Gritty, sexy m/m romance…

I believe this author is one of the best writers in the m/m genre, hands down. She can get into the hearts and minds of her characters and share their doubts, joys, fears and happiness in a way that makes them very real…

The streets of Chicago are never meaner than for Lucky. Where he comes from, what he overcomes, is heartbreaking even as he struggles to make more for, and of, himself. Brick and Mac give him an anchor, a purpose that will see him strive for the heights of the fighting world. If only Dray could be part of his future…

“Don’t build your life around something that could vanish in an instant.”

Dray had felt those heights, they were tantalizingly, close, before an unexpected betrayal made him lose it all and walk away. Years later, Lucky and Dray are back together, bound by love for Brick, and soon for themselves. Nothing is easier. There is no magic formula where they can acknowledge their love, be happy, and still be successful in the sport they are devoted to… They want to be together but can’t find a path forward. It takes a lot of soul-searching and shared moments – both good and bad – for them to realize what really mattered…

Be prepared for your heart to feel a little heavy and a bit bruised but also hopeful. Love is worth it! ~Diane, 4.5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Carol Lynne and let me tell you I was definitely impressed. This story was amazing and really pulled at the heart strings. I had to keep putting it down and walking way to keep from crying. Brick is an amazing person that teaches everyone he touches valuable lessons about life. Lucky and Dray are on the receiving end of this and become something he would be proud of. I can't wait for book number 2.

3.5 stars rounded up because while it wasn't what I expected I really liked the setting and its characters, and the good things about this book made up for its weaknesses.

I actually quite like m/m romances involving sports, so I was looking forward to one about MMA fighters. That isn't really what it this book is about - and if I have a complaint its probably that it is misleading in the beginning. There is some fighting in the first half of the book, but it really is a story about helping others and letting yourself be saved.

The Brick Yard is a gym in Chicago run by Brick, a guy helping young kids in need of help. One of these is Lucky, a boy suffering horrible abuse from his mother (and yeah, trigger warning for physical abuse) and wanting to become a UFC fighter like his idol Dray. Dray is another of Brick's boys, but he left the city and a promising career as an MMA fighter after being outed by his then-boyfriend. Dray and Lucky meet again when it turns out Brick is dying from cancer. It will be up to them to continue Brick's legacy, and while they're doing that also face their own past before they can make a future together.

This book has lots of things going for it, but oh it meanders and sometimes, especially in the beginning and in the end I got confused about how much time had passed and where we were in time, something that could be fixed easily by better editing. Some storylines also aren't used to their full potential - the difficulty of being gay in a sport like MMA was mentioned again and again but there wasn't a real conclusion to it - it's like the author intended to so something with it in the beginning but then changed their mind as she was writing. That sounds worse than it was handled, but I always found the mention of Dray's ex oddly jarring, like he didn't quite belong into the story.

There's a bit of the occasional clumsy turn of phrase, especially during the steamy scenes, but it was rare enough for me to mostly overlook. Otherwise the writing was smooth and pulled me along, although again, the story goes a different path than I expected. I also found Dray's initial attraction to Lucky not 100% convincing, but I didn't have to strain my disbelief too much. And in the course of the story, they absolutely worked for me.

I really loved Dray and Lucky, however, and I loved the ending and the setting for the next novel. I enjoyed reading this despite the dark topics, and I will definitely check out the sequel for this I'd recommend this to people looking for a story with more angst than romance, and who like stories about people fighting their past.

Definitely one of Carol Lynne's best books! Considering how many she has written to date, that says a lot.

The title is true in the many definitions of the word. Lucky was born a fighter. He had to fight for everything in his life. Then Brick gave him a place where he could stop fighting for his life and fight for other things.

When life through a wrench in Dray's career, the MMA fighter didn't fight back. He ran away from those that could help him the most.

Without any spoilers, Brick's ending was heart wrenching and had me crying. Lucky had me crying. Dray had me crying.

A Fabulous book.

This was tumultuous to say the least. So many highs and lows that I wasn't sure how to feel about it when I finished reading the book. I knew I liked it, but how much? Not exactly sure. One thing is clear, however, and that's that I'm still thinking about the book. That by itself says that it's not just a good book, but that it's moving as well. There are so few light and happy moments that it's difficult to praise with happier feeling words but words like heartfelt, captivating, and great still apply. This truly was all of those things as well as being dark, painful, heartrending, and cruel. I'm invested. I'm really looking forward to more from this series.

