Book Review: Saving a Legend by Sarah Robinson

One of my favorite parts of the first book in this series was the family. I was hooked by the Kavanagh family dynamic and wanted more. This second book didn’t disappoint.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
After he gets out of jail, a fighter falls in love with a struggling flower shop owner. For a full synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

Bad Boy Comes Home
Kieran got into some trouble a few years ago that landed him in jail. Now he’s out, and though he’s committed to staying out of trouble, he also has no idea what he wants to do with his life. He takes a construction job for his brother, but in the scheme of things, he feels lost. It doesn’t help that he’s also dealing with having missed out on a big chunk of time he could have spent with his family.

Kids as Love Catalysts
While doing court-ordered community service, he meets Shea, an autistic girl being raised by her sister Fiona, who also happens to be the flower shop owner that Kieran is attracted to at first sight. Fiona can only focus on making ends meet and taking care of her sister, so she doesn’t have time to date. But the attraction is mutual, and she’s able to let her guard down when she sees how good Kieran is with Shea.

Like Real Life
Everything about this book felt real, including the fact that nothing felt easy. Fiona’s struggles with her sister were genuine, and I appreciated that the author did her research into the subject of autism. Kieran’s struggles are also real, and at one point, he gets into trouble again while on probation (though his intentions are good), and there was no deus ex machina that magically appeared to save him from the consequences.

Irish Families
The Kavanagh family makes me happy. They have struggles and arguments and life isn’t perfect, but they’re strong and know they can rely on each other, even when things get rough. I loved how welcoming the mother was and how open the family was to Fiona and Shea. Some of the subject matter was rough, but the solidarity and support of the family was part of what made the story one of hope.

The Romance Factor
I’m all about that strong alpha male who doesn’t want to see the woman he loves upset, and Kieran and Fiona’s relationship was pretty much that. He’s supportive of her and wants to help her in any way he can. Okay, so he doesn’t tell her from the beginning he was in jail, but that plays more into him trying to get his life back on track than him trying to hurt her. 4/5

The Steam Factor
Though not overly frequent, the sexy times were pretty explicit, including some dirty talk. 4/5

Final Thoughts
There are still a couple brothers to get through, including Kieran’s twin, who seems a little over the top when it comes to women. I’m so excited to read more about this family. If I was on the fence to start with, I’m definitely all in after reading this one.

Breaking a Legend by Sarah Robinson

I’m coming out of a pretty intense bout of reading, which means I have quite a bit of updating on the blog to do. Luckily, I’ve had the chance to read some great books, including this one, and I’m ahead on posts. This is good, because I have some commitments coming up that might derail both for a short time (oh the horror).

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One-Sentence Synopsis
A famous MMA fighter finds himself using drugs and alcohol to soothe an injury that ended his career, but when he meets a newcomer to the area, he finds she’s all the excuse he needs to turn things around. For a fully synopsis, see this book’s Goodreads page.

The Good Stuff
One of the first things I said to my husband about this book was that I hoped it was going to be good because the main family, the Kavanaghs, charmed me from the beginning. This Irish family who owns a gym dedicated to MMA fighting was great: close knit, traditional in some ways, yet quirky. Each member had something interesting about them. It’s not often a family in a book series pulls me in, but I kind of loved them right away.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm
I was a little torn on Clare’s character. She was trying to build her life after an abusive relationship, so I wasn’t sure how realistic it felt that she was so willing to trust Rory when she hadn’t known him that long. At the same time, she was aware of this, and the fact that she was doing what she could to not be afraid added to the likability of her character.

One of the things I notice right away in contemporary fiction is when characters don’t use condoms. Most times I figure it’s just part of the fantasy and the author wanted to write a world where that stuff doesn’t figure in. Usually, I can accept it. However, after they have sex twice, Rory asks if she’s on the pill. So not only do two strangers assume the other has no STDs, but accidental pregnancy is only a concern after the second horizontal mambo.

The Romance Factor
I was a little nervous about this couple at first. With Clare’s quick trust of Rory and Rory’s addictions, I wasn’t sure how romantic they were actually going to be. By the end, I was pleasantly surprised. Rory knows from the beginning that he wants more with Clare, and her influence helps him recover. Clare has a bit of a damsel in distress thing going on, and though he has a rough persona, Rory is one of those guys who’s bad ass on the outside and squishy on the inside. 4/5

The Steam Factor
For the most part, the sexy times were really sexy. I especially enjoyed the sleepover in one of the fighting rings. The only thing that was a little weird for me was that when Clare and Rory first started getting close, she talked about how he smelled like alcohol because he’d drank so much, and even when he was detoxing, she could smell it. This was a little gross to me, but in all honesty, that’s probably for personal reasons and not so much the story. 4/5

Final Thoughts
Despite the gifs, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and kept me engaged. I can’t wait to read the next one in this series.