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Winning Love by Abby Niles
Mac “The Snake” Hannon has spent years throwing himself into cage fighting as a way to lash back at the natural disaster that destroyed his future. A call for help has Mac returning to the one place he swore never to return: Kansas—in the height of tornado season.
There he meets free-spirited Gayle Matthews. At first he wants nothing to do with the infuriatingly persistent woman, but the crazy challenges she tosses his way are impossible to resist. As she thaws years of bitterness, bringing back the Mac he believed long gone, he starts to make peace with the past and see the future again. Until he learns she chases his worst nightmare—then he can’t get away fast enough.
Meteorologist and storm chaser, Gayle Matthews is no stranger to being left behind and now believes in living in the moment. She wants to do just that with the handsome extreme fighter with the achingly sad eyes. As she works to replace the sorrow with desire, she finds herself breaking her one rule: have fun but don’t fall in love. When he suddenly pushes her away and she discovers the horrifying reason why, she issues one more challenge: face his fear and come on a chase with her.
Will squaring off with the past lead to a victory for heartache or love?
Anonymous
Posted Fri Oct 03 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Well written but couldn't find the love for the characters. Gayla seemed childish and not a good fit for Mac
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Sun Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Liked the main characters and story
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Wed Sep 17 00:00:00 EDT 2014
This was a well written book, with a sexy fighter and a likeable heroine...love the series.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted Mon Sep 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014
Good story.. Gayle seemed a bit immature at times, more so in the beginning, but it picked up well with an overall good read.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Wow – what an intense read. I really enjoyed Mac and Gayle’s story and just loved watching Gayle help Mac begin to heal from the losses he has suffered. I just love a damaged hero, and when you throw in a heroine that is every bit as damaged as the hero but has chosen an entirely different path to help cope with her losses, you have a recipe for some fun interactions, lots of playful banter, and some serious emotional outbursts that go straight to your heart.
It was so much fun watching Gayle’s antics throughout the book. From her constant challenges to Mac that she used as a way to get him to do things he normally wouldn't do – like play Twister or attend a Zumba class – to her ability to know just when to push and when to pull back as she navigates the battlefield that is Mac’s heart, Gayle constantly had me laughing and admiring her ability to give Mac just what he needed, just when he needed it. Mac could be so infuriating at times, but once he finally gives in and acknowledges his attraction to Gayle and commits to taking things further with her, you could see just what a sweet, caring man he was.
In my opinion, Ms. Niles does a wonderful job describing the tornado activity in the book, and was able to communicate the emotional trauma that can happen when something like a tornado rips your whole world away from you– whether you are there to witness it first hand, or have to carry on and survive when everyone you love has been taken from you. Having never gone through anything like this, for me it really worked, and it just reinforced the fact that there are so many things that we don’t control – Mother Nature being one of them.
I haven’t read the previous two books in this series, but didn't feel that I needed to in order to enjoy this one. I really hope we get to see Mac’s friend Lance get his HEA in an upcoming book – he so deserves it!
If you are looking for an intense read that will take you for an emotional ride, this one is it!
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.
A thrilling, emotional romance, Winning Love was a wonderful read. I really liked this book. From the dark pasts of the characters, to the danger of the tornadoes, there was never a dull moment with this book and I enjoyed it.
Gayle and Mac were both great. Gayle was strong and determined to live life to the fullest. But, after being burned by love more than once, she kept a part of herself hidden from her vivacious lifestyle. Mac, on the other hand, was up front about the walls he constructed for himself. And, it was a formidable one. But, beyond it, he was a sweet and intensely loyal man who felt everything deeply. When he loved, he loved all the way. I thought they were both excellent characters.
The romance was wonderful. I liked how they both helped each other move on, not by trying to change each other, but by each accepting the other entirely. And, they definitely had a lot of steamy chemistry. I thought they were a lovely couple.
The plot was well paced and I was kept interested the entire way through. The deep emotions and threat of danger from the tornadoes kept the story engaging. I enjoyed the story and the ending was perfect.
Winning Love was a wonderful contemporary romance that I really enjoyed reading. Romance lovers, this is a book worth checking out.
*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Anonymous
Posted Wed Sep 03 00:00:00 EDT 2014
I really enjoyed the first 2 books in this series but just didn't care for this one and I live in Kansas have never been in a tornado but have seen the aftermath first hand. I liked Mac but didn't like Gayle. She seemed too cocky for someone like him. I guess you cant expect to love all the characters..
