Customer Reviews

Below The Belt (Harlequin Blaze)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

4.5 stars. I was absolutely blown away on the character development alone. This is a rock solid story with great pacing and with characters that literally leap off the page. Nothing feels formulaic...other than you KNOW there will be a happy ending. My only complaint was the actual sex scenes were pretty tame. The sexual tension leading up to them were spot on but when you got the handful sex scenes they was sort of generic-vanilla. They could have been taken from any of the other HQ lines...they didn't sizzle or turn up a notch from the other lines....which again is what I'm looking for on a Blaze line...BUT this is still a darn good book. Story-wise it's probably one of the best one on the line. Bravo Ms. Mayberry.

...or maybe to your local boxing ring. Below the Belt is another Mayberry classic and definitely a re-read for me. Jamie is the quintessential blood-thirsty boxer, putting everything at stake to get the title. Cooper is the retired boxer/sexy personal trainer/coach you wish was at your gym. The two spar like champs, but it's laced with sexual undertones and longing. Ms. Mayberry sure knows how to bottle and sell sexual tension and I eagerly await, credit card in hand for her next batch.

I really can't say anything bad about this book, except maybe it could have been longer. It isn't a quickie by any means, but if she'd kept writing, I would've gladly kept reading.

Number of Sex-Related Scenes: 5+
Language: Moderate/Erotic
Heat Factor Between Main Characters: HOT
Overall Rating: 5/5

Jamie Sawyer wanted to erase the shame that her father had brought upon their family name, and to do that, she wanted to train under the best boxing trainer: Cooper Fitzgerald. However, Cooper wasn't in the market for women boxers and he wouldn't take her on. She had proved to him that she got talent and power. But most of all, he was drawn to her because of something else that sizzled between them...

Jamie is strong, determined and stubborn, and she needs a man like Cooper to handle her. Cooper knows his stuff and he also knows when to pick his battles, especially against a stubborn woman like Jamie. I love watching their interaction--it's fascinating and the chemistry fairly sizzled between them. Ms. Mayberry certainly knew how to write and depict the sexual tension between the characters and there were lots of it. Needless to say, their sex scenes, when they happened, were hot. Scorching. Needs ice.

I also love the characters' internal monologue, which was interspersed with humor. For example, when Cooper found himself inappropriately sporting a hard-on: Maybe if he got a really good muscle burn going (he was doing some tricep pushdowns), he could stop behaving like a life support system for a hard-on.

As boxing is a fairly unfamiliar sport to me, I also love reading about it. No info bashing, for which I'm very thankful. I still cannot understand why people would be fascinated by it (my brother is, for example), but I can appreciate that as boxers, the characters had the drive and the passion for it. You can tell that they really love the sport.

I like the way the stakes were upped for Jamie each step of the way. I like that she's smart and determined and she knows what she wants (I believe I've said that some paragraphs ago), however, there was one part where she behaves irrationally (for me) and which some readers might say is TSTL. In fact, I don't quite understand still why she did it, and the explanation offered by Cooper later on didn't quite cut it for me. Basically, Jamie took on a fight with someone who is way more experienced than she, the fight offer made by a publicist who was banking on her famous name (due to her father) to draw the crowds (and which made Cooper thought the fight would become a media circus). She also didn't want to listen to Cooper or her grandfather or her friend, who made reasonable suggestions. If it weren't for Cooper coming through for her at the end, she would've lost that fight. I don't just believe that, but I know that.

I realized why Ms. Mayberry had that publicist made the fight offer, which in my opinion is realistic. She had to move the story forward to its conclusion. I just don't quite agree with Jamie's decision. Yes, I know she's set her heart on being the title champion and redeeming their name, but I thought she's also more sensible than her actions made her seem.

Despite that, this is a good read, if you're looking for a category romance.

Sometimes I pick up these Blaze books just because I know it will be a quick read and the loves scenes are usually pretty good. To me they're not usually the greatest books written in the world and they're just too thin to get into any good character development. However, this book was pretty darned good. It was nice to read about a different subject such as boxing and a good twist that it was both the hero and the heroine involved and not just the man. I was surprised by how much I liked it. If you're going to pick up one of these blaze books I would highly recommend this one.

Cooper 'the fist' Fitzgerald is scouting for boxing talent. The former heavy-weight-champion-turned-trainer recently opened his own gym and is looking to snag a big name to attract more members. During one of his forays he meets Jamie, a female boxer. She's got no trainer and wants Cooper to take on the job. He makes some chauvinist comments about how women shouldn't be boxers and declines her request. Livid, Jamie sets out to prove him wrong. She's going to keep her promise to her grandfather and make Cooper eat his words.

Very good Blaze. A highly enjoyable & unique plot with well drawn characters who sizzle with sexual tension. I particularly liked the subject of boxing, which I've never read before in a romance. Mayberry portrayed it very realistically (holding no punches -literally). The reader gets to read about behind the scenes boxing including the mental preparation of the fighter. That was interesting. To read something other than the routine and mundane subject of millionaire businessmen which seem so prevalent in Blaze.

It goes almost without saying that this book is a knockout on the steamy meter. Cooper is gorgeous and ripped and Jamie is a very muscular women. Surprisingly I didn't mind her manliness. Mayberry writes well and it shows. Her book Anything For You (Harlequin Blaze)
(about best-friends-turned-lovers) is one of my keepers. I recommend Below The Belt as well.

My only quibble -I may not be a boxing expert but I don't think that fighters after a bout (all bloody and bruised) would be in the mood for anything else other than rest and relaxation. But who knows? Maybe they are on endorphin overload. ;)