Worth Fighting For (Fighting To Be Free #2)

Author: Kirsty Moseley
Release Date: December 6, 2016
Publisher: Forever
Pages: 352
Genre: New Adult, Romance

*I received a copy of this book as a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own. Thanks NetGalley!*

Summary

It's been years since Jamie Cole's seen Ellie Pearce. He's immersed himself in the life that he'd once fought to leave and taken over his old turf--creating dangerous rivals. He has nothing to lose--until Ellie comes back to town. 

Ellie has moved on. She met a man in London--a man she's marrying. She hardly allows herself to remember the boy who broke her heart at 18. But when tragedy strikes, Ellie's forced to return to New York. She thought she could handle seeing Jamie again, but she can't deny he's still a part of her. Now amidst threats from Jamie's enemies and fighting to keep her sister safe, Ellie must decide to return to her fiance or surrender to the fire that still burns with Jamie. --Goodreads

The Rundown

Gah! When I read Fighting To Be Free earlier this year, the ending had me slamming my hands down on my desk practically shouting "NOOOOOO!!! You can't leave them like this!!!" Thankfully, Kirsty Moseley must have heard my shouts because a sequel was quickly in the works and landing an ARC of this felt like an early Christmas present.

Moseley did not disappoint with this follow up, set three years after the ending of the first book. This story is packed with a ton of action, heartache, tension, and steamy romance to keep the pages turning. It was such a treat seeing Ellie grow into herself, heal, and repair what was an especially strained relationship with her mother in the first book while adding strength and depth to her relationship with her younger sister. And Jamie...wow. It was such a journey to see him live in near darkness when he felt he had nothing good to live for without a family, and without Ellie, to becoming the man he was well on his way to being for Ellie all of those years ago. 

Set against the backdrop of a seedier NYC, complete with the car thefts, drug deals, and gang turf wars that is Jamie's new world and shifting to the suburban manicured lawns of Ellie's old life will have reader's feeling like they're first row for a summer blockbuster action movie. Moseley threw out so many twists and curves (and a hot hot hot romance rekindled) that I finished this book in a few hours. 

My only critique, much like the first book, is at times the dialogue was heavy on the cheesy side. I get that it's an action filled new adult romance, but come on. If a boy tells me I'll "Be so happy that I'll crap rainbows" that would basically throw an automatic kill switch to whatever steamy scene was taking place. I'm also not one for pet names in real life or stories, and I rolled my eyes every time Jamie called Ellie "little girl." Just...yuck. 

That aside, this story will tug at your heart, especially when it comes to that age old question of does your first, real, passionate love ever lose their space in your heart? It was no doubt by the end of Fighting To Be Free that Ellie and Jamie shared a deep, loving connection, but are they still meant to be after a lot of time and heartbreak? Grab a copy of Worth Fighting For when it hits shelves to find out!

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars. Great action, hot romance!