We’ve seen a sneak peek of this one before here, but check out what I thought of it with my new review.

*****

Talk about kicking a fighter while he’s down.

Former Middleweight champion and confirmed bachelor Tommy “Lightning” Sparks has lost it all: his belt, his career, and now his home. After the devastating fire, he moves in with his drama-free best friend, Julie. One encounter changes everything and Julie is no longer the girl he’s spent his life protecting but a desirable woman he wants to take to his bed. Knowing his reputation, he’s determined to protect Julie more than ever—from himself.

Veterinarian Julie Rogers has been in love with Tommy since she was ten, but would love to get over the man. She’s quiet nights at home and a glass of wine. He’s clubbing all night and shots of tequila. As friends they work great. As a couple? No way in hell. She just can’t get her heart to agree. When she starts spending time with another fighter, the man who’s always treated her like a sister is suddenly not being very brotherly and enflames her body like never before.

Can two childhood friends make a relationship work, or will they lose everything because they stopped FIGHTING LOVE.

I loved LOVED loved Niles’s Extreme Love and I was very excited to hear that another “Love to the Extreme” novel was coming out … and Fighting Love didn’t disappoint.  I laughed through a good portion of it and the ending brought tears to my eyes – and being able to elicit that much of a reaction definitely makes it a winner in my book.

If you’ve read Extreme Love, you’ll remember Tommy and his best friend, Julie.  Her feelings for him were pointed out, as well as the fact that he was very clueless.  But life’s thrown him a few curves and it’s going to throw him one more when suddenly the two are facing mutual feelings of a non-sibling variety.  All of the delicious trouble that could come out of this kind of situation is there in Niles’s latest, and she delivers them with a beautifully deft hand.

In Extreme Love Niles gave readers a very Alpha male hero – one that I knew not everyone was going to like – but both Caitlyn and Dante appealed to me and she made them almost leap off the page.  With Fighting Love she once again delivers.  Her characters are absolutely engrossing – they come alive in amazing Technicolor glory, full of life and confusion, complication and hope.  From the first page I felt every up and down as Tommy and Julie felt them.  And, though very much a fighter (both in the cage and in life), Tommy isn’t quite the overt Alpha that Dante was, so I think that this one will appeal to a larger audience.  (And the nice thing is you definitely don’t have to have read Extreme Love to be able to enjoy it.)  But Niles didn’t skimp on the hot-factor, so prepare yourself for another scorcher.

And I’m all over the fact that she’s hinting at two upcoming heroes (Mac and Brody) so I’ll be anxiously waiting for their stories to make an appearance.  Niles has definitely made a lifelong fan of me – her characters are just so compelling, her stories are fast-paced and well-developed, and her writing style is very addictive.  I get giddy just knowing that she’s got something new coming out.