Overview: As one of the big names at his family’s gym, Legends, MMA star Rory Kavanagh is used to being in the spotlight—until a gruesome leg injury knocks him out of the cage. Rory is left feeling sidelined in more ways than one, battling the inner demons that come with losing the one shot at his dreams. Then Clare walks into his life and gives him a new dream: winning her heart. There aren’t many new faces in Woodlawn these days, but this tough, beautiful stranger makes Rory want to get his life back into fighting shape.
Clare Ivers doesn’t think she’ll be able to tell anyone what really brought her to the close-knit Bronx neighborhood where she just started bartending. But her life’s on pause and her past is catching up fast, try as she might to move on—with new friends, steady work, and a chiseled alpha male trying to get her attention. Even though Rory’s more than a little intense, she can’t deny that her heart beats faster when he looks at her with those soulful silver eyes. Clare thought she was done with love, but Rory might just be man enough to show her she thought wrong.
Purchase Links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes
Publishing Date: September 29, 2015
Stars: 4.5
My Review: I really liked this story but there were things that annoyed me slightly to which it lost half a star. Breaking a Legend gets 4.5 legendary stars from me. I couldn't help but compare this story to that of The Hurricane by RJ Prescott considering the hero's ethnicity and MMA background and the heroine's own dark issues she's been running from. The story lines are very similar and I'm sure anyone who reads both will notice it pretty quickly.
Rory broke my heart for a bit because he lost his ability to do what he was most passionate about due to one fight's injury. He lost himself in pain medication and alcohol. He was surly and angry. He was a lost soul that needed someone to really get to him and bring him into the sun. Rory was human in that he had many flaws and struggles. He felt real rather than a character which I liked.
Clare was running from her past and happens to fall into working at a local pub where Rory frequents and his family has ties. She can't help but be attracted to him because Rory is attractive, confident, conflicted, and more. He's protective, walks her home at night, and secretly sweet, donating his time to the local animal shelter. Clare's past and Rory's addiction threaten to tear them apart before they truly have a chance at happiness.
Anyhow, I liked that this story dealt with substance abuse because it is something so many people ignore. I found the writing to be on a decent level to where I didn't find myself constantly groaning at how juvenile it was. I felt there was some pieces missing like how the ending felt rushed and things weren't completely fleshed out as they could have been.
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