tugs right at the heart ❤️

Jacks and Rowan: TRIGGERS: child abandonment and abuse, assault and cheating. This book is essentially about family and the love that comes with them. What shouldn't and should not be expected abs when to let go and do what's best for you. Automatical, I love Jacks. He becomes the king of man everyone drama of. Though he has his own dark past as well, he manages to help Rowan see that she's worthy off love. Rowan has a lot of scars that take a lot of smoothing out for her to accept love. Such a good story.

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“In my experience, no one ever does something without wanting something in return.”

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎
Character development: ☹️🙃☺️🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Rowan - Rowan grew up with her twin brother, Tyson in the home of her abusive single mother who constantly berated them, especially Rowan. Their mother was left by their father when he found out she was pregnant and she blamed the kids. She constantly told Rowan that she, like all the women in their family, was unworthy of love and no man would ever stay with her. Rowan and Tyson were determined to leave the day they turned eighteen.

The Hero: Jax - He grew up with his father and grandfather. His father was always angry and never happy. His grandfather owned a gym where Jax and his friends trained for MMA fighting and when he died, he left the Gym to Jax. Jax kept his father on at the gym because of his connections, and he was the one that scheduled all the MMA fights for the fighters at the gym. Though he always berated Jax and sponsored one of his friends instead of Jax. He always scheduled Jax against the toughest fighters, while he scheduled the other guy against fighters he could easily win.

The Story: Rowan and Tyson were able to leave their mothers home in California. They moved to the Phoenix area and live together in an apartment. Rowan had a boyfriend Jason who she thought would stick by her when she was pregnant, but when the day came for her to have the baby, he drives her to the hospital and takes off, not answering her phone calls after that.

Jax is in the hospital at the same time, for some stitches on a cut he got while sparring with a friend. He ends up helping Rowan out and they become friends. Though both of them have issues they are dealing with and both come from terrible backgrounds. Jax has been romantically interested in Rowan since he first saw her.

This book is told in dual points of view via dual narration. It was narrated by George Wickham and Angela Moore. George is a good narrator and puts a lot of feeling into his voice, but I would like a deeper voice for a muscular MMA fighter. Angela’s voice matches Rowan perfectly. She is soft spoken with a very feminine voice and she embodies the girl with low self esteem to a T.

I liked the fact that Jax had his own issues with his Dad, but he was able to talk openly about them and he draws Rowan out slowly by getting her to talk about her mother and the things she would shout at Rowan and how she struggles with that. Jax is also so great with Rowan’s daughter Lily. It is always good to see a man who isn’t afraid to change a diaper or take the kid even when the mother is around.

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BLOOD DOESN'T MAKE A FAMILY.. LOVE DOES

Firstly, from the cover I thought this was going to be the typical dirty talking rough Alpha MMA Fighter.... but I was totally wrong because Jax is an absolute sweetie. Yes, he's the Owner of a Gym that trains MMA Fighters (himself included) but he doesn't have the vibe about him at all. In fact he first meets Rowan in the ER after she's been left alone by her scumbag of a boyfriend and is in labor and, as soon as Jax sees the beautiful heavily pregnant Rowan everything clicks, whirs and drops into place for him and he knows, right then and there, that he's going to move heaven and earth to be in this strong woman's life.

But of course Rowan is too busy screaming, panting and clutching at this stranger's hand to fully appreciate her handsome savior.... he's there, he's kind and he knows her Brother Tyler (who's doing a short time in Prison) and that's good enough for her. So softie Jax ends up in the delivery room too reassuring and trying to soothe Rowan... all while his hand is being crushed. The storyline then tries to capture the care and concern Jax has for both Rowan and her baby - but Rowan, who has had a terrible childhood, is haunted with vicious words once said and suffers P.P. depression too so rejects Jax's offer of friendship. But Rowan's unaware that for three months they've had her savior watching out for them both until it's time for patient Jax to slowly up his game, reintroduce himself and claim his family..... that is until the scumbag returns.

It's a sweet and touching story of instant attraction but the build-up is slower, there's a bit of angst, some sex, humor, plenty of character development and lots of interesting secondary MMA Fighters whose fun personalities and witty banter are all well described. Jax also hasn't had an easy childhood and his train wreck of a Father causes a few arguments and there's a dislikeable MMA groupie doing the rounds with anyone interested. Dual POV's and the narration was good.

Worth a credit? Yes, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting but it was still very enjoyable because all the main characters were so likeable.... especially the thoughtful, loving, possessive, supportive and generous Superhero Jax. As well as a nicely paced sweet love story I think this, book 1, lays the foundation to the whole Deadly Sins series and introduces you to all the MMA Fighters who are a close band of friends so you're already aware of their personalities when it's time for their, or one of the other charachter's, love stories.

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11 people found this helpful

Male Narrator is terrible.

He read this as if Christopher Walken gave him pointers.....his hesitation and emphasis were at the wrong point in the sentence. He has this almost Feminine tone to his voice and he read Waaaaaay to fast. Like he was on Crack. The male lead of this book is a MMA God in this book, I found it insulting the voice that was given to him. I've trie to reread it...see if I was to harsh......Nope I can't listen to that whinny whimsy male voice that read without any forethought
I did enjoy the female narrator, a little whinny but much better then the Dude.
The story is sweet and heartwarming.
Don't Do the addible book!
~Angi

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very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

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An Emotional Alternative

What did you like best about this story?

These characters are grappling with love, and they know it from the get-go. The story is much more romantic than I expected, but with plenty of action from the MMA fights.

What does George Wickham and Angela Moore bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration did a good job of letting the reader connect with the mindset of these conflicted characters. You know how they're feeling, even when the book is not describing it. Also, the dual narration is nice. Angela Moore does an outstanding job with her character.

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1 person found this helpful

Sweet, like a Hallmark movie (unfortunately)

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was not right, in my opinion. Both voices sounded so sweet, I wanted something more sexy than cute.

Was Fighting Envy worth the listening time?

Eh.

Any additional comments?

The way the cover picture looks and name and styling of the book title suggests passion, competition, and edge, but aside from conflict in the beginning, which was written well, it's about two people who get along right away, enter a smooth relationship right away, and spend some time in a gym. Really not as exciting as I was anticipating.

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2 people found this helpful

So slow...

I really have this audiobook a chance, but it just seemed to move so slowly. The story was an interesting concept that just felt disjointed at times. I had a hard time connecting with the heroine, especially when she just sat there for hours. Then she let her ex boyfriend near her again! Just wasn't my cup of tea, sorry!

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Love this story!!

Reality sucks but, we make the most of what we are given. I love the dual points of view and really pleased with the narrator's. The story has a HEA and a fitting one too. Rowe & Jax makes the best relationship.

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It's a good story

It was entertaining and easy to listen to. The characters had trauma but were trying to communicate and resolve their issues, I'm surprised they were really mature and well-behaved.

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