Book Review | The Savage Gentleman by Christopher Harlan

The Savage Gentleman
By: Christopher Harlan

Genre: MMA Romance
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 8th, 2019
ARC Received From: Give Me Books Promo

Blurb:

My name is Lucas “The Ghost” Esparza.

I’m the best MMA fighter in the world that you’ve never heard of, but if I have my way, I’ll be a household name soon enough. My life’s been nothing but hard training, crazy partying, and fast women, and that’s just how I liked it. No man had ever gotten the better of me inside the cage, and no woman had ever been able to slow down my lifestyle outside of it.

And then it all came crashing down.

When I tasted defeat for the first time in the biggest fight of my life, I was a broken man—my pride destroyed and my dreams of greatness deferred.

That’s when Mila walked into my gym.

When my trainer told me I had to giver her self defense lessons because she was a ‘special case’, I had no idea what he meant. All I knew was that she had a body to die for, and a face that made me forget my own name. I’d been with my share of women, but she was easily the sexiest I’d ever laid eyes on.

There was only one problem—we hated each other with a passion!

I thought she was whiny with a bad attitude.. She thought I was full of myself. But then something happened that changed everything between us. She gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams once again—to be a champion, to make it into the UFC, to be the savage gentleman that I was born to be.

When I first got back into reading, MMA was my jam! I loved and practically devoured all the MMA books on the shelves but the saddest thing happened and the trope started to fizzle out so you all are safe to assume my excitement is through the roof right about now! Stay tuned to see how I feel about The Savage Gentleman by Christopher Harlan!

The Savage Gentleman is an MMA Romance novel told from both Lucas and Mila’s point of view. 

Lucas was at the top of his game in the MMA world. His dreams where within fingertip reach, until a lucky kick dropped him on his ass and out cold. Now a year later, Lucas is looking to finally step back into the ring and get back what is rightfully his. The title and an official spot in the UFC. It’s going to take some hard work, dedication, and absolutely no distractions to get him back to the top and he’s willing to do whatever it takes.

A year ago Mila’s life almost ended by the hands of her ex-boyfriend. Now Mila is scared of everything and is unable to trust those who can easily be trusted. Her friend decides to enroll Mila in a self defense class to not only build up her strength and ability to protect herself but to also build up her confidence. She’s willing to give it a chance until she finds out the woman who was supposed to teach the class is out sick and taking her place is Lucas, the man who fights for a living.

My Thoughts:

This was an interesting take on the MMA/Fighting romance trope. Right off the bat, my heart broke for both Lucas and Mila. Both lost something that is very hard to get back. Mila lost her willingness to put trust into people and Lucas lost his dream.

Lucas wasn’t at all the man I expected him to be… he was so much more. His willingness to put others before himself was something that can be admired. I really loved the fact that Lucas didn’t let his past and the fact that he was bullied when he was a kid define the man he is today. He learned from others viciousness and he grew stronger and became willing to help others being bullied. This man hit a soft part right in my heart.

Mila’s past was hard to digest at first. This woman put all her trust and all of her heart in the hands of one man, and to have that man turn around and destroy all her confidence and self respect in one act of violence wasn’t easy to hear about at all. This horrible act was a stepping stone and a learned lesson for Mila. A bad lesson nonetheless, but still a lesson. A wall was quickly built around her heart after that. A wall that she made damn sure only the strongest and kindest of men would be able to clear.

I really enjoyed this heartfelt story but I felt a few important moments and the romance between Mila and Lucas felt a bit rushed. I would have liked a bit of a smooth slope into what they were and what their building to be. That’s just me being picky though. I feel if there would have been a bit more patience and time between these two aspects this novel would have been a five star read for me. It all just seemed a bit rushed in this one important moment.

Overall, I love Lucas and Mila’s story. I loved the fact that my heart felt like jumping out of my chest in one moment and then the very next I couldn’t wipe the goofy smile off of my face. I just needed a bit of a slow down and less fast pacedness for me to fully connect with the main characters. But other than that, I loved the emotion and the whole vibe.

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Amazon US:  https://amzn.to/2Iy3mra
Amazon Universal: http://getbook.at/TheSavageGentleman

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