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Winning Love is the third book in author Abby Niles’ Love to the Extreme series and the first in the series I have read. I’m a little sad I hadn’t picked up this series earlier because this book was amazing. Like read in a day, can’t put it down, ignore all responsibilities kind of amazing.
Mac “The Snake” Hannon has been running from his past for four long years. He’s tried to push the nightmare aside and ignore it every time it rears its ugly head. The problem is, you can never truly outrun your past. It always comes back to haunt you. Never before has that been more true than right now when he returns to the very place that holds those nightmarish memories. Kansas. Where his hopes and dreams were crushed when a tornado came through and took it all away from him. The only reason he was back was because his old friend needed him and he would never leave his friend hanging. Hopefully he could be distracted enough while he was here to ignore the ever-present pain of his broken past. Enter Gayle. The feisty, fun, entertaining and beautiful neighbor. She could certainly be a great distraction for Mac while he was here. But he didn’t do relationships of any kind. Not anymore. He just needed to look to his past to be reminded of why.
Meteorologist and storm chaser, Gayle Andrews sure was intrigued by the handsome man staying with her neighbor…not only because he was built and gorgeous but because he had a permanent scowl that was just begging to be erased. Of course she would happily volunteer to do just that. She has learned the hard way to live life to the fullest, every day, because you never knew when it could be your last. She had a feeling he would be a tough nut to crack but she had plenty of time to work on it. Tornado season hadn’t started yet and even though she watched her neighbor’s, and Mac’s friend’s, daughter from time to time, she still had plenty of calendar to fill. Mac didn’t know it yet, but he’d be that filler, and he’d be doing it without a scowl…come hell or high water.
Together both Mac and Gayle have heartbreaking pasts and have both dealt with crushing loss in their own ways. Mac has tried to hide it, and shove it down inside while Gayle has tried to learn from it and come away stronger. With two very different ways of coping, can they be united in their grief and learn to live and love again?
I am typing this while in a serious book hangover. Man, I loved this book. This wasn’t the typical fighter book in the sense that Mac’s MMA fighting really took a back seat to the rest of the story. Mainly this was a story about healing and overcoming tragedy and it was done so damn well. (I don’t want to give away the reasons behind Mac and Gayle’s loss so bear with me) Mac has been trying, pretty unsuccessfully, to ignore his pain. He left his former career, got into fighting and hasn’t looked back. Which really only lead him in succeeding in letting the old wound fester and never truly heal.
Gayle has been through her own personal hell but has really risen above and turned it into the driving force behind her current work with tornadoes. Two very different ways of coping. Fitting because Gayle and Mac are two very different personalities. You know what they say, though…opposites attract. The attraction is almost immediate and even though Gayle has her work cut out for her, she didn’t give up on Mac. Little by little she worked her magic and it was beautiful to read Mac opening up. However there was that one subject that Mac had to warm up to sharing….his past. It almost proved to be the end of their yet-to-develop relationship. I was a nervous wreck that Mac would never be able to move on. But he had never had Gayle by his side, willing to help him, supporting him along the way. I went through so many emotions while reading this book. My heart broke for Mac. I wanted him to have his happy ever after and I wanted it to be with Gayle. Luckily Abby wrote one hell of a fantastic ending and it made all my angsting over the two of them worth it!
Also, another great aspect of this story was Abby’s writing on the storm chasing scenes. Whoa, they were intense and played out like a movie in my mind’s eye while I was reading. Well done, Abby.
Ok…hopefully I haven’t bored you with this really long review and you get an idea of just how amazing this story was. Full of emotion and intensity with just enough heat added in, Winning Love made it to my list of faves for this year. Thank you, Abby, for a phenomenal read.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.IreneC
Posted Fri Aug 29 00:00:00 EDT 2014
4 solid stars
Winning love was such a good read, I couldn't put it down!
Mac "The Snake" Hannon, MMA fighter, was still fighting demons from a tragedy in Kansas that destroyed his life four years ago. Lance, a childhood friend, needs Mac to help him train for a fight. Because Lance once saved Mac's life, he agrees, reluctantly.
Gayle Matthews is Lance's neighbor, she's sassy, has no-filtered, smart mouthed, flirtatious, and sexy as hell just the person Mac doesn't need or want in his life, or so he thinks ;P
Gayle comes across as this carefree and confident girl but what no one knows is that Gayle is fighting her own demons and the front people see is all for show to hide her own pain and insecurities.
