Review: Knuckle Down

Knuckle Down by Chantal Fernando
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A quick follow up to the first book in this series, Knuckle Down can be read as a standalone. I have to say, I liked this one better than the first, even if the conflict could be seen from miles away. The main man in this book is Knuckles. He is a sweet and straight forward guy who somehow became Erin's bestie in the last book. Knuckles is a single father of two adorable and precocious pre-teens. When these two start dating, Knuckles may just lose it. Then again, he may be the kind of father that teaches his girls how to take care of themselves and not depend on any man. I digress.

The love interest for Knuckle is none other than Erin's cousin, Celina. Without even reading the book, I can tell exactly where this is headed. Celina is a journalist. Journalist + Motorcycle club equals no bueno. As expected, the conflict is not good. Happily, Ms. Fernando uses it only as a small plot device instead of centering the enter book around it. For this, I'm grateful.

I liked Celina. She is a woman who works hard and does her best to be successful. Based on the article topics she wrote, she is one of the last ethical and true journalist. I admire her for her moral code and her determination to make right what has been wrong.

The fun in this story is Celina and Knuckle's courtship. Both are tentative and both come with baggage. What carries the book for me is their romantic development as well as the character development. This book's character driven theme works well for me because I found both Celina and Knuckles likeable. Celina's responses to conflict is nicely done and shows both her maturity and thinking about others. Her snarky attitude and how she interacts with her best friend is a fun touch. Ms. Fernando's writing style continues to weave a great tale and I can't wait to see what she writes next. This story is recommended to romance readers who like motorcycle club and independent women who fall in love with tough guys.

*provided by Edelweiss