Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: Unlikely Match
SERIES: Improbable Bonds #2
AUTHOR: Lily Michaels
PUBLISHER: Pride Publishing
LENGTH: 105 Pages
RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2020
BLURB:
Almost two decades of boxing couldn’t prepare Clayton for the biggest fight of his life—one that put love on the line.
Boxing had been Clayton James’ life for nearly twenty years, but the threat of a serious injury if he continued to fight forced him into retirement. Refusing to be down for the count, he carried his love of the sport into a new career as the owner of a gym. But low membership and a tightly stretched bank account mean he’s faced with closing his doors—or taking one more match to save his business.
The bullying that Tyler Kirk thought he’d left behind in high school not only managed to carry over into college but also seemed worse. Being older than the average student because of the years he’d taken off to rehabilitate his sister after the accident that robbed them of their parents didn’t lessen the attacks he faced. His chance to find peace was in the meaty hands of the finely chiseled and sexy-as-hell owner of the gym he hoped could give him self-defense training.
Neither man expected the adversarial start of their relationship to melt into something that quenched Clayton’s long-neglected need and one that Tyler wasn’t even aware he had. Nor could they prepare for the intense sexual chemistry that flowed between them to quickly morph their training schedule into a hot and heavy hookup routine.
But the risks of Clayton’s final match are amplified when it’s no longer simply his health and well-being on the line but also the love of a good man and the promise of family.
REVIEW:
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. This is the second book in the Improbable Bonds series, but each book can be read as a standalone. In this book we have a few of my favorite tropes, including age-gap and light BDSM. This book has an exceptionally low angst level and the sexy times are not over the top for this type of story.
The character development is great and the worldbuilding is particularly good, especially when it comes to the BDSM scenes. In this story our main characters are Clayton and Tyler. Clayton is a retired boxer, who owns his own gym. Tyler is our barely out of college, bullied young man. To move beyond the bullying Tyler convinces Clayton to become his trainer. Clayton, who has been losing money with his gym, agrees to take Tyler on as a client. As they work through the training, the chemistry between the two men is off the charts. In a role reversal, our D in the D/s relationship turns out to be Tyler and Clayton loves to submit to him. As Clayton’s gym continues to lose money, he is presented an opportunity to return to the boxing ring. His early retirement from boxing was health related and he has been advised against returning to the ring.
As our main characters work their way through the challenges, will they be able set aside their differences and come together as a couple. Will Clayton make the right decision about returning to the boxing ring. Will Tyler become comfortable in his new role? Will these two get there happy ever after? I recommend reading this book and finding out. I look forward to reading more books by Lily Michaels.
RATING: 
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