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I had loved Boys Don't Knit and was afraid that this book would not live up to my expectations. I love the characters Easton creates and there is something intrinsically "feel good" about his books. Well done!

I finished this over the summer and didn't review it right away. I've been thinking about it. So that's a good thing. I liked Fleur's character arc. As she gains physical strength she also gains self-knowledge and a strength in decision making. I found the story engaging and funny. I love the sporty-girl subject matter and the great look at training. Often in these types of books, the sport is incidental. Not so here and I appreciated the Women's Boxing information. I didn't love that there had to be a love interest. I wasn't a fan of the girl on girl grudges. 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars

Fleur Waters never takes anything seriously. She drifts about, content to be content with what she has. She's not particularly big into sports or very competitive, her friend Blossom is the activist, and her boyfriend George is a straight-laced military academy student. She's never been keen on challenging herself until she discovers boxing. Despite warnings from her friends and parents about the dangers of the sport, Fleur takes to it for the fitness, the new friends and the challenge. But can she fight in the ring?

I'm on the fence about this one. Yes, it's funny. Yes, it says the right things at the right times (although it can be a little over-the-top). Yes, it has some inclusivity with its characters, and it addresses the challenges girls face when it comes to their bodies. It IS a feminist novel. However, there were a couple parts where I was like, "Yup, this is written by a dude," and while I enjoyed the story, it didn't feel authentic. It said the right things and did the right things but like there was little emotion behind them (towards the end, the emotion ramps up a bit). And yes, I just became the stereotypical "authenticity-craving reviewer."

I loved the characters, particularly Pip with his Norman-Saxon side-switching, his Woods, his wild sense of fashion and his erratic driving. I also liked Fleur's dad, however, Blossom, Bonita, Tarik and Ricky all felt like caricatures (The Activist, The Poor-Aggressive-Girl, The Diversity Boxer, and The Coach) instead of actual people.

Despite my criticism, I did enjoy this a lot. I liked that it was basically Rocky (with a twist! And no, I'm not talking the gender swapping).

There was just something missing.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Fleur wasn't really an activist, but she was stubborned and didn't like being told she could or couldn't do something. When a local boxing club advertises separate classes for women, all she heard was "girls can't hit", and Fleur was determined to show them they were wrong. What started out as a sort of protest turned into a life changing experience for Fleur.

• Pro: Fleur was stupendous! She was wry and witty and I loved her sense of humor.

• Pro: Fleur has two besties, Blossom and Pip, who are so different from her, but also enrich her life in so many ways. They were steadfast friends, and even when they didn't seem 100% behind her, they were supportive. Blossom and Pip were also quite amusing and provided many, many laughs.

• Pro: Since all I knew about boxing was learned from Rocky movies, this book expanded my knowledge greatly. I enjoyed learning about the sport a lot more than I even thought I would, and I really felt like Easton did a great job pulling me into that world.

• Pro: The growth Fleur experienced in this book was tremendous. It was incredible to see how participating in a sport put her on this path to self discovery. She changed both physically and mentally, and she began to see herself and her place in the world in a very different way.

• Pro: I like English humor and found this book hysterical. I laughed often and audibly. It was exchanges like this, which kept me smiling: "Not everything in life has a metaphor in a Rocky film," Tarik said. "You're so wrong," I told him.

• Pro: I was so enamored with this book. Fleur captured my heart from the very beginning, and I just wanted to keep reading her story.

• Pro: One of the major things this book does is challenge gender norms. It was so refreshing to see a female character happy about gaining muscle and eating, eating, and eating some more to get her weight up. Fleur didn't buy into that dainty-girl garbage, and I loved her even more for it.

• Pro: The direction Easton gave to Fleur's nemesis was wonderful. What can I say, I like seeing that there more to someone, than meets the eye.

• Pro: The relationship that grew between Fleur and her parents really warmed my heart. Fleur began biking and this helped her connect to her dad. They would ride and chat, and I think she grew to understand both of her parents a lot more.

• Pro: If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand time - I am thankful to those authors, who have a knack for addressing issues, while still keeping the overall tone of their book light, and Easton did it with flying colors.

Overall: A hilarious and feel good tale of self discovery, which touched upon themes of family, friendship, and feminism.

I received a free copy from a Cali for an honest review. I like the little blurb about what the story was about but I still ran into it a little hesitant. I think a part of me was afraid that this book would not live up to what I wanted it to be. I actually really enjoy the story because the focus was on Fleur's growth as a boxer. Her involvement in the sport and her growth as an athlete felt very natural and the focus of the book was actually about her achievements rather than a romantic relationship which tends to be the focus when you have a female lead. I enjoyed this book and I thought there were some things that could have made it better but overall it's worth checking out.

Entertaining and reasonably realistic contemporary YA novel about a young woman who decides to take up boxing. As a female boxer myself, I appreciated that the author engaged with the idea that some people would feel boxing isn't a "girl's sport" without making that plot element the central point of the story.