Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she’ll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose–producing champions. Perfection, precision, and dedication are required … required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn’t come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him.
Kova’s power and domination, coupled with Adrianna’s fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.
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Taboo relationship between a 15 year old gymnast and her much older coach. It is so wrong but very very hot!
AUDIO REVIEW TOP LISTEN of 2021
I read this book back in 2019 and I was in love from the start! Well now I have listened to the audio and I am in love even more! I am so glad that I can revisit Ria & Kova! Sarah Puckett did a fantastic job between giving a voice to Adrianna and doing the male voice with a Russian accent. Definitely a MUST LISTEN!
Woah! Woah! Woah! I am so into this story it is unreal! Like I am super mad that I can not move on to Execution right away! This story about a gymnast and her coach is so hot. So angsty. So freaking awesome! The age gap and forbidden relationship is just so entertaining! Lucia has got a very descriptive way of writing so that there were times when I was physically feeling the pain that Adrianna was feeling. I love this story! I can not wait to read more about these characters! And I am totally in LOVE with Hayden…. I want to punch Reagan in the face. I just finished the book this morning and I miss them all ready. I am so mad that it took me so long to get to this! Its been sitting on my Kindle for months! I am now spreading the word…. if you don’t have it GET IT!!! If you have it but haven’t gotten to reading it yet BUMP IT UP ON YOUR TBR!!!
Story
Spice
Swoon (Hayden made me swoon way more than Kova did)
Angst
This is such a hard review for me to write.
Ugh! I dont know what to say. This book is the very definition on forbidden and taboo. It is not for the faint of heart, you have to go into this book knowing it is very forbidden.
With that being said I loved every second of it though. Ria and Kova’s relationship is like a car crash you just cant help but look, and you dont want to look away.
I can honestly say I’m not the biggest Kova fan, theres just something about him that I just dont like. But at the same time I want to see where all of this goes with him and Ria.
I will say I absolutely love Hayden, hes my favorite character and I hope more comes to play with him in the second book. I could see him being really good for Ria.
I really enjoyed the book and cant wait to see how all of this plays out.
I was so intrigued by this book from the cover alone. I thought it was gorgeous and caught my eye. Then seeing Lucia’s teasers and learning it was about gymnastics, I was hooked. I had to read it. I had yet to come across a book featuring a plot dealing with that sport. After reading the blurb, I knew it would be impossible to pass up Ria and Kova’s story! I loved that this wasn’t a quick read. My feelings went through the ringer and my heart was in my stomach for the majority of the book. It was so detailed and so well thought out. Balance was my first read from Lucia Franco but I loved her writing so much that I snagged up the rest of her catalog after I was finished. Brilliant writing! I can’t wait to read the next two featuring these characters.
In my top 5 favorite books of all time…
I can’t find the proper words to reveal how much I loved this book. If you would have told me that I would become obsessed with a book about a underaged gymnast and her coach, I would have said, “No Way!” How wrong I would have been, because I am literally obsessed. It’s hard to write this review and not give spoilers away and I would never do that, because I want all you readers to be just as blown away as I was when you pick up this must read novel!
Lucia Franco and her gift of words and storytelling has taken me into unfamiliar territory. This book just throws it out there and takes no prisoners as it grabs you. It is raw, real, unapologetic and gritty. Yes gritty just like the drive to be the best competitive elite gymnast in the world. There is so much emotion in this booK and so many OMG moments that I felt dizzy upon completion. I actually did an immediate reread just to make sure in my frantic page turning that I didn’t miss something important. I will end this review with the statement that life is not alway black and white. If you prefer to live in a completely black and white world this book may not be for you, but if you want to jump outside the box and read a well written, beautifully developed, gripping read….. BUY THIS BOOK!
This is my favorite series ever ! Please pick up this series!! If you enjoy taboo ,age gap . This book is for you! Its on sale right now along with Execution for .99 for a limited time .Lucia has a way of making her characters so real , so passionate . The angst .JUST PICK IT UP AND READ IT !!
