Review: Fix You: Bash and Olivia #1 – Christine Bell

Olivia Beckett’s once-charmed life is falling apart. Her family is about to lose everything, and she has almost no chance of continuing her college education. She can't even seek solace from her high school sweetheart. He's changed. She doesn't recognize the boy she used to know— his violent behavior is escalating and it scares the hell out of her. Her whole world is crumbling, and she has no one to turn to……

Sebastian “Bash” McDaniels is an up and comer in the boxing world working nights at the local college bar until he can land the fight of his dreams that will get him the hell out of Boston and away from his family's tragic past. He’s weeks from his goal when Olivia Beckett comes tumbling into his life in a flash of silky dark hair and haunted eyes. When he saves her from a potentially brutal beating, they begin to grow close, but Olivia's ex isn’t ready to let her go so easily.

Bash can't bring himself to walk away, but fixing Olivia just might leave him broken…

Fix You is a very short read, but there is a real story in there. And some parts of that story are really poignant and quite dark! Olivia is at a bar with some friends and her fiancé, when she stumbles and a guy who works at the bar helps center her. Said fiancé shows up and is mad at Olivia for leading the guy on. Needless to say, already at that point, I knew there was going to be no love lost between Andy and me. And he soon showed that he was an even worse character than that! Abusive, mean and not caring is Andy in a nutshell. If we add in entitled and arrogant that should pretty much show the whole picture.

Olivia decides not to go on spring break with Andy and her friends, she decides to stay home, save money, and try to get her life together instead. Fix you shows how money-trouble in her family has started trickling down on her, and she really needs to decide what to do next. Gong back to the bar where Bash works wasn’t exactly planned, and when she realizes he’s been fired because of Andy, she feels really bad.

Bash understands that Olivia is in an abusive relationship, and when she asks for help to learn some much needed self-defense, he reluctantly agrees to help her. Sparks fly, and both Bash and Olivia try to ignore this, especially because Andy will soon be back in town.

Fix you is the first story in The McDaniels Brothers series, and I really enjoyed it. I was also very happy to have the second book already on my kindle, so I could continue the story as soon as this one was over. Written in first person past tense, I got to know Olivia very well. And as every other chapter was from Bash’s point of view, I got to know him, too.

Some of my favorite Fix You quotes:

Something about cheap alcohol seemed to cross all social boundaries. The have and have-nots alike came to take advantage of the cheap liquor, and the few really rich haves who were too good to come for the cheap liquor still came to take advantage of the girls taking advantage of the cheap liquor.

Because Olivia wasn’t a fun party girl who wanted me to make her come and leave the next morning with a smile. Olivia was wounded. And when two people with issues came together, shit got fucked up.

Better than good. And when we kissed, it was like our bodies had never not known each other. Like two halves of a magnet, drawn together, fit tight.

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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