I have no intention of losing my girl a second time…I can fake it with the best of them. At the top of my game as a Moto Grand Prix racer, I’m used to the entire world watching me. But the truth is, beneath this polished smile, I’m hurting—physically and emotionally. Longing for my family and the girl I left behind, I need a break from the Moto Grand Prix world. A chance to heal.So the moment … moment I’m free from the press circuit, I bolt home for some R&R—determined to win back Taryn Ledell’s heart if it’s the last thing I do. Problem is: she’s got plans of her own. As a World Superbike racer, she’s on the brink of making it big. It’s going to take all the sweet-talking charm I’ve got to convince the girl of my dreams that she can have everything she wants if she’s willing to be fearless.
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The hero in this book is irresistible- he’s a rodeo cowboy who would do anything for the woman he loves, and his best friend is his HORSE. Every time I thought I couldn’t possibly love him more, the author made me love him even MORE. And his lady, Taryn, is badass and confident and is a former beauty queen turned professional motorcycle racer, which I think is pure awesome.
I’ve never read a romance like this before-steamy, heart-melting, and so immersive I didn’t even realize how fast I was turning the pages!
I finished this several weeks ago and I still cannot get these characters out of my head. Billy… Sweet, sweet, sweet Billy. He was everything… and then some. The cowboy you all dream about. The kind, gentle soul with the heart of gold most of all. I could make an entire review just for him, but there’s so much more to this story than that. He’s just my cherry on top.
Told in a unique fashion, with alternating POV’s, past and present, Billy and Taryn are two people you can’t help but cheer on as they try to fix their relationship. I don’t want to give too much away, plot wise, but I really appreciated the unique take on story telling in this book. It wasn’t formulatic in the least, and kept me invested from beginning to end. Fleshed out characters with real world problems, complete with a racing back drop and a country flare. This love story was so enchanting and real that it hurt. The kind of hurt that makes you want to jump back in and read it all over the second you hit the last page, of course.
Definitely a top new favorite for me, and that is a label I don’t use often.
I really love when a romance introduces me to a whole new world, and Katie Golding’s Fearless did just that. This is an engaging second-chance romance set in the Moto Grand Prix world of motorcycle racing, but some of the characters also ride bulls and participate in the rodeo, and there are lots of adorable horse characters too. In fact, the main conflict here is the fact that the heroine Taryn once told hero Billy that she would never commit to a man who rode bulls because she has seen the heartache it can cause in a family when things go wrong. Through a series of flashbacks, the author shows us how Billy and Taryn handled this situation. The writer’s voice is so solid here, and it’s clear she understands this world and its people, and I really felt like I came away with a better understanding of them. Her writing style felt so effortless and I loved that. I really enjoyed this one and I can definitely see myself picking up another Katie Golding book.
Note: I am friendly with the author on social media. This review is my honest opinion and I have offered it freely.
Katie pours her heart into these characters and I felt immersed in their every emotion.
Fearless is so refreshingly heartfelt: a pitch-perfect example of a comfort read romance that also brings a fast pace with plenty of action and plot twists befitting the sports aspect of the theme. I loved the dual-POV approach and glimpses in to both Billy and Taryn’s pasts through the change in timeline. Peeks in to their history worked especially well given their relationship, making for a grand, sweeping love story rich with depth.
All of these elements plus terrific, crisp writing added up to satisfying story development and well-rounded characters to cheer for. Taryn is cool, smart, and interesting and Billy is an absolute sweetheart dream and pretty much the gold standard of romance novel hero. I was hooked from the beginning, utterly lost in their world, and transported up until the swoonworthy end. A must read!
Interesting first book in the new Moto Grand Prix series by Katie Golding. It’s a second-chance book…which is sometimes not my favorite trope. However, Golding did a decent job blending the couples past and their present through dual-timelines and alternate POVs. I liked Billy and Taryn. Their relationship was interesting and felt believable (and a bit angsty at times). The secondary characters were equally as interesting, and contributed to the overall storyline.
A solid 4 stars
I received a copy of this book through Sourcebooks Early Reads program. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
The ‘Moto Grand Prix‘ series gets off to a strong start with Billy and Taryn’s romance in ‘Fearless‘. Although this is a second chance romance in so many ways, through the use of flashback chapters and the present POV being Billy’s, and the past POV being Taryn’s until they meet up again we’ll get an overview of how they met and the challenges they’ve faced so far. And there are challenges from outsiders, from giving too much to others and not to the one you’re supposed to love, and from interference from situations beyond their control. Theirs is not the easiest of romances, and there are plenty of potholes on the road to their happy ever after – but it is so worth the trip.