The chemistry between Mac and Gayle was fabulous. Both hurt and grieving from the past find comfort in one another. I loved seeing them open up and bring down their walls.
This was a passionate and emotional read, it had it all. I laughed at their antics and the way that neither one could back away from a challenge. Still smiling at some of their dares :D
They were perfect for each other, they knew it as well but could the fear of the future and the unknown be something they could get over?
This book is about second chances and facing ones fears. Its about hope and redemption and what people will do for love. Abby Niles has written an excellent story with lovable and relatable characters that will touch your hearts.
Winning Love is the 3rd book in the Love to the Extreme series, but it absolutely can be read as a standalone. I highly recommend this book and series :)
I was really excited to receive an ARC of Winning Love, because after reading Fighting Love a few months ago I was super eager to read Mac’s book. He was just one of those characters that I knew would have a great story, and let me just tell you Abby didn’t disappoint in the least! In the previous book, we catch a tiny glimpses that Mac was haunted by his past, but what I didn’t anticipate was just how truly damaged he was inside. I honestly couldn’t imagine the type of pain he was dealing with, but I have to say that being paired with Gayle was the perfect combination for them both. They each share a similar past that is affecting their everyday lives in two completely different ways. Mac has closed himself off from getting close to anyone, and has totally closed himself off from his past. Whereas Gayle has decided to live each moment of her life to the fullest, and she tries to help those that she can through her chosen profession. Now although these two have a bit of a rough start, I loved how they couldn’t help but challenge one another and how this led them to finding a common ground. But just when they reach it, they have the rug ripped out from beneath them once again.
Guys, parts of this book were just so achingly sad, and my heart hurt for all that Gayle and Mac have endured. If I were in their shoes, I’d find it hard to choose which one of them took the better route to handling that type of loss. I liked that Abby didn’t shy away from the type of conflict that Gayle’s job would present for Mac, but I also loved that Gayle stood her ground and tried to show him the reasons behind what she does, too. I think that it was handled in a fitting way for both of the characters, and I admired Mac’s ability to face his deepest fears. It was also touching how they each helped one another face down what they feared the most from their pasts. The romance aspect between these two was off the charts good, and you could just feel the intensity of their connection despite all the differences that they had. They really were a wonderful couple, and I was so happy they were able to work everything out in the end. Winning love was a thrilling, and oh so very emotional ride that had me on the edge of my seat too many times to count! I enjoyed every moment of it, and I’m definitely looking forward to where Abby takes this series in the future.
*I received a review copy from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*
Anonymous
Posted Thu Aug 28 00:00:00 EDT 2014
.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Mac "The Snake" Hannon, MMA fighter, was still fighting demons from a tragedy in Kansas that destroyed his life four years ago. Lance, a childhood friend, needs Mac to help him train for a fight. Because Lance once saved Mac's life, he agrees, reluctantly. He wasn't expecting sassy, no-filtered, smart mouthed, flirtatious, and sexy as hell Gayle Matthews. She's Lance's neighbor and just what Mac needs. No one knows that Gayle's fighting her own demons. Will Gayle help Mac heal from the loss of his family by a tornado four years ago or will she push him further away when he finds out exactly what the sexy meteorologist does for a living?
Fabulous story! There were so many "LOL" moments. I loved it! The squirt gun incident at the beginning was my favorite. This book contained so many emotions. There were many laughs, some tears, strong emotions, and forgiveness. There were some pretty scary moments as well. This is the third book in the Love to the Extreme Series and in can absolutely be read as a stand alone. I completely enjoyed the wide array of emotions this book put me through. I can't wait to read whatever's next for this very talented author. (hopefully it will be Lance's story)
Received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Megz_0711
Posted Wed Aug 27 00:00:00 EDT 2014
I absolutely loved every moment of this book. I think the biggest reason why I fell so much in love with it is because of how real it felt. What Mac and Gayle went through and go through is something that could happen to anyone. There wasn't a lot of fluff or "fantasy" that makes you dream of a life like this. It just was. It's been a long time since I've read a book that I felt like, "Hey that could have been me, or someone I know." And that for me made this book ALL the better.
