I was born a fighter. Abandoned by my parents, I spent my life forging my own path—one guided by my fists and paved with pain.
Untouchable in the ring, I destroyed everyone who faced me, but that’s where my victories ended. Outside the ropes, I repeatedly failed the few people who loved me. Including my best friend, Liv James—the one person I’d die to protect.
Even though I didn’t deserve her, … though I didn’t deserve her, Liv never stopped believing in me. Never gave up. Never let go. After all, she understood what I’d lost, because she’d lost it too.
Liv was everything to me, but she was never truly mine.
That was going to change.
I lost my first love, but I refused to lose my soulmate.
Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting to be the man she deserves.
Fighting the solitude of our pasts.
Fighting for her.
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One of my favorite books by Aly Martinez! If you like MMA Romance, you will LOVE this story!
Read: 5/30/16
Fighting Solitude is the third book in the On the Ropes Series by Aly Martinez.
Quarry Page was introduced in the first book of the series, Fighting Silence, as a funny, confident and rambunctious six year old. We’ve watched him grow in each book until Fighting Solitude picks up his story at age twenty.
Quarry met his best friend, Liv James, at age ten. She had the face of an angel, but she was just as funny, rambunctious and troublesome as Quarry. Together they got in loads of trouble but also loads of fun. At twenty, tragedy and betrayal entered their world causing them to rely on each other in order to push forward.
Martinez weaved us through crushes, friendship, other loves, death, hearing loss and a multitude of various challenges to form Fighting Solitude. True to form, they were heartbreaking, emotional and adventurous – never allowing us to settle in and get comfortable with any situation before another obstacle was introduced.
In many ways, this was the best in the series because Martinez utilizes the supporting cast of characters throughout the storyline; therefore, we experience the continued development and family expansion for each character from all books in the series. Additionally, Martinez provides a wrap up which includes points of view from Till and Flint as well as Quarry and Liv, providing closure for the entire series.
To date, there doesn’t appear to show additional books for On the Ropes, but I’m hopeful a spin off series will be introduced for the Page offspring of all three brothers. A new generation with a new set of circumstances has promise.
Throughout this series there has been an undeniable, unconditional, beautiful family dynamic but in this story we see how this family comes together to be there for one another. Quarry was a little boy in the first book but now he’s a man, He proves that he can get through anything. The adorable friendship he has with Liv is something special, their connection and chemistry is palpable. It was charming how they finally came to terms with their true feelings. I loved everything about this book.
Omg I LOVED this book! Aly Martinez has become a favorite author of mine and she doesn’t disappoint with this one. Quarry and Liv were perfect for each other. This was the perfect finish to the On The Ropes Series.
I read this via ku and am leaving my review voluntarily. This is part of a series and should be read from the beginning for maximum enjoyment.
Triggers: death of a loved one, assault, attempted murder
**spoilers**
This is Quarrys story. He is the youngest Page brother. A fighter. A hot head who feels everything deeply.
I don’t want to give any details, you need to read it blind. Grab a box of tissues. The author keeps delivering good, believable and gut wrenching stories.
HEA
Such a great story. I recommend the whole series and other books by this author.
It was amazing, I’m really glad I purchased it!!!
I have enjoyed this particular series on siblings by the author.
Aly Martinez writes amazing stories unlike any I’ve ever read! They are full of heart and heat and angst and Fighting Solitude was no exception. I absolutely loved this book. The characters grabbed my heart. The storyline was fast paced and kept me sucked in. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone!
I have really enjoyed Aly Martinez’s On the Ropes series! From the first book, Quarry has intrigued me. He was a six year old boy flirting with his older brother’s girl. He had such a personality! In Fighting Solitude, Quarry has just lost his girlfriend to cancer, but his ever-present best friend, Liv, and he find comfort in helping each other through this difficult time (yes, that is Liv from Broken Course!!). A few years later, they’re still struggling, but now it also involves their feelings.
I am so disappointed in myself for waiting so long to read this series! There were a few crossover characters from Ms. Martinez’s Wrecked and Ruined series (Liv, Sarah, Leo, and Slate are a few!). I cannot wait to reread this, and listen to the audio of Fighting Solitude!
This book was freaking breathtakingly beautiful that I inhaled every word as if my life depended on it. I thought Till’s story was an emotional journey but Quarry’s story was gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and all-consuming that I laughed, I cried and I didn’t want it to end. Quarry and Liv were nothing short of perfection! If you love a bestfriends to lover romance then hold on to your heart because these two are going to steal it! The Page boys are one phenomenal MUST read story that you never knew you needed to read!