I liked Billy, he’s not an alpha male but just an everyday guy who loves bull riding, motorcycle racing, and his girl. The trouble is that Billy cannot say no to someone who needs something from him – especially his brother (who I wanted to Gibbs smack often). He’s injured right now, needing to hide that fact from the press so he’s returning home to recoup and win his girl back before she leaves forever… none of that is going to be easy.
Taryn is a ‘take names and kick butt’ kind of woman, and I adored her attitude (for the most part). She has the right to be number one in her man’s life – but we all know that isn’t always possible and so often her reasons and her need to always be mad or arguing showed more immaturity than loving to me.
I enjoyed ‘Fearless‘. I do think that you have to be the type of reader who likes going back and forth from the past to the present with always just a few vital bits of information waiting to be discovered. I had a good time with this couple and in this world, and if you give it a chance I believe you will as well. This couple does belong together, it’s simply going to be a long road to travel to get to that point as they deal with their issues.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Fearless was everything I wanted it to be and more. Billy is a likable guy who doesn’t always have his ducks in a row. His priorities aren’t always aligned properly, causing heartache for himself and his girlfriend, Taryn. He means well and tries really hard but Billy makes some poor choices in Fearless. Taryn expects to be the #1 person in Billy’s life. Most women do in relationships. However, Billy finds cleaning up after his brother to be one of those high priorities that gets him in trouble with Taryn.
This book is told from multiple points-of-view, alternating between Billy and Taryn. While the story begins in the present day, the book also shifts into the past when Billy and Taryn first meet, building up their relationship, and dealing with both their lives, as racers, lovers, and during the hard times. The present day and past passages alternate with the past eventually meeting the present.
I enjoyed the way the author presented the flashbacks. They are their own chapters instead of being tossed in the middle of the present, leaving the reader to try and figure out what is going on and when. The author did a wonderful job building up to the conflict that threatened to destroy the relationship between Billy and Taryn. The character development was astounding and the world-building has me feeling like I was there with them during the good times, the bad times, and everything in-between.
I was engaged from the start and the author’s writing kept me engaged. Fearless is a sweet romance with wonderfully flawed characters, a slow trek to forgiveness, and love that will survive almost anything. This is my first experience with Katie Golding and look forward to reading more by her.
I was provided a copy of this book to read.
Katie Golding takes readers on the ride of their lives in her newest novel, FEARLESS. Golding’s easy way with words and use of western lingo to tell her story draws readers in as they follow Billy King and Taryn Ledell on their journey back to each other. Golding’s knowledge of motorcycle racing seems endless as she uses alternating POVs and past/present narratives, to tell her story. If you’ve dreamed about cowboys who race motorcycles, FEARLESS is for you!
Both Billy and Taryn are wonderfully flawed, which makes it easy to connect with them. There were moments that I wanted to strangle both, but it was their love for each other and their love of racing that kept me coming back for more! Throw in a precocious horse named Gidget and FEARLESS is a book not to be missed.
Billy is a hero you can’t help but love. Golding doesn’t write Alpha males; instead, her heroes are realistic, adventurous, lovable, and they meet their heroines on equal footing. When we meet Billy, he’s trying his best to be everything to everyone, especially his brother and Taryn. The number of times I wanted to hug him were endless. There were times I wished he would stand up more for himself, but overall, Billy is a perfect example of a guy who loves hard and puts others before himself.
Taryn is a badass. She’s a woman on the male-dominated Moto racing circuit and absolutely gorgeous. She’s struggled with misogyny in the professional world and is determined to be famous for her riding skills rather than how she looks in a photograph. She’s also not interested in dating another racer—or even worse—a bull rider. Billy is both, but in a series of flashback chapters told in Taryn’s POV, we see how Billy wins her over.
I did struggle with Taryn at times. Both she and Billy come across as immature on occasion. While not categorized as such, FEARLESS read—at times—as New Adult Fiction. The flip side is that FEARLESS reminded me frequently of Urban Cowboy, one of the best films ever. Much like Bud and Sissy, Billy and Taryn fall in love quickly and then have to build their relationship from the dust of questionable choices and hurt feelings.
FEARLESS is book one in the Golding’s Moto Grand Prix series. We meet characters that we’re sure to see later in the series, including Lorelei and Massimo who most definitely take readers on a wild ride in book two.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an early copy in exchange for honest feedback.
FEARLESS was published in July 2020 by Sourcebooks.