After finishing this story only a few short hours ago, I am still at a total loss for words. All I can think right now is that this book was freaking INCREDIBLE and totally exceeded any expectation I ever had when it came to the forbidden romance trope. This story was certainly unlike anything that I have ever experienced before and I quickly found myself eagerly anticipating each and every move that the characters made. I wasn’t sure if my heart could take it and nothing could have prepared me for that epic cliffhanger ending.
As you have probably seen from my previous reviews, it is no surprise that I absolutely FLOVE cliffhangers, but let me just say that was certainly not what I wanted with this story. Sure I might have already known going in that this one would end with many unanswered questions because there are more books planned for the series and yet I still believed that Lucia Franco wouldn’t just leave her readers hanging like that, but she did and I’ve got to love her for that! She is one of those authors that knows how to captivate readers and leave them begging for more.
Adrianna and Kova’s story is raw and passionate. Balance is one of those stories that you can’t anticipate what will happen next, which in turn will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end and long after finishing. I honestly don’t think that my butt will leave the edge of my seat until I complete this entire series, however long that may be. It is still hard to believe that this was my very first Lucia Franco read, but now that I’ve experienced her phenomenal writing there is no way I am stopping at just one book. I cannot wait for the next one to release and luckily I won’t have to wait too long because I waited until now to finally dive in. All I can think is THANK GOODNESS because I have no clue how I will be able to wait a few weeks and yet others have been waiting months.
“Desire can be deadly. Temptation can be toxic…”
Holy mother of gymnastics filled CRAZINESS!!
What the hell did I just read?!
I am seriously left SPEECHLESS… A complete jumbled mess.
I knew this was going to be a good book. I mean, have you heard all the buzz around it on social media? It’s insane!
So, needless to say, I went into this scared sh**less.
This book is E V E R Y T H I N G you want in a forbidden, extremely taboo story.
The relationship between gymnast and coach was phenomenal. I mean, I felt the raw attraction, lust, chemistry, frustration, hate, SO MUCH ANGST…. so, so much.
Kova is the president of Russian a-holes. Seriously, he takes the cake and entire pastry store by storm. And you know what, I freaking loved it! I hate how angry this guy made me. I wanted to seriously nut punch him a few times, but I’d probably break my hand or something in the process, lol.
Adrianna… this girl has to grow up well beyond her years and she certainly acted more mature than her true age. Certain times I had my mouth hung open with the way she would act. Then, of course, came little moments here and there that truly showed how inexperienced in the world she is and it made me want to shove her under my arm and give her a big ole hug.
I don’t even want to say anything about the book. This is one of those stories I suggest diving straight in without reading people’s reviews. I want to you get blown away the way I did by so many unexpected turns. At one point, I said, “is this dude really just giving her this stuff like tictacs?” I could not stop laughing, I could not stop getting frustrated, I could not stop growing in LUST right along with Adrianna… I just couldn’t put this book down.
Amazing work, Lucia Franco. You have officially won another fan with this book. Good luck getting rid of me now. I have officially activated stalker mode ON.
Well worth more than 5 Stars! Brava!!
Wow!
Just wow!
This is my first read from this author and oh wow!
The forbidden fruit between an older coach and his much younger athlete.
The tension.
The pull.
The chemistry.
The steamy scene.
The angst.
The feels.
You name it and Balance has it!
In this first book, i won’t crown Kova as my new man, but Adriana sure captivated me. That little girl got it all to hooked you for more!
Toeing the line between right and wrong, gave a delicious slow burn….until….it went way over the line and floored me! Kova is crazy alpha hotness, that was so sexy even when I was cursing him out. Didn’t even see half of what happened coming, and at the end, it was a pulsing, heart pounding, thrill ride full of emotions! Can’t wait for more!!
~~~Erika, Book Haven Book Blog
Oh my God this book.
It grabbed me from the moment I started to the moment I finished.
Lucia Franco has an amazing talent. Her writing is flawless. But the best part is that she makes your mind want something it shouldn’t. .
I absolutely LOVED Kova and Ria. I fell in love with their story and I can’t to read more
This is another review where I say sorry not sorry in advance for the shouty caps but they are necessary.
