Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it’s the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?
I’ve always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided … narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn’t a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.
You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.
They both happened anyway.
Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.
Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.
I think that’s the sound I’ll miss the most.
Each book in this series can be read as a standalone.
more
Where my obsession with the Page Brothers began. I LOVE this story of soulmates who fight for their HEA.
This is such a lovingly made, emotionally heart-wrenching yet sweet read. This is one of those books that has you continuously rooting for the underdog. However, the underdog and this case isn’t just one… It’s four.
While the main hero, Till, and heroine, Eliza, is what the storyline focuses on, the two underdogs that add to this tally are his younger brothers, Quarry and Flint.
The book immediately captured me and immersed me into the folds. A lot happens in a short amount of time even. Roughly 8 years pass by the time you have hit 30% of the book!
Driven and focused for what’s the best interest in their lives they ping pong being friends to being their whole world, to being friends. All the while, being in love with each other. Heartbreaking at moments, completely immersed me, emotionally felt this book
Their fights continue with Flint and Quarry after their bitter sweet endings crossover into their own books in the series.
Absolutely loved this book. It takes time until one finds a good book, and this is definitely worth it. Really loved it.
Loved this story so much. It just drew you in and kept you captivated until the very end. Poor Till he was so in love with Eliza, his doodle, but never believed he could have her or was good enough for her. Then even though she had loved him just as long he was worried she would leave and he would lose her forever. Watching them go back and forth made you want to shake him but you understood too. He loved her so much he would rather stay friends then risk eventually losing her if it didn’t work out. Loved quarry and flint they were adorable and their makeshift family was hilarious. Especially their bantering and sign fights. Their plot when asking her to move in with them was so funny and adorable. Loved it. Then we learned about flints severely admiration but it wasn’t so unfathomable especially considering those boys loved her so much and thought she saved them and their family. Can’t wait for flints story. And now I have to go and read all the previous ones : slate, Leo etc.
Read: 5/28/16
Fighting Silence is the first book I’ve read by Aly Martinez and is the first book of the On the Rope Series. It was well written, the characters well developed and was an entertaining, yet emotional read.
Till Page was dirt poor, young and the eldest offspring of a drug addict and a con. He was constantly taking care of his younger brothers and doing whatever he needed to keep social services away from splitting them apart, including holding multiple jobs to pay the monthly rent.
Till met Eliza Reynolds in an abandoned apartment when they were thirteen. They were both escaping from dysfunctional and troubling family situations and met there nightly. They were an unlikely pair but developed a deep friendship growing into best friends that got them through their high school years. Initially they never interacted outside their place of solace, but they were always there for each other through the years.
I fell in love with both characters. They are both gorgeous, snarky, independent, strong, hard working, resilient, and passionate. They are the perfect soul mates; although it takes Till awhile to own it.
Till is raising his brothers, but has a genetic condition that has him going deaf. His only hope for providing for his family is through a career in fighting but his diminishing hearing continues to provide difficulties. Martinez weaves us through the multiple challenges that Till faces with his brothers, his hearing, his deadbeat parents and his budding relationship with Eliza.
It’s an emotional roller coaster and each time a challenge is overcome, another one steps forward. The storyline is packed full of adventure, heartbreak, sadness and mystery. By the end of the story, we’re ready for the happy ever after, but Martinez then sets the stage for the next phase of life challenges for Flint’s story in Fighting Shadows. I’m hooked on her style of writing, which is filled with tons of depth and substance and I look forward to all of her books in the series.
A heartbreakingly beautiful journey to go on with Till and Eliza. I am so glad that I got the chance to read this story; from the beginning I was absolutely enthralled, my heart broke, but in the end I was smiling. Absolute perfection! I loved and adored every single moment of this book.
Fighting Silence is a beautiful journey of a friendship becoming love. Their journey is fraught with hardships and family struggles but Till and Eliza are there for each other throughout. As life throws more at them will they risk what they have for more.
I read this via ku and am leaving my review voluntarily.
Triggers: physical assault, child neglect
**spoilers**
This is my 2nd book from this author and I’m hooked. She knows how to make her characters believable and draw the reader into the story.
This book focuses on Till and Eliza. Both come from poor homes with neglectful parents. Till has 2 younger brothers that he protects and raises. (Flint and Quarry – each get their own stories) Boxing is Till’s way out of poverty.
It was a slow romance that started in childhood. Alot of obstacles stood in their way but eventually they get their HEA.
A solid 4 stars.
I finished this book last night and I’m struggling on how to write this review. This book was amazing but I don’t think I can portray in words how amazing this book was. I discovered Aly Martinez not that long ago so I’m slowly making my way through her backlist. All I can say is Aly writes pure gold. Everything I have read from her is magic. I was transported into this world that Eliza and Till lived in. The chemistry and connection that these two shared was intense. It was so intense that it could be felt off the pages. It physically hurt when they hurt.