The synopsis isn't inaccurate, but it is a bit misleading. Well, a lot misleading because the major parts of the story really aren't mentioned in the lengthy blurb. So I was a little surprised. Good surprised? Kind of, but how can you be happy about all the awful that is revealed? Does the awful stuff that happens make this book depressing? A little, I guess, but more because you see a darker side of humanity than you would typically encounter and with it comes the consequences of those actions and how individuals are affected and changed by it. Overall, though, the book was gritty and dramatic and also sanguine because there was so much love and hope. All of the darker elements allowed the tenderness to shine through.

4.5 stars

5+ 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 🌟🌟
I can't wait for book two to see how this progress for everyone we went in this lovely by heart breaking story.
You have for to read this. It has my emotions running high, this has a mixture of MMA, M/M, dark with the child abuse and the past of Dray, Jax, Mac, Like and Lucky his was the worst, especially what his own mother engraved into his mind, she is a sick monster. Lucky was 8 when he was saved be Brick the owner of the gym and his storage room bedroom from kids that need a warm safe place to lay down, Dray with his fighting dance and the Dragon on his new fighting robes, Mac with his being leftovers to feed Lucky and all the boys before him that was saved off the streets. Lucky felt this for Dray before he was 18 but was young and confused until an event that messed up Dray and he gave Lucky some advice he to to heart for over 8 years until they reunited under some hard and troubling times.

ARC was voluntarily exchange for a honest review through Netgally.com

3,25 stars

I plan on writing my feelings towards this book and will be completely honest, so I have to mention my review contains some spoilers.

This is my first book by Carol Lynne.
I think the blurb gives us too much information about the characters and this story. Lucky, Dray, Brick, their roles are revealed from the start and not many things surprised me here, unfortunately.

I really enjoyed the first half of the book. The beginning was heartbreaking though.
Lucky is a frightened boy, searching for food in the garbage because his drug addicted mother didn't bother to feed him. Growing up he was beaten by her and her temporary boyfriends. His only salvation was Brick, who brought Lucky into The Brick Yard - his fighting gym. Lucky got a job and a safe place to sleep. His life changed because of Brick and this warmed my heart.

Dray had a lot of problems of his own and a family to feed. His only goal was to become a successful MMA fighter. But when his personal life was revealed, being gay in a world of fighters ended his career. Or he did that when he chose to run away and broke Lucky's heart, even if they weren't close. Lucky was attracted to Dray, but it seemed to be only a teenager's crush.

After 8 years, Dray comes back to Chicago to help Lucky deal with Brick's devastating news. He has cancer and only a few weeks to live. This broke my heart because I got to love Brick.
BUT my biggest problem with this story would be Dray's attitude towards Lucky. I rolled my eyes A LOT while reading all the sweet talk and well I think it didn't suit this story or the characters. I mean, this story felt real and was really soul wrenching at times, so the sugary sweet talk didn't make sense to me.

I get it, Lucky is still attracted to Dray, after all these years. But Dray falling in love with Lucky by only watching some tapes of him fighting felt unreal. And also, what was that all about wanting to get Lucky's name tattooed over his heart, even before meeting him again and after mentioning how sacred that place was for him?! (He was all covered in ink, but only the place above his heart was untouched because it was special to him)

Unfortunately the last chapters got me a little bored and as much as I usually love epilogues, I didn't really love this one. It felt unnecessary to me.

Overall this story had a lot of action, not too many fighting scenes, enough hot ones and it ended on a positive note. The characters felt real to a point.

Copy kindly provided by the Publisher - The Totally Entwined Group, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

New to me author.
Dark and romantic.... Those are the words I would use to describe this revamped M/M story. Set in a MMA setting and spanning years and years. These characters will melt your heart.

Would love to read something by this author again! The story was well thought out and the characters were very likable!

This book book is a very emotional read - there should be a box of tissues issued with it - It centres around the Brick Yard, a sweat and sawdust MMA gym on the South Side of Chicago, the 2 MC's, Dray and Lucky Gunn and the supporting characters of Brick, Mac, Jax and Luke. There was alot going on in this story; child abuse, terminal illness, loss, heartache and I felt a little emotionally battered after reading it. Saying that, I did enjoy the book and it did have happier parts. My only criticism is the climax of Lucky and Dray getting together could have made more of an impact, it had a great build-up and lots of promise but it just didn't deliver. I was more invested into the story towards the end as it seemed to straighten out and other external factors to Lucky and Dray's relationship came into play, this is where the tissues came out and the story came alive. I would definitely read the next instalment.

Reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, B & N and V's Reads: https://vsreads.com/2017/06/19/overcoming-the-hate-fighter-a-review/

This is a bit of a “sports epic” in that the story arc stretches over the MMA fighting careers of two men and ten-ish years. Dray is an up-and-coming MMA fighter, the pride of The Brick Yard training facility on Chicago’s mean streets. He’s all set to get a title bout when his secret–that he’s gay–gets splashed out. Dray runs, unwilling to see how the fans hate him for his sexuality, heaving behind his mentor and pseudo-father Tony Brick, the man who raised him and saved his life in that broken down gym.

Flash-forward eight years: Lucky Gunn, who’d been a wide-eyed teen spending most of his nights in The Brick Yard’s laundry room, and watched Dray’s rise and fall is now out on the MMA circuit, only Tony’s too sick to be a good coach. He’s dying of cancer and it’s a huge mess. He reaches out to Dray to come back to Chicago and coach Lucky to a championship, and Dray resists. First, because he doesn’t want to taint Lucky’s career and later, because he’s really attracted to Lucky, and the feeling is mutual.

The thing is, Lucky’s not willing to hide his love for Dray, and he’s also doesn’t really care if his career suffers. He’s got a good life, now, and he wants a family like he’s built with The Brick Yard people, taking in runaways like Tony did with him. But, he can’t imagine doing it on his own, and he’s struggling watching Tony waste away.

So, for me, the book was less about coming out than it is about finding one’s tribe. Tony is a remarkable man whose history of saving young men from the mean streets dates back decades. The boys he saved number legion, but they all felt he was a father figure to only them. As Dray and Lucky comfort and care for Tony on his journey to peace, they learn how very much he cared for all of them, and their new passion, besides each other, becomes how to preserve Tony Brick’s legacy. They get some help from unlikely sources, but it only makes this whole story sweeter. Lucky’s still collecting kids, just the way Tony had, but now on a larger scale as they keep The Brick Yard open and include the special services help that these runaways need. Dray and Lucky are saving one kid at a time. Also, it’s good that both men are young, fit and fighters, because sometimes a bit of “Convincing” must be done to save kids from abusive parents who just won’t let go.

It’s a tender and compassionate story, and the stage is set for Dray and Lucky to make a real difference for the castaway gay youth on Chicago, it seems. Expect sweaty sexytimes and some grieving, too.

Fighter
Carol Lynne
5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Such an awesome story!!! This was such an emotional read. It wasn't what I was expecting at all. Not your typical MMA fighter book.
This one touched on so many real life issues.

On the South Side of Chicago sits an old gym called The Brick Yard.

Ten years ago, on a bitterly cold day, Lucky Gunn wandered into The Brick Yard dressed in a threadbare jacket, looking for refuge. He hadn't expected the owner, Tony Brick, to welcome him with a job and a place to sleep when Lucky's abusive and drug-addicted mother made it too dangerous to return home.

Dray was a gay man living in a world of straight fighters. When his secret was exposed to the media, he dropped out, giving Lucky a piece of advice-if you want to make it as a MMA fighter, bury the part of yourself that won't be accepted.

Lucky discovered the cage was the perfect place to keep his demons at bay, but when he learns his trainer and mentor, Brick, is suffering from end-stage cancer, he begins to spiral out of control. After eight years, Dray returns to help Lucky and Brick deal with the devastating news.

With Dray so close, Lucky's old desires return, and Dray teaches him more than how to fight. Torn between his career and the passion he feels for Dray, Lucky's past demons resurface in full force, threatening his sanity and his budding relationship with Dray.

Despite leaving the cage years earlier, Dray finds himself in the battle of his life with the only man he's ever loved. Will he stand and fight or walk away like he did years earlier?

This is a m/m romance but has a great storyline everyone over 18 would enjoy.

Thanks NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I went back and forth for a while about reading this book. Then I read a great review and decided to give it a try and I'm so glad that I did!

This is the story of Lucky and Dray getting together and putting their lives in order but it's also a story celebrating the amazing man who saved them both.

Brick was a man who had dedicated his life in helping kids and teens who came from broken homes. He was a diamond in the mud that was the neighborhood they all lived in.

