New Release Review & Giveaway.. Rough Around the Edges by Ranae Rose ~ '

Sometimes love is enough. Other times, you have to fight for it.

For Ryan Moore, the choice to fight is like the choice to breathe – necessary. After being wounded in war and discharged from the United States Marine Corps, competitive MMA fighting is the only thing he’s still able to excel at. Every round is a risk he can’t afford to take, but time spent outside of the cage is purgatory, until he meets female fighter Ally Rivera. For the first time since an IED blast destroyed life as he knew it, he wants something – someone. And she wants him, but the lingering effects of war might just tear them apart, if the gang violence that plagues her family doesn’t kill them first.

Rough Around the Edges is Ryan’s side of the love story told in Battered Not Broken. It’s not a sequel, but a separate novel written for those who want to experience the story through Ryan’s eyes. Read Battered Not Broken first or simply dive right in and enjoy an erotic romance novel told completely from a male point of view

Grab your copy of Rough Around the Edges from Amazon and B&N

Ranae Rose is a best-selling author of over a dozen contemporary, paranormal and historical romances, all of them delightfully steamy. She lives on the US East Coast with her husband, child, German Shepherd dogs and overflowing bookshelves. She spends most of her time letting her very active imagination run wild, penning her next story. When she's not writing or lost in her latest read, she can usually be found indulging her love of her two favorite sports - martial arts and horseback riding.
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~ My review of Rough Around the Edges....
Once again Rose has brought us into her sexy version of the MMA world. My review of Rough is similar to Battered, with the exception being that we get to navigate the relationship between Allie and Ryan through Ryan's eyes this time around.

To spite the fact that I already knew the basis of the story, it was still exciting to have the different viewpoint of events as they unfolded. To delve into Ryan's mind this time around and see Allie through his eyes, the way he has loved her since he first laid eyes on her, the way she makes him feel. And to experience the pain he endures, the remnants of the damage permanently etched into Ryan from an IED injury in Iraq, was even more heartbreaking than seeing it through Allie's eyes in Battered.

The internal, emotional and external scars that this couple carry make them both imperfectly perfect for each other. They truly are, Rough Around the Edges!

I definitely recommend this book to any romance novel fans, especially if you want something fresh in two strong lead characters that manage to maintain a balance in equal control over their relationship.

~ My review of Battered not Broken....
Battered not Broken is an adult themed story that follows the rocky relationship between Ryan Moore and Ally Rivera. Warning, this book is NC17, intended for mature audiences due to some intense violence and gritty love scenes.

Ryan Moore is an Iragi War Veteran struggling to make a life for himself in the "real world" after his short stint in the military left him with a brain injury from and IED. Determined not to accept the assistance his wealthy family offers, that comes with strings attached, he throws himself into the violent world of MMA fighting. The only thing he thinks he's any good at.

Ally Rivera has suffered a different kind of violence that lead her to the MMA world as well. Her father is in jail for assaulting the man that assaulted Ally when she was just a teenager, and her brother is kneck deep in gang violence. She works in her mother's salon, works out at the local gym and fights women's MMA on weekends. It's at the local gym she first meets the reserved, sexy new member, Ryan Moore.

Sparks fly immediately and soon these two are an unlikely and unseperable couple in and out of the ring. When Ryan's injury becomes harder for him to deal with, he takes it out on Ally, and pushes her away. He quickly realizes his error in judgement, but Ally's brothers gang affiliation not only adds another kink to the chain, but costs a few people their lives as well. In the end will Ryan and Ally still be standing? And if they are, will they be able to overcome all the obstacles life throws at them in order to be together?

This book is a wonderful tribute to our Military men and women, showcasing the struggle some soldiers have living thier lives in the aftermath of the uglieness that is War. Rose's unbiased account of Ryan's struggles with the lasting effects of injuries sustained from an IED in Afghanistan, and how it spills over into his everyday life was spot on. She definitely did her research into the topic, and poured that knowledge into the character of Ryan.

Rose steams up the pages with her usual sexy as hell style! Her attention to detail is that perfect balance of just enough, but not too much. Ryan is definitely battered; on paper he is a dud, but he loves Ally ultimately and selflessly, prooving he isn't broken. The scars he carries and his rawness just make him even sexier. I give this one 5/5.. but that's just my two cents.

** enter Rose's Goodreads giveaway