Outmatched

by Kristen Callihan

[EBookObsessed]

I devoured this book. The combined talents of Kristen Callihan and Samantha Young created quite the knockout. I absolutely loved Parker and Rhys.

Rhys Morgan, ex-heavyweight boxing champion, has enough problems on his plate including the fact that he might lose his father's gym to the bank or the developer who wants to buy up his property.  After paying for his mother's hospital bills and his brother's education, it was his father's bad business sense and love of gambling used up the last of Rhys's winning.  Rhys needs his brother to use said expensive education and get a real job, not answer an ad for some lonely, spoiled rich girl who needs a fake boyfriend to impress her boss. But when Rhys meets the pixie-sized princess who, oddly enough, isn't intimidated by his size or his rough demeanor and who has the nerve to shoo him away, actually shoo him, he's more intrigued than he wants to admit.   And as much to antagonize the little tyrant then just the promise of the money, Rhys decides to take his brother's place, especially after he finds out her boss, a self-indulgent billionaire, is a fan of his boxing career. Rhys hopes he can convince this man to sponsor his gym and help get him out of his financial hot spot.

Parker Brown can't imagine anyone believing that she and Rhys would actually be a couple. Not only does Parker's taste lean more towards Rhys's geeky brother but she's seen the women that Rhys was photographed with during the height of his career and she is nothing like those tall, shapely and honestly, gorgeous women. It's bad enough she has to pander to her misogynistic jerk of a boss, a man who insists that he will only hire employees who show stability in their lives outside the office, whatever that means, but he can barely look away from Rhys long enough to acknowledge her.

As her boss becomes more and more obsessed with Rhys, it helps connect Rhys and Parker in a you and me against the world way.  No question that as odd a couple as Rhys and Parker make, they were made for each other.   I absolutely loved watching their relationship develop and how they each grew as a person due to the influences of the other.  Even before the declarations of love, they were stronger knowing instinctively that the other would have their back even if no one else did.

The fake boyfriend trope is one of my favorites because usually gives our H/H time to get to know each other in close quarters since they are forced to spend a lot of time together.  While it might sound like an easy enough concept, not all authors can get it right.   It needs to be more than just feeling chemistry between the two characters.  Chemistry is great but we need to feel the connection between them and understand why they begin to see the other person in a romantic sense.  In this book, Rhys has a moment's pause when he wonders if he hadn't taken his brother's place would Parker have fallen for Dean instead, and we have to be able to say "No, her connection is too strong to Rhys because..."

I have enjoyed several stories from both of these authors and can honestly say that they work wonderfully together.  I would absolutely grab a copy of anything else they want to collaborate on.

Receive an ARC from the authors in exchange for an honest review.