(R) Fighting Love by Abby Niles

Tommy "Lightning" Sparks has lost his MMA title and his career.  When Tommy loses his home in a fire, Julie lets him move in with her until he's back on his feet.  The only problem is that she's in love with him and he has no idea.  When Tommy finally starts to see Julie as someone other than the "little sister" he spent most of his life protecting and caring about, he fights his urges.  But then Julie starts to date a fellow fighter, Tommy realizes that he wants her only for himself.  And Julie is thrilled!  But when Tommy starts fighting in a cage again, their relationship suffers.  Julie is scared that the old Tommy - the one who ignored her and cast her aside - is returning.  Can their relationship survive Tommy's biggest fight of his life?

I want to say that LOVE this book!  Honestly, one of the best books I have read the entire year.  I think Ms. Niles wrote these characters beautifully.  You really feel like you're inside these character's brains.  You really understand why Tommy wants to keep Julie at arm's length.  And you understand why Julie loves him so very much.  You can feel the long life behind these two friends and just how much they mean to each other.  I've never rooted for a couple more than I have these two.  As you read and watch the love grow between these Julie and Tommy, you really do just want to stand up and cheer when they finally get together and have a relationship.

When their relationship hits the inevitable wall, even though you are rooting for them, you completely get why Julie feels the way she does.  But you're cheering nonetheless.  And when Tommy offers to give up the big fight for Julie, it just makes you SWOON!  Just to see the love between these two... oh my goodness.  When you reach the end of the book and you see these two have their HEA, you don't know whether or cry tears of joy or shout to the rooftops over their happiness.

This book was a HUGE surprise for me.  I was not expecting to love it as much as I did.  Most romance novels seem like they are just following a form and injecting different character names.  This book was a breath of fresh air in the romance category - this book will certainly be reread time and time again.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.