REVIEW: Fighting Fate by J.B. Salsbury

Shel: Here's a basic run down of my texts to Court and my thought process as I was reading this novel:

• OH.MY.GOD.
• My heart is racing.
• THE ANGGGGGGSSSST.
• Ugh, they're so stubborn.
• GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD AND TALK TO EACH OTHER.
• *dies*
• Quit assuming. 
• *jfc*
• THEIR LOVE.
•  *swoon*

Shel: From page one I was completely engaged in their story; I was curious, frustrated, happy, mad, sad, and by the end: ecstatic. We'd been 'watching' Killian and Axelle grow up in the pages of these fighting novels and couldn't wait to see how it would all go down; it seemed inevitable, right? They were meant to be together, right? I thought so too. If only it could be that easy....between both of them being uncertain about the other's feelings, withholding important communication, and jumping to conclusions there was nothing easy about these two trying to have their HEA. I was flying through their pages cursing them and loving them and wondering how in the heck Salsbury was going to get them together. I loved how she wrote Kill--he was just such an incredibly good guy that even when he was acting a little douchey, it was the least douchey thing I could imagine. His absolute adoration, loyalty, respect, and love for Ax was so sweet and swoony. And while it surprised me at how long it took me to like Ax (her choices and her insecurity were infuriating sometimes!), I ended up having so much respect for what she was *trying* to do and how strong she ended up. I appreciated her growth by the end of the novel. Seeing them running from and to each other and knowing that somehow it'd work itself out the way it was supposed to made for an exciting read. Court: I think it was totally hard while we were reading it, but the way this was coming of age when we expected them to be so "grown" up if you will because we've known them for a while...well................OMG, WHAT SHEL SAID. These two killed me in the best way possible. They're young. They want to be in love. But life gets in the way. And they truly both have found out the hard way that adults (their parents) make hard choices, and they want so much to NOT be like the people who have disappointed them that they make it difficult on each other to get to where they desperately want to be. Their best-friendship too hinders them a bit, as they neither one think they're good enough for the other. Boy, how our mind can spoil the best of things right...just by our assumptions!!! It made me crazy, and Ax especially had some growing up to do. This really brought me back into the series in an amazing way and I loved it a ton!

Shel: As with all of the novels in this series, we caught glimpses of the other fighters in this fighting 'family' and it was fun to see what they were up to. They all made an appearance but never overwhelmed the plot; they helped flesh out the story of Ax and Kill and added interesting commentary and observations without taking us away from our focus. I know that we're nearing the end of this series and so I'm hanging on to each of these fighters as tightly and as long as I can. Court: AMEN! Shelley introduced me to this series right after the first one came out, and we lurrrved it. I could live in this world forever, and ever...and I love JB Salsbury's unique ability to take strong men and strong women, and make them vulnerable in one of the most better-not-be-vulnerable sports. I really liked the aspect of bringing in a female fighter to this one, so dare-I-say we might get a story about her? Hhhhmmmm! Gimme, gimme! Get this story asap, and check out the others if you haven't read it. Because you need to, stat!

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**BONUS CONTENT: The first two chapters of JB Salsbury's stand alone novel SPLIT included!

Axelle's broken.
I live to hold her together.

Killian McCreery only has two dreams . . .
Fight for the UFL.
And Axelle.

He's watched her give her time and her body to men who don't deserve to breathe her air. He's waited, worked hard to become the kind of man she deserves, hoping one day, when the time is right, he'd get the opportunity to make her happy. After a painful anniversary, he finally gets his chance.

But life has a way of sucker-punching its victims--striking when they least expect it in the most devastating ways.

Killian loves me.
But I screwed up. Big time.

Axelle Daniels appears to be the typical college student--parties, hangovers, and men. No one knows that inside she's a mess, and no amount of booze or meaningless relationships have managed to fill the cracks in her heart. But Killian knows. He's been there since the night it all began and has never left her side.

When she wakes up one morning to find the consequences of her actions have caught up to her, even Killian's white-knighthood can't save her now.

Fate is put to the test when, for the first time in their five-year friendship, they no longer have each other to lean on. When he becomes a UFL superstar, she hardly recognizes the man he used to be. And she no longer needs him to hold her together.

With the foundation of their friendship gone, they'll discover that even a love that is meant to be needs to be fought for and destiny is a choice.