The One You Fight for

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. The One You Fight For is the third book in the latest series by Roni Loren and I admit that I am really enjoying these books. With each book, they only get better. But I have to say that this book was PHENOMENAL....there are NO words and I don't think that my review could ever give this book the justice that it deserves. This book will make you cry, make you think, make you want to be better and will give you all the feels upside and down and sideways. It has everything that suckers punch a reader in all the best of ways and The One You Fight For is a powerfully packed romance that is guaranteed to satisfy you from head to toe!! You're sexy as fuck. Smart. Interesting. And when I kiss you, your whole body responds like you're starved for something only I can give you. You know what that feels like? .....Like a goddamend drug Taryn. Our beautiful love story begins with one fateful night on prom night, where there was a high school shooting by two boys who left behind a trail of bodies and trauma and grief in their wake. Our heroine, Taryn Laundry, has made a promise to her sister who was killed in the high school shooting. That her death wouldn't be in vain, that she would go into research and develop a way to prevent future shootings. And so she has worked hard to get a plan in motion, that will be a preventive measure for future school programs to get to the children before they get to the point when they make a disastrous decision to kill. That love and guidance and confidence and attention are what they need, but she needs to get the school board to approve her plan. She has hardly any life because of her sacrifice in her research and is left to blind dates being set up by friends. But when walking home she walks into a bar, gives into temptation and sings her heart out in a way she has never done on stage and bumps into Shaw Miller. There are sparks that fly between them but then she is shocked when she sees him again at a fundraiser for children and before she knows it she is doing a workout at his new gym and kisses and passion explode. But Shaw is hiding a great secret....who he really is. He has hidden away for years, doing everything he can to not let the press know of his location or his new name. But when he ends up kissing Taryn he knows that she deserves the truth....he refuses to take any woman to his bed unless they know his true identity....that he is the brother of one of the boys that shot out the high school on prom. He never expected that Taryn, a woman who family his brother hurt unimaginably, accepts him as he is and sees him for the good man he has become and not what his brother did. They have a secret fling, hidden away and learning each other. But the past comes back to haunt them and they will have to make a difficult decision either to embrace the love they have or run away from each other and keep what they have a secret.... The One You Fight For is a story that I didn't expect to be so emotional. This book TORE ME TO SHREDS....yep I was sobbing in many parts of this book. I haven't felt so torn in a book in a long time and this book really is heartbreaking in many ways but I honestly loved every moment I was reading this book. It does begin a bit slow at times, but overall it just captures you in a way you don't expect. I was cheering these two on from the first moment. This book is my favorite of the series so far, I really am grateful that Roni Loren approached this book in such a way. I really liked seeing that grief when a crime like this happens is that it happens on both sides....families of the criminal feel pain and sorrow too and it shows so well in this book. The hero has hidden away from the press and his family and hasn't had hardly any friendships or relationships except for his best friend. He blames himself for his brother's actions but we see his pain and torment in this book and how much he has grieved with everyone else. Then we have the heroine who has devoted so much of her energy and time to this cause and her research that she hasn't really lived her life and once she meets Shaw, she begins to do things for herself and builds her own happiness. But for once, all that mattered was how she felt in this moment. She was happy. This was right. They loved each other. She'd been wrong. Sometimes love was enough. I have to say I really enjoyed the way that this romance is built....so slowly and carefully and with great attention. It is more of a fling type set up, but not your typical fling romance at all. We see the chemistry that these two have with each other but we also see that unless they are both willing to go forward to their families, friends and the press with their relationship that it can only go one way and they just want to enjoy being together. Their fun bantering is charming and their connection is powerful. They have so much in common and seeing them fight for each other was truly beautiful to see. The ending is EPIC and so worth the read, even if I was crying my eyes out. One of the BEST endings that I have ever read, it was so perfectly written and really speaks to the heart of the reader. Because in that moment, with his body pumping into hers and his arms wrapped around her, she was lost to him. Her soul and her heart. She'd spent her whole life fighting. She would still fight. But when it came to love, she'd learned that she didn't need to fight for it.....She needed to surrender. Overall I found The One You Fight For is a passionate story of the pain of grief, of sole purpose of striving to be better and a tale that will tug at your heartstrings..... A TRUE TREASURE TROVE.

