Blog Tour: Fighting for Love by LP Dover

Fighting for someone’s heart is more challenging than fighting for a title.

For a time, many years ago, love had grown, love was made, and in the end … love was lost. The decision to leave had been the worst mistake Shelby Dawson could have ever made. However, at the time—ten years ago—she felt her secret needed to stay hidden, even if it broke her heart and the heart of the man she loved. Back then, he was all hers and she was all his, but now things have changed and he isn’t the same guy she knew.

He happens to be the well-known MMA Heavyweight champion and famous bad boy, Matt ‘The Destroyer’ Reynolds, who once before struggled to help his family pay the bills. Now, he has money flowing with each undefeated win and an insurmountable number of women filling his bed. Everything is perfect for the illustrious fighter, until one day it all changes. In walks the girl from his past, the same girl who promised to stick by him but left and never looked back. 

Their second chance to make things right will not come easy, for when one mistake is made an unwelcome consequence soon follows. Someone out there wants to rip them apart and they won’t stop until Matt and Shelby pay the ultimate price … their love.

This is one book I could not put down; I read it straight through in one sitting. This is the 4^th book in the Second Chances series, but can be read as a stand-alone. Each book in the series gets better, and this is now one of my favorite series.

To be honest, I love the concept of couples getting a second chance to get their love right. I’m drawn to these types of stories, so this series is perfect for me. Matt and Shelby were high school sweethearts, but Shelby broke Matt’s heart right before she was to leave for college. Of course she had her reasons. She felt that she was protecting him. He thought he just wasn’t good enough. Fast forward 10 years, they are both successful in what they do. Matt is an MMA fighter and Shelby is a sports journalist. Fate throws them in each other’s path again when she has to write a spread on Matt. Feelings and chemistry come rushing to the surface and the rest they say is history. BUT….there is someone plotting against them. Did they find each other again after so long only to lose each other again?

I loved everything about this book. I thought Matt and Shelby were awesome. Matt is such a great guy. He loves deeply and fiercely, and is so protective of Shelby and their relationship. He is determined that it will work this time. He has just the right amount of possessiveness, too. YUM! Shelby is a feisty thing. She is perfect for Matt. She loves him deeply, too, and is strong enough to stand by him. Not only were Matt and Shelby great, but all of the characters were. This is just a really well developed story that shouldn’t be missed. Really, the whole series should not be missed.

 

USA TODAY Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is the author of the Forever Fae series, as well as the Second Chances standalone series, and her NA romantic suspense standalone called Love, Lies, and Deception. She lives in the beautiful state of North Carolina with her husband, her two wild girls, and her rambunctious kitten Katrina.

Before she began her career in the literary world, L.P. Dover spent her years going to college and then graduated to cleaning teeth, which she loved doing. At least until the characters in her head called her away. She has never been the same since.

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Blog Tour: Meant for Me by L.P. Dover

After a night of raw passion with the man Claire O’Briene had been secretly admiring for years, she thought their time together had come once and for all. Fate had finally brought them back to each other, but unfortunately nothing had changed. He was still the same man who ran away from relationships. Against his better judgment, Mason Bradley gave in to the temptation and allowed himself one night with the one woman he’d been too afraid to want … too afraid to need. 

Six months after leaving Claire and regretting every minute of it, Mason gets called in for an undercover mission that’s not only dangerous, but brings back a past he spent years trying to forget. A past of fighting … of getting in the ring and using his fists to get what he wanted: money, women, and drugs. Now there are fighters turning up dead, and it’s Mason’s job to find out the truth. 

Knowing he might not come out of the mission alive, Mason seeks out Claire to tell her how he truly feels, only to find another man competing for her love as well. Fighting is what he’s good at, and for once he will be fighting not only for justice … but for love.

