Synopsis: Isla is the daughter of famous boxer Grahme Slade, and as an adult she is a successful physiotherapist, in the process of opening her own practice so she can determine her clients. She has one rule “no boxers” The book finds us flying to Vegas where Isla has been asked by her dad to break her rule and work with a boxer leading up to his big fight as a favor to him.

What I loved: If you’ve ready my reviews before you know I love the cheese! And I mean puns, corny jokes. Nothing is better to me than a lead dude with a sense of humor! My husband is always making me laugh, and its one of the most important qualities in a man to me, so leads who are full of jokes always make me enjoy a book even more.

What didn’t resonate with me: I was SUPER skeptical how we were going to get to a HEA with a boxer and someone who hates boxers. I really didn’t want this to be an instance where the woman compromised who she was for a man. And truthfully I was bracing for it. I even put the book down for a couple days in the middle because I couldn't get to the headspace to accept that might be the case. However to my delight I found a story of healing and true partnership and the book ended better than I could have hoped!

Should you read it?
Yes! This is a LOL rom com with poetry, plenty of humor and two delicious open door scenes. The leads are for sure the stars of the show, but there are a handful of supporting characters including Whit the bulldog.

TW: parent abandonment, panic attacks

Thank you for the ARC!! This is a super ADORABLE read. I didn't realize this was part of a multiple-book series, and now my little heart is so happy that I get to go back and read MORE by Kelly Siskind. (I don't believe you need to read the others to get in to this one, I found it reads just fine without the additional reading!!) Isla and Preston's relationship was a sweet, slow burn, and I was super satisfied with their happily ever after!

This was my first book by the author and I loved the first half so much I instantly added her backlist to my TBR. The writing was crisp and engaging. I loved the way the characters interacted. It was all so fresh and fun. The second half lost some of its luster. Things became a little too formulaic and predictable for me and the ending was too neat and easy. What started out as a 5 star read became more of a 3 star read. There was a lot here to like and I look forward to seeing what else the author has in store.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Knockout Rule By Kelly Siskind was a really great book! It follows Isla Sade, the daughter of heavyweight champ, Swinging Graham Slade. Growing up as a boxer's kid scarred Isla, mentally and emotionally. As an adult she avoids boxers like the plague. She decides to become a physiotherapist after growing up as a witness to the toll sports can take on an athlete's body. But, even there she refuses to work with boxers. Until her father begs her to work with his trainee, Brick Kramarov, in the lead up to his championship match. Isla begrudgingly agrees.
After a disastrous first impression, Isla soon learns that there is more to Brick than just the surly, aggressive personality on the screen. Away from all the grunting and his trademark slogan "Brick Smash," is Eric Kramarovsky, a sweetheart with an affinity for languages. The more Isla learns about Eric's passion for linguistics and poetry, and his love for his family, the more she falls for him. But his boxing remains a big obstacle that prevents her from taking a chance on him. Instead she accepts his manager, Preston's invites for a date.
Unbeknownst to Isla, Eric has been guiding Preston on his dates from behind the scenes, using the only option available to him to woo the woman he cares about. What ensues is a story where two people fall in love with each other while growing as individuals as well.
When I started this book, I did not expect it to go the way it did. I was hooked in with the Cyrano trope but I expected it to be a light read that was sweet and fun. What I got was a romance that was emotional and heartbreaking but still managed to make me smile! It's a wonderful book that looks at the dark side of sports while still maintaining the integrity of the sporting industry. I don't really want to give away any spoilers, but this book does a great job of tackling the long term effects of sports and the toll it takes on not just the athletes, but also on their families.
I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a swoon worthy romance, that is chock full of poetry and flirting in multiple languages. This book is technically part of a series, but can definitely be read as a standalone. It's romantic and heartwarming and absolutely adorable!

I struggled to finish this. It was really hard to connect with the characters. Isla was so whiny, and I just couldn't get on board with her poems inserted in.

Absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it but had to because, you know... work. I couldn’t wait to get home to finish it. The Knockout Rule was romantic and touching. Isla and Eric were great characters! This was the first book that I read by Kelly Siskind and it will not be my last!

This book drew me in from
The first page and had me hooked!! The story was well written and made you realize get to understand the characters. I would recommend this book to my friends

I haven't read any of the other books in the Showmen series before but that is an issue that will soon be remedied because OHMYGOSH this book! It was an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers sports romance with a little Cyrano de Bergerac sprinkled in that made me feel every feeling. Of course, it wouldn't be a romantic comedy without misunderstandings GALORE and mutual pining and angst that keeps the pages turning until the very end. I absolutely adore Eric and Isla with my whole heart, their relationship felt so real and meaningful, which makes me feel entirely alone but it's fine because I am thriving by watching their love thrive. Although, if I'm going to be completely honest, I need someone to hug me like Eric hugs Isla. It was also a lot more complex than some romance novels I've read. Each character undergoes massive development, even some of the side characters (I'm looking at you Swinging Graham Slade, favorite book dad ever). All of the characters are also dealing with real issues that I think so many people can relate to, whether it's Eric's desire to support his family, Isla's worry for her dad, or her battle with anxiety and panic attacks. This book is at once swoon-worthy, smile-worthy, and sob-worthy, and I loved every second of it.