There is so much heartache in this book but there is also hope for a better future. The abuse Lucky suffered had scarred him deeply and it's something he's going to have to work really hard in order to overcome and put in the past. It still affects him, even after years of living under Brick's care and away from him mom. When it was revealed what actually was happening in the house he grew up it was a difficult part to read. His mom had managed to abuse him both physically and emotionally and leave her mark so deep in Lucky's psyche that he couldn't break her hold on him. She had brainwashed him during his entire childhood to the point that even in his mid twenties he was still affected by her words.

Lucky was a strong character with a dark past that he tried to hide from everyone around him. He didn't believe he deserved to be happy and did everything he could to push Dray away in an effort to save and protect him. Dray was also one of the kids that Brick saved, though his home life wasn't even remotely as bad as Lucky's. He gave up on his career when the fans turned on him prefering to run away than stay his ground and fight for his dream.

Despite Dray leaving everyone behind in order to start over his life, he is actually a very loyal person. He came back without a second thought when Lucky and Brick needed him the most and he did everything he could to help and spare Lucky from as many pains as he could.

The truly amazing person in this book was Brick. We don't know much about him until the second half of the book so I'm not going to tell his life's story here because I truly enjoyed reading about it and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book yet. I'm just going to say that he was a really altruistic person, doing everything he could to help those around him and never broadcasting it to the point that even those closest to him didn't know the true mangitute of his kindness.

There was a little kitten somewhere in the book named Gatzby, but it read more like a prop that a real life pet. It was just there going from lap to lap without complaining about anything. It didn't really have a personality, it didn't have the attitude that all cats are usually associated with.

I liked the story but I though the book could be a bit shorter because it dragged at some points. There is an epilogue that basically is the setup for the next book in the series but I could have done wihout it as everything had already been resolved prior to that. It was nice to see Lucky and Dray together and settled in their life as a couple years after they got together but that was about it. I didn't like the introduction of new characters, that I'm assuming would be in the next book, in the last pages of a story about someone else. The epilogue here could have worked just fine as the first chapter or a prologue for the second book.

As a whole the book was very good, though I have to say that I liked the first half of it better than the second. It's fairly emotional but it's also hopeful. It makes you believe that no matter how screwed up this world is there is always kindness to be found somewhere.

* A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *

Lucky is a complicated character with a lot of issues sustaining from the abuse he undertook as a child/preteen. His saving grace of surviving came from a man named, Brick. Brick owns a MMA club called The Brick Yard. He see's the young Lucky looking in his windows often but he never comes in. On a especially cold day he invites the boy in and notices his bruises, how skinny he is, and how tattered his shoes and clothes are. He tells Lucky he is welcomed to come in any time and even offers him a job of cleaning up the gym. Lucky is eager to please and agrees. From here on out the relationship between these two grow into a type of father son relationship. Brick and the gym is Lucky's safe place. When Lucky becomes older Brick starts training him for the MMA. Lucky is scary good. He fights with no emotion and can care less about the fans response to him because it's not about them. For Lucky it's all about the pain and the fight. He needs it. He doesn't win for him, but for Brick.
The abuse he went through with his addict mother and her long string of boyfriends have mentally, physically, and emotionally changed Lucky and how he deals with things. To say how he handles things would be giving too much away so I will just say that it's sad and heartbreaking the things his mother did to him and how Lucky still lets her influence his reactions.
Dray is another young man that Brick brought in and saved. He trained Dray and he became quite the fighter with a bright future ahead of him. But being gay and a fighter was something Dray was struggling with and he unfortunately trusted and fell in love with the wrong man. His boyfriend Vince tries hard to convince Dray to come out. Dray refuses knowing he would lose his fans and his future in the MMA were he had finally made it to. He had worked hard and gave up a lot to get where he was to finally be able to take care of his mother and brother. So there is no way he wants to risk coming out. Unfortunately that choice is taken outta his hands when pictures surface of him and Vince being intimate. Of course he knows right away that Vince is the culprit. Dray is devastated and is correct in his predictions when fans turn on him and people starts pulling their support for him. Instead of staying and fighting for his career he runs. Before leaving he tells Lucky to never trust a man and to bury that part of himself.
Years later Lucky is an up and coming fighter and Dray is a tattoo artist living in Kansas. They didn't keep in touch but through Brick Dray has been receiving tapes of Lucky's fights and finds himself being attracted to the younger man. Lucky always had a crush on Dray but let it go when the man ran for Kansas. But soon they are brought back together with the news of their mentor and savior has been diagnosed with cancer and has a short lifespan left.
There are many ups and downs that these two men face during their budding relationship. Dray has many walls to climb over to get to Lucky, but when he gets there is so damn beautiful. Lucky is a hard man to get through to. He's not use to being loved. He ins't used to being held. He isn't use to being cared for. So letting Dray be that person is a fight but one he's willing to lose if just to have him.
The death of Brick is hard on a lot of people. But none more harder than it was on Lucky. It was really heartbreaking reading about it. I totally bawled.
The relationship Lucky and Dray have came off very real. Not many do. But their struggles were real. Their pain bled off the pages as did their love. I liked that Dray was strong enough for Lucky and got him to get help. I loved that they continued Brick's work of helping kids. I really loved what they did with The Brick Yard. What they were able to accomplish was amazing. Truly inspiring.
This wasn't an easy read by far. But it was a rewarding one. I liked that it surprised me and surpassed what I had thought it'd be. I look forward to the next book.
I know this is story about Lucky and Dray. But the star of this book for me was, Brick. Well, he's more the hero. I was in awe of this growly stubborn man. He changed the lives of many. He saved them and gave them a safe place and continued doing it until he gave his last breath. He is the kind of character I find inspiring and love reading about.

