BECOMING A LEGEND
Series: Kavanagh Legends #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Sarah Robinson
Release Date: December 13, 2016
From the author of Saving a Legend (“A deep and moving story about family, acceptance, and love.”—Katy Evans) comes another smoldering MMA romance featuring the Kavanagh brothers, the chiseled alpha males whose real legacy is love.
Kane Kavanagh has always had one goal: being the best mixed martial arts fighter alive. With the MMA National Championships in Las Vegas fast approaching, the man they call “Killer” has no intention of letting anyone or anything get in his way. Somehow, though, a feisty opponent has slipped beneath his guard—and stolen his heart. Fiery and passionate, Nora Hannigan is harder to pin down than any rival Kane has faced in the ring. And she isn’t afraid to tell Kane that she wants nothing to do with him.
With her best friend about to marry into the Kavanagh family, Nora has been resisting Kane’s shameless attempts at flirting for months. But after their undeniable chemistry finally takes over, leading to the hottest night of Nora’s life, she’s running scared. There’s a lot about her life Kane doesn’t know, and she won’t be responsible for ending his career. Now Kane’s out to prove that he’s ready for commitment by winning her heart—and he’s never lost a fight.
I want every single string, kitty. I want your heart.”
How have I not read anything by this author before? What is wrong with me? Why am I starting this series with book 3? Well, at least I know the answer to the third question there, and that’s because I like to do things back-asswards more often than not. As for the other two? I have no clue and I’m kicking myself for the mistake thoroughly because I seriously enjoyed this book.
As a reader that typically goes for the alphaholes and manwhores, it was a refreshing change of pace to get a nice guy. Kane Kavanagh has had the hots of his brother’s girlfriend’s best friend for some time and all he’s gotten in return is her snark and disinterest. But Kane is not the playboy and batboy that he may come across as at first. Sure he’s focused on his professional fighting career, but he’s also loyal, sweet, and when the man sets his eyes on his goal, he’ll stop at nothing to get it…and what he wants is Nora. Nora has been trying to resist Kane for months, but when she finally gets to see the man beneath the sex appeal and show, she realizes that there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye.
Nora is a sweet girl that only ever wanted the love of her mother. Unfortunately her mother only ever cared about her herself and her next good time. Nora has been the adult her entire life and taking care of her mother is nothing new. She doesn’t want Kane or his amazing family to know the depth of the trouble she’s in or what her mother truly cost her, so avoiding Kane’s attentions is more of a necessity than she admits to at first. But the fiery attraction between them soon proves too much of a temptation to resist. What first starts as a not strings attached means to appease the sexual tension between them, soon begins to turn into something much more meaningful.
Becoming a Legend was a wonderful combination of sweet and sexy. Kane, while a playboy in his recent years, knows a good thing when he’s got it. And it’s only Nora for him as soon as they get started. I loved that there was absolutely no other woman drama. Kane only had eyes for Nora and I adored the sweet side of him that came out around her. He was protective and possessive but without going overboard.
Nora was a fantastic heroine. All she’s ever wanted was her mother’s love and seeing the extents of her sacrifices for her was almost heartbreaking to read. This was a perfectly paced, sweet and heartwarming romance that I enjoyed from start to finish. There was just the right amount of sizzle with just the perfect splash of action to spice things up. I loved that there was no craziness with Kane and Nora’s relationship. While the primary drama came from outside forces, it never felt like it was too much. It was the perfect addition to add an interesting plot line to the romance. If you’re looking for a sweet and sexy hero and romance with just as much sizzle, then this is definitely a must read.
Kavanagh Legends Series
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- Breaking a Legend (Kavanagh Legends, #1)
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- Saving a Legend (Kavanagh Legends, #2)
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- Becoming a Legend (Kavanagh Legends #3)
THE PAWN
Avery has grown up with everything she could ever ask for. After a terrible scandal with her father’s company, she and her father are left with close to nothing. In order to do anything she can to save her house and care for her father, Avery goes to the one man who might give her a loan. Little does she know that she will meet the man who ruined her father and give her a proposal that she cannot refuse in order to save her house and her father’s life.
GABRIEL. That’s it. Just his name sends shivers down my body. Gabriel is mine. Seriously. Back up, ladies! I know Lana wants to claim him, but NOPE! I refuse. He is ALL MINE, whore! He is a Grade A – Ass….Hole. My kinda man. He treats Avery with nothing less than disdain. She is the daughter of the man that cheated him, and he is willing to put her through hell and humiliation to get his pleasure. I loved the glimpses of compassion in his character, but he inevitably shows his true colors and is true to his inner asshole.
