Balance
(Off Balance #1)
By: Lucia Franco
Genre: Sports Romance
Trope: Age Gap. Taboo, Forbidden
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: 2/15/2018
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Format: Kindle
Blurb:
Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she’ll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose–producing champions.
Perfection, precision, and dedication are required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn’t come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him.
Kova’s power and domination, coupled with Adrianna’s fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.
Holy Hell!
WHAT IN THE EVERLOVING F*CK DID I JUST READ!
Lucia Franco, You are a crazy beautiful genius. I’ve never been so mind f*cked by a novel before, especially a romance novel. I never had to battle with myself and mentally tell myself what I’m reading is okay because it’s just fiction. I’ve never had my morals tested.. and retested… and yet again tested due to a novel. You have definitely brought me out of my comfort zone and for that I want to thank you!
Balance is the first book in the Off Balance series by Lucia Franco and is told in Adrianna Rossi’s point of view.
All, fifteen year old, Adrianna wants in life is to be the best gymnast she can possibly be. And to be the best and test to the Elite levels she so craves, she has to work with the best. And Olympic Gold medalist Konstantin Kournakova is just the man to help her make it to the top.
Kova admires Adrianna’s passion and the drive she has instilled in herself to push right to the top. But when that admiration slowly evolves into something more Adrianna and Kova find themselves in the fight of their lives. They both know what they’re doing is morally wrong and highly illegally, but how can something that feels so right in every way, be so wrong.
I want to first start this portion of my review by stating, I do not condone relationships such as the one between Adrianna and Kova. I understand attraction and how it makes a heart flutter and a body feel. But I also understand a grown man doing what’s right and walking away from a situation that. A grown man knowing what’s right and what’s wrong. With that being said, this novel went against all of my morals, it definitely crossed a line between comfortable and uncomfortable, but throughout it all, I still found myself furiously turning the pages on this taboo romance between a gymnast and her coach! I legit couldn’t put this one day and honestly, at the moment, I don’t really know how I feel about that fact…
What I do know, though, is that I really enjoyed this novel. I thrive on drama in the novels I read. and what could possibly be any more dramatic than a romance between a fifteen (almost sixteen) year old gymnast and her thirty-two year old coach. God, something is seriously wrong with me because I couldn’t put this one down.
Not only was the story alluring but Lucia Franco’s writing style was freaking poetry, I loved the ins and outs of describing the gymnastic moves. I loved getting a vivid picture of Adrianna on the beam or the uneven bars. The detail Franco put into this novel was pure magic. It almost felt like I was their on the sidelines watching this romance unfold.
However, I have to admit, certain moments in this novel made me a little squeamish and solidified my hate for Kova. This man has seriously pushed all of my buttons. Everything I hate in a romance book hero, he has done. Hopefully he can redeem himself in Execution, but I’m not holding out much hope. I am forever on Team Hayden! Now this is a man Adrianna needs to set her sights on.
If there was ever a novel to put a reader through a whirlwind of emotions, this one would be it. I never felt so much love as well as hate towards a couple before, and the sickest part of all, that’s what fueled me to read even more. I loved to hate this couple!
This review is all over the damn place, just like my head. So I’m going to end it with saying Balance was a great dramatic read. and definitely one I can see myself rereading in the future. I was consumed by this story and as I read Execution I’m finding myself to be even more consumed by the second part to Adrianna and Kova’s romance. However, I am and will always be on Team Hayden. If you all are looking for a hell of a lot of drama in your lives and don’t mind a few triggerish situations, Definitely pick this one up and give it a try. It will have your mind all f*cked up!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2FUVSw4
Amazon Universal: http://getbook.at/BalanceLF
Peace Love and Happy Reading,
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