It’s no secret that one of my favorite “guilty-pleasure” heroes are the bad-a$$ fighter types. Underground street fighters, cage fighters, MMA, UFC, Boxers, up and comers, and Heavyweight champions… it’s all good to me. I love ’em!! I love watching them on TV and I especially love reading as they find (and attempt to resist) love amidst their chaotic lives. The highs—> super-strength and super-skills, and the lows (or the “fun stuff” if you ask me) —> groupies and anger issues. ‘Cause it’s always that, isn’t it? They’re fighters for a reason, and the tough-guy/bad-boy attitude is irresistible to me. They are the rock stars of their world, the “gladiators” of ours and BIG on protecting those they love. *swoooooon*
And many of you are looking for more (as I am!!)
Carla: I saw something today about a post regarding a cage fighter…and I can only assume that you’re a fan of that stuff like I am, because of Beautiful Disaster???
Maryse’s Book Blog: Oh YES I AM!!! And you’re right, Carla. Beautiful Disaster is what started me on my love of “book fighters”.
Heather: I just started reading Taking Chances by Molly McAdams. I am already hooked. So i have decided im going to take a break from my rock star bad boys and make a list of the yummy underground fighting bad boys. Can anyone help me with this list? 🙂
Sue: I am sooooooooooo in love with the MMA fighter series by Kele Moon.
Kristina: Seducing Cinderella by Gina Maxwell… yummy quick read. MMA fighter makes a deal with best friend’s younger sister to help her become a seductress & win the heart of a Dr. she’s been pining for at work if she helps him recover in time for his major fight.. hmmmm.. yeah I’ll leave it at that.. *droool* lol.. Nothing too heavy & great in-between read =)
Maryse’s Book Blog: I’m on it, Heather!!
I’ve read a few in this list already (I’ve noted which ones) and I’d love to know if any of you have any recommendations, too. Any books to add to the list? Any books below that are must reads?
The “list of the yummy underground fighting bad boys” (and the sanctioned ones, too) ;):
P.S. I bold/italicized the ones that I’ve read and/or those that have gotten some attention from our fellow readers, too.
- Shattered (A Bad Boy Romance Novel) by Natalie Baird
- Down for the Count (Dare Me) by Christine Bell
- Jezebel by Koko Brown
- Real by Katy Evans <— one of my favorites fighter books!!! That’s some maximum alpha intensity right there! (check out my review)
- Mine (The Real series) by Katy Evans – expected release date October 22nd 2013
- Remy (The Real series) by Katy Evans – expected release date November 25th 2013
- Raw (The Real series) by Katy Evans – expected release date December 21st 2013
- Beautifully Damaged by L.A. Fiore
- Causing Havoc (SBC Fighters, Book 1) by Lori Foster
- Simon Says (SBC Fighters, Book 2) by Lori Foster
- Hard To Handle (SBC Fighters) by Lori Foster
- “Deuces Wild” as found in the Double the Pleasure Anthology (this short story is related to this series due to his twin brother – as per the author: “Dexter Winston and Christy Nash, Features a new Winston cousin, who is a twin. Dex is twin to Hart, and Hart has his own story in Double the Heat. by Lori Foster
- My Man Michael (SBC Fighters, Book 4) by Lori Foster
- “Hart and Soul” as found in the Double the Heat Anthology (Hart Winston and Lisa Vogel. Hart is Dexter Winston’s twin and an SBC fighter.) by Lori Foster
- Back in Black (SBC Fighters) by Lori Foster
- “Man’s Best Friend” as found in the Tails of Love Anthology (Gary Rutledge is an SBC fighter in hot pursuit of his “very good friend” Erin Schuler.) by Lori Foster
- 12 Rounds (Knockout Series) by Lauren Hammond
- Rage: Galactic Cage Fighters by KD Jones
- Make Me Yours by AllA Kar
- Beautifully Dangerous by Chelsea Kendall
- Crash: While He Sleeps by Lucy Lick
- The Proposition (The Plus One Chronicles) by Jennifer Lyon
- Seducing Cinderella by Gina L. Maxwell <— (my review – very good!! Steamy MMA fighter read!)
- Choke by Bryan Matheson
- Taking Chances by Molly McAdams <— (my review – super angsty “new adult” read and the “fighter” aspect is not as pronounced…)
- Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire <— (my review – one of my favorites!!!)
- Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire – expected release date April 16th 2013
- Willing Victim by Cara McKenna <— (my review – kind of dark but I really liked it!)
- Defying the Odds (Battered Hearts) by Kele Moon <— (my review – LOVED it! One of my favorite “fighter” books)
- Star-Crossed (Battered Hearts) by Kele Moon <— (my review – very good, too!!)
- The Real Thing by J.J. Murray
- Extreme Love by Abby Niles
- Claiming The Prize by Nadja Notariani
- Bryant (Undefeated Series) by Charity Parkerson
- Ace (Undefeated Series) by Charity Parkerson
- Walt (Undefeated Series) by Charity Parkerson
- Paul (Undefeated Series) by Charity Parkerson
- Undefeated (Undefeated Series books 1-4) by Charity Parkerson
- The Fighter’s Block by Hadley Quinn
- Noah (5th Street #1) by Elizabeth Reyes
- Gio (5th Street #2) by Elizabeth Reyes
- Hector (5th Street #3) by Elizabeth Reyes
- Abel (5th Street #4) by Elizabeth Reyes <– expected release date August 13th 2013
- Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1) by Roxie Rivera
- Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha <— (my review – dystopian & street fighting and super steamy!)
- Battered Not Broken by Ranae Rose
- Venture Untamed (The Venture Books) by R.H. Russell
- Boundless (The Venture Books) by R.H. Russell
- Venture Unbroken (The Venture Books) by R.H. Russell
- Hard to Love by Kendall Ryan
- Knockout Andrew by Willow Scarlett
- Fighting for Flight (The Fighting Series) by JB Salsbury
- The Ballerina & The Fighter (Book 1) by Ursula Sinclair
- Raising Ryann (Bad Boy Reformed) by Alyssa Rae Taylor
- The Boxer and the Poet: Something of a Romance by James Thayer
- Below The Belt by Skye Warren
- Love T.K.O. (Kimani Romance) by Pamela Yaye
Fighting the Flight!!!!
Yep! Fighting For Flight is on there (that’s actually the one I’m reading now…) 🙂 Okay.. MORE!!
Lori Foster’s are the best.I read them all in a week.
Thanks Debbie!! They’ve been around for awhile, and I’m so happy to know they’re good!
Great list. Loved Beautifully Damaged.
Gina L. Maxwell’s second MMA book Rules of Entanglement is out 03-25-13. It is not on Amazon yet but Gina has it on her website. I have been impatiently waiting for this to release.
By the way I love your blog it helps feed by reading obsession! 🙂
Thanks Shanda!! I will look out for her release (and big *hug* to you!!)
The 3rd book I. This series is due out this fall too 🙂 LOVED the first one 🙂
Ooh! You have to check out Kele Moon’s “Defying the Odds” and “Star Crossed” — the first one is good, the 2nd one is AWESOME with an MMA hero with mafia connections and a former MMA heroine.
I’m reading Fight for Flight now too!
I’ll have to check out some of the others. There is just something awesome about MMA heroes. *sigh*
Oh Boy, a whole new list of books to read. Fun, fun. 🙂
Great List…as always 🙂
Quick note: Walking Disaster release was moved up to 4/2/13
Oh boy!!! Or sexy fighter, I should say. I have recently been looking for fighting books myself, and I am so excited about this list. I have read a couple on here. Most recently, Noah, but I am thinking about skipping Gio and going straight to Hector, based on the reviews. I can’t wait to dig in. Thanks Maryse!!!
loved Beautifully Damaged, can’t wait to read more of this list:) thanks for sharing it:)
Fighting for Flight was fabulous. I can’t wait for some of the other stories I could feel brewing there. Also still LOVE Kele Moon’s Defying the Odds and Star-Crossed. She promised at least four more books in the series and I am anxiously waiting. Thanks, Maryse, for always finding the most fabulous books for us. You Rock 🙂
Ohhh Fighting For Flight stole my panties. NO fight necessary! Jonah… oh yeah! I got my shark teeth out and devoured this one. Can’t wait to see what you think :b
Thanks for the fighting post, great material for sure. Grad School has cut my reading for enjoyment like a couple of books a week to 1 book a couple of weeks, it sooo bad I listen to audio books while at work to secure my fix, LOL. Again Thanks
Read 12 rounds got so excited to read 13 rounds and it’s not out yet!!! I hate being left hanging. I can’t find the new release date either.
oh i will wait to read 12 rounds until the second is out, hate being left in suspense, LOL
Real by Katy Evans. 5 out of 5 and I never give a review
Just finished ‘REAL’ by Katy Evans.
