FIGHTING SILENCE (On The Ropes Book One) by ALY MARTINEZ

“Leave the window open..”

As everyone knows who follows TB, we love a friends to lovers romance especially following their emotional journey. Fighting Silence was just that; emotional – a believable and profound friendship which became an addiction in order to breathe in many respects. For us there was a real refreshing shift in this one which saw an incredibly strong heroine who loved and fought for those who meant something to her no matter how big the fight. She knew her heart belonged to her friend and she refused to deny that.

“We’re family, right? Well, family watches out for each other.”

Then we had a hero who had this innate and real fear that the hope and the beauty he felt too lucky to have in his otherwise ‘ugly’ life was somehow – a dream in reality – waiting to shatter and be taken away from him. He felt worthless and undeserving of this beauty and the light she shone on him.

‘I’d happily give up every noise in the world if I could just keep her laugh. But my life didn’t work that way.’

Our hero and heroine’s escape is – each other – in a place where their ‘lives’ can’t reach them nor the outside world – it becomes a fantasy from reality. A hopeful beautiful place where as youngsters they find in each other comfort, love and happiness.

‘I knew I’d loved Till years ago, but this was more. I needed him in order to function on a basic level.’

We loved how these two characters grew and faced obstacles no one should have to see or be a part of. The struggles Till faced whilst trying to look after his brothers at such an early age were overwhelming and we completely understood his apprehension and fear as the friendship between him and Eliza developed and love and passion entered their friendship. This is where the angst and heartfelt emotion began to play out as Till struggled to overcome his irrational fears and balance his life and the reality he ultimately faced.

“No more, Till. I love you, but I’m sick of living in your fantasy. My door will always be open for you.”

We did have a couple of issues whilst reading; one being the jumping from one scene to the next – one timeframe to another. It felt quite stilted and certain emotional milestones in Till and Eliza’s relationship lost their impact and emotional significance as a result. It felt quite rushed which was such a shame.

“Open your eyes, Till. I’m sick of letting the Earth spin under my feet while you circle around me.”

“I’m ready to let us go.”

The other was that as our characters grew older their thought processes seemed quite naïve and almost frozen as childlike which seemed a disservice to two beautiful characters who should have – would have grown as the story progressed.

However, saying that we absolutely loved the raw emotion from the beautiful writing and definitely recommend this story. We can’t wait to read more by this Author and we’re eagerly awaiting Flint’s book! THAT promises to be heart-breaking, compulsive reading!

‘He was the only thing I’d ever had that I honestly thought I couldn’t live without. Till Page was my soulmate on every level.’

**ARC provided by the author, with thanks, for an honest review**