Aly captured their growing relationship, friendship, and family ties. She captured how strong and witty Eliza was. I adored Eliza. She was such a strong character. She was sassy. She was the perfect mix of strong with her “addiction” to Till. Till? Oh my Till. I salivate just thinking about him. He was a bit wishy washy but just because he loved Eliza so much. He faced a reality that I couldn’t even fathom and I believe Aly delivered on this topic in such an eloquent way for the readers.
The writing, the story line, the friendship, and the wittiness toppled this book at 5 stars for me. There really wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. Which, I’m coming to find out, pretty much solid on every Aly Martinez book I read.
It’s a tear jerker for sure. It starts with Eliza and Till when they’re children. They’re both desperately poor, without parents who care about them. They find refuge in an abandoned apartment. Although they go to the same school, they’re not friends, but they both need a refuge, so they sort of agree to share this place. It has nothing to offer, it’s just an empty room, but it’s a refuge, a place to escape to when life gets too hard or too miserable.
Over the course of their teenage years, they grow close. They learn to trust one another and depend on one another. Although they’re both attracted to each other, they keep it all above board, because their friendship is not just important, but necessary. How can they survive the harsh realities of their world without each other?
I loved Till’s nickname for Eliza. Cute, sweet and yet entirely real. It was used to perfect advantage through the book.
I loved that life didn’t magically fix itself and all their problems were solved. Slate and the gym were the perfect vessel to showcase a number of Till’s personality quirks – his passion, his work ethic, his devotion to his brothers, his temper, his integrity.
The brothers were excellent secondary characters. I loved Quarry, he was great fun.
There was enough pace and action to keep me reading, and more than a few moments that were genuine tear jerkers. Shut up, I didn’t cry. Much. I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone with spoilers, but the blurb tells you that Till is going deaf so I can share that much at least. There were a couple of really powerfully emotional moments that stuck out for me, both of them relating to Till’s hearing in one way or another. It’s incredible how some people deal with adversity. It not only makes you realise how lucky you are, but also makes you stop and think how you would cope if life threw you those challenges.
Five stars from me. I’ve already bought the next book in the series. The prologue shocked the hell out of me and made me want to rant about authors who put spoilers in their prologues (can it even be a prologue if it happens before the start of the book?) but the girl has captured my attention for sure, and I’m so curious to see how this new version of Flint turns out, I’m definitely reading it. Just you try and stop me.
I have had this series on my Kindle for a couple of years now, but for some reason, I was hesitant to start it. I’m not sure why, seeing as Aly Martinez is one of my favorite authors. Maybe because it appears to be a boxing book, which isn’t something that greatly appeals to me, but Fighting Silence was so much more than about a boxer. So. Much. MORE!
Till hasn’t had a great childhood. In fact, it’s safe to say that he had a pretty crappy one. Parents who don’t care about him or his two little brothers, Flint and Quarry. Eliza is pretty much in the same boat. These two form an unlikely (and secret) friendship in an abandoned apartment complex. They sneak off to escape the realities of life. Inside- fantasy. Outside- reality. As the years go on, they rely on each other to help out. And find themselves in love. But there are a ton of difficulties for them to overcome.
I loved Till! I loved how he stepped up to take care of his brothers. I loved that he wanted so much more for them than himself. I loved that he wanted so much more for Eliza than what he could offer. I loved how selfless he was. And Eliza- I loved that she stepped in to support Till and those boys, as the only mother figure they had after their biological mother took off. I loved that these two could find happiness amongst all of their obstacles. (I also loved all of the little cameos of Leo and Sarah and Caleb and Emma!)
Again, I can’t believe that it took me so long to finally read Fighting Silence! I will definitely reread this one!
This book was like a metamorphosis. It starts out in what I would categorize as Young Adult then switches to New Adult but with a secondary group of her adult characters from the Wrecked and Ruined series which made me one happy reader. The story itself also had tons of different emotions running through it, sadness, heartbreak, laughter, a great sense of family and friends, sexy boxers and towards the end intense suspense.
Even though this is Eliza Reynolds and Till Page story that starts when they are 13 I think to get the full effect of the story and characters reading the Wrecked and Ruined series beforehand would enrich the story for the reader so much more. These two had worthless parents and they bonded in an abandoned building for many years. Eliza only had herself to worry about but Till had two younger brothers that he had to look out for. Along with that weight Till also was told he would eventually become deaf at some point in his life.
How these two beat the odds that were laid at their feet when they were born was not an easy road. Through it all they both knew that they needed the other to get there. For me it’s so hard to describe this book as there were so many “acts” to it. I loved being back in Slate’s gym and having him mentor Till to not only become the best boxer he could be but also the best brother and man for his woman. The future books in this series will be about Till’s brothers who were young when this book started but we can see the type of men they are going to grow up to be and I know their stories will be just as powerful as Till’s was.
4.5 Stars – A highly recommended must-read.
This was my first book by this author and I loved it so much that I can’t wait to read more from her!