Meant for Me is book 3 in the Second Chances series. I have not read the first two, but each book can be read as a standalone. That being said, I wish I would have read the other two first, only because we meet the main characters Mason and Claire in the other books. The author does a really good job at letting us know their background and their past interactions with each other, so I didn’t really feel like I missed a lot. I personally just like knowing their history personally.

Mason and Claire were previously in love, but he was in denial about it. She lives in California and owns a vineyard with Mason' s cousin Melissa. They know each other through her. They finally give in to a night of love making, but he leaves the next day to go home to North Carolina breaking things off with Claire and breaking her heart. Fast forward several months....

Mason is a former MMA fighter turned cop. There is a string of MMA murders in Las Vegas and Mason is asked to go undercover to help solve the case. Before he goes, he wants to set things right with Claire in case he doesn't make it out. She follows him to Vegas and helps in get an “in,” because she used to live and work there and has connections. The two repair their relationship while they try to solve the case. Their love is strong, but can it survive a killer?

I think the author did a wonderful job weaving the story of Claire and Mason. The love the two have for each other is strong and tangible. Mason is determined to win her back, and once he does, he keeps showing her his love. Claire is a very strong woman. From my understanding, crap went down in another book with her brother, but she came out on top. I love that she doesn't back down, fights for what she wants, but is rational and willing to compromise. I enjoyed the secondary character a lot as well. These are all well thought out characters.

The beginning of the book was fairly slow for me, and I didn't really get into it until around 50%. I don't know what it was, but for the first half of the book, while I enjoyed the characters, I just didn't connect. But for the 2nd half, something clicked for me and I did feel that connection. I could not put the book down after that. I enjoyed the author’s writing and I'm curious how the other books when down. So, I guess I'll be picking up the first 2 books of the series in order I can get a better understanding of the characters and their stories. This is definitely a series that I will be following.

The door to the arena room was open, and the moment we stepped in Claire gasped and I stared, wide-eyed at all the people. "Holy shit," I breathed in awe. "It's packed." 

Every single chair around the cage was occupied and there were people standing around everywhere. There were two guys already in the cage battling it out, except they looked to be part of the Lightweight division. When I fought several years ago, I was competing for the Heavyweight title. If they did fights in order of division then I would be going up there last."Hey, guys," Tyler exclaimed, carrying a beer in his hands. 

Disapprovingly, I glared at the beer and then back up to him. "You should know better than to get drunk before a fight. It makes you sloppy," I scolded him. 

I really didn't care either way what he did, but I knew better than to drink when I had to compete. Tyler chugged his beer and threw his cup in the trash a little too roughly. 

"I do know better than to drink when I have to fight, but unfortunately, I'm not fighting tonight," he announced. 

"Wait, what?" Claire cut in. "What do you mean you're not fighting? If you're not the one fighting Mason then who is?" 

Tyler glanced around the room with narrowed eyes until he found the person I was to fight and pointed to him. "That's the guy over there with the blue mohawk. I think you might know him. He said he owed you for something you did a long time ago. Care to explain," Tyler inquired curiously. 

Following the direction of Ty's pointed finger, I groaned when I saw the guy with the blue mohawk. Fuck, I knew who he was, or better yet, I knew his wife ... very well. 

"What is it Mason?" Claire asked worriedly. "Who is he?"

His name was Chase Benfield and I did the unthinkable by fucking his wife. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I lowered my head and began to explain, "Do you remember when I mentioned I had a dark past?"

"Yeah," she said, drawling out the word. "Let me guess, you fought him back in the day?"

I nodded. "Yes, but that wasn't just it." I didn't want to tell her what I did because I was ashamed of the way I acted and the way I did things. I was sure she would understand, hopefully, but I didn't want her thinking less of me.

Claire let go of my hand and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "Dammit, just tell me already. You did this same shit to me when I was keeping something from you."

"Fine," I gave in, "but I need you to know it was a long time ago and it was before I even met you. I was stupid and did lots of stupid things that I shouldn't have."

She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you slept with his girlfriend," she guessed blandly.

