History brought them together. Circumstances may keep them apart.
Alyson Blake’s past left her with scars. Scars that she tried to fix the only way she knew how—by helping others. But actions have consequences, and Alyson is about to find out that being naïve is no excuse.
Fighting is Jamison Weston’s passion. Alyson is his obsession. Despite the past and a few lingering concerns, their relationship is as solid as ever. Until a shocking lie is uncovered and all of his plans begin to unravel. Now, Jami is rushing to pick up the pieces, but as relationships are put to the test, will he be strong enough to keep it together, or will it all just fall apart?
Professional Reviews
*4 Deliciously Wicked Stars* Jami can "JUDGE" me and carry out my punishment any day ;)
Well its no secret that I’m a girl that knows what she likes. I’m a pretty open book (pun intended) and I like my book boyfriends to be tough, badass, brooding, sexy boys that have a hell of a lot of alpha in them. This series by J.C. Valentine about MMA fighters delivers not only wild punches, but a wild and deliciously sexy ride that will leave you thrilled and throbbing all the way to the last word.
We first meet Ally Blake and Jami “The Judge” Weston in Knockout, the first book in this series. Both come from troubled homes and during their childhood, they had to learn to lean on each other. Jami was always Ally’s light at the end of the tunnel - the one she ran to when her home situation threatened to swallow her. After years of being separated, they reunite and before long they are inseparable. Book two picks up right where the first ended off - we the reader are thrust right into the middle of an action packed plot.
Ally and Jami each come with their own set of insecurities and doubts. This definitely is the 3rd main character in the book - doubt is always there, tapping them on the shoulder, peeking over the tabletops at them and at times standing up and shouting its presence for the world to hear. They face obstacle after obstacle as they fumble their way through making a relationship work.
What I loved about this book was the fight that Jami has not only in the ring, but out of the ring as well. He is fiercely protective of Ally, and although he doesn’t admit it - he loves her with everything he has. Ally is a true kind soul, she survived a life of living hell and rose above it - devoting herself to helping other in violent situations. She gives 100% of herself and I love that in a female character. When the two finally let their hearts do the fighting, the passion explodes out of this book. I loved every second of their connection.
It wouldn’t have been an exciting read without some drama to keep things interesting. The threat of Tony Michaels looms like a thick black fog, threatening to bring everything they’ve built crashing down on them. The anticipation and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, biting my nails and wondering what the outcome would be. When disaster and tragedy do strike, its a complete surprise where it comes from! Hats off to J.C. - a twist I sure didn’t see coming.
This book was well rounded with humor, suspense, sexy dirty MMA fighters (cmon who doesn’t love that??) and romance. One of my fave series so far this year - that Jami, he can judge me and carry out my punishment any day ;)
5 stars = I freaking LOVED this book
Tapout picks up shortly after the end of Knockout and despite her dislike of the fights, Ally is doing her best to support her man as Jami pursues his championship dreams. While things appear to be going well for the couple, fate – or should I say Tony and Spence – have different plans for them. Readers of Knockout won’t be surprised to learn that Tony is a vindictive man, but they may be surprised by the level to which he takes it – I know I was. Tony’s quest for vengeance and its fallout left me devastated, so I can say that I was quite relieved that Ms. Valentine didn’t leave me dangling off a cliff as she so easily could have done.
Again, I enjoyed the chemistry between Jami and Ally and loved the relationship development that took place in Tapout, even the heartbreaking moments. That Ally’s character seemed to grow more in this book and within her relationship with Jami was made evident in her increased confidence. There were several times where her snarky comments caused me to laugh out loud. At the same time, Jami came to realize the extent of his feelings for Ally and had to deal with that. As with Knockout, the sex scenes in Tapout were HOT. Because this was a continuation of their story, such scenes occurred early in the book and often.
Tapout is a great resolution to Ally and Jami’s story that began in Knockout. I say resolution rather than conclusion because I hope that Ms. Valentine continues the Wayward Fighters series and we continue to get glimpses in their lives. After all, Jami’s gym, Knockout, is the perfect setting for future installments and I would love to be able to spend more time with the Knockout family. Knockout and Tapout have made it on my re-read list.
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers!
thoughts on tapout
I thought I loved Jami in Knockout but here in Tapout I found a book boyfriend to swoon over and just want to hug and love for his fierce loyalty and how he loves with his whole being.
this picks up where Knockout left off and ally and Jami are totally swoony for each other. Jami keeps his departure to Nevada from her until the last minute and she goes a wee bit off the rails but I must say compared to her omissions that was nothing. He just didn't want to upset her and every time he tried to tell her it wasn't right. So we have her a little upset at the beginning and in trouble professionally. She also doesn't like Spencer who has changed and is having issues. Those issues I wasn't expecting but how Jami and Don dealt with them and their loyalty to Spencer was heartwarming. Until Spencer pushed to far and his addiction took over and took away something from Jami that he loved. No not Ally. This did send Spencer into rehab and we saw that the culprit behind all the evil in the book was none other than a client of Ally's husband. That's all I will say there.
Jami and Ally's relationship is tested in this book. Ally begins to question if love is enough because to her it seems they always fight. She loses sight of who Jami is. Don't worry Jami turns that around awfully fast. What I loved was the end with Don oh don so glad you accepted all that Jami and Ally have. Don played a role in this book as well for he caused stress for Jami and it has him finally snap. This does make Don reassess and have him and Ally call a truce in the end. His gesture with the ring so amazing and beautiful.
Another wonderful book that will have you root for the couple to make it by JC Valentine who surely knows how to write about love and loyalty. I hope we see some books in this series on Spencer, Olivia and Don as well.
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