Till’s parents didn’t care about him or his two younger brothers so when it became too much at home, he took off. What he didn’t expect to find was a girl in an old and desolate apartment, a girl his age and so beautiful he knew he would never be good enough for her. Eliza’s parents weren’t much different to Till’s and when her parents fighting drove her away to a quiet and deserted apartment building, she took comfort in the silent place where she could draw without disturbances. At least until a boy came crawling through the window. A boy so handsome she knew would always be close to her, a boy from her school, a boy who became more than she ever thought possible.
The story of Till and Eliza was heartrending. It began when they met at a young age, both desperate to get away from their homes. Over the years a bond between them formed which became much stronger than just friendship which helped them to get through tougher times in their lives.
I loved how compassionate both characters were and how caring, selfless, humble, and self-sacrificing Till was. His brothers were great personalities and I can’t wait to read their books.
The story had a lot of depth with both characters’ missing love at home and also their struggles (not only financially) through life. My heart ached for Till and I was in awe of how strong he was despite some seemingly hopeless situations.
Till found a family not only in Eliza but also in Slate, the owner of On the Ropes which became Till’s second home because he spent every spare minute when he wasn’t working or taking care of his loved ones training in the gym. This after school program which became more to him than just a hobby was Till’s big dream because he wanted more in life than his parents ever gave him.
Because Till never experienced his parents love for each other but only their cheating ways and multiple partners, he expected every relationship to fail after the love has worn off. Since he couldn’t live without Eliza he couldn’t risk the chance of her leaving so he didn’t dare and try anything more than friendship to not lose her forever.
This story had some very heartbreaking and shocking moments when my heart shattered into a million pieces. Even my eyes didn’t stay dry during this read. There were some heavy sucker punches to the gut but also many funny and lovely moments. The characters looked after each other and I envied their cohesion and loved their dynamic. I loved the banter between them all.
Till was one of the most selfless characters I’ve ever read about. He was self-sacrificing, devoted, sweet, thoughtful but also very stubborn. I loved how he took care of his two younger brothers. He didn’t turn his back on them when he could have so easily when he moved out. Although Till was physically so strong, he was emotionally on the brink of tumbling down the deep end a lot. It was so hard to watch how he wanted to be strong for his family but struggled with his hearing loss.
Eliza was a pretty great characters as well, she took matters in her hands and helped with Till’s brothers. She was an awesome person and perfect for him.
I loved the ending but it was a bummer that it felt a bit crammed with so much going on at once. And it was a pity that his boxing was pushed to the background at the end. I also didn’t understand how he managed to keep boxing with his disability. I would have liked more info on that.
Even though I thought this would be an adult book I really liked and adored the characters. Because the reason why I rarely read coming of age romances or young adults becoming new adults is that I can never really catch up to the fast growing up of the characters which is why I always still keep imagining them as young kids even at the end of the story. This was also the case here because although I knew they weren’t thirteen all the time, I just never felt that they were much older which made everything so weird when they lived independently and were actually grownups.
Regardless, I have so much love for this book and I kept thinking about the characters even days after I’d finished reading it.
Till & Eliza! This book has everything. An everlasting young love, intrigue, heartbreak, and suspense.
WOW!! Fighting Silence had me feeling every emotion. From hate to sadness to love. I laughed, I yelled and I cried.
Can your fantasy become your reality?
After almost a decade Till’s fantasy with Eliza finally becomes the reality she always hoped for. They have been in love since they were bother only thirteen years one and not even six months of complete silence could tear them apart.
This book includes so much and I don’t want to ruin it for anyone with spoilers, but I have to say. If you’re interested in an action-packed sports romance novel with heart-wrenching twist and turns one-click this book NOW!! You won’t regret it
Great story. A good read!
I really enjoyed this book! There was so much going on that I felt like the book was MUCH longer than it was (I mean that as a compliment!) I loved how the author made me feel like I was a part of their lives! AND I love stories where the guy isn’t afraid to admit his feelings – very refreshing :o)
I loved this book, couldn’t wait to read the others in this series.
Good read
At first I was hesitant to read about teenagers but then I quickly realized it was but a stepping stone as the story transitioned to their adult lives. Eliza and Till are quite the pair. Their love story was not easy or cliched. It was real and it had struggles. But what I absolutely loved about this book was the family aspect how despite the difficult circumstances they constantly found themselves under they thrived. Never easy always bumpy but still a love sorry I could dig. I love the supporting characters in Quarry and Flint. This story made me smile and it made me laugh. But mostly it made me feel and I felt as if I had a front row seat.
This is one of the few nooks, where jumps in time made sense. However, there are no flashbacks. I loved the love story and the courage to allow one’s self to be loved.
The only issue I have with the book is the jump from 2 POV to 4. Clearly it was setup to introduce the other books in the series but it took away from the story I as a reader felt that I earned. The drama also felt a bit out of place at the end as well.