I was so excited to get approved for an advanced copy of this book. I loved The Beat Match. It was one of my favorite reads in 2020. Kelly Siskind is slowing adding up to be one of my favorite romance authors. Maybe even my favorite authors ever. Her books are so heartfelt. They have some humor, they touch on important topics. They are so sweet without being eye rolling-ly silly and so warm and cozy. Like a hug. I’m being hugged by her books!!
She has a way with her writing that touches my soul. I have no troubles what so ever connecting to her characters. All those emotions you want to feel while reading, she makes you feel those. Flawlessly. Every single character is developed with the utmost attention. Side characters and all. Incredible. I can not boast enough. Now if only Heather and Preston could have a story 😏

All the poems in this book hit me in all the feels. They really added to the tone of this novel. I had to google Ramona Estle, to see if she was a real person. I could relate to them all in some way.
My favorite quote was Bricks below. It is absolutely perfect for how we as readers connect to books.
“Poetry is magic like that. Like your profile said, words can build worlds, and we’re the architect of those worlds. We read and interpret writing to suit our needs in that moment. We let those poems build us up or tear us down. We have the power in the end, not the author.”
Kelly Siskind is so aware... it’s amazing. She just gets... reading, and being an author. So genuine through her writing.
I swear it took me way longer to read this because I almost highlighted the entire book. I read and reread so many lines because they just resonated with me. I felt them. Right down to my toes.
I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book that made me feel this way.
I was afraid the ending was going to be anticlimactic, but it ended up being perfect. Siskind’s writing gets better and better as the showmen series goes on. I only wish we could have a thousand of them!

If you love Sarah Dessen, but want a more adult approach, this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley, CD Books and Kelly Siskind for a chance to read this remarkable book. All ramblings and thoughts are my own.

The Knockout Rule by Kelly Siskind seemed like a book I would love, but I just couldn’t find myself invested in it. Unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and CD books for the opportunity to read this book for a honest review.

I've been craving more romance reads than usual these recent months, and I decided to get a copy of The Knockout Rule on a whim as I liked the sound of the blurb. I confess that I didn't realize it was actually book number four of a series, but luckily it was really easy to read this one as a stand-alone. (As far as I know, each book features completely different characters.) I was really looking forward to it, but in the end I ended up having mixed thoughts instead. I'll try to explain briefly why below.

The first thing I have to stress that this is probably one of those cases where it's me that is the problem ,and not the book itself. Most people seem to have loved this story from what I've seen in the reviews so far... So definitely don't give up on The Knockout Rule on my account. But what I can say is that I've realized that her writing style simply isn't for me. There is something about the tone and dialogues that somehow didn't work for me, and that was even before the arrival of the (very!) steamy scenes towards the ending. I can stomach some sexy scenes if they are not too explicit, but in this case they were definitely more than cringe worthy for me.

I also found the story to be quite slow and repetitive in points. It might also have been that the story was simply overlong, but I felt that the story dragged considerably in points and the whole slowburn romance really was too slow for my liking. Instead of building up tension, it only got more and more annoying for me... The love triangle didn't really help either. The repetition I mentioned is related to the characters themselves, as parts of their personality and issues were repeated over and over again until it got annoying. Examples? I've lost count of the times it was mentioned that Isla didn't want to date boxers due to her anxiety, Brick hating his image, the upcoming fight and the high stakes... And I could go on and on.

Another thing I had mixed thoughts about were the poems incorporated into the story. I really like the idea behind it and it added an original touch to the story, but I can't say that I actually liked the poems themselves. Then again, the author stated that she took her inspiration from Rupi Kaur's poetry, and I was never able to connect to her work either... So that's probably just another personal reaction for me.

I still like the idea behind this story, and I also liked the linguistics angle and the different languages. As a whole, I've concluded her writing simply isn't for me, but if you enjoy the genre and don't mind things getting hot and steamy towards the ending, you will probably have a better time with The Knockout Rule.

An addictive binge read romance!

The Knockout Rule centres 27-year-old Isla Slade, a poet loving physiotherapist who devotes her time to helping athletes after growing up with the detrimental consequences of having a boxing legend as a father. Isla refuses to re-live her childhood trauma and avoids working with any boxers, except for her only weakness – her father. So, when he asks her to help Eric Karamarov (Brick Smash) his protégé who is preparing for a heavy weight fight in Vegas, she unwillingly agrees. Despite the idiotic persona that he is forced to present, Eric is an intellectual man who loves to study and discover language. Isla is captivated by him despite her hate of boxing – can she risk having another boxer in her life!

What a wonderful slow burn romance. I was addicted to this story and binge read it in two days. I loved the depth of the characters who had such heart-breaking backstories, it made the chemistry and complication of them being together such a heart-warming story. It was wonderful to see the book address so many important obstacles such as living and coping with anxiety, the pressure of society and financial struggles.

I highly recommend if you fancy an uplifting gripping romance!

This was a cute book. It had all the feels. I’ve never read a boxing book before. I liked the story and the main characters. I couldn’t put it down.

The Knockout Rule is a good, smart love story. The Boxing setting is refreshing and makes for a fun read. I liked the story however it didn't Wow me.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✓ (Brief) Enemies to Friends to Lovers, ✓ "I Was Wrong About You", ✓ Gentle Giant, ✓ Close Proximity, ✓ Slow Burn

"Flowers lift their heads to the sun, because it’s the brightest light in the sky. Everyone you pass does the same.”

I had mixed feelings about this book. The book was very well-written and I also enjoyed another book this author wrote in the series (New Orleans Rush). I just kept flip-flopping between feeling butterflies