Reading Between the Wines Book Club

4.5 Stars

Real is a raw and gritty story of a flawed, broken fighter who was kicked out of professional fighting and is now the biggest thing in the underground fighting world.

Remington Tate is working towards the championship when he spots Brooke Dumas in the crowd. As soon as their eyes connect he knows that he can't let her go and hires her to be his personal physical therapist.
Brooke assumes that Remy just wants to have sex with her, but when he continually turns her down or puts the brakes on their make-out sessions she doesn't know what to think. Is he just playing with her?
Remy wants Brooke to know the man inside, not the star fighter. She wants him but doesn't truly know him. Remy won't give in to the desire that sparks between them until she does.

Wow, what an amazing story with a drop-dead sexy and heartbreaking alpha male!

Real is told from Brooke's perspective. A young woman who is starting over after a life-changing injury. The plot is well paced and kept me engaged from the start. When Remy and Brooke meet the chemistry between them explodes from the pages, and the sexual tension is drawn out to the breaking point. I swear I was in a constant state of arousal right alongside poor Brooke! Their connection builds steadily and was not rushed at all which I enjoyed. Remy really wanted Brooke to get to know him before getting under the sheets with her which is a real turn-around in romance. He has a secret and he's not sure how Brooke will react but knows that it's not fair to her to start a relationship without coming clean. And he wants that relationship with her. He wants forever. *Insert swoon here* But thanks to his horrid upbringing Remy isn't very good at expressing his emotions, which sometimes leaves Brooke feeling confused, so Remy uses music. I just loved this aspect of the story. Remy would play Brooke a song that depicted what he was feeling at the time and Brooke would then pick a song for him, and they would go back and forth. Gah. This was so romantic, I swear little tiny hearts were floating from my Kindle up to the ceiling while reading these scenes.

Remy was a character with incredible hidden depths and though Brooke didn't know everything about him, she saw that he was more than just a fighter with a bad reputation. She was protective of him right away, despite the fact that a man his size and ability needed little protection. lol I did dislike some of Brooke's actions towards the end of the book but for the most part she was an enjoyable character and I appreciated her feisty attitude.

All in all, Real was a fantastic read riddled with agonizing internal struggles and angst with an edgy and intense hero that you will absolutely fall in love with! I can't wait for more from these characters and this incredible debut author!