#BookReview – “Felix” by Elizabeth Reyes

Blurb

They say the only good thing about hitting rock bottom is that it can't get any worse . . . or can it?

World famous boxing champ, Felix Sanchez, had it all—the fame, the fortune, and all the women any man could ask for. When the hours of partying followed by hours spent in court and in rehab begin to outnumber the hours he spends training, losing his title comes as no surprise to everyone. The world assumes he deserved to lose it.

Only those closest to Felix know the real truth behind his sudden downward spiral. And if Felix has his way, no one else ever will. With an uncertain future ahead of him, he heads back to his roots—5th Street—the gym that started it all for him. It's where he meets the humble but mighty little Ms. Ella.

The only times Felix had ever decided to forgo the usual meaningless fling and try a real relationship he was burned badly. Now the adorable but tenacious self-defense instructor has him considering this love thing one more time.

Then just when he begins to worry that his past is letting his possessive and jaded heart get the best of him, he's blindsided in the most brutal way—he's brought to his knees—to what could be the one low in his life he may never recover from. 

Review

In the fifth book in the 5^th Street series, boxing heavyweight champion Felix Sanchez hits rock bottom when he loses his title due to drugs, alcohol, women, and his massive ego. After court-ordered probation, he returns home to the 5^th Street Gym in LA where he got his start. He co-owns the gym with his four friends. Though he knows he needs to get his life straightened out, Felix doesn’t really care to until he meets the women’s self-defense instructor.

Ella Castellano started up the self-defense program after disaster struck her brother and his girlfriend. Though she’s secretly thrilled with Felix’s attention, she’s careful and doesn’t trust a man with his reputation.

Both the H/h are strong, well-developed, emotionally-damaged characters. They’ve experienced the loss of loved ones and bonded over their shared grief.

I really liked this book, but their ages surprised me. Ella is only 21 years old. Felix’s age is never mentioned, but you’re led to believe he’s about four or five years older than her. Even at age 26, I found it hard to believe he was that high up the boxing ladder, but then again, I don’t know anything about boxing. I wish the sport would’ve played a stronger role in the story, but Ms. Reyes focused more on the characters and their romance, with Felix’s boxing career in the background.

Even though the book is a standalone, I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d read the previous books in this series. Felix’s friends—Noah, Gio, Hector, and Abel—were all there with their wives and children, but I couldn’t really connect with them. There were a lot of side characters, including friends and family members, and I couldn’t keep track of which woman was married to which man.

Ella’s ex, Grayson, grated on my nerves. I understand why she wanted to stay friends with him—he really did care about her—but he was manipulative and controlling. He treated her and Felix horribly, always trying to break them up, but she continued to forgive him because he was “worried” for her. I lost all respect for her when she refused to cut ties with Grayson after a certain embarrassing incident that plastered her face all over the media.

The story could use an edit to fix some punctuation errors/typos and repetition, but I still enjoyed it. For anyone who wants to read a NA sports romance that’s not too heavy on sports, this is a good book to try.

4 Stars