Fighting for Irish by Gina L Maxwell
Well picking this one up was quite frankly spur of the moment – I had browsed past it a few times on my Kindle – and considered it but always changed my mind – and started something else. More full me because it was an absolute belter!
The story effectively centres around Kat Mac Gregor. Victim of the most horrific of abuse, she has suffered at the hands of those who should have loved her all her life – but running out of options we find her working in the arse end of nowhere at a flea pit bar, making just enough to keep herself under the radar and out of harm’s way – or so she thinks.
Having run out of places to run to she is avoiding her sister and trying to stay one step ahead of the criminal that her jailed ex-boyfriend owes money too. Avoiding her sister may seem like the right thing to do - to keep her safe, just like she always has but it is a shame because her sister is the one person that could actually bail her out of the mess she is in.
We are then introduced to Aiden "Irish" O'Brien - the tough as shit ex MMA fighter who as a favour to Kat's sisters boyfriend agrees to try and track Kat down and keep her safe. The problem being that he cant tell her who he is or why he is in town - so the whole pretend scenario evolves. We learn a lot about Aiden as the story develops - he blames himself for the death of his best friends sister and because of his standard operating practise of using his fists and asking questions later, he is looking for quieter life and has walked away from the MMA.
Guilt is a firery beast - it burns you from the inside out and Aiden is no different, his guilt eats away at him and keeps him at arms length. But there is soemthing about Kat that draws him in and makes him feel like she is his to protect. He goes above and beyond what any sane person would undertake to protect her but to him she is worth it and in the end when the bad guys clos ein on Kat,he does the one thing that he swore he would never do again in order to protect her - he climbs back into the ring.
The author writes Aiden in such a way as it is impossible to not love him - he is the epitome of a good guy.
The way he speaks to Kat is beautiful, his gentle undertsanding when she opens up to him about her past and the way he helps her to overcome the dark episodes that deprive her of the intimacy that can be enjoyed between them.
This man should write an instruction manual to show every man how they should treat their women.
He is gentle, patient and sensitive to her needs - and make sure that she understands that this is because it is the right thing to do for her, and that his needs do not matter to him- not to say that the sex scenes where hot because they were but if I had to describe them best I would say that they were emotional,tender but above they were simply breathtaking.
Aiden gives Kat the gift of his touch, he gives ever inch of him to her and for her - he ensures that her mind can cope with the fact that she is the most important person to him and when he tells her to "keep her eyes on him" at all times it is a simple instruction that holds the key to her heart and her release.
A simple act of tenderness that shows the relationship betwen these two at its very best. Kat's emergance from the shell she has beenhiding is is gloriuos - she grown into her own skin and becomes the woman that she should always have been and all because she has found the love of a certain "Irish" heart throb.
Everyone should read this book - it shows the plight of an abuse sufferer in all its unpleasant glory but also shows with spectacular clarity that with help the suffering doesnt have to last a lifetime.
It was hard to read at times but those parts were a necessary evil and added depth to the story - the author handled a very sensitive subject with the best kid gloves in the business.
Congratulations Ms Maxwell on your well aimed blow swung in aid of the good guys
Rating 4 out of 5