Give this a read dolls! xx

Happy reading!

I was surprised by the scope of this book. I wasn’t expecting it, and I wasn’t expecting the darkness in it. Lucky and Dray and the handful of other boys to come through the doors of Brick’s place were all in need of a savior, none of them more so than Lucky. His was a truly horrific home life that he continually fought, physically, mentally, emotionally. Brick, for all his gruff orneriness, was that savior. He offered a safe haven while giving the boys purpose and a feeling of belonging and acceptance that they hadn’t gotten probably ever before.

Posted on April 26, 2017
Fighter by Carol Lynne

4.8/5

This book made me angry, frustrated, sad, hopeful… It made me FEEL. Not that I have sociopathic tendencies, but I cried, and crying because of a book isn’t common for me; it has to be a pretty good book to affect me this fast (it usually takes a sequel to make me bond with the characters).

At the beginning it made me angry that the story began at a time and then jumped to almost 10 years in the future, but as I kept reading it was obvious that it had to be done. Especially when it jumped a couple more years and then the main characters – Lucky and Dray – were adults and, consequently, some …. things could happen without making people question the authors’ integrity.

The story starts with some pretty moving events, with some good stuff happening. And then fast forward, some other things happen and you become “pissed and annoyed” aswell as frustrated. Fast forward again, and all starts to take place. Past events come to light, secrets are revealed, heartbreaking news are given, tragedies occur, a new future is presented, a way to redeem and help becomes possible, and as all starts to be built, the MCs’ love is found, new stories are told and help is given.

Synopsis: “For Lucky Gunn, the hardest fight of his life happens outside the cage.

On the south side of Chicago sits an old gym called The Brick Yard.

Ten years ago, on a bitterly cold day, Lucky Gunn wandered into The Brick Yard dressed in a threadbare jacket, looking for refuge. He hadn’t expected the owner, Tony Brick, to welcome him with a job and a place to sleep when Lucky’s abusive and drug addicted mother made it too dangerous to return home.

Dray was a gay man living in a world of straight fighters. When his secret was exposed to the media, he dropped out, giving Lucky a piece of advice, if you want to make it as a MMA fighter, bury the part of yourself that won’t be accepted.

Lucky discovered the cage was the perfect place to keep his demons at bay, but when he learns his trainer and mentor, Brick, is suffering from end-stage cancer, he begins to spiral out of control. After eight years, Dray returns to help Lucky and Brick deal with the devastating news.

With Dray so close, Lucky’s old desires return, and Dray teaches him more than how to fight. Torn between his career and the passion he feels for Dray, Lucky finds that his past demons resurface in full force, threatening his sanity and his budding relationship with Dray.

Despite leaving the cage years earlier, Dray finds himself in the battle of his life with the only man he’s ever loved. Will he stand and fight or walk away like he did years earlier?”

Reading the synopsis you might think this is a cute, lovable, “you fixed me” novel, right? Well, it isn’t. It has some moments like that, but it so isn’t. It is about struggle, abuse, violence, drugs, loss, and what it means to love so much that you hope that you can help those who have suffered as much, if not more, than you have. The plot doesn’t focus on the love between Lucky and Dray, but on what happened to them, and how they are helping others while fighting.

