Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Release Day Blitz, Excerpt & Review ~ Legend (Real #6) by Katy Evans



Meet Maverick “The Avenger” Cage in Legend, the newest stand alone in the REAL series releasing February 9th!

Book Description:



Maverick “the Avenger” Cage wants to rise to the top and become a legend in the ring. Though he keeps his identity well guarded, he's known on the fighting circuit as the new kid with a chip on his shoulder and a tattoo on his back that marks him as trouble. He's got a personal score to settle with the Underground's one and only Remington "Riptide" Tate.


As Mav trains, he meets a young girl—the only other new person in the town--and sparks fly. When things get heated between them, he finds out she's none other than Reese Dumas, the cousin of Remington Tate’s wife. A girl who's supposed to root against him and a girl he's supposed to stay away from. 


But Maverick fights for the woman in his heart, and the monsters in his blood. The world’s eyes are on them and the victor will go down in history as the ultimate fighting champion; the ultimate LEGEND. 


* LEGEND is the 6th and final installment of the REAL series, but it can also be read as standalone or after the three Remington and Brooke books (Real/Mine/Remy.)



Buy Links:

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1Sx6rmL
B&N Paperback: bit.ly/LegendBN
IndieBound: bit.ly/LegendIB



Excerpt:

At Tate’s corner, outside the ropes, his coach whistles. “You two get some headgear on. Stat.”
Tate’s lips curl rebelliously, and he looks at me with challenge in his eyes.
I smile back, a feral curl of my lips.
We tap gloves.
No headgear.
I jab. He swings his arm, blocks the hit, leaps back, and I jab again, blocked again.
We space apart and jump in place, shaking our shoulders, loosening up. I pull my gloves back up, narrow my eyes, and he asks, “You think you’re the shit because you’re fast and strong? I got news for you. I’m faster, I’m stronger, and I’m disciplined. Your coach isn’t doing you any favors.”
“He’s in my corner, and that’s enough for me.”
He swings, I duck fast and come up behind him. He straightens and faces me again. “If you settle for that, then you should settle for second place.”
“What the fuck. You want me to win?”
“I want a good fight. I like keeping things real. Reminds me I’m a man. Mortal.”
“I want to be a legend. Legends never die. Even if they die alone.”
He swings again, and I duck, come up, and jab three times.
He blocks repeatedly, then hooks with his right; I deflect. He grins and jabs again. I block, then I duck before he puts me up against the ropes, and I head back to center. He follows.
“To be a legend you need to fall seven times, get up eight,” he says.
I remember a final a few years ago when my father kicked Tate to a pulp. “Or not fall at all.”
He backs up his arm and then smacks the smirk right off me. “Before you stop falling, you need to embrace the fact that you’re going to hit the ground.”
I clean the blood from my mouth, glowering.
We take positions again, and he watches me as if waiting for my next move as we start dancing around, jumping, waiting for the other to strike.
“Do you want the headgear now?”
I lunge and start hitting, and he blocks, deflects, blocks. “Fuck you,” I grit out.
“Getting angry doesn’t help. You control the anger, not let it control you.”
I want to prove him wrong; I loop out my arm and aim for his head.
He ducks and hooks, his knuckles cracking into my jaw. I spurt blood and bounce against the ropes.
I shake my head, wipe the blood away, grit my teeth and straighten, narrowing my eyes. “My turn,” I growl, and I swing. My fist connects: a kidney punch.
He blocks my next hit, frowning in thought. “You’re cocky for someone who just lost yesterday.”
He jabs.
I dive my upper body to the side, evading. “You got to play it to become it.”
“I’m the champion, not you.”
“You won’t live forever, champ.”
He jabs three times, then leaps back, flexes his arm and looks at it.
“Muscle memory. You hit enough times, you fight on instinct; part of your brain works on your assault, the other is focused on the other’s assault. Let your muscle memory work for you and consciously stay focused on your opponent’s eyes.”
I laugh mockingly. “I don’t need your pointers.”
“Go back home to daddy, then.”
“When I’m finished with you.” I punch him, then raise my left hook and connect hard enough to stun him.
He raises his head, shakes it to clear it, and wipes blood from his nose. I catch my breath, satisfied I got some blood. At least I won’t be the only one with an ice pack tonight.
He sees the blood on his arm and looks at me, impressed.
“TIME!” his coach yells out from the corner. “You two won’t have shit for the fight if you keep up this nonsense.”
Tate grins at him, then turns back and glowers at me. “You get enough?”
“Barely warming up here.” I squint the blood out of one eye and raise my gloves. “Come get it, Riptide,” I growl.


