Making Him Sweat by Meg Maguire

She's hitting below the belt…

Round 1

In this corner is admittedly romantic Jenna Wilinski, who’s inherited a rather seedy boxing gym from her estranged father. With it, she can realize her dream of launching an upscale matchmaking business…provided she can take on the very intimidating—and wickedly hot—boxer who stands in her way!

Round 2

In the far corner is former pro boxer Mercer Rowley. He’s the only one who can protect his “home”—even if it is a little run-down— from his determined and feisty little opponent. But man, once the gloves come off, his hands just want to touch her everywhere…

Round 3

This matchup is too close to call. But no matter which contender comes out on top, the other is sure to enjoy every minute of it....

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Making Him Sweat is a sexy story, the first book in a new series and Meg Maguire’s first multi-book deal. Harlequin Blaze is the publisher, and those of you who’ve read this line in the past know that the stories are definitely hot! This book introduces us to some very interesting characters, people whose stories promise to be exciting, fun, and very sexy.

If you've had the pleasure of reading Ms. Maguire’s stories, you know that she gives a lot of attention to detail; the simple, everyday goings on in her heroes and heroines lives. It’s these things that help us see them as people, rather than just characters we’re reading about. It draws us in, has us invested, and keeps us coming back for more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mercer Rowley! He’s intelligent, witty, passionate, and what I loved most about him – he’s grounded. He’s real. No angst, no drama, no deep dark secrets to be revealed. He’s the kind of “everyday hero” I can love.

I almost feel bad for the heroines in the books I read because I'm not as easily invested in them as I am the heroes. They have to work for my support, and then work even harder for my stamp of approval on their happily ever after. I'm telling you this because, unfortunately, for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what he saw in Jenna Wilinski. She blew into town thinking she’d just shut down the boxing gym Mercer trying to make into a profitable business. Granted, she had some false impressions that had her feeling less than benevolent about it all, but there was something about her I can’t put my finger on, something … off. I didn’t fully buy into her “coming around” but hey… Mercer loves her, so who am I to complain?

The bottom line: If you enjoy reading about super sexy boxers who like to get down and dirty, then definitely give this book a try. It’s an easy, entertaining story and I’m looking forward to reading the next installment, Taking Him Down.

3.5/5 stars

My thanks to Harlequin and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.