I. AM. SHOOK. If you had asked me a year ago, or hell a few months ago, to read a romance with a 15/16 year old girl and a 32 year old man, I would have laughed… and laughed and laughed. I can’t remember at this moment where I heard of Lucia Franco, but I joined her reader’s group and heard alllllll about Kova and Adrianna. I figured I’d read Lucia’s other books first, then get to Balance. I LIED TO MYSELF. After hearing so much of #TeamKova or #TeamHayden, and seeing Lucia torture her readers (which she’s very good at by the way), I decided to jump in and start reading.
FIRST OF ALL, Lucia, how dare you create such a masterpiece. I’m all for taboo relationships but I was not supposed to love this as much as I did. Second, ohholyshitwasthisbookamazing. And no, I didn’t forget to put a space. That was all said in one breath. Because it was 610 (read that again SIX HUNDRED AND TEN) pages of absolute debauchery. I feel like the best way to express my feelings on this book, is through a bunch of gifs, because I don’t think I can accurately depict my feelings through words alone. I am literally shaking.
I’m not gonna lie, Kova made me need breaks. He’s so intense, that sometimes I just had to put the book down and take a deep breath, which is why it took me so long to finish it. It’s a long book, but I’ve read books about the same length all in one sitting before. But the push and pull between Kova and Ria makes you almost forget their age difference for a second. I’m pretty sure Kova could have held out longer since he admits, frequently, what they’re doing is wrong. There’s a part of me that was screaming at Kova to stop, and then really STOP, but there was also a small (*cough cough HUGE) part that was chanting Kova’s name in my head urging him on.
And oh God, Hayden is so sweet I just want to eat him up!! The part of me that’s yelling at Kova to stop messing around, LITERALLY, was rooting for more Hayden time- and I HATE love triangles with the fury of a thousand suns (I’m a tad bit dramatic), but this is one love triangle that I desperately need more of. I swear, I remember being fifteen, but I do not remember being half as mature as Ria sometimes. Which is good, cause ya know, KOVA.
I’m not going to tell you that you’ll love this book. It’s not going to be for everyone, and I know that. It’s so freaking taboo it’s not even funny. Heck, I didn’t think I would like this book. I thought it was going to go into my DNF list. All I’m asking you to do is to give this book a chance. You will find yourself loving and hating Kova, rooting for these two as much as you want them to break up cause you don’t want Kova in jail. This book pushes all your boundaries, all your expectations, makes you question your own damn morals for enjoying this book so much.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sit in front of the fan to cool down, because I didn’t mention it before, but Lucia doesn’t skip over the sex scenes. Why would she do that? Nope she’s explicit. So yeah, I’m going to go sit in front of a fan spritzing water on myself, because of COURSE it’s 80 degrees outside when I finally finish reading this book.
Lucia, like Kova, I don’t know if I love you or if I hate you.
Adrianna Rossi has a burning desire to be a gymnast even when her negligent parents and her father’s friend, gymnast coach Kova are against her. But can her desire to be in the Olympics match her newfound feelings for Kova?
This story is a taboo student-teacher romance that you will reread constantly. I hated the way Kova treated Adrianna but together they are electric. Adrianna makes a great friend in Hayden, another gymnast in class. While it seems like it could be a great romance between Hayden and Adrianna in the future, I’m still loving Kova.
4.5 Stars
I’ve had this book on my kindle for a while…. just waiting for the date to get closer for book 2 to be released to read it. Tonight, I closed my kindle and am sitting here with my mouth wide open. I’m thinking to myself, what the bleep is going to happen next!!!
Adrianne Rossi is aspiring to become an Olympic Gymnast at the ripe age of 15, her current gym isn’t meeting her expectations any longer. After meeting with her father and asking about switching to a new gym, he is totally against it. But once he realizes that his daughter really needs this, he agrees to contact his friend Konstantin Kournakova which he has done business with in the past, who also is a former Olympian that is now a coach.
