reputation. Regardless of Armie’s very clear “I don’t do relationships” motto, I would imagine that even falling in love would make it difficult to erase the knowledge of Armie’s past.
Foster pulls this off beautifully by showing us that Armie’s biggest supporter in his relationship with Merissa is none other than her brother Cannon; the person who Armie thought for sure would be against it. The person who knows Armie’s deepest, darkest, secret. A secret that explains everything about how and why Armie has chosen to be a relationship-free man. A secret that explains, well, everything.
“Cannon let out a big breath, then took her hands. “He’s not a brother to you. Not even close. I would never betray either of you, but…”
When he trailed off, Merissa got alarmed. “What?” She squeezed his hands. “What’s the matter?”
“He’d deny it till hell freezes over, but Armie’s hurting. Not physically. I don’t mean that.”
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t swallow, so she just waited.
“Maybe you should give him comfort, and it would give you comfort in return.”
While romance is brewing between Armie and Merissa, there are a few things going on in the background to bring excitement and suspense to this story. The investigation into the robbery and the people behind it cause continuing problems for Merissa. Armie’s big SBC fight nears as his past rears it’s ugly head and secrets are revealed.
Fans of the original SBC Fighters series will be thrilled to witness visits from Jude, Simon and Havoc who come to town to workout and prep Armie for his first SBC fight. I loved being able to see these characters again in a different context.
In my opinion, this is probably the strongest book in this series and as I’ve heard it is possibly the last one, I’m thrilled that she saved the best for last. Armie and Merissa are great together and I really enjoyed how Foster chose to bring them together!
Grade: B+
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I’m a huge Lori Foster fan, too, and I was really excited about Armie’s book as well. But, although I liked it, I didn’t love it. And it’s all because of that secret Armie has. It just pissed me off. I generally don’t believe that women would falsely accuse people of that. I mean, okay, sure it probably happens, but so very rarely. It’s a personal thing.
But I did like Armie and Merissa and I am so excited about the spin-off series.