Review: Undefeated....in the ring.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 16, 2014
First and foremost, I think it's extremely important to mention that I am a tough reviewer! I am a huge fan of the greats- epic fantasies- like WoT by Robert Jordan and GoT by George Martin. In the past year, I have yet to read anything that has really “Wow'ed” me. It's a little hard to measure up to such epic story-tellers, but alas, that is what I have come to expect. I've been spoiled. Regardless, a lot of work goes in to any piece of literature and I can appreciate that.It is also worth mentioning that this book revolves around domestic violence in relationships. And while I am NOT in to victim blaming or shaming, I have an extremely difficult time harboring any feelings of pity or remorse for someone who finds themselves in an abusive relationship and stays that way for an extended period of time- like ten years in the main character's case.Speaking of the main character, Kace, I had an extremely hard time relating to her at all. She is extremely quirky(I'm being kind) and while I love a good underdog and can appreciate the fact that this hot boxer has fallen for the oddball, I can't help but to feel as though her character needed a LOT more development. I felt as though I knew very little about her. I couldn't connect with her emotionally- at all.Which brings us around to editing. This story has a mountain's worth of potential, if and only IF it were to be professionally edited and by someone who's not afraid to say: “Look, pal, you might think about changing this, this, and this.” Some of the story was extremely repetitive. And some of it got carried a little TOO far. Particularly the scene with Ripp and Kace's ex-boyfriend. I like a little blood and violence but this was just....too much. And not to mention, extremely unrealistic. Yeah, yeah....I know....this is fiction. Stop yelling! ;) But still...To be completely truthful, I didn't even finish it. I stopped at about the 80% mark. I'm sure the Shane Dekkar fans are screaming their heads off at me right now but....I'm sorry! I just didn't feel compelled enough to continue.I'm very perplexed about the huge dissimilarities in the author's multitude of books. In “Undeafeted” we have the overcoming and very blatant opposition of domestic violence but I read in an excerpt from a volume of the Baby Girl series in which the male lead says he's going to “slap the shit” out of the female lead during a sexual encounter. He also has a new book coming out that I do believe involves some bloody, sexual violence. Personally, I don't have a problem when an author swaps genres (although I know some do) but I just feel a little baffled.  None-the-less, there I go, getting off track!So, shall we end on a good note?I really, really, really liked Shane. He's extremely genuine and caring. Plus, who doesn't dream of a hot, slightly damaged boxer falling in love with them despite their weird quirks?? I loved the boxing scenes. These showed that either the author has some experience in boxing or he really did some kick-ass research. Regardless, the thoughts going through Shane's head while he's fighting and the actual process of the fight itself is some pretty invaluable information and helps the reader to see a side of the story that we probably wouldn't get to see if the author were a female.Ripp. I loved his character as well. And I loved his interactions with Shane. They are so natural, fun, and funny together. You can't help but to love these two and I'm sure that Ripp's story, which I believe is due out soon, will be a fun read for fans of the author's.In summary, I think that this book has some potential with the help of some extreme character development (and possibly a whole make over) for Kace and the assistance of a really kick-ass editor.