Our story is about Mac and his past demons. He left Kansas to outrun his demons and when an old friend calls him up for help, Mac makes a retrurn trip to a place he swore he would never go back to, Kansas, during Tornado season. A few years back Mac had a wife and a huge F5 went through their home town, trapping him and causing mass destruction. In the path of that storm was Mac's house and we find out that she didn't survive and there was another little shock that happened on that horrible day. So he left. He put all anger and everything into fighting and became great at it. Now he's back to help his friend train for a big upcoming fight.
Gayle is an interesting character. She doesn't take sh*t from anyone and pretty much speaks what's on her mind. She doesn't have a filter. Of course she finds Mac hawt and pretty much does a lot of things to get his interest and to have a friends with benefits relationship because she doesn't do relationships. Honestly she is probably the best thing to walk into Mac's life because outside of fighting the man doesn't live. And she really helps him start to do that.
However, the downfall to Gayle is.....she's a storm chaser. Sorta. She has a few demons in her closet as well and because of those she chose the profession she did. She follows/chases storms to help warn people and studies the weather. Well when Mac finds out about this, it becomes an issue. Will these two be able to move forward? Or will Mac or Gayle be too stubborn to realize what they truly want and move forward in some manner.
This book was an amazingly great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone that likes a nice romance story with fun and laughter and joking and seriousness and sadness and adventure. This book has it all. Abby Niles is an amazing author and this book didn't fall short in any manner.
Anonymous
Posted Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2014
5 Stars!
This is another great book to Abby Niles 'A Love To The Extreme' series. Mac is a man who has love and lost and never wants to go back. He just wants to forget the past, forget Kansas, and fight. Gayle, also has love and lost, living without love but living with the love of life. They both have their pasts that could end them before they can even begin.
After years of being away from Kansas, Mac is asked to come home to help an old friend to fight. When Mac arrives he meets his friends neighbor, Gayle. She is full of energy and makes the best of her life.
Mac wants nothing to with her, but Gayle wants everything to do with him, until their attraction errupts and explodes. But that's when life, their pasts, and serects come out and their realtionship becomes a maybe or maybe not at all.
I recommend this book to anyone who has read a book by Abby Niles or anyone who loves a good romance about two people who have to overcome their fears to accept the love that's there. I loved this book and the ones that have come before it. I think Abby is an amazing writer and I cannot wait for her future novels.
*I recieved an ARC in exchage for an honest review!
notwest1
Posted Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2014
I was curious like most of you were about Mac ‘The Snake’ Hannon since his appearance in Julie & Tommy’ story. His past was so heartbreaking and hit entirely too close to home for this Okie. To have this strong powerful, caring alpha male carry around such real demons and be shut off from connections and happiness tore at my heart. Enter Gayle, who isn’t as carefree and fun loving as we initially believe, she has passion for life, and meteorology. She was so fun and had me smiling many a times at her crazy antics. Her passion for storm chasing was palpable and I was pleased to see her drive painted in the positive manner that I have seen several real chasers embody. She encourages Mac to open up and work through his past issues. Of course we are left with some amazingly hot moments, tear inducing ones, and laugh out loud ones as well. I would still like to see Brody get his own story, and now I am anxiously awaiting Lance’s as well.
This was a complimentary e-copy from the publisher/author via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
A tough MMA cage fighter needs a GAYLE force twister to detonate the shell around his heart!
Mac "The Snake" Hannon is a MMA cage fighter, who lives to beats out all his feelings out on his opponents. Just 4 years old, he was happily married, had his 1st child on the way & loved his job as a Chef at famous foody restaurant. That all changed after a tornado whipped thru town & trapped him at work under a sink looking at a car bumper above his head. As he was resuced, he was surrounded by destruction, dead bodies & totally carnage everywhere. When he saw the debris left of his home, he slowly dug his beautiful & dead pregnant wife out & left his heart buried with her. Now he just a shell of a man with nothing, but the man who pulled him out of the ashes, Lance, begs him to come back home & help him, so he is.
Gayle Matthews is a leap & then look kind of girl who grabs life by the horns & never looks back. She just moved in behind Lance & helps with his little girl, Skylar, as a fill in sitter. Since she is a big kid at heart, she enjoys every moment of it. To look & see Gayle, you couldn't guess she lost her whole family & her high school sweetheart by a tornado. She hides her abandonment issues by hiding it will her carefree & free spirit life.