They lose some important things, and find out that by that happening, they gained so much more. You will cry, and you will laugh (there is a moment in which the MCs are helping a kid with math homework, and they are both wrong), you will get mad and frustrated, sometimes you will get anxious.

This book was well planned, well written, the plot was marvelous, and the characters – despite some annoying traits – are well thought and placed. I read it, and will surely read it again, but first I have to get over some stuff that happened. The ending was a bit abrupt, but it has a sequel, and at the end of the version that I got there is an excerpt of the second book that will soften the blow of the sudden end. If you happen to read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Not for me. Was a bit disappointed because I am a huge MMA fan and was really looking forward to reading a story from that world. While I have read several, some were really good, some were in between, and a few were just plain bad. This one kind of fell in the middle for me. The writing was great, please don't get me wrong. I just couldn't get interested enough in the story to care about it towards the end. I did finish it though.
Again, I usually enjoy this author. This one story was just not for me.

Thank you for the ARC but this novel was too heavy for me currently. I haven't read anything from this author yet but the issues were complex. The misery was evident on every page. I couldn't connect with the two MCS.

Fighter is an angsty, emotional read set in the tumultuous world of MMA. Lucky is a down on his luck teenager who is taken in by Tony Brick, the owner of an old school type of gym when he finds Lucky hanging around the gym, looking like he needs a good meal or a hundred. Brick quickly becomes Lucky's father figure and Lucky's life starts to turn around. It's here at the Brick Yard that Lucky meets the man who will someday become the love of his life, Dray Cruz. Dray is an up and coming fighter who is deeply closeted because he knows if he's ever outed, his career will be over. When Dray is betrayed by his lover, Vince, he takes off, but not before giving Lucky a piece of advice that will drive Lucky and his soon to come career in MMA: "Sex, no matter who with, isn't worth giving up your dreams for. Remember that."

Now, years later, Lucky is well into his career in the MMA, and Dray comes back to the Brick Yard when he hears of Brick's terminal cancer diagnosis. Lucky and Dray reconnect, but all is not roses and fairy tales for our two men. Lucky has so many demons from his horrible childhood, and his behavior is troubling. Dray refuses to be the reason Lucky's career takes a nosedive, just as Vince was the reason Dray's own career ended. So any relationship between the two is going to take some serious work on both their parts.

I really like Fighter, it's nicely written and both Dray and Lucky are so likable and realistic. They have a strong bond, just as their bond with Brick is strong. I think Brick is my favorite character in Carol's world actually. He's such a beautiful paternal figure, and in the end when it's revealed just how many kids he took in, mentored and loved, that I shed a few tears when Dray and Lucky decided to honor his legacy in such a memorable way by turning the Brick Yard into a youth center for kids who need mentoring, love, or maybe just a good, square meal or two. I would have liked a bit more heat between Dray and Lucky, actually, I was expecting more heat, because the MMA world is so aggressive and exciting, that I had wrongly assumed that love between two fighters would be all alpha male aggression and steam. What love scenes there are are oddly subtle, but they are loving, so there is that. Perhaps the next of the series featuring Jax (Dray and Lucky's foster son) will be steamier, I can hope at least. But, as it stands, Fighter is a beautiful story with a great cast of primary and secondary characters. Can't wait for more!

Fighter by Carol Lynne is a very strong start for the Brick Yard series she is building. I really enjoyed the grittiness and depth of this book. Ms. Lynne has always been a huge favorite of mine for bringing strong characters and lots of emotion, this book is that in spades.
On the South side of Chicago there is a gym called The Brick Yard. Ten years ago Lucky came in looking for refuge. The owner took him in and he never forgot that kindness. If not for Tony the owner he would not have had a chance.
Dray is a gay man in a world of straight fighters. He is betrayed and outed in the most humiliating of ways. He warns Lucky never to come out as gay. Lucky has a hero worship for Dray. He wants to be just like him one day. He also has a huge crush on Dray.
Lucky wants to be a fighter. He was too young to keep the drunks off his mom but he could grow and learn to fight. Lucky eventually does become a fighter. Then Tony becomes sick.
Dray has been away for a while now, and Lucky brings him back. Can they save the Brick Yard and Tony together? Or will Dray's past always haunt him, and never let him have a future?
I loved the connection and love in this story. I really super want more. There are strong and great characters that I want more of in this story. When you want a powerful story of love and friendship this is the one to pick up.

Five Shooting Stars