Audiobook Review: In Your Corner by Sarah Castille, Narrated by Lucy Rivers

Oh. My. Gosh. This book was simply amazing. Not only was it my first exposure to Sarah Castille, but it was also my first exposure to a book that has MMA as part of the plot. It won’t be my last by Ms. Castille and I will definitely be seeking out more books featuring MMA. Please use the comments if you have some to recommend to me.

So what did I love? Everything. No really. First there is Amanda, she’s a lawyer trying to live up to what her parents expect. She’s on the partner track at the law firm, yet by night she’s a lot less uptight. She’s trying to get over one of the best things that ever happened to her, Jake, but she couldn’t commit to him so she ended it. Now she seeks out other men at night, and not the type her parents would approve of. She’s safe but she likes sex. All is going well until the main firm partner shows her the information the firm PI has on her extracurriculars and then propositions her as a form of blackmail. At this point Amanda has had enough. Oh and if the proposition wasn’t enough, the same day, Jake walks back into her life all cleaned up in a business suit at her law firm.

From there things go downhill until Jake and the men from Redemption step back into her life. This time however Jake is trying to keep his distance. He’s not that involved with MMA anymore while trying to run the family business. He also still has feelings for Amanda but he knows she won’t commit and he won’t be hurt again, so he’s trying hard not to act on his feelings until he knows how Amanda feels about him.

The sparks fly. And by sparks I mean raging hot flames. I swear I had to turn my AC higher while listening to this audio in the car. Amanda and Jake could just be in the same room and the heat would radiate through the reader of the book. A semi-relationship commences, the two dance around each other and Amanda begins her own law firm. There are a lot of bumps in her life and in their relationship but that made the book interesting. I loved the characters. Makayla and Torment are in this one (they were the couple in the first book) and I liked the look at them and can’t wait to go back and read their story. I also loved Amanda’s British office manager/receptionist, she was a lot of fun, the PI who follows her from the large law firm to her small one and the guys at Redemption. I especially loved Fuzzy and can’t wait to get his story.

The storyline is great, never a dull moment. The characters really came alive with this reader. I never questioned who was who when she was doing the reading, each character came alive through her voice. Amanda and Jake are simply amazing. I loved their story and how they overcome what needs to be overcome to get together. It’s not an easy relationship, but they both find it is very worth it to pursue. And the heat, definitely a fall/winter read because it is hot, hot, hot! But in a good way. For those of you that don’t like too much sex, it never seemed gratuitous, it was there for a reason in the book. I never felt like Ms. Castille wrote a sex scene just to have another sex scene which is great.

I can’t find a fault with this one, it was amazing on audio. The plot kept me interested and excited to get into the car next. The characters seemed so real that I felt like they were my friends and the world they were living in seemed like it was right around the corner. I’m ready for a Redemption gym nearby. And yes this is part of a series, but I had no problem with it as a stand-alone. But I will be going back and reading Against the Ropes and will eagerly look forward to Full Contact.

**Audiobook provided by Tantor**

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