Knockout

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Happy November. I hope that everyone is staying warm and getting ready for the holiday season. This week, I have a short and sweet boxing romance called "Knockout" by Ashley Zakrzewski for you. Before we dive in, let's start with the trigger warnings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Trigger warnings:

Mental health

Talk of military/war/death

Fighting/boxing

Sexual content

"Knockout" has hints of the darker parts of mental health with military service by touching on themes of PTSD, survivors' guilt, and struggling to reconcile the past and the present. Though these darker parts are important, they aren't delved into too deeply and serve more to show character growth with AJ, the main male character. The story still focuses more on the romance and AJ's boxing career.

AJ and Alyssa make such a great couple. They are opposites in some ways but alike in others. Alyssa's faith in AJ and her understanding of him is heartwarming. Their relationship has a bit of an enemies to lovers vibe with a little forbidden romance.

I rated this one a four star simply because there is room for improvement. The bones are very good. I'd love to see more character background, description, and more in the transitions, as some parts seem to just skip forward when a scene or a conversation should be happening. AJ's past is hinted at but a bit too vague in my opinion to match up with all of the mentions. This is true for a couple of other elements, as well. Overall, its still an enjoyable read.

Here is my official review.

"Knockout" gives an almost enemies to lovers vibe with an element of forbidden love. When a workaholic PR agent meets a former marine making a boxing comeback sparks fly in the best way. There is an appropriate amount of tension and a little bit of spice. AJ and Alyssa make a good couple, and it is a feel good love story with a touch on some darker mental health topics. It could use more character development, more details, and more transitions, as several scenes just cut off and time skips. Overall, it is an enjoyable boxing themed romance.

If you'd like to hop into the ring with AJ and Alyssa, you can get "Knockout" here: https://a.co/d/e3n9AFk

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. Please join me again next week for another wonderful recommendation. Until then, curl up with a good book.