Thursday, September 18, 2014

Blog Tour: Make It Right (Bowler University #2) by Megan Erickson {Review + Giveaway}


Title: Make it Right
Author: Megan Erickson
Publication: September 9th, 2014 by William Morrow Impulse





Max Payton lives by two rules:

Size and strength win any fight, and never show weakness.

When a rash of assaults sends Bowler University for a tail spin, Max volunteers to help teach a self-defense class. One of the other instructors is the beautiful pixie-faced girl he keeps butting heads with…and who challenges everything he thought he knew.

Lea Travers avoids guys like Max - cocky jocks who assume she's fragile because of a disability caused by a childhood accident. She likes to be in control, and something about being with Max makes her feel anything but. But during the moments he lets his guard down, Lea sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem...

When the assaults ramp up and hit close to home, Lea and Max must learn, before it’s too late, that true strength can come from vulnerability…and giving in to trust is sometimes the only way to make things right.






Is it possible to love the second book in a series MORE than you loved the first? Even though the characters you loved in the second one were introduced in the first one and you wouldn't have known them without it? It's kind of like that old "Chicken and Egg" debate of which came first. I didn't think it could be done but Make It Right was even better than it's predecessor. Erickson is on a roll with the second installment in her Bowler University series with this quirky, sexy and endearing journey of trust and forgiveness.

Meeting Max in Make It Count was equal parts frustrating and intriguing. After the shocker came out that he banged his childhood BFF Alec's girlfriend it was assumed that we were supposed to hate him. That wasn't the case with me because there was something about Max that just worked for me then and now. He came across as an asshole in every aspect. Dating Kat before she met Alec showed he wasn't very kind to her while they were seeing each other. But the fact that he didn't make an intimate move on Kat throughout their brief relationship and how remorseful he was when Alec finally confronted him showed me he wasn't the asshole I was supposed to believe he was. Lea becomes his Kryptonite as the two are thrown together after a rash of campus assaults lands them both in the same self defense class together.

"He wished his father could see him now. He'd done something right. Something someone else valued."

This one statement lies at the heart of getting to know max as a person. Everything he does and has done was all for a father who didn't value him and that has left a scar on Max's personality. There are all different types of assholes out there. Hell I'm a BIG ONE and thankfully there are people who still love me and stick around. Like me, Max is a redeemable kind of asshole though so when you discover his cold childhood with a father who showed very little affection and sympathy for anything less than perfect you get why Max is the way he is. Working at his father's auto garage and going to school for business to help out in the shop more isn't what Max wants to be doing but he can't speak up because he sort of lives in fear of his dad. He really wants to do something for himself but doesn't want to rock the boat with his dad paying for school. It;s not until Lea comes along and starts to chip away at his armor that we discover there are two sides to Max and the Max she ends up finding is the real guy beneath the BS. The guy who makes homemade cat treats for a stray alley cat because he hates the thought of him eating garbage. Max, the guy who sings fucking BON JOVI to Lea at a house party and melted my panties in the process. It don't get no righter! Redemption? Yep. He blows it out of the water!

Lea Travers was introduced in Make It Count as Danica's (The lovable sexy lesbian) roommate. I must have missed that because I didn't remember her due to the fact that I was wrapped up in Alec and Kat's sweet nerdy romance. Lea is hardcore though. She's a tiny little thing with a big mouth and takes absolutely zero shit from anyone. The lovable heroine was in a terrible car accident when she was younger that left one of her legs badly damaged and gives her problems constantly because of it but she doesn't let it slow her down or stop her from doing what she wants in life. She didn't have cold, un-affectionate parents like Max did, quite the opposite in fact. Her parents were both loving and warm people she could open up to about anything. Her issues come in the form of trusting other people and keeping herself at a distance. Lea blames herself for the accident she was in that hurt her cousin also because she knew the driver had been drinking and should have known better than to get in and put others at risk also. At the heart of this bravely fierce heroine lies the guilt and pain of years gone by thinking she could change her circumstances. I didn't expect to like her as much as I did but there is something about a self deprecating character that pulls at my heart strings. 

The unlikely romance between Max and Lea may have started out as a tentative friendship, bonding over a self defense lesson but quickly heats up between the two. In the blink of an eye, the spark of attraction between the characters turned into a blazing inferno that left me positively giddy. I love a strong female heroine and Lea taking the reigns for her own pleasure was phenomenal. For some reason the emotion of the scene was powerful for me, maybe I was invested so much in their relationship to start or maybe it's that Erickson wrote a hell of a love scene but whatever it was, I hope she gives us more in the coming novels. These two were a great couple despite their shortcomings. It doesn't come without trials and rough patches but what good relationship doesn't have issues? Working together to overcome them is what counts in a relationship and between Max' overheard exclamations about Lea to his father and the campus assaults that hit  a little too close to home, these two make a great team.

Getting Max story and the reasons behind his issues introduces us to his family. Mainly his two brothers Cal and Brent. One is loud and obnoxious and the other is laid back and quiet. Here is a case where, when I read a book I get wrapped up on secondary characters and want to know more. Both brothers had enough personality to catch my interest and want to know more about their story. Really though, I'm more interested in Cal. His quiet smirky ways just calls out that this man has a secret up his sleeve I feel would be a juicy story one day. Hopefully soon. So not only can Erickson write the hell out of a romance but she can also throw in a side story and have you at her mercy. This is a dangerous author folks. The kind to have you under her spell until she's finished with you. Her writing is engaging and witty. Her romance is sweet yet very sexy and her character building is flawless. 

The Bowler University group is a fun group of people and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each person and their story. There are still a few people I'm looking forward to the most, Cam the sexy Latino man whore and Danica the lesbian bombshell. I hope Erickson doesn't put both characters stories together because that would be too much sexy for one book and likely make my head explode. The best part about these books is there is very little gut wrenching emotional angst. For those of you, like me, who can't handle very much, Erickson manages to give you just enough without giving you heart failure. Make It Right is just another fun and sweet addition into one of my favorite New Adult series of books and one more reason to love this author and her skills.



Quotes:
She sucked in a breath. "You still want a date with me?"
His chest hitched. "If a date with you means I get to look into your eyes when you smile and smell your hair when I'm close and feel those fingers on my skin when you laugh, then yes, doll. Yes, I want a date with you." eARC 36%

Lea's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Max!" And the smile on her face, the flush of her cheeks, made him remember why he agreed to do this in the first place. Because whether she knew it or not, he'd do whatever he could for that look on her face. eARC 54%

"I'm not calling her to grovel. She has to see my puppy-dog eyes. And maybe I'll flex a little and try to look handsome at the same time." eARC 85%




Giveaway:




Purchase:

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About Megan:

Megan Erickson grew up in a family that averages 5’5” on a good day and started writing to create characters who could reach the top kitchen shelf.

She’s got a couple of tattoos, has a thing for gladiators and has been called a crazy cat lady. After working as a journalist for years, she decided she liked creating her own endings better and switched back to fiction.

She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kids and two cats. And no, she still can’t reach the stupid top shelf.


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2 comments:

  1. Awww!!! I really need to read this series. Max and Lea sound fantastic. Love the review!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woot! Love when the second book really rocks it. These sound pretty fun :)

    ReplyDelete

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