Sighing, I regretfully nodded my head and waited for the angry words to come spewing out of her mouth. Instead, she said, "So, what's the big deal? You slept with her. That shit happens all the time. Why would he be angry about that still?"

"Well," I began, "it was actually his wife and I hooked up with her in my prepping room during his fight for a spot at the Heavyweight title. His trainer had come looking for her and found us. Needless to say, word got back to Chase awfully fast."

Claire groaned and hung her head. "Oh, hell, this isn't going to be good."

Chase finally spotted me from across the room and snarled his lip. No, I thought to myself, this definitely wasn't going to be good. 

USA TODAY Bestselling author, L.P. Dover, is the author of the Forever Fae series, as well as the Second Chances standalone series, and her NA romantic suspense standalone called Love, Lies, and Deception. She lives in the beautiful state of North Carolina with her husband, her two wild girls, and her rambunctious kitten Katrina.

Before she began her career in the literary world, L.P. Dover spent her years going to college and then graduated to cleaning teeth, which she loved doing. At least until the characters in her head called her away. She has never been the same since.

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Spotlight: Unlikely Hero by Kemmie Michaels

Erin never would have expected to fall in love. Never. Not with her past, and not with her fear. She never dates; she doesn't even allow herself friendships. She doesn’t trust her judge-of-character skills enough to allow anyone close...until Marcus. With him, a deep connection happens in spite of the walls she's so carefully constructed around herself.

Marcus uses his self-confessed rage to fuel every part of his life. He survived the severe abuse of his childhood and learns to harness all the leftover anger into MMA fighting. His rage takes a rest, however, the moment he experiences Erin’s presence. Marcus dares to make the step that leads to love, one with the potential to heal them both.

For the first time in his life, he had the urge to take a woman in his arms and just hold her for hours. He wanted the warmth of his body to melt five years of ice from hers.

He would take as long as needed to break through the depth of the glacier she had formed around herself. He wouldn't let her go until she felt soft, warm, and safe in his arms. If she'd let him. He knew exactly what he needed to write that night.

I will never do anything to hurt you or break your trust and I know I’m probably scaring you right now for asking, but you haven't let anyone in. I think you need that, even if you're scared of it. I want you trust me. I want to help. You’re safe with me. I'm strong enough to protect you. Will you let me?

~Marcus Walker

Suddenly those notes that brought her close to him seemed like a path to her undoing. She had been so safe and closed away from people for so long, she didn’t even realize she had let him in as far as she had. Sharing herself had been too easy in that book, but now look what she had done! She was open and exposed and he wanted to meet her outside of the safety of her journal.

    The thought of meeting him terrified her — but not because he scared her. That wasn’t the problem. She was so scared of being vulnerable again. She had worked so damn hard to keep that from happening. And she was scared because she wanted to meet him. Allowing herself the potential to feel something, even something good, made her want to shrink back into the chasm and stay there.

I absolutely love to write. Seriously. I smile darn near the entire time. I'm a total word-nerd.

But even more, I love a good love story. I reread the first kiss a few times before I read on...even in my own books. That moment gets me every time no matter how often I revisit that beautiful connection. I dive into every story to the point where I have so many fictional boyfriends that I can't keep track of them all.

In the world of reality, I have a loving and tolerant husband who smiles and rolls his eyes every time I tell him about my latest fictional love affair. I have two personality-rich pre-teen boys who keep me on my toes. I have a psychotic Golden Retriever (I was told those don't exist...) and a cat that rules our house. I used to be the queen. Our regal feline has usurped my throne and demoted me to Prime Minister.

I studied English/Journalism at Miami University in Ohio, have a Master's Degree in Secondary Education from the University of Dayton and I spent five years teaching even more personality-rich pre-teens. For some sick reason, I actually enjoyed teaching junior high. Now as a stay-at-home mom, I'm clinging to that status by throwing my hat in the author's ring and hoping I get to keep it there.

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