Monday, August 27, 2018

Review: Until We're More - Cindi Madsen

Until We're More
(Fighting For Her #2)
by Cindi Madsen
Published August 27th 2018 by Entangled Publishing, LL
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Chelsea is smart, funny, gorgeous, and the best friend I’ve ever had. Ever since she left, I’ve been a wreck. I’ve been focused on keeping my family’s MMA gym afloat while I train and coach fighters, anything to not miss her more. But now she's finally back, along with her grumpy, possessive cat, and things are weird between us.

By weird, I mean I can’t stop thinking about her in that way. She’s in the room next door, and it takes all my control not to storm in there, sweep her up, and bring her back to my bed. Even stranger, I’m pretty sure she’d be into it.

And this time, I’m not going to stop fighting until we’re more.

Review
4 Stars

Liam Roth is an MMA fighter with high hopes of winning the title and finally bringing his father's gym back into the spotlight. He's got no time for girls or any other distractions when training, though he makes an exception for his best friend that's in town for a few weeks. Chelsea has been his best friend since junior high, but sharing a wall with her and watching movies together brings about feelings he knows he has to deny. When she finally shares that she has the same feelings the wall between them falls down, allowing them to find perfect bliss together. Liam doesn't know how to do a relationship though and he's not sure it's possible to be with a woman and keep fighting. When he has to choose, will it be the ring or Chelsea?

"I had all the empathy for any girl who went and fell for Liam Roth. Especially since he was so damn hard to get over."

Cindi Madsen is a new-to-me author, but I am already a big fan after reading Until We're More. For me, this book fell into the space between New Adult and Adult romance, giving us a lot of character growth, relationship development, and just the right amount of smut. Told from alternating perspective, Until We're More is a funny, contemporary romance between a bookworm and a fighter. Chelsea is a sweet, innocent woman who seems to have only just discovered what she is capable of. She's relatable, with a past that's not fantastic and the strength to go after her dream, not settling for less despite what life's circumstances have set her up for. Liam, who I automatically pictured as a Hemsworth brother of course, is a little harder to connect with, with tall walls erected around him and his brain focused on fighting and the gym. He grows on you though, starting with his friendship with Chelsea and then winning your heart with the way he cares for her. The two circle around their friendship, but when they finally shed the title and embrace their desire for one another they fit together like puzzle pieces.

Until We're More is a story filled with friendship and family, with Liam's family embracing Chelsea like she is one of their own and giving her the push she needs to go after what she wants. I loved that aspect of the story, that all of Liam's family just wanted to see their friend succeed. They push her in her career and in finally embracing that her thoughts for Liam are far more than just friends thoughts. Liam and Chelsea share a lot of banter, much like real friends do, so it was believable that they had years of friendship with one another despite readers not knowing them until adulthood. They laugh, they fight, they throw some serious shade at one another, and they love each other, a lot. It was so apparent through out the entire novel that both loved each other, beyond even just the crushes and lust that they had for one another, but true love. Each wanted what was best for the other and Cindi Madsen made them feel more real by giving them that friendship. Both of them, and even the secondary characters, felt familiar to me and I enjoyed reading a book that was so easy to picture in my head.

If you're looking for a fresh new read with less angst and more loving, Until We're More is at the top of my suggestion list. It's the sort of book you escape into for a bit and come out of the other side smiling, refreshed, no aching heart pains here. Until We're More is a standalone in the Fighting For Her series and after falling for Liam I am going to be going back to read Until You're Mine for sure.

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