When a book starts as ridiculously as REAL does, I just want to toss it across the room and move on. I didn't though, I stuck with it. Why? Fuck if I know. Seriously, the first few chapters? Cheese-Ball-City. But...if you can get past those first forty or fifty pages, it gets much better. There is still a bit of cheese spread through out but there is also:A super hot fighter with a debilitating problem and a huge ass heart of gold. Remy really is an intriguing character. Not to say that Brooke is not intriguing, she is ... but Remington stole the show here. I'm kind of losing my train of thought here though...REAL has quite a bit of the things I look for in a book. There is a dash of humor, a pinch of snark, a heaping spoon of hot steamy romance that all bakes into a nice loveable cake.What starts off as a seriously unbelievable romantic situation turns into a job offer. Remy needs a traveling sports therapy specialist and Brooke fits that bill. She had been an athlete aspiring to the Olympics before an injury halted all her aspirations. Now, she just wants to be part of something bigger. What she doesn't expect is the conundrum riding in a speeding train that is Remington Tate.The first half of the book is build up. Build up to an extremely explosive, hang on to your panties and maybe even your uterus - type of romance. This is not tame and sweet. Though it has its moments. This is raw, emotional, volatile and just so damn hot.The second half of the book goes mind blowing fast. So much is learned, so much happens and so many feelings are let loose.This isn't the perfect read. Aside from the corniness at the beginning, I had some other minor issues as well. There is a lack of openness and honesty throughout that bothered me a tad. On top of that the writing style may not be for everyone either. It is fist person, so maybe I should have tried harder to look past it but it is a choppy / fragmented style that is not always the easiest for reading.However, if you love the alpha-male 'I claim you' type man, broken characters, volatile love affairs and enough sexual tension to swim through... give REAL a shot. You probably won't be disappointed.