Mac meets Gayle at the wet end of a water gun & she keeps trying to crack his forged shield with laughter, sexual teasing & she is willing to take him to her bed if she has too! Mac tries so hard not to let her smile, laugh & playfulness knock him back into the land of living, but Gayle starts to chip away his harden shell. They start with pizza making, a sexy PG rated game of Twister (HELLO small girl playing), Zumba hilariousness & sexy, not PG rated, choke hold session to bring slow simmer & then boiling over lust fest between these 2. But on the Mud Run, Mac turns a corner & is ready to take the hellion to any available surface via a home cooked meal from his hands. When they get down & dirty, he worships her body like he is reading braille & she loves his dominating, take charge & hard against the table & wall style.
All that changes the next morning when she answer a call & goes storm chasing & Mac is horrified, pissed off & wants nothing to do with her. How can he be with someone who chases what devastated his whole life? How can Gayle give up helping & saving people with better storm information? Talk about being between a rock & a hard place. These 2 go on a soul search, greatest fear embracing, heart wrenching & frenzied fever of sexy passions filled journey thru a cruel & sometimes vengeful Mother Nature. Can Mac embrace her world or walk away forever? Can Gayle give up her work of saving & helping lives for his heart? How will Mother Nature kick them in the a$$?
I requested this book because my inner Cover HO did her HAPPY DANCE for the amazing cover. Everyone should look at the TRUST tattoo across his sexy abs & I love a cover that reflects the storyline. Mac had the word TRUST tattooed because his dead wife always TRUSTED everything. The tat did become a gravestone around his neck thou, but Gayle removed that weight. I did think a meteorologist name Gayle was a "Up Yours" to the movie Scream & can tell Ms. Niles loves to laugh. She had such great kooky moments in her story & I totally feel that laughter does heal open wounds. Mac is a hero who has a heart that has been duct taped together again & to heal it Gayle had to RIP it all off. Can you say, "OUCH!" The heroine Gayle was a smart a$$, but she loved to hide all her pain behind her free spirit attitude. Gayle was a character that I could relate to & loved because I had a great friend after my mom died just like her, full of life given brightness that I truly needed. That great friend was my sister, who also hide her own personal guilt & pain behind her fake sunny self. This storyline was hard to read with all the emotion flowing out of me. I had many totally ugly cries, big belly laughs, once I even hyperventilated & scared my furry grandbaby, scream naughty words at Mac stupidity & I had to shared my Hello Kitty tissues with Gayle because she was so heart broken. Ms. Niles is a new-to-me author (insert pompoms here) & I have already "friend requested" her Facebook page & LIKED her Amazon page (I am #56) because I will be grabbing as many of her books my itsy bitsy payday can handle! The small look at Dante & Tommy in this book has just whetted my book COSMOS for more! I love to find a new AWESOME author & Abby Niles is on my list now, but don't worry Ms. Niles I only STALK the best one, so WATCH OUT! I must give her my top score of 5 fingers up & 10 toes for this emotional filled carnal feed romance read!
NetGalley ARC given for my honest review!
MJSanders1021
Posted Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2014
I started this book after watching Into the Storm at the theaters. My love for tornados, chasers, or action of them is what had me wanting to read this book.
What I didn't expect was the realness in which Abby made me feel by reading it. It was as if I was right there feeling the rain, fighting the winds, hiding for debris, and fighting to survive. I guess you could say I am a thrill chaser myself but this was a book that brings all your emotions to the surface.
The characters struggles, nightmares, and devotion are so pleasantly displayed you have no choice but to grasp hold and hang on for the ride. Wonderfully written and Abby acknowledgement was heart wrenching as well. We don't know what many go through during an event but are heart goes out to them just the same.
WINNING LOVE is the third instalment in Abby Niles contemporary adult Love to the Extreme romance series focusing on the men of the MMA and the women that they love. This is professional MMA fighter Mac Hannon and meteorologist Gayle Andrews’s storyline. When Mac returns home to Kansas (following a four year absence) to help train his best friend Lance for his upcoming fight he was not prepared for the spitfire known as Gayle Andrews-Lance’s neighbor; sometime babysitter and all woman. Although this is the third book in the series, it can be read as a stand alone without any problems.
The storyline follows Mac as he tries to come to terms with everything that has destroyed his life. Kansas brings with it too many painful memories of loss, heartbreak and fear. The one shining spot is his best friend’s neighbor –a woman who doesn’t take no for an answer-but a woman with secrets of her own. As Gayle endeavors to get Mac to open she will soon discover that what she does for a living is the very thing that could send Mac back into the spiral from hell.
