Before I read The Clinch, I had no clue about MMA and what it is all about. Thanks to the author's amazing writing skills she made it possible for me to love this combat sport and of course Eden and Brooklyn. When I heard about a sequel, Tapout, I was just waiting for the moment I could also devour that book even if I wondered if it just was a copy paste of The Clinch. It is not a The Clinch part two, but instead something very different, and equally good.

In this book the MC Laila has lost all her will to fight after ten years of training with her best friend and coach Eden. It was Laila’s time to shine, to become a champion like Eden but she decides to tap out from the match and everything to do with Eden’s gym. Instead, she starts working in her uncle’s chicken restaurant, it is plain torture, but she cannot face Eden after her failure.

Thanks to her friend Vic she does however meet Harlow that runs an underground fight club and gets a chance to work for her as a facilitator of the fights. Harlow and Eden don’t see eye to eye, Eden thinks Harlow just is a blood merchant with her fight club. There is however so much more to Harlow and the reason behind the illegal fight club she is running. Harlow is so wonderful and caring in so many ways and when they get to know each other a special bond is formed. Harlow is the reason Laila slowly starts loving the sport again, she wants to fight again, feeling she perhaps has it in her after all.

They start falling for each other and that roof top encounter is something very special I will think about for a very long time. After that you just want Laila and Harlow to find their HEA, Laila to get a chance to defeat that bitch Katarina, get back on track with her fighting career and of course make up with Eden. But it is all very complicated and so much to resolve, so many things go wrong in their lives and their communication. It is such a fascinating ride to follow, and I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I received a free ARC from Bold Strokes and leave an honest review voluntarily.