NICO
So I have a confession…mafia romance happens to be my catnip. Well, I guess it’s not much of a confession when it’s not exactly a secret, huh? If you follow my reviews, you also then happen to know that I’m picky when it comes to them. Like super picky. Good mafia romance are hard to find. Either they lack the research, the development, the engaging characters or the believable romance at the center of it all. But this book? This happened to have all of it. In delicious spades.
SOMEONE LIKE YOU
If you’re anything like me, then you’ve been both eagerly anticipating and dreading Lincoln’s book. Anticipating it because you love those irreverent playboys, and dreading because you’re afraid that you’ve been building up your expectations in anticipation. Lincoln’s story was the one I’ve been waiting for since 
Daisy is Emma’s (from 
What you see is not at all what you get with him and soon the pieces begin to click together towards the heartrending secret that he keeps. My heart went through a ringer with him. It’s impossible not to fall for him, not to feel his pain, not to want to soothe and heal him. In between the easy friendship that Lincoln and Daisy instantly develop, there was such a deep emotion interspersed with a hidden craving. God. GOD but I loved these two together.
Someone Like You was an incredibly powerful, poignant and emotional romance. It was a story of second chances and healing. It was a stunning story of finding your strength again and moving on. It’s a story of courage and love. It was absolute perfection and reminded me all over again why I first fell in love with Lauren Layne’s writing. The woman can make you feel, laugh, and love all in 228 wonderful pages. If you’ve enjoyed the rest of the Stiletto and Oxford series and you’ve been anticipating Lincoln’s story as much as I have, this is a must read. But have a box of tissues ready, because you won’t come out of it unscathed. Be ready to shed some tears and swoon over the perfect imperfection that is Lincoln Mathis.
THE PAWN
This was easily my favorite by this author to date. Gripping. Captivating. Magnetic. Dark. Erotic. It was EVERYTHING I love about a dark romance. It’s not gratuitous violence and scenes thrown in for pure shock value. It’s a mind fuck. An incredibly written, twisty, and delicious mind fuck that I couldn’t put down from beginning to finish; with a heroine you’ll want to root for, and an anti-hero that you’ll want to hate only slightly more than you love him.
Growing up in privilege and money, Avery had an enchanted life. She idolized her father, she looked forward to her future and starting college, she had a doting boyfriend that she suspected only wanted her for his status, she had little worries aside from questioning her relationship…until it all crashed down on her…
If you’re a fan of this author, and you love a well written dark romance, this is one book that you do NOT want to miss. I may go crazy in my wait for the conclusion, but I don’t regret a moment of it because I have the best book high after finishing this. All of the stars!
DOWNED
Well spank my butt and call me Larry, I did NOT expect to like this as much as I did. Now, now, don’t go getting all hissy on me, let me ‘splain. See, the thing is, for as much as I loved Ace in 
So confession time; I don’t usually like the sugary sweet heroines. But something about Bryant just grabbed me. Perhaps it was because there was always that little crack to the shiny foundation that everyone sees on the outside that humanized her. She was almost too perfect at times, but it also worked for her. She was the perfect balm that Ace’s ragged edges needed.
Did Ace redeem himself in this book? More than. THIS is the man that I was hoping was under all that false ego and bluster. You really got to see the heart of him here, and suddenly all of his past actions begin to make sense.
SPLIT
If there’s one thing I can tell you is that Split is one of the most unconventional and unique romances I’ve read in a long while. It’s not going to a be a book or story I’ll soon forget, and that certainly deserves some praise. The writing is engaging, the characters multi layered, and there’s enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the book from cover to cover.
Ultimately what brought my rating down was the ending. I had a really tough time swallowing all of that. I couldn’t wrap my mind around some of the choices the characters made and especially the way they dealt with them. It just wasn’t believable. And yes, I get that I’m reading a psychological thriller and fiction, but at the same time, I want some believability in the story and it just wasn’t there.
HARD COMPROMISE
Bad girl from the wrong side of the tracks.
I do believe that this may have been my favorite book that I’ve read from this author to date. I loved everything about it.
TRIPLE TROUBLE
Do you see those pathetic looking things in the corner over there? That, my friends, is my poor overworked ovaries waving the white flag of defeat. This book went and did them in. They put up a good fight but at the end the combustible chemistry between Juliet, Randy, and Tristan was just too much for them. May they rest in peace, the poor f*ckers. But damn, what a way to go.
Cari Quinn and Taryn Elliott are the magicians of dirty. Magicians, I tells ya. These two wrote a book so dirty, it put dirty to shame. It’s like triple dirty. Ha! See what I did there? But I digress. Where was I? *pause for dirty visual of one particular book scene*
Sweet mother of all that’s holy, this book was freaking hot. HOT. If you’re looking for a healthy balance of story and hot sex, look no further. You’ll get that in spades. But fair warning, I’d advise you have plenty of ice, batteries, or your significant other on hand as you’re reading. Otherwise some side effects might ensue…
Turbulence
