This is not a cookie cutter romance.
It is a knockdown, heartbreaking journey through friendship, love, and loss – all to find the one person who can see you clear as day, even when you’ve lost all sight of yourself.
Kellen Coulter has a way with women. A boxer from the wrong side of town, he worked his way through the wealthy daughters at Weston High with a brilliant smile, sweet words and … smile, sweet words and vacant eyes. No one gets close. No one gets through. No one knows the secrets hiding inside.
No one but me. I’m the only girl he’s ever let in. The only one who has ever truly seen him. When we met I was just a kid, an old soul with an open ear and a full understanding of what it was to be misunderstood by everyone around you. But even I didn’t know the demons sleeping inside him. Not until now.
Not until it might be too late.
*Due to language and sexual content, this book is not recommended for readers under 18.
All books in the North Star series can be read as standalones, though they are better, the story fuller, when enjoyed together.
-Recommended Reading Order-
Knockout
Brawler
Ringsidemore
*I received this book from the author for review*
Knockout is told from the heroine, Jenna’s point of view, and follows her as a 14-year old kid all the way into her adult life. She meets a boy named Kellan, a boxer from the wrong side of the tracks, but the two of them sort of bond together from the beginning. But though he has feelings for her, she’s still too young for him and looks for outlets to relieve his frustrations, which is his boxing. The two of them try to find love in all the wrong places, trying to ignore their true feelings they have for one another, but in the end, they realize they need each other.
This story ended up surprising me. I loved it. In the beginning, I couldn’t connect with Jenna. I felt so distant from her how she was telling her story and I was sort of standing so far away from her watching her instead of being right there in the thick of her situations. But as the story progressed, I began to like her character. She’s from a rich family, but she just wants to live a normal life without all the money. She has an awesome, down-to-earth dad. I loved him. He supported everything she did. Her mother and sister, Laney, were the complete opposite. they judged her because she was ‘different’ from the normal cookie-cutter California girl. She wasn’t into dresses or makeup or the girly things. She was every bit as geeky and tomboy and ‘different’, and I loved that. She loves art, and her dream is to open a tattoo parlor. I can totally relate to a character like that. One of the rare times I can actually relate to a female character in a story, and I loved Jenna!
I didn’t like Kellan at first. Rather, I couldn’t figure out where he stood. He made some really stupid decisions, most notably with Laney, whom I really hated. At one point in the story, I really didn’t like him. But in the middle of the book, he redeemed himself in a big way, and I found myself cheering for him and Jenna.
This book had some realistic and believable moments in the story that played with my emotions. It’s what really made me feel for Jenna and Kellan. But the one thing that bothered me about the whole story was the whole 3-way relationship thing between Jenna, Kellan, and Laney. Kellan was hard-headed with the on/off relationship, and it made me angry to read about him dealing with it. Moreover, it’s a little disturbing that he would be having sexual relations with both sisters.
I really wished this story would have been told from Kellan’s POV. Or at least alternate the POVs between Jenna and Kellan each chapter. It just seemed so right. I really wanted to know Kellan’s side of things rather than seeing it purely from Jenna’s eyes.
Overall, the story did not disappoint, especially having ended on a very sweet HEA.
Oh, and I totally loved Bryce. He was an awesome character. I’d love to have him as my boss. Would love to read a story about him!