Tapping Out

Fighting Love, Book 1

By: Nikki Ash

Narrated by: Gregory Salinas, Kasi Hollowell

Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Bella:

Being a fighter is in my blood. My grandfather was a fighter, my father was a fighter, and I'm a fighter. I live for the rush of adrenaline and sensation of victory. When I fight, I give it my all. I step into the octagon and fight until there's nothing left to fight for. He's been my best friend for most of my life. I've fought with him, fought against him, and for the longest time, I fought for him, for us. Until he pushed me away, leaving me no choice but to tap out.

Marco:

Fighting is what saved me. It shed the old me, and I became a newer shinier version of myself. Until it took away everything I loved. I gave up and tapped out. Then one day, she came back into my life and reminded me that some things are worth fighting for. Now, I'm fighting for us, day by day, proving to her that our happily ever after is worth fighting for.

©2018 Nikki Ash (P)2024 Pink Flamingo Productions

Marco and Bella

Marco and Bella

The narrators did a really good job telling the story and giving the characters a voice.
I was hooked right from the start. The story of these two are told from when they were young to current and everything they went through. These two throughout the years relationship was a really rollercoaster. There has always been a connection between them but Marco being a bit older tried fighting it, but each time he caved he would end up running away. There was two parts were Bella freaks out that was a bit dramatic for me I get why she would but I felt she was overreacting a bit considering the reason and also how about in the beginning when he needed his friends and she chose not to be there before things got out of hand but it didn't stop me from loving this story. This is a second generation story and I seem to be reading these stories backwards and need to go and read their parents story. Doesn't need to be read but I just like to.

great story

Bella grew up in a gym, where her father worked as a trainer.
She has her mind set to be a fighter.
Marco’s childhood was rough, until he was adopted by Haley and Caleb. Marco has a great career as fighter.
He knows Bella is off limits, but with their special friendship, the sparks fly between them.
There are many challenges that Marco is facing that will affect his career and his love for Bella.
This story has all the emotions of love, pain, agony. I can’t wait to see what’s next in this series by Nikki ash

Gregory Salinas and Kasi Hollowel narration is phenomenal.
They both give the all emotions of love pain and vulnerability to all the characters. Very well done
#the flock on tour
#PFP Production

MMA romance with high angst

This is a sports romance with high, high angst! Man, it has parts that are very emotional. Bella and Marco are both MMA fighters. Marco has grown up around Bella but he's 7 years older. Marco had a inappropriate attraction to Bella long before she was 18. Marco has always been it for Bella. Marco does what he does best though, runs, multiple times. At one point there is almost a love triangle going on between Bella, Marco, and Tristan. Marco has a lot of demons to face so he makes some very bad and questionable decisions. Will that cost him Bella? There is a secret pregnancy thrown in the mix too. This story also is big on second, third, and even fourth chances 🤭 and redemption.

I received a free copy of this audiobook and voluntarily left this review.

Book 1 - Fighting Love

So this is book 1 in Ash's Fighting Love series which is a spin off of her Fighting series. I loved that we get Bella and Marco's story as we got glimpses of them as kids in the Fighting series. Don't worry if you haven't read/listened to the Fighting series you don't need to in order to enjoy this book - but they are great in the event you want to check them out.
This book delt with some really tough topics and I appreciate that Ash didn't sugar coat it. Marco delt with some really hard stuff and had to come to grips with the man he wanted to be. Bella struggled with her love for Marco and in my opinion didn't really know or understand a lot of his struggles. Definitely a lot of push and pull between them. These two do have a bit of an age gap (6 years) and as adults it's not as big a deal as it is when your 15 and 21. I got a little frustrated with Bella at times for not really understanding the implications or what that age gap really meant on top of the respect factor Marco has for Bella's dad - but their chemistry...
I thought overall this book was well done, with great flowing storyline, characters you love or love to hate. Great dual narration that brought our characters to life! Well balanced storyline with sweet and heat and the grit of real-life issues. I felt this was a great start to this new series and I am eager for more! I loved the letters at the end, and I hope that maybe in the next book we'll get Tanner's story?!?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I voluntarily provided this review.

One Of My Favorite Authors And Another Excellent Book.

Excellent story and thought that it was very well written. I liked the way the author handled the addiction and rehab. I also liked the way she kept the female character strong but still showed a little bit of weakness when it came to the male lead. I’m glad the story ended with a happily ever after! Highly recommend!

Annoyingly Beautiful

This is annoyingly beautiful. I really had some issues with it while in the middle but by the end it was so beautiful I had tears in my eyes. I was ready give a not stellar review because of the two MC’s. They both were redeemed with the ending. Then add in that epilogue? Nicely done! I listened to this on audio. Kasi Hollowell and Gregory Salinas both do a excellent job. I always love Mr Salinas’ readings. Ms Holliwell is a newer to me narrator and she is one I will listen to again.

Great read

I missed this series. I enjoyed this book even if both main characters gets on my nerve sometimes. I never thought that the hero ended up like that.

Another hit from Ash...

I’m at the point in my reader-life where I see the name ‘Nikki Ash’ and I am in. Which means I opted into this one without bothering to read the blurb or any other details—imagine my delight when I realized these are the kids of the leads in her “Fighting” series! How fun—it’s like a ‘Fighting Series: Next Gen’ kinda thing and I am here for it.

This read takes a heartbreaking turn fast—having met Marco as a 12 or 13-year-old prior to reading this … I admit, I hadn’t seen that coming and my heart broke for him all over again, for different reasons in this series.

Continuity is on-point between this series and the one it seems to have spun off from—impressive!


MMA - both leads.
Lifelong friends to ‘it’s complicated’ to lovers to ‘it’s complicated’ again.
Small age gap - ~6 years.
Broken male lead due to his dark past.
Major misunderstandings / miscommunication.
Unplanned pregnancy.

Overall:
An incredibly fun read that kept me sane while I worked.
4 stars.

🎧 Audio:
Great! Excellent narrators, perfect performances and overall: high quality. 🦩

Loved Marco and Bella

4/5 ⭐
2/5 🌶️
5/5 🎧

This was such a sweet story! I loved the childhood best friends to lovers trope along with the age gap, second chance and accidental pregnancy ones. It was all really well written and if it wasn't for Bella encouraging the miscommunication trope, it would have been a 5 star read for me.

Going in I had no clue this was a second generation romance but once I started recognizing names I got so excited. I adored Marco in his parents book and seeing him get his happily ever after was so amazing. I adored Bella too despite her propensity to shut down out of fear of getting hurt anytime Marco misstepped.

I'm really excited for Tristan and Mason's stories too! We get a small glimpse into Tristan's likely tropes in the epilogue and I can't wait to see what that means for his story.

Ntge audio was fantastic. Pink Flamingo did an amazing job producing as always and Kasi Hollowell was fantastic. Gregory Salinas is an all time fave and I adored him as Marco. This was such a great listen.

Oh Marco

This one pulled at the heart strings. And was an emotional ride. I love seeing these characters grow up in the other series and then to see them grown up was a treat! They pulled through hardships and fought for love. Narration was great!