DiRtY bOoKs DiRtY bOyS bLoG: Fighting Redemption ~ 5 Star Review

Title: Fighting Redemption

Author: Kate McCarthy

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: December 2, 2013

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18304765-fighting-redemption?ac=1

Book Summary:

Ryan Kendall is broken. He understands pain. He knows the hand of violence and the ache of loss. He knows what it means to fail those who need you. Being broken doesn’t stop him wanting the one thing he can’t have; Finlay Tanner. Her smile is sweet and her future bright. She’s the girl he grew up with, the girl he loves, the girl he protects from the world, and from himself.
At nineteen, Ryan leaves to join the Australian Army. After years of training he becomes an elite SAS soldier and deploys to the Afghanistan war. His patrol undertakes the most dangerous missions a soldier can face. But no matter how far he runs, or how hard he fights, his need for Finlay won’t let go.
Returning home after six years, one look is all it takes to know he can’t live without her. But sometimes love isn’t enough to heal what hurts. Sometimes people like him can’t be fixed, and sometimes people like Finlay deserve more than what’s left.
This is a story about war and the cost of sacrifice. Where bonds are formed, and friendships found. Where those who are strong, fall hard. Where love is let go, heartache is born, and heroes are made. Where one man learns that the hardest fight of all, is the fight to save himself.

5 Star Dirty Girl Review

HOLY-MOTHER-OF –ALL-BOOKS

This story takes us on an emotional roller coaster and not in a bad way.

What I love most about this book is how the beginning is the ending. At the beginning we meet a young girl in an airport that looks sad, until a toddler comes running up to her asking her to tell him about his daddy. **instantly my heart melted**

This is where we start to meet the characters. We meet Ryan, a young boy who is being beat by his father, who’s only goal is to become the best SAS there is. Then we (Ryan) meets Fin and her brother Jake, they all become friends. Fin is younger then Ryan and Jake, so they are like her protectors. Jake learns of Ryan’s home life and Ryan begins to stay at their house more. While in this situation Ryan falls in love with Fin but never tells her because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her. (I don’t want to give too much away because you NEED to read this book) Then tragic strikes leaving everyone’s life painful. How do you cope with tragedy? How do you heal? How do you get rid of the pain in your heart? How can you go on with life when you blame yourself?

From the very beginning the book pulled me in. The author makes you instantly connect with the characters. There were so many WTF moments that I was dying. The characters are not whinny or know it all’s, they’re (boys) not even god’s gift to women, they are just simply spectacular well written characters. There is one part in the book close to the end where I was like “oh, god, no..wait . what? Omg this can’t be, dang that author knows how to make you feel”

Will Ryan ever be able to tell Fin his true feelings or will the fighting redemption in his heart win the war?

Author Bio:

Kate McCarthy grew up in a small town outside of Port Macquarie, Australia. Raised in a house just a short walk to the beach, Kate enjoyed the peaceful, relaxed atmosphere and friendships that come from being raised in a friendly, small town area.She now resides in Brisbane, Australia, a city in the state of Queensland where she works as an accountant, along with a sideline wedding cake business and her writing.
She is married with two children, has two dogs and house in the suburbs, and a pile of friends and family dotted all over the country that help keep her sane.
When she’s not busy running after naughty kids, filthy dogs, crunching numbers, piping buttercream and writing books, you can find her curled up in bed in the early hours of the morning reading new books and re-reading old favourites. Her favourite books are the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward in which she longs to eventually join the brotherhood and change her name to Phierce Mutha.

Author Media Links:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KateMcCarthyAuthor

Twitter - https://twitter.com/KMacinOz

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6876994.Kate_McCarthy

Website - http://katemccarthy.net/

Fighting Redemption

Playlist

Spotify – Embed code for blog posts:

HTTP Link: Fighting Redemption

Song list:

Trading Yesterday – For You Only
Buffalo Tales – Crazy Heart
Green Day – 21 Guns
The Fray – Never Say Never
James Arthur – Impossible
Olly Murs – Dear Darlin'
Coldplay – The Scientist
Placebo – Running Up That Hill
Andy Burrows – Hometown
City and Colour – Sleeping Sickness
Thirty Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Sia – I Go To Sleep
Coldplay – Yellow
Coldplay – Fix You
The Fray – Be Still
Damien Rice – 9 Crimes
The Fray – How To Save A Life - New Album Version

Fighting Redemption

Excerpt 1

Two weeks later, he packed his belongings and stole his way into Fin’s room. She wasn’t there, so he stretched out on her bed, hands tucked behind his head, eyes trained on the ceiling, and waited.

It was midnight when she came through the door, giggling as she read a message on her phone. Finished, she tossed it on her bedside table and froze when she caught him lying there in the dark.

He heard her breath catch. “Ryan?”

The lamp by her bed switched on, coating the room in a warm, cozy glow. Fin was illuminated, her skin golden in the soft light, her cheeks flushed with happiness.

“What are you …” She trailed off after meeting his eyes. He knew what she saw. He couldn’t hold any of it back—regret, heartache, and loss for something that had never been his.

“You’re leaving,” she choked out.

Ryan couldn’t speak. He watched her stride to the open window, its sheer white curtains billowing. Staring out into the night, she wiped away tears that spilled over and ran down her cheeks.

He blinked, his own eyes burning. “I’m sorry,” he said eventually.

Fin turned and walked across the room. Sinking to the edge of the bed, she stared down at her hands. “When?”

Ryan unlocked his hands from behind his head and reached for her, pulling her down beside him. She stretched out, tucking her head under his chin. Closing his eyes, he breathed her in, allowing his arms to wrap around her. “In the morning.”

Fin’s hand fisted in his shirt as she let out a sob.

“I have to do this,” he whispered hoarsely. He trailed his fingers through her hair and touched his lips to her forehead.

She started to wipe away the tears on her face, and Ryan took hold of her hand, stilling her. “You understand, don’t you, Fin, why I have to do this?”

Ryan needed to know that she understood he wasn’t leaving her, he was leaving his past, and trying to build a new future with the Army.

“I do.” She choked again and buried her face in his neck, sobs breaking free.

“Don’t,” he whispered thickly. “Please don’t cry. You have such a big future ahead of you. You’re going to do big things with your life. Don’t let anyone stop you from being who you need to be, okay?”

Fin nodded into his neck.

Ryan pushed back so he could look her in the eye. He wouldn’t be there to watch over her anymore, so he needed to know she would look out for herself. “Promise me, Fin.”

“I promise.”

Satisfied, he reached out and switched off the lamp. Thrust into sudden darkness, Ryan laced his fingers in hers and held her close. When her tears dried up, she drifted off into a deep slumber. In the early hours of the morning, he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and disentangling himself, he left the room. Having already said his goodbyes to Mike and Julie earlier in the evening, Ryan clicked the door shut softly behind him and left the house, careful not to look back.

That was the last he saw of Finlay Tanner.