Moving away from a family that has better things to do than to raise a daughter, Adrianne is now living 3 hours away from home. Attending World Cup Academy of Gymnastics in hopes of reaching her goal.
Konstantin Kournakova-Kova is living the dream. He’s a gym owner, he is a fantastic coach and he trains his gymnasts HARD. He has very high standards and rules that all must abide by when agreeing to train at his facility.
What neither Adrianne or Kova could see happening was the feelings that would grow from working together 50 plus hours a week. Perfecting the moves, correcting the ways other coaches had taught, caused feelings that were formed. It was wrong for the 32-year-old coach to allow the feelings in the first place. It was wrong for a 15/16 yr old to pursue her coach. But in the end, who suffers the most?
This was a very strong book for me to swallow. In some parts, had me thinking who is the adult here. In other parts, I saw that truly both were at fault for not accepting what should have been an automatic NO, yet the feelings that each were feeling were pulling them into a direction that no one at 15/16 and 32 should ever be put in. If the ages were 32 and 48 would we question what was happening?
I took a .5 star off my rating due to at parts, I felt there was way too much technical jargon.
Can Not Wait for book 2 with this ending, I NEED IT NOW!!!
#BookBistroBlogApproved
Read this book in one sitting! Absolutely loved it! So intense and provocative, I’m still reeling from that ending! I can’t wait for book 3!!!!
This is such a forbidden and taboo story. I loved it. and at the same time have mixed feelings about it. I enjoy reading outside the box and this was just that. I will say being a parent of a little girl there is a nagging in the back of my head this book is so wrong so unbelievably wrong. But remember it is fiction. This is not reality and this did not happen.
The story Lucia Franco wrote, well right and wrong collide. The characters are balancing a dangerous act and there is a chance they could fall at any moment. I was so intrigued with this story and could not put it down. If I am being honest here at parts I was like omg!, other has me wondering wtf I was reading and why I was enjoying it. That is why I have such mixed feelings. Its a why am I reading this but a omg I can’t put it down feeling.
This author took the chance and really put herself out there with a book like this. You can tell they did research or are very knowledgeable in gymnastics and I loved reading a kind of what these athletes do to be the best.
All together this is a really good book. I enjoyed reading this taboo story and look forward to reading the next book cause I have to see what else this author is gonna hit us with.
“Fear was a bitch, and in this sport, it could cripple you.
Literally.
Fear challenged courage. It challenged the mind. Once we found courage, it meant never looking back. It persevered and defined. It gave strength to conquer the obstacles that rendered one weak.”
*there are major sensitive topics in this book. It is not for everyone*
It’s one of the most touted book in the Dark Genre circle. In fact Two of my Fav authors really pushed for me to read it.
Since I’m a dark, tabboo, forbidden read addict, I looked so forward to it. The story is really tabboo <3
A sweet little 15 year old Adrianna is a dedicated, passionate gymnast. Her ultimate dream is to become Elite and then make a good for Olympics. So her father , who is a real estate mogul, donates money to his friend's Elite Gym and she enrolls.
Konstantin Kournakova is a Russian Gymnastics Coach. He's a pedal pusher, really exacting from his students and is a hard taskmaster. Which serves Adrianna's ambitions really well . Kova's Institute produces champions, Olympic enthusiasts and elite seniors.
He trains Ria really hard and in the process they fall for each other
Oh BTW he's 32 years old to her 15 !.....yeah that too .
And I loved the concept and I was really excited how that was gonna play out 🙂
The story dragged a bit in the first half, going into tiny details and technical terms. But very less is revealed
Here the story starts slipping. The Coach is a mature teacher, he's supposed to know better than make out heavy and sweaty with a underage 15 year old teenager. But she's really mature for her age and he's really enamored by her.......or is he?
I was waiting for the Lust to turn into Love. But it was pure sex from BOTH sides. He touches her, stares into her eyes, in short teases and then indulges in heavy kissing and petting right in the gym! When his girlfriend interrupts ( Yes!!!!) He asks Ria to jump in the pit and Hide!
So not only is he cheating , he's a coward. But to be fair he's caught with his pants down literally in an immoral and illegal activity and Ria is naive enough to obey him. I really pitied her at that point.
