The tale of a ballerina and an MMA fighter

Knock Out - Michele Mannon

Opening Line: "Yo, it's the fuckin' ballerina."

 

This was okay, not great but it had its moments (a great cover) and I was intrigued by the prospect of a sexy MMA hero and a ballerina getting together, opposites attract and all that. I also didn’t know enough about either profession to be able to pick them apart for realisms sake so I was able to just go with it. (Apparently there's a fair bit of inaccurate information here)

Logan Rettino had been prima ballerina in her former life. When her ex-boyfriend misses a lift and drops her on live TV, she’s left injured and without a career. To make ends meet and with the dreams of opening her own dance studio Logan’s now been reduced to circling the eight sided octagon as a ring card girl, working the crowds into frenzy in sexy little outfits before the bouts begin. Hey a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

Keane O’Shea is a former marine and absolutely unstoppable in the ring. Filled with a silent, persistent rage, some serious PTSD and an F.U attitude about life in general he’s inexplicitly drawn to the alluring ex-ballerina.

Both of these characters are intriguing to me and I usually love me a good tortured hero but there was just something off here. I guess it started with the names; Keane and Logan. Both sound male so I often got confused as to whose head I was meant to be in. Logan (h) while fun to begin with quickly got annoying with her “leaping leotards” and silly quips -enough already. And Keane, well I just never warmed up to him; he started out as your typical grumpy, alpha jerk with issues but didn’t ever really seem to redeem himself enough to warrant “getting the girl”. I guess ultimately I never felt the love.

I also had issues with the premise, it was just silly –again I just had to go with it. Logan makes a deal with her boss and the only way she can keep her job is if she gets Keane to keep fighting and winning. If he loses she’s out. It didn’t really make any sense especially since he was done with fighting. I never understood his motivation for coming back into the octagon? And then they’re training together…seriously.

I did enjoy the MMA quotes rules/regulations/meanings at the beginning of each chapter. What a “cornerman” does what a “stalemate” is, “fight camp” etc. Very informative and helped put me better into the world.

**Thanks to NetGalley and Carina Press, who provided a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. **