Review: Hard Knocks by Lori Foster

Title: Hard Knocks    

Author: Lori Foster    

Series: Ultimate, #0.5      

Published: August 2014, Harlequin HQN   

Format: E-book, 60 pages   

Source: Personal copy  

In the stunning
prequel novella to her new mixed martial arts series, New York Times
bestselling author Lori Foster brings together an elite fighter and the
woman he’s determined to win.

Power. Brute strength.
Unforgettable moves. It’s no wonder Harper Gates hasn’t been able to get
her fling with Gage “Savage” Ringer out of her head. Months have passed
since she laid eyes—or any other body parts—on him. Months without a
word of contact… until, sidelined by injury, he comes back to town.

Staying
focused on his training seemed like a smart move to Gage, even if he
thought about Harper every day. Seeing her again only makes it clear how
much is at stake. He’s got one night to earn back her trust. One night
to show her that behind his breathtaking skill and ripped body is a man
who’ll give her everything she needs.

My thoughts: This short novella introduces us to the new characters that will be featured in Lori Foster’s upcoming new series. What I loved is that it gives us a taste of what we can expect from the full-length novels in this series. 

I would have loved to have Gage and Harper have more of a story, but hopefully we haven’t seen the last of them. Because this novella is really used to introduce the series and the main characters of the series, we don’t get as much background information on Gage and Harper as we normally do on the feature couples in full-length books.

I have to say I was on the fence about reading this series as it is centered around MMA fighting and I am not really a fan of that, but two things changed my mind. First, Cannon, who we met in her previous series, Undercover Love, features prominently in this series and I loved him and have been waiting for his story!  Second, while MMA fighting is what these male characters have in common, the stories are not really about the fighting but about the fighters themselves- strong, sexy, alpha males, and who doesn’t love reading about them!

Books in this series:

   0.5  Hard Knocks

   1.  No Limits

   2.  Holding Strong – due out April 2015