Kova is , I think Bi-Polar. He blows hot, blows cold one day to next. He yells and screams at her when in front of company, but kisses her and paws her when in private.....huh !!
Then he goes to her place and has sex with her. Oh, pretty rough sex. She accepts all because she's totally in love with him. Ahhhhhhhhh the naiveté of youth !
So everyday he yells and paws, screams and kisses . Poor Ria is confused, so am I.
The worst part is He tells her that he'll deny everything about their relationship
“But even if anyone suspects it, says that they found out, do not fall for the trap.” My brows angled toward each other and he continued. “I will never speak a word of this to anyone, no matter what anyone says. And you cannot either.”He cut me off. “I will tell you right now that if you get pregnant and it somehow comes back to me, I will deny it until the day I die,”
She's not on the pill and he doesn't use condom...twice, yet gives her Morning after Pill both times. ( like seriously!!!)
He explicitly tells her that I'm going to my girlfriend Katja's house to have rough sex because he still wasn't satisfied with Ria......Oh My Gawwdd!!!
Ultimately they're caught while having sex in his office by Hayden ( God Bless his sweet heart) and he blackmails Ria by withdrawing her from Meet, should she not stop Hayden
“You better fix this, Adrianna, this is your goddamn fault. I swear to God, if he utters a word of this to anyone, you will regret it.” He was seething with anger but with every right. “Do you understand? I will personally make sure your career is over.”
The Pieces De Resistance --> He blames EVERYTHING on her
i did no such thing, it was all you. You pursued me every chance you got and you know it. A man can only take so much before he loses his fucking mind and caves.”
I had NO PROBLEM with the forbidden factor, age difference or tabboo relationship
I had the problem with with the treatment of the story and character development. Kova and Adrianna were supposed to be in Love, having found their soulmates, but Kova came across as a sexual predator and a pedophile. And when caught , he bails!
Bails on an innocent naive teenager.. he destroys her career, breaks her heart and literally ruins her. He’s a selfish A-Hole, a cheat who betrays a her girlfriend of 5 years for a cheesy, lusty quick and dirty romp with his 15 year old student when his job is to protect her and train her.
It actually made me cringe at his words that he’ll deny their relationship, threatens to ruin her and her father’s careers and yet will continue to be in safe cushion with his back up gf Katja.
What do you want me to make of that ?
Maybe it’s just me. So please read at your own discretion. This book wasn’t for me. It maybe for you
The only saving factors- Hayden and hot sex.thats about it.
I’m dreading the hypothetical scenario, if she had become pregnant, with her Olympic dream shattered, ruined and maybe disavowed by her family, humiliated. What then ?
I know it’s a story, just an imaginary situation, but still Kova’s was hard to digest creep for me .I’m sorry I was really looking forward to enjoying this book
5 SEXY INTENSE BALANCE STARS!! Oh my, I should have read this book sooner, it was so good. This story is so intense, I was grinding my teeth until they hurt at times. The story is full of angst, sexiness, hot scenes and freaking fantastic characters. Kova and Adrianna stories is so intense, but so beautifully written, you must read it. Lucia Franco descriptions made me feel like I was right there in the gym, she did an amazing job. I can’t wait for the next book.
This book is crazy, y’all! It’ll mess with you in the most amazing of ways and you’ll find yourself randomly screaming into the void in the middle of the night because you’re imaging Kova talking dirty.
I feel like anything I say would be garbage compared to this hauntingly beautiful and twisted story. This was the first Lucia book I ever read and I’m so obsessed with her rn it’s borderline embarrassing.
The story is not an easy one to read because Kova and Ria’s relationship is so bloody complicated, it’ll give you anxiety, heart burns and weird sex dreams which will make you question basically everything.
I love the stories that mess with my mind and make me stay awake and think. Balance was exactly that kind of stories. It was wild, sexy, raw, passionate and just so goddamn beautiful. I CANNOT WAIT for the next part even though I think it’ll be the end of me. What a way to go though!!!