Rebel by Brittany Crowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s in my blood. I was born to fight.

Rebel was the first book I’ve had the opportunity to include from Brittany Crowley in my blog tour schedule and I am so glad I did. Rebel was entertaining—sweet, funny, sexy and a sports romance… where can you go wrong? I enjoyed the female cage fighter idea immensely and while I didn’t connect with the characters the way I would’ve like, the read itself was still thoroughly entertaining. This friends to lovers/brother’s best friend romance is written in dual POV. Readers will enjoy the fun storyline as well as the characters—both primary and secondary. Personally, I thought Leo, Emerson’s best friend, stole the show at the physic fair and strip club. After reading those scenes my abs hurt from laughing. But while I am not sure that this is meant to fall into the rom-com genre, it was far more amusing than I initially expected. After the first code was called amongst the friends… all bets were off. I read this book in one setting. The pace was fairly consistent, and the plot was fun and fresh. Female cage fighters deserve more books… we all read about male cage fighters—hell, they are some of my favorite books—but female cage fighters are short changed for sure. I think that readers will love Emerson—the daughter of a cage fighter who has the same dreams for herself—who never takes no for an answer and doesn’t allow anyone to dictate what she’s capable of achieving. As fierce of a fighter as she was, she was equally sweet with Joss. She wasn’t passive or submissive, but she wasn’t authoritative or dominate either… it was a great balance. And what a role model she was—#RebelsArmy!!! This romance was a bit of a slow burn but it’s rewarding watching as Joss’ eyes are opened to his long-time dormant feelings for his best friend’s little sister. The pair are 7 years apart in age and while I didn’t see that as taboo, I think some might categorize it as such and the author used it as a reason the two didn’t get together sooner. Overall, I think this book is going to appeal to a lot of readers. They will love the plot and characters and I would definitely recommend it. Solid four-star read for me and I look forward to reading Brittany Crowley again soon!

Quotes:

“I knew your fight would be a big deal, but I didn’t realize the magnitude of it. You’re the new anti-hero.”

“Anti-hero?” I question.“Isn’t that bad?”

“Not necessarily,” Penny chimes in. “There are so many people out there that try to fit themselves in a tiny box because that’s what is expected of them. You’ve lit those boxes on fire while chucking the middle finger in the process. You’re a role model for the girls without a voice.”
—
It’s devastating to think he’s just like the rest of them. Wants to fit me into a cookie cutter box and keep me there.
—
“How many times can one man shatter me?”
—
“Doesn’t forbidden fruit look sweeter when you know there’s a chance they can be yours?”

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