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Author: Megan Erickson
Publication Date: September 9, 2014Publisher: William Morrow Impulse
Series: Bowler University #2
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Age Recommendation: 18 and up
Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Max Payton lives by two rules:
Size and strength win any fight, and never show weakness.
When a rash of assaults sends Bowler University for a tail spin, Max volunteers to help teach a self-defense class. One of the other instructors is the beautiful pixie-faced girl he keeps butting heads with…and who challenges everything he thought he knew.
Lea Travers avoids guys like Max - cocky jocks who assume she's fragile because of a disability caused by a childhood accident. She likes to be in control, and something about being with Max makes her feel anything but. But during the moments he lets his guard down, Lea sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem...
When the assaults ramp up and hit close to home, Lea and Max must learn, before it’s too late, that true strength can come from vulnerability…and giving in to trust is sometimes the only way to make things right.
My Review:
So....I have to tell you that while I enjoyed Make it Count, the first book in the Bowler University series, and while I adored Alec I did not fall in love with the book (not to say I didn't enjoy it, just that it didn't move me.), so I was a little hesitant going into Make it Right, especially considering what a jerk Max had been. That said I loved Make it Right!
We're given hints of Max's life in Make it Count. We know that he has things going on we can't possibly understand yet and we know some of this is what leads him to be the absolute jerk that we are introduced to. Is that who he truly is? Is that who he wants to be? In Make it Right we learn the answer and what I discovered is Max is an AMAZING character. There is a depth to him that I would never have expected. He's truly caring, funny and loving. He's been overcome with the stress of expectations, everyone (even Alec's) expectations of him. Expectations that he doesn't want or doesn't know how to fulfill. How does he make everyone happy? When does he get to make himself happy? Can he and everyone else let go of the past, can they all Make it Right?
Into Max's turmoil walks in Lea, a spitfire of a woman who struggles daily with an injury from a car accident when she was a teen. An injury that visibly effects her but one that she doesn't allow to define who she is. She is a determined and strong character who isn't going to allow Max to wallow in his guilt, who breaks down his facade, and won't allow him to fall deeper into what I recognize as depression. While it is never spoken of in the book it is clear to me that Max suffers from depression brought on by all the pressure he feels his family and friends have placed on him. It is also clear to me that Lea is the ONLY one who looks deep enough to recognize it. The only one who looks deep enough to see the man behind the walls he's built in an attempt to hide from it.
I loved the chemistry and playfulness between Max and Lea. Sometimes banter between characters falls flat or feels contrived or 'corny', but I never got that with these two. Their banter while snarky and innuendo filled (at times) always held a deeper and emotional truth to it. These are two characters who truly see one another. It is a relationship that I don't question, it is one that if this were real life I can see that the would actually make it.
I enjoyed getting reacquainted with Danica and Cam (seriously can not wait for Cam's book) and I walked a way actually respecting Max's dad, Jack, which I would never have expected. In the end this isn't just to story of Max's redemption. It is the story of knowing who you are and trusting your loved ones (friends and family) to stand by you no matter what.
For fans of Contemporary New Adult, this is a great read and you are definitely going to want to pick it up!
Oh and by the way....I am totally TEAM WAYNE and I am not a cat person, but then again I am not sure Wayne isn't a bear! ;-)
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About Megan
She’s got a couple of tattoos, has a thing for gladiators and has been called a crazy cat lady. After working as a journalist for years, she decided she liked creating her own endings better and switched back to fiction.
She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two cats. And no, she still can’t reach the stupid top shelf.
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