Every time I pick up one of the books in the series, I remember how much I love them! They can be difficult books to get through as Ms. Loren doesn’t shy away from the difficult emotions, but she treats them sensitively. It just feels very uplifting to read these stories where these survivors, broken in so many different ways, find healing (and romance). While this is the third in the series, I think it could be read as a standalone. After losing her younger sister at the Long Acre shooting, Taryn’s dedicated her entire life to preventing school shootings. As a forensic psychologist, she’s developed a program to identify kids at risk and prevent the shootings, and now she just needs to get a school district on board with running a trial of the program. Shaw’s younger brother was one of the school shooters, and after the shooting he’s been ostracized and treated like another murderer-in-the-making. At his best friend’s request, he’s changed his name and come back to Texas to help him design and run a Ninja-Warrior-type obstacle course gym. After a chance meeting outside a bar, it seems almost like fate when Taryn and Shaw meet again during a charity run. But can two survivors from opposing sides find common ground? “One night. Two people with guns. The violence of that one moment in time stretched out like cracks in glass—always splintering, reaching out further, touching lives in ways no one but the people affected ever thought about.” Taryn was an easy character to empathize with. Her family’s put this enormous pressure on her to live up to her sister’s memory – anything not related to her research is viewed by her parents (and Taryn) as a betrayal of her sister’s memory. It’s her friend Kincaid that pushes her to take time for herself, to live a little. I loved seeing more of Kincaid in this book, and how over-the-top hilarious she was, and I can’t wait for her book. In fact, I loved how supported Taryn was by her friends (since her family support was seriously lacking), and it was one of my favorite parts of the book. Even though I loved Taryn, Shaw is probably my favorite character from the series. From his hatred of the endless media scrutiny to his fear that he was just as “evil” as his brother, he’s a complicated character, and it was so much fun watching Taryn draw him out. I mean, he’s so tangled up with himself that when he realizes who Taryn is and thinks he won’t have a chance at a relationship with her, he accepts it as penance for, well, being him. “All I’m saying is that yes, our pasts are intertwined, but by no fault of our own,” she said matter-of-factly. “Why should we let what happened take away yet another thing? Thinking about that… Well, it pisses me off.” Her lips pursed. “I’ve been through hell. You’ve been through hell. If we want to kiss each other, why shouldn’t we be able to do that? We’re grown people. We’re attracted to each other. We’re both lonely.” Their relationship was just everything I wanted to see in this book. Shaw’s seen Taryn both at her worst – practically having a panic attack after the impromptu guitar performance – and her best – campaigning for her school program – and appreciates all of her. Taryn’s easy acceptance that Shaw is as much a victim of the shooting as her is a profound revelation for Shaw, and the start of his healing. They had an absolute ton of chemistry together, as well. As for negatives, I wish a little more had been done with Taryn’s love of songwriting, and I was ambivalent about one of my least favorite tropes showing up: (view spoiler)[oops baby (hide spoiler)]. Overall, though, I very much enjoyed the book, and I’m looking forward to Kincaid’s book! I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Taryn Landry blames herself for her sister's death. Taryn was there the night of the Long Acre High School shooting, but no one knows her real role. Fourteen years later, and Taryn is now a psychologist and trying to secure funding for the program she's spent her entire career creating, a program she hopes will help prevent future kids from becoming like the ones who shot up her high school. Taryn has no time for anything else, but she's increasingly distracted by a the sexy fitness trainer at the new gym her best friend has convinced her to join. Shaw Miller is also hiding from the scars of his childhood, blaming himself for the monster his little brother became. Shaw's brother was one of the gunmen and it has ruined Shaw's Olympic career, his life, and the lives of so many others. Shaw has become a recluse, refusing to have relationships with anyone but his best friend, the friend who's convinced him to return to his hometown to help open new extreme sporting gym. Shaw only agreed if he could be someone else, and if he could be out in a year. What Shaw wasn't counting on was the beautiful Taryn coming into his life, a woman he met out one evening and had immediate sparks with. A woman he gave a fake name to, a woman who has no idea that her sister was killed by his brother. This romance has all the warning lights going for - how could these two EVER find a happily ever after? Well, Loren does it, and with aplomb. You'll find yourself rooting for both Shaw and Taryn, both damaged, both needing to forgive themselves, and both absolutely perfect for each other. This book avoids being a cliche and is a wonderful example of how to use a terrible, highly charged plot point in a respectful and meaningful way. Loren never digresses into grand standing or politics, but keeps the focus on the victims, giving them names. So far, one of the best series I've ever read that uses a school shooting as its impetus. Bravo! Also, love the cover of this book. Taryn is Black and her identity informs and drives the story, but isn't the central conflict.

Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads. I read The One You Fight For way back in January — it was my first book of the year, in fact — but never got around to reviewing it. I'm not even going to try to make excuses. It was a fantastic book that provided a great ending to this series that won my heart over the last year or so.  I knew I was in for an emotional journey with this book. I mean, pairing the sister of a Long Acre shooting victim with the brother of the shooter? No way I was getting out of that one without shedding some tears. It might sound like an odd pairing, but it wasn't. Taryn and Shaw were actually pretty perfect for each other. I loved how they opened up to each other and found a way to move on from the ugliness of the tragedy that affected both of them. I also loved how Taryn channeled her pain into research and trying to find a way to prevent tragedies like this in the future. Combine that with Shaw's feeling that the ugliness that lived in his brother also lived in him — and that he was, in a way, responsible for his brother's actions — and I couldn't put this one down. The One You Fight For delivered a sweet, sexy and emotional romance between two people who truly deserved it. But, it also gave me a whole lot to think about. Each of the books in this series have, to be honest. While reading, I found myself putting myself in both Taryn's and Shaw's shoes at different times. I'm not sure I would have been as forgiving and gracious as Taryn and I probably would've felt as guilty as Shaw. There's a myriad of layers to this story and the series as a whole. I like when books make me think. (As long as there's still some kissing.)  I thought The One You Fight For was the last book in the series, but I'm thrilled to find out there's another one coming. Even if it's not until the end of December. I can take the wait if it means getting more from this series. I received a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Favorite Quotes: Songs from her childhood were like that—old friends who never quite left her, even when she'd forgotten they existed. The words came back as though they'd just been waiting in line to be sung. Shaw had accepted that something was broken inside him, but he didn't want to live life feeling like a hollow shell. "You can say you're sorry for lying to me. You can say you're sorry for kissing me back tonight. You can say you're sorry for my loss. But don't take blame for things that aren't yours to own." "You are not ugliness. You are Shaw Miller, the guy I love. You are worth the trouble."