This is an incredibly well written, emotional series, that I have really enjoyed reading!! I love that these characters don’t just jump into bed together and that the time lines are drawn out although the characters love at first sight!! Just really good storytelling!! I am now a BIG Aly Martinez fan and look forward to reading ALL her books!!
I fell in love hard with this series! Think this one has to be my favourite. Loved Quarry and Liv together. This series but mostly the story just went straight to my heart! It was a fun, heartbreaking, loving and hot story. You couldn’t stop reading, even if you would try 🙂 Just love the Page brothers. But I think this one has to be my favourite. Definitely worth the read and so worth it. The only thing, and that’s just because of my personal life and knowing sign language ‘cuz my best friend is deaf, everyone experiences being deaf in other ways and if I would ever become deaf I would never get a C.I. but that’s just my personal decision and how I feel about deaf culture and definitely sign language. That’s just me and the love I feel for it and I was more than happy to have read this series that had something I love in the stories. So a big thank you to the author!
4.75 EVERY.SINGLE.DAY stars!!
“That girl made my brand of trouble look amateur. And, because of that, she quickly became my best friend and partner in crime.”
This book was one of my top anticipated reads of this year. I absolutely LOVE the On the Ropes series. Every brother has a special place in my heart. I laughed, cried and got angry with them. I shed a lot of tears while I was reading these books. I was impatiently waiting for this book.
This book focused on the youngest brother Quarry. He has been through so much, I wish I could give him a hug! This book was beautiful from the start till the end. I just loved getting a view of how Liv and Quarry met and how their friendship developed over the years. Some parts were really funny while others were heartbreaking. Both Liv and Quarry didn’t have an easy past. But the moment they came together they were such a support system for each other.
“You love me.” “Every.Single.Day.”
Half way through the book Quarry does something that breaks Liv’s heart. Because of that they don’t speak and see each other for a while. When they are reunited they go back to being best friends. There are happening so many things that you will have to read for yourself. Some things were so beautiful others were heartbreaking. I felt so many different emotions, it was one crazy rollercoaster. BUT when they came together it was the most beautiful thing!
I wish there were more brothers who could have their own stories! Maybe a spin-off focusing on the kids? (FINGERS CROSSED!!) The writing was phenomenal. I also really enjoyed seeing what the other characters were up to. Thank you so much Aly for writing such an amazing series!
Quarry and Liv have been best friends since he was ten. Three years later he pushes Liv away. It took another three years for Liv to see Quarry. Will these two survive? Great read. I couldn’t put down till finished.
Fighting Solitude was everything I hoped it would be and more. Readers have been able to watch Quarry Page grow up into the man he is while reading Till and Flint’s stories, and when we left Quarry at the end of Flint’s book dealing with a heart shattering experience, I didn’t know how things were going to play out for Quarry in his own book. I didn’t know if he was going to be able to channel his rage and grief or if he was going to allow it to consume and destroy him.
Since the beginning of Quarry’s life, he’s had to fight and fight he did…Every…Single…Day, and along the way, he found two people to fight along side of him, and even though he lost both of them – one when they were younger for a long period of time and one forever much too soon – he still kept fighting, battling out of the silence…out of his fears…out of the belief that he fails every woman he loves.
Liv James suffered a similar fate as a child until she went to live with her father. But the damage was already done, and Liv’s fear of silence and solitude made her feel weak and alone. But that all changed when she met Quarry Page and even though, unbeknownst to him, he broke her heart on several occasions, Liv always had Q’s back and refused to allow him to suffer anything on his own because she always believed that if it happens to him then it happens to her and she would watch his back even when he was breaking her heart.
Throughout the course of their 14 year friendship, Liv and Quarry experience every emotion possible but the one constant since the beginning is their love for one another…a love that protects Liv from the silence and gives Quarry the outlet he needs when the static inside his head gets to be too much. As long as Liv and Quarry have each other, they’ll never be completely alone because they are a part of one another…the solitude of their pasts connect them in an unbreakable way so even when they’re not together, they’re not too far away to understand that what they have is all they need to truly live!
I continue to be in awe of Aly Martinez’s stories; they are emotional, dramatic, and absolutely perfect in the lessons they teach and the message they give to readers. I adore the Page brothers and their significant others. None of them had it easy but they fought for their happiness every single day and they achieved it and I’m so glad Aly allowed us to experience it with them.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)