The relationship between Mac and Gayle begins as friends. She is the yin to his yang; she pushes Mac to step outside of his comfort zone and in doing so discovers that she is falling for the man with a heartbreaking past. The sex scenes are hot, seductive and sensual. But both Mac and Gayle know that neither one is in it for the long haul: Mac is a man who is unable to let go of the past and Gayle is a woman who has knows what Mac is trying so desperately to hide.
The world building continues as the series focuses on the men of the MMA fighting ring. When Lance enters a local competition, Mac finds himself in need of a fight to let off some aggression. What he doesn’t realize is that this fight will set into motion a series of events that could very well end his career.
WINNING LOVE is a captivating and emotional storyline where two people share more in common then they could have ever imagined. Their backstories are filled with love and loss; pain and sorrow; letting go and moving on. But only one person has been able to let go while the other still clings to a personal guilt that eats away one day at a time.
Abby Niles’s LOVE TO THE EXTREME series will captivate and compel. The romances are intimate and intense; the friendships are real; and the storylines are provocative and arousing.
Bouncybertha
Posted Tue Aug 26 00:00:00 EDT 2014
3 - "We sure as hell aint in Kansas anymore." Stars.
Winning Love by Abby Niles is the third book in the Love in the Extreme series. It follows the same easy-going romance themes as it predecessors, so if you are looking for a dark, dirty, gritty MMA fighter romance, I would probably say this isn’t the book you are looking for.
”I’m not going to ask” … “If or when you want to talk about it is up to you, but I’m a good listener, Mac… if you ever need an ear.”
Although Mac ‘The Snake’ Hannon, is a MMA fighter this book doesn’t really offer the reader much in the way of cage-fighting. He has travelled back to Kansas, to train his old friend Lance for his upcoming fights, his plan is to get-in, get the job done and get-out again, revisiting the past is not something he is looking to do, unfortunately it hits him head on in the form of Gayle Matthews.
”You haven’t experienced the full
Gayle yet. I’m all kinds of trouble.”
This story is less about fighting and more about Mac dealing with his past, and trying to move on with a woman who in essence represents the thing that took everything good from his life 4 years previously. Gayle also has secrets, secrets that help Mac to try and understand why she does what she does, but it is a battle for him to see past the loss and pain he has already experienced, especially when he has to watch Gayle face that danger willingly on a regular basis.
I liked this book, I didn’t love it… there is a lot of what I call action – reaction – response, going on in it, Mac is very much a ‘react and respond’ to Gayle’s actions, and Gayle is usually the one ‘acting and the responding’ to Mac’s reactions…
”For a man who can be so predictable, you keep surprising me.”
I liked that this is a couple that are both in their thirties, they have life experience and the drama for the most part wasn’t overplayed. I found warming to Gayle a little bit of a struggle; she is zesty, spunky and full of life, all good things but I also found her at times to be a little too pushy and aggressive as well. This did work with regards to her interactions with Mac though, I think he needed someone to push his buttons and pull him out of the rut that he had sunk into over the past four years.
”Even crazy Gayle knows when to back off.”
If you liked the first two books in the Love in the Extreme series, I have no doubt you will enjoy this installment too. Looking forward to seeing where Abby takes this series next.
ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.
This is the firs Abby Niles' book I have read but it won't be the last. I absolutely loved it! It is a story about two damaged people who healed each other. The both went through tragedy which changed them forever.
Mac choose to close himself after losing his family, while Gayle tried to free herself. But both were in fact doing the same thing, i.e. running from the realities of life. Then they met each other and things changed. Gayle was intrigued by grumpy fighter and Mac was falling in love with thrilling storm-chaser. Together they went through series of events that thought them to accept their respective pasts and move on to the future.
There have been a lot of "swoon worthy" moments in this book. I loved Mac and Gayle's couple. They challenged and brought out the best in each other. I recommend this book to all romance lovers.
Overview
Winning Love by Abby Niles
Mac ?The Snake? Hannon has spent years throwing himself into cage fighting as a way to lash back at the natural disaster that destroyed his future. A call for help has Mac returning to the one place he swore never to return: Kansas?in the height of tornado season.
There he meets free-spirited Gayle Matthews. At first he wants nothing to do with the infuriatingly persistent woman, but the crazy challenges she tosses ...