Our Review:

Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***



“I want to be a legend. Legends never die. Even if they die alone.”


The Real series has been one of my favourites since the very beginning, sometimes authors have that knack of embedding their characters into your heart and soul and Remington “Riptide” Tate was one of them for me and he has been at the top of the list ever since. So, knowing that this is the last one was bittersweet, while I appreciate that every story has to have an end, sometimes you just don’t want them to and that was definitely the case here. However, as endings go, Katy Evans delivers with a flourish, this was the perfect ending and it is not often I can say that hand on heart. While this is most definitely Maverick’s story, the part that Remy plays is pivotal and totally encompasses the selfless man that he has become, it truly was perfect.

Maverick Cage is an enigma, at the very beginning when this character is introduced your curiosity is piqued. It is obvious he has a sorry story to tell but with every door that is closed in his face he doesn’t lose hope, if anything, it makes him stronger and more determined. Maverick Cage is a scrapper, he doesn’t give up, he is tenacious, extremely focused, he is a marked man, but he doesn’t let this define him…he is just Maverick Cage. The same Maverick Cage that wants to become a Legend in the ring, the same Maverick Cage that has one man to beat to get there…his arch nemesis Remington “Riptide” Tate. He may be a novice, but he has the heart and soul to get him to the top, if only someone would give him a chance.


“All it takes is a match to light a fire, and He. Is. The match.”


Reese Dumas is Brooke’s cousin and has come to work for the Tate’s as a part time nanny. Determined to leave the old “Reese” behind she takes on this challenge with both hands. Thinking that she is in love with her best friend, a best friend that has never seen her that way, she wants to reinvent herself and the first step is to get fit, the first stop is the gym.


“And still I think of that nice girl who doesn’t want to be nice. A girl who wants to be unforgettable and doesn’t realize, she already is.”


Reese was a beautiful character inside and out, just like her cousin. She is beautiful, but she doesn’t see it, she is quiet, a bit introverted and is loving and loyal. All these traits lead her to help the man in the hoodie that couldn’t get into the gym… “He’s with me” is the beginning of their epic tale.


“I came here to find myself. And I think I did. And I also found…you.”


Katy Evans brings to life Maverick “The Avenger” Cage, a literal tale of rags to riches but that borne from a man that had a point to make, his tale to tell. A man that had the focus, courage and determination to prove that he is bigger and better than their misguided blanket beliefs, a man that had a heart a gold despite the tattoo on his back. But together with this tale of David and Goliath is a beautiful and swoon worthy romance, a story that will have you championing for them to succeed, from allegiances to fist bumps this story will have you tearing up, smiling but most of all falling in love with Katy Evans’s writing all over again.


“That’s our real fight. The one that lasts a lifetime. The hardest to win. You win that, a fight like tomorrow’s is a piece of cake.”


I don’t want to ruin this for anyone so I will just leave it here, as I said above, for an ending it was perfect, it totally encompasses everything that this series has been about. Friendships, loyalty, good vs evil, love, overcoming the odds, self-belief and to see past your flaws and to embrace your strengths. Be the person you always wanted to be, not the person that people expect. This was a beautiful story and a fitting ending to a truly epic series and it will be a series that will have a permanent place in my heart and on my book shelf. Katy Evans, I applaud you once again, thank you for Remy and the gang.

And I don't want the world to see me…'Cause I don't think that they'd understand…When everything's made to be broken…I just want you to know who I am…We see you, we know you, we love you…Remington “Riptide” Tate.


“The honor was mine.”



Other Books in the Series:

Real (Book One) The Real Series

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zT7J31


Mine (Book Two) The Real Series

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zmq1cT


Remy (Book Three) The Real Series

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1ynVnBv


Rogue (Book Four) The Real Series

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1wvpqI6


Ripped (Book Five) The Real Series

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/11X9CAG

About the Author:


Hey! I’m Katy Evans and I love family, books, life, and love. I’m married with two children and three dogs and spend my time baking, walking, writing, reading, and taking care of my family. Thank you for spending your time with me and picking up my story. I hope you had an amazing time with it, like I did. If you’d like to know more about books in progress, look me up on the Internet, I’d love to hear from you!

Email: authorkatyevans@gmail.com
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