Thought you could add that to your fighters list, so good!
Yep I loved it, too! I will be updating this page with all of the latest recent fighter books soon. 🙂
“promise me darkness” doesnt have fighter theme but ryder is a sexy badass and he fights for who he loves! So good!!
Maryse,
What can you recommend after reading REAL by Katy Evans. Since I have to wait til June for book #2. This was such an awesome book.. And OMG!!! Remy and Brooke such a powerful connection.
Lisa
■The Fighter’s Block by Hadley Quinn
IS FREE AT AMAZON today!!
make me yours by Alla Kar…great book
I didn’t see this one on your list “Real” By Katy Evans. It is a good book the romance is steamy and the plot flows well.
Just a thought
Can’t believe Real by Katy Evans isn’t on this list. HOT, HOT, HOT
REAL by Katy Evans ranks up there with FIFTY Shades as my all time favorites!! REAL is a must read. I could read it over and over and over again! *sigh*
Just wondering if you know…is there a second Fighters Block book?
Please add Real to your list of fighter books. This was the book that pulled me in to this genre. It definitely hits all the right buttons!
REAL by Katy Evans was an amazing fighter book!
Hi maryse, I just read 13 rounds by Lauren hammond. Very good but way to short( it was a novella). It totally leaves you wanting more. I have been trying to find out when the next book will be out. I am hoping you may have some insight. Thanks mary
Had to drop by and say thank you for this list. I have now finished a few of them and loved each one. Especially Extreme Love. Extreme is RIGHT. Thanks to you I also bought Seducing Cinderella (loved), Fighting for Flight (loved), and Real (still reading). Your site makes it so much easier to find what I’m in the mood for. Right now it’s MMA, but I’m itching to head over to rock stars and see what I’m missing there…you are not good for my book addiction.
Maryse.. loving this list of fighter books. I’m on a frenzy. I have alreaedy completed the Lori Foster series and can’t wait for more from her. Read the Charity Parkerson series .. also very good, although short. Onto the Elizabeth Reyes series of – 5th street. I’m on the 5th book – Abel. Its so good. I also saw that she has another series. The Moreno series. Which looks quite good !. Can’t say thank you enough !
I’ve read Ivan the Russian protector series.
It was FAN Freaking TASTIC!! So I bought
and read all the other books in the series.
Major alpha males, very steamy and hot. I’m
now waiting for the next book in the series.
Worth the Fight by Vi Keeland!!!! It’s fantastic. A little angst. A lot of lust and…..*clears throat*…..ummm….yeah….
And here’s a twist….They’re (the heroin and the De-lish-OUS MMA fighter) both are “tormented”……so…..yeah…..I’m going to cool off now….or maybe read it again…..BYE
Hey,
love your list and already read a few of them as well. 🙂 Thanks, it made me download a few more on my Kindle and I am eager to read them.
I want to recommend “Unspoken” by Jen Frederick. Very good book and so fitting right into that list. I read a lot of books about the fighter and bad boy kind lately and Unspoken it the one, which still refuses to leave my mind the most. The author has a way to make the scenes so alive in your head that it is not hard at all to imagine the story in every detail.
Bo and Ann Marie are in my heart forever. 🙂
Forever Yours by Alla Kar is a great read. With a possessive bad boy fighter
Maybe This Time by Chantal Fernando is one of my favorites
I read it like 3 times
I m loving this book by L.A. Casey – Dominic…. can anyone think of any other books like it?
ohh and maybe this time by Chantal Fernando is a great book.
I just read a book about UFC fighter Cole Escovedo called Through the Cage door. Not really a romance, but I found I could not put the book down.
I love “Shredded” by Tracy Wolff and “Wrecked” by Priscilla West. Thanks for this lovely post!
I recommend the Gloves Off Series by L. P. Dover! one of my favorite fighter series!
The Hurricane is amazing
I have three MMA Romances through Secret Cravings Publishing (and a fourth coming in October) I’d love to share with you.
Could you tell me the name of a book a girl asked a guy that’s boxing after his fight if he can teach her to fight and protect herself