Nick Martinez's gym, Wrecked, is an all inclusive space which tolerates no slurs and supports people from all walks of life but especially those who have served. Because losing his leg was hard - but it could've been a lot harder without the emotional and financial support from his friends and family and Nick wants to give back and pass a bit of that support on.

Elijah Temple has had a rough couple of months since getting out of the army. So when a friend offers to put in a word for him to get a job at Wrecked, he jumps at the chance. But giving help is much easier than asking for it and sometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of you.

I really liked the premise of this book. The idea of a sanctuary for vets was a great concept and I liked the safe space they build and the sense of community they foster. But I'm not sure I really liked the characters enough to care.

Here's the thing - this book tackled a lot of really important social issues, and generally tackled them very well. Except there was so much about the issues that it never really takes the time to explore the characters as more than those issues. Nick especially felt very one dimensional - and while Elijah is slightly better, it wasn't really enough. This followed through to the secondary characters as well. There were heaps of colourful characters - but none that made any impact on the story.

The relationship between them is slow going and kind of nothing. There's a few longing glances and some dirty thoughts but that was kind of it. And then they fall into bed with each other and fail to talk. I felt like I was being told a lot more about how they felt than actually experiencing it and I was bored.

So it was an okay read but kind of lacking sparks. 2.5 stars. ( )

I thought that Nick was a little hard on Elijah at first, but I think that he did it so that he would be protecting himself. I think that he's a really good man who really wants to do the best he can. Elijah just wants to have his life, and Nick is a path to it.

Most of the time I liked Nick, but there was one time when I really wanted to smack the crap out f him. ( )

I enjoyed this first book in a new series by Kelly Fox. She is a new to me author. I liked both characters, Nick and Elijah, both had their own strengths, neither was a pushover. I liked the set up of the gym for veterans that Nick owned and how he was a sucker for Elijah right from the start but tried hard to fight it. It was certainly a slow burn, but worth the wait. A great cast of background characters that I would love to read more about. ( )