Review: Tough Love by Lori Foster

Title: Tough Love

Author: Lori Foster

Publisher: Harlequin

Publication Date: 8.25.215

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, MMA

Series: Ultimate #3

Source:  ARC from BEA

Rating: 3 ½ Stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

She's playing hard to get… to win the MMA fighter of her ultimate fantasies in a sultry new novel from New York Timesbestselling author Lori Foster…

Vanity Baker loves a good, clean match, but she's not above playing a little dirty. She's wanted Stack "The Wolf" Hannigan from day one. Seems as though the best way to corral the famously commitment-phobic fighter is to insist on keeping it casual. And her plan works—deliciously well—until Stack's past steps out of the shadows. 

Stack learned early to stay free of attachments. But with sexy, forthright Vanity, he's the one always left wanting more. Then his troublemaking family comes back into the picture, threatening everything Stack cares about—Vanity included. Suddenly he realizes they're much more than friends with benefits. He's ready to go to the mat for her…but will it be in time to protect the woman who's tamed him for good?

Review:

I love this series - I do. Hot MMA guys, sweet heroines and a lot of heat. What isn't to love? I will say that I felt like Lori Foster dropped the ball a bit this time and the book felt a little formulaic to me. Still amazingly good, but not quite the top of her game.

Stack and Vanity (seriously - what is up with these names?) have been in the periphery for the last 2 books and now is their time to shine. With blazing hot chemistry, these two are meant to be.

I think.

Here's the problem: Vanity wants Stack. Like wants him forever. OK, cool. I can see that. But she plays these self-proclaimed "games" to get him that smack of high school and are so ridiculous. She tries to be what she thinks he wants and it makes me wonder if I ever knew the real Vanity.

Will the real Vanity please stand up?

Look, I enjoyed this book a lot. I did. But between Vanity's inner crisis of character and the cringe-worthy melodrama at the end, this just wasn't Foster's best work. But even on a bad day, her writing is still top notch.