Take Down: Open Wounds Book 2, Michelle Frost

Both Harbor and Theo have lived for the fight.  Sweat, blood, fear...none of that is going to hold them back from taking the title; but maybe love will.  More than possibly facing one another in the cage, they'll have to fight through their own personal setbacks and reservations to win the future they want most.

There was so much maturity and heart from the Bad A viking that has been all caged predator, lethal intent, and fire up to this point.  His loyalty to family is stellar but when we get to see the sweeter, lighter, tender side of him as his feelings for Theo grow, it's truly stunning.  The soft feels were honestly perfection.  They contrasted perfectly with the hard-edged fighter we've come to know thus far.  Theo was wonderful, but it was Harbor that stole the show and my heart in this story.

Theo was a good match for Harbor but I felt that there was something different about him in terms of character depth.  While Harbor dug deep, Theo was a little on the just-beneath-the-surface side.  He had no less of a complicated past that held him back in some things but I wasn't as drawn in.  His fun and playful side was ideal to bring out those same things in Harbor though.

I actually expected more drama but it was the reactions to the drama that had me pleasantly surprised.  Between Harbor's reaction to the drama created by Theo's past coming out to threaten his future to the outcome of their title match, everything was resolved nicely.  And I mean nicely, like the fight organizers were nice about the situation, Theo and Harbor were nice to one another, other fighters were nice and said nice things...just so much nice that I felt conflicted.  I truly appreciated the nice reactions, those were great.  But I also felt that it packed less punch...literally and figuratively.

Speaking of literal punches, I really wish that the "most electrifying fight" was given page time.  So much build-up and then it was overlooked in favor of getting to the happy ending.  What bothers me the most was how Harbor's "take down" had gone.  It was a predictable outcome that felt like a cop out and not really true to the characters' abilities.  Add that to not getting to "witness" the fight at all and I'm very unsatisfied.  Also, I wished that Harbor's end of the bet was given freely instead of as fulfilling the terms.  Oh, and that that scene should have been added...it would have been really hot I bet, but we didn't get to see it at all.

The drama with the other couples is ramping up like crazy and while I don't know who will get their story next, it doesn't actually matter because I'll be reading each and every story in this series.  When you combine hot, tattooed, fierce, loyal, brooding fighters and the men that challenge, support, and love them with cage fights, drama, and seriously hot intimate couplings in the way Michelle Frost does, you've got a fan for life in me.

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