Book Reviews

Tongue Wagger – Breaking a Legend by Sarah Robinson

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Two things brought Breaking a Legend by Sarah Robinson to my attention:

1. The cover. I admit it, I am a total cover-whore. Who doesn’t like a muscled hunk flexing on a book cover?!
2. MMA fighters. They are sexy, they smash faces in. Okay, it’s not really the face smashing that does me in. But I do love me some MMA fight.

Big plus? The promise of more books. I love being sucked into a world and knowing that it won’t end just with the one book. That’s why I mostly read series.

I am a hopeless romantic and as Rihanna sang “I can’t keep falling in love”.

With books.

And If it isn’t books it is the book’s characters. Because you might not always love a book 100% but you might definitely identify with/admire/love a character without reserve.
That’s what happened here. I fell in love with a book character, and as it often is, it wasn’t the main character. It was Quinn, about whom I could gush and write the whole review about even though he only made an appearance for a dozen pages or so. Mark this name, because his turn will come and I will let out my inner fangirl without any restrictions or regrets.
Because I know I will love Quinn as much as I love Kane from Slater Brothers, Ripper from The Predators, Lucien from the Lords of the Underworld, Rhage from The Black Dagger Brotherhood, and the other five dozen book-lovers I keep on my harem of shelves – mayhaps one day I will provide you with a full list of them.

Somehow Kavanagh Legends reminded me of the above mentioned Slater Brothers by L.A. Casey.
Both series are now among my favourites. Though I won’t hide the fact that  Slater Brothers are in pole position and Sarah Robinson will have to considerably up the game to overthrown them. Which doesn’t mean that she doesn’t stand her own, because she writes an excellently good story and has me already on a hook…

Be it as is may, I can’t wait for the next installment and I’m really hoping that once Robinson runs out of Kavanagh siblings she’ll concentrate on the two dozen cousins I just invented and suggest her to write about.
Appease me, Robinson, I beg of thee!

Gimme a town full of sexy Irishmen and I’ll be a happy girl FOR.EVER!

Whenever I stumble upon a book that features tough guys falling in love (again, I am a hopeless romantic) I feel like having hit the jackpot! I really don’t want much in life: just amazing books.
Simona’s starry eyed for at least a week when I find a good book. I get high on it. And since I always stumble upon one I live in a state of continuous parades of pink elephants flying around me and singing that annoyingly catchy song from “Hair”.

Add to all the above that Sarah Robinson’s characters are hot, tough Irish dudes and you have me in a stupor. So, yeah, Kavanagh Legends hit me in the soft spot. I loved it very much and I highly recommend it.
We all love a story of redemption, a hero who turns over a new leaf, loves dogs and gets a ridiculous happy ending that not even in a Disney film, people!
If you are anything like me, at the end of this book you will already be desperate for the next one. Which won’t be Quinn’s and that’s the only negative thing I have to say about Breaking a Legend.
Not Quinn.

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Recommendations Based on This Read:

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Breaking the Legend Synopsis:

As one of the big names at his family’s gym, Legends, MMA star Rory Kavanagh is used to being in the spotlight—until a gruesome leg injury knocks him out of the cage. Rory is left feeling sidelined in more ways than one, battling the inner demons that come with losing the one shot at his dreams. Then Clare walks into his life and gives him a new dream: winning her heart. There aren’t many new faces in Woodlawn these days, but this tough, beautiful stranger makes Rory want to get his life back into fighting shape.

Clare Ivers doesn’t think she’ll be able to tell anyone what really brought her to the close-knit Bronx neighborhood where she just started bartending. But her life’s on pause and her past is catching up fast, try as she might to move on—with new friends, steady work, and a chiseled alpha male trying to get her attention. Even though Rory’s more than a little intense, she can’t deny that her heart beats faster when he looks at her with those soulful silver eyes. Clare thought she was done with love, but Rory might just be man enough to show her she thought wrong.

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Purchase Breaking the Legend:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

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Breaking a Legend Excerpt:

Well, if it isn’t our long-lost brother,” a familiar voice said a few minutes later, as he meandered into the neighborhood bar that everyone he knew frequented. A hand clasped his shoulder. “Shit, Rory, where the hell have you been?”

Rory inwardly groaned as he turned to face his younger brother, Quinn Kavanagh. Rory wanted to wipe Quinn’s smug smirk off with his fist. He had been sporting that same cocky attitude since the moment he popped into this world, a trait that Rory found uniquely irritating.

Now I remember why I’ve been avoiding this bar, Rory thought as he forced a smile at his brother.
“Just stopping in for a quick drink, Quinn,” Rory said, attempting to make clear that he wasn’t interested in socializing.

He headed over to the long wooden bar that wrapped around two sides of the small pub and stood before walls of liquor bottles and televisions. Several bartenders moved around swiftly, filling drink orders and talking with the full crowd that O’Leary’s always attracted on weekend nights. Rory found an empty stool down at one end, far away from the door, and quickly staked his claim.

He saw Cian, who had worked at O’Leary’s for as long as he could remember, and nodded his head to him. Cian nodded back and put up his hand, indicating he would be over in a minute, as he finished serving the group of college-aged kids at that end of the bar. The door to the kitchen swung open and a short, petite blonde ambled through carrying a large bucket of ice that seemed much too heavy for her small frame to manage.

Rory smiled slightly as he lifted one eyebrow, watching her with interest while she carefully poured the ice over the liquor bottles that sat in a metal bin below the bar’s surface. She huffed and her face was slightly red at the task, but she still managed to completely empty the bucket’s contents evenly around each of the glass bottles.

He took advantage of her being distracted by her task to stare at her shapely legs, which disappeared under a short skirt barely longer than her small apron. Her skin was delicately pale and smooth, and he wondered what it would feel like to slide his fingers up the length of those legs. His eyes traveled up her body, disappointed that the thick, blond ringlets dangling halfway down her back were also hiding most of her face as she leaned over the bar. He wanted to see her perfectly sloped nose, catch her eyes with his, and see what her small pink lips would look like when they smiled.

Something about this woman was intriguing him, although he couldn’t pinpoint what.

Her work completed, she exhaled loudly and plopped the empty bucket at her feet, taking a breather. Rory chuckled lightly, finally grabbing her attention.

“You laughing at me?” She put her hands on her hips, daring him to make fun of her.

Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, but he was still able to catch a glimpse of the dazzling emerald color that contrasted against her light skin and golden hair so perfectly.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, mhuirnín.” A smile spread across his face as he watched her saunter over to him, her full, pink lips tightly pressed together in irritation.

“What’s that mean?” she asked when she reached him, standing across the bar with her arms folded across her chest and one hip tilted higher than the other. Her tone was defiant and he loved the feisty spirit she exuded.

“Mhuirnín? You’re all questions today. I’ll answer your question, if you answer mine.” Rory concentrated on keeping his speech normal and not slurring his words. He might have had a bit more to drink tonight than he had intended.

She turned away from him, looking back down the length of the bar and drumming her fingers on its surface.

Rory could sense her nervousness. He already missed her green gaze and silently begged her to turn back to him. There was something about her that stirred a protective instinct in him, a feeling entirely foreign toward anyone who wasn’t family. She was smiling, but there was an undercurrent of pain breaking through her friendliness.

He didn’t like it.

“I guess that’s fair,” she relented, turning back to him and leaning against the wall.

“I haven’t seen you here before. What’s your name?” His question was simple, but the desire in his eyes was not as he licked his bottom lip and admired how perfectly her uniform hugged her curves, even on her small figure.

“Clare Ivers. I’m new in town. Needed a job.” She shrugged, not divulging much, but he felt a sliver of hope when he saw that the smile on her face had yet to disappear.

He knew that she could feel his attraction toward her when he saw the blush creep up her cheeks. The smile she couldn’t push away told him she was enjoying their banter as much as he was.

Despite her clear interest, there was a hint of disapproval as he watched her eyes roam over his torso. It was a look he was way too familiar with from the last year. Rory worried he might be slurring his words or sounding more drunk than he felt.

Wouldn’t be the first time, he thought.

“Your turn.” She pointed at him, biting the corner of her lip in an attempt to hide her smile.

“Mhuirnín means sweetheart. If you’re going to work in Woodlawn, Clare, you gotta learn some Irish.”

“Is that right? I guess I’ll have to find a good tutor then,” she taunted, before turning on her heels and sauntering off.

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Meet Sarah Robinson:

Sarah Robinson is the Top 10 Barnes & Noble and Amazon Bestselling Author of the contemporary Rockstar romance series Sand & Clay, as well as the very popular romantic suspense trilogy, The Photographer Trilogy.

Sarah Robinson is a native of the Washington, DC area and has both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in criminal psychology. She is married to a local police officer who is just as much of an animal rescue enthusiasts as she is. Together, they own a zoo of rescues and foster animals.

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Sarah Robinson’s Web Tracks:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | tumblr | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Pinterest

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