Once Pure by Cecy Robson

Shattered Past #3

Synopsis:

     "Sofia Tres Santos remembers a time before her life went sour, before her innocence was ripped away, before she began punishing herself with risky behaviors and unworthy men. Now, at twenty, she just hopes she’s ready to rebuild some of what she lost. One way or another, it always comes back to her childhood friend and longtime crush, Killian O’Brien.

     As strong as Killian is, Sofia has always been his one weakness. He knows Sofia has suffered and wants to ensure she’s never hurt again—not like before, and definitely not under his watch. When Sofia agrees to work at his mixed martial arts gym, Killian seizes the opportunity to help and protect the sweet girl he’s always cared for. And yet, as he trains Sofia to defend herself using his hard-hitting MMA techniques, he’s drawn to the vulnerable beauty in ways he never expected.

     As Sofia grows stronger, she also grows brave enough to open herself up to love. And along the way, she challenges everything Killian believes to be true, showing him that no matter how much he dominates in the ring, the real battle is fought in the heart."

I received this book from NetGalley for review.

When I started these books, I wasn't sure what I was expecting. Assuming that they might be just like most other contemporary romance stories was easy, since many follow the same kind of story. Perfect care-free girl meets troubled guy and she helps him become happy, or the other way around. Neither of these were correct. In all of these books so far, both parties have skeletons in their closets.

Already knowing most of Sofia's story, didn't make learning the details any easier. If anything, it made her story and struggle the biggest change from the start of the book to the end. It also makes me admire her more by the end of the book. Unlike a lot of characters in this genre of book, she didn't really make any dumb decisions and didn't act immature over small pointless things that happened.

Killian was kind of a different story. I was never sure what to think of him, and he was pretty volatile when it came to his opinion of how to "protect" Sofia. He more than once crossed the line from looking out for her, and being overbearing. After learning his side of things surrounding Sofia's attack, you can almost understand why he reacted the way he did over things, but at the same time, it can't really make up for what happened.

I really love Cecy's writing and I love her characters. The humor she is able to weave into these stories is one of the things I love most about her writing, and the way she makes you feel for her characters like they are real people is the other thing I love about her writing.

I look forward to reading more of her writing and her characters.