Title: Losing It
Series: Ringside Romance: Book Four
Author: Christine d’Abo
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Length: 229 Pages
Category: Contemporary
At a Glance: I’m so glad I read this one. If you’ve been reading the series, I have no doubt that Losing It is a solid addition to the set.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Finn Miller doesn’t do social. He works his IT job from home as often as he can to avoid people. If it weren’t for his weekly training sessions at Ringside Gym, he might never leave his apartment. And he only does that because of Leo, the gym member he’s in love with. When Finn gets talked into attending a speed dating fund-raiser at the gym, his greatest wish is to have the courage to try to say something—anything—to Leo.
Justin McCormick has spent most of his adult life being used, whether playing a corporate heavy, or acting as guard dog for his ward. So when he leaves Vancouver for a fresh start in Toronto, he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself.
The moment Justin sees Finn at a speed dating event, he knows there’s no way he’ll make it without a little help, so he offers to coach Finn on the art of conversation. What he doesn’t count on is his unexpected attraction to this shy boxer, or his fear that if Finn gets his way, Justin might lose out on his best chance at love.
Review: Losing It is the fourth book in Christine d’Abo’s Ringside Romance series, but it was the first in the series that I’ve read. I grabbed it because I liked the sound of the premise—I have a thing for geeks. What can I say?—and I assumed it would work as a standalone, which, for the most part, it does. For the first couple of chapters I was definitely feeling like I would have been enjoying it on another level if I had read the previous books; I would have known who all the other Ringside guys were, and it would have undoubtedly added to the reading experience. But, once I got into the story, it stood just fine on its own and I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.
Justin is looking for a fresh start, a way to sort of remake himself and break free of his old reputation and previous employer, so he leaves Vancouver and heads to Toronto. There is at least one huge piece of his old life in Toronto, though, and that’s Grady, the son of Justin’s former boss. Justin looks Grady up at Ringside, the boxing gym he helps run, and lucks into a place to live and a temporary job. I liked Justin’s character a lot. He’s calculating and reserved and definitely knows what he wants, but underneath that no-nonsense exterior is a gooey center. And, I loved his relationship with Grady. There’s a lot of history there that shines through even if you haven’t read Faking It, the second book in the series, where Justin is introduced. The author does a great job of cementing their bond in this book.
One of the people Justin meets at Ringside is Finn Miller. Finn is doing MMA training under Eli, one of the gym’s owners, and catches Justin’s attention on his first day at the club. Finn also notices Justin and finds him attractive, but Finn is stupidly lusting after Leo, a Ringside regular. I stay stupidly, because Leo is a jerk. I just gotta come right out and say it. He was cocky and smarmy, and I couldn’t stand him from the word go. Finn doesn’t see it at first, though, so he keeps right on thinking that Leo is this great catch who he’d be so lucky to date, when it’s quite honestly the other way around. But, Finn is so painfully shy and socially awkward that he needs to enlist Justin’s help in order to have a shot at a successful date with Leo.
The love story in the book is very sweet. And though the timeline has things progressing very quickly, the story doesn’t veer off into problematic territory. The relationship develops at a nice pace, and Justin and Finn share a mutual respect and admiration that grows into a solid friendship, and then more. By the time they start to acknowledge what’s really going on between them, I was fully on board and rooting for them all the way. And, they were very sexy together! I liked them together a lot; they were good for each other, and it made me smile. 😊
I’m so glad I read this one. If you’ve been reading the series, I have no doubt that Losing It is a solid addition to the set. I’ll be making it a point to go back and read the rest of the books for sure! And, if you need a nerdy but super cute IT guy, and a sexy, confident, slightly older man in your life, then I think you’ll enjoy Finn and Justin’s story all on its own.
You can buy Losing It here:
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