Fighting Silence (On the Ropes, #1)

by Aly Martinez

• ISBN10: 1508515034
• ISBN13: 9781508515036
• Publish Date: 16 February 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

Till Page met Eliza Reynolds the night he climbed through the abandoned apartment window and found it was already occupied. Till was just looking for someplace to hide from the harsh reality of his life and he found a fantasy world where he could just be. Eliza was also escaping her reality by coming to the apartment where she set up a lamp and some cushions so she could be alone and draw. Each night from the time that they were 13 until they graduated from high school, Till and Eliza would be sneak out of their homes and just spend their evenings together where no one hurt them or demand things of them. They did homework or simply spent time with someone who actually cared about them.

It was after high school that Till knew he needed to face reality. Eliza had graduated and was going to college. Till had been working two jobs to make up the rent money for his deadbeat parents. He hadn’t had enough credits to even graduate high school. He needed to face reality and give up the reality world where he lived with Eliza. He walked away from her, leaving her devastated.

When Till is betrayed by his own father, he tries to literally climb back into the window of his fantasy world…or more to the point, through Eliza’s window. Eliza is done with fantasy and wants to face the real world with Till, side by side and until he is ready to do that, she has locked her window to him.

Till wants the peace that being with Eliza brings him but he doesn’t want to sully that with the reality of his working too many jobs which barely pays the rent and the harsher reality that he is going to lose his hearing. Till has to decide if he can let go of his fantasy world and claim Eliza as his in reality and begin a new future that might not be bright, but they will be there together.

THOUGHTS:
I just loved these characters. I was drawn into their struggles, from Eliza and Till’s neglectful parents to their hard work to provide basic necessities for themselves and Till’s younger brothers.

Although Till seems a bit delusional in his absolute need to crawl through Eliza’s window, rather than using a door, you really can understand it because being with Eliza is pretty much the only break he gets from the harshness of life. She makes him twice-baked potatoes and after endless meals of Ramen noodles, this is like manna from Heaven to him.

You also understand Eliza’s frustration. She wants to be part of the reality of Till’s life, to be with him and stand beside him. He and his brothers are her entire world and if she forces Till out of his fantasy and demand he accept her as part of his reality, she risks losing him and his brothers as well. These men are part of the family she made but in order to get more from Till, she has to risk losing everything.

Just when we start seeing a brighter future for them, Till’s hearing loss hits rock bottom and he has a serious and life changing choice to make. He can either stay deaf and accept his fate or he can get a cochlear implant and hear again. If he gets the implant, he can’t fight anymore and will lose the only chance he has to provide for a real future for Eliza and the boys.

This story just drew me in and I am glad I already have a copy of Fighting Shadows rather than having to wait to see what happens, except there is no audiobook version of that one yet so I have to figure out how to squeeze it onto my bursting TBR list. :(

[Risa Nichols]

Aly Martinez is a new author to me. Fighting Silence is my first read of hers, but I can guarantee it will not be my last; in fact, I one-clicked the second title in this series, Fighting Shadows (which just came out today!), and I plan on starting that one tonight ;)

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the fighter romance novels, and this particular one certainly was not a disappointment. I'm also a huge sucker for the friends-turned-lovers stories, and I absolutely loved how Till and Eliza's relationship steadily grew as they became adults. Though Till's fear of ruining their friendship by taking the relationship to the next level frustrated me, I could also understand his plight. After all, when you believe you've found magic in a world where all you've ever experienced is loss, how could you not be frightened of the unknown? of the ominous-looking future?

I have seen a few critiques about this book stating that it took too long to get to the "actual" story, but I have to disagree. I loved the way Ms. Martinez gave us the back story, allowing us a glimpse into the lives of Till and Eliza, which helped explain their friendship and why they came to rely so heavily on each other throughout their informative years. Being a young adult is difficult enough in this crazy world, but it's even worse when you have to go through it without having anyone to help shoulder the burden.

Till has the added heavy burden of taking care of his two younger brothers, which ages him very quickly. Once Eliza is introduced into the lives of the two boys, they all become a makeshift family, quickly filling the void their birth families left behind. It takes Till longer to accept the love Eliza is giving him than it does for Eliza to want to begin their lives, and there's some added drama along the way that left me on the edge of my seat.

Not only is this book a sweet love story, it's also fun and filled with an immense amount of humor that had me cracking up as I read the pages. This may have been my first Aly Martinez read, but it most definitely will not be my last. Now if you'll excuse me...I have Fighting Shadows to start. ;)

5/5 stars. 18+.

[Cocktails and Books]

FIGHTING SILENCE brought forth these reactions from me as I read the book.  It's a testament to the craftsmanship of Aly Martinez that she can take a reader on an emotional journey in a book to evoke these kinds of responses.

In the first book of the On the Ropes series, we're introduced to the Page brothers.  Oldest brother Till has taken on the responsibility of making sure his younger brothers are taken care of, all while fighting to scrap along.  His one bit of lightness is Eliza Reynolds.  She helps ground Till and make him understand he's providing something for his brothers that he didn't have.  And then, when boxing champ Slate Andrews opens a gym in Till's neighborhood he finds something else that makes his life better.

So many things happen as we chronicle the relationship between Till and Eliza from the age of thirteen to their early twenties.  From best friends to lovers, we watch both of these characters struggle with their circumstances, what their future is going to look like and how to keep their little unconventional family together.  You couldn't help but hope they figured out how to get their HEA.  It took them awhile to get it, but as they matured and realized there are some things more important than money, you knew they'd find it.

I loved the dynamics between the Page brothers and Eliza.  They may have pushed each other and sometimes rubbed each other the wrong way, but there was never any doubt they had each other's backs.  They would do anything for each, actually proving that towards the end, which proved just how special this group was.  They all rose above their situation to build a life they could be proud of.

I look forward to hopefully seeing Flint and Quarry's stories.  Both of them have huge demons to overcome and I just know Aly Martinez will give them spectacular stories.