I received this book for free from Imani Ink in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Heart of a Savage by LaShanta CharlesPublished by Imani Ink on January 31st 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance, MMA Fighters
Pages: 200
Format: eBook
Source: Imani Ink
Bailey Ross-O'Malley has spent her whole life catering to others. She used to enjoy it. Until her father died. In an attempt to protect her, her father chose Connor to be her husband, but that was a mistake. Connor was supposed to love her, be her rock – but some rocks need to be tossed as far away as possible. She only has one source of happiness now, her son, and if Connor doesn't get his way, he'll take that joy from her as well.
MMA fighter, Dominic Prince, has only one mission in life: forget his past. Forget the pain, the drama, and the loss of things taken away from him too soon. He's guarded and secretive and that's the way he likes it. He was doing a damn good job of keeping it that way. Until her. Bailey showed up and Dominic’s life became a minefield. He can't decide if he wants to kiss her or shake her, but he does know that he'll fight to keep her safe. He'll be as savage as he is in the octagon, outside of it.
Neither of them wants to accept it happening, but the past has a way of sneaking into the present. Hearts will be shattered and bonds will be broken. Will they survive it?
Summary
Bailey Ross has spent her whole life in the shadow of Connor, a man her father chose to be her husband. She has spent years under his control and raising a young boy whom she considers to be her own and she will fight with her every breath for. When Connor takes her son to Ireland, to punish her. She decides to be able to fight back when he returns. Bailey goes to a MMA club, looking for ways to defend herself. But after years of physical abuse, she is determined to be stronger and learn to fight. Dominic Prince, a MMA fighter for the club, is drawn to Baily. He feels overprotective of her and knows that she has suffered abuse for long term periods. But as Dominic and his friends teach her to defend herself and to be a female MMA fighter, their relationship is tested when Connor and his ex girlfriend threatens to take her son away forever and she may be in for the hardest fight of her life….
Plot and Story Line
Heart of a Savage brings to life a story that is heart breaking and intense. This is a new to me author, and for the most part I really enjoyed the story. I liked seeing our heroine go from suffering abuse to learning to fight and defend herself. She has such a sweet nature and I love how she is always looking out for others. When she meets the boys at the MMA club, she bakes them goodies and is always looking for ways to help them out in ways that she can. Dominic is a protective hero, and I really enjoyed seeing the way he and his friends try to get to the bottom of why Bailey is becoming abused so much and helps her overcome her fears and fight for those that she loves. It was interesting seeing her training to be a fighter. I did like this story, its a quick and easy read, but I felt that there was a lack of depth to the romance side of the story. I didn’t really feel Dom and Bailey’s story to each other which was a bit of a bummer, but the other parts to the story did make up for it in moments.
The Cover
I love the use of the tats the cover artist used for this book…very unique and celtic like.
Overall View
Heart of a Savage is a interesting story that brings together domestic violence, overcoming fear and fighting for those you love…full of intrigue and passion!
Sounds like the author did a goo job managing such a tough topic.
This sounds interesting with an MMA fighter. I have a had some of those where was not feeling the romance but enjoyed the characters.
Huge fan of MMA fighters in romance novels! It also sounds like there’s a bit of contemptuous back and forth between Connor and Bailey – which is another favourite romance element of mine. 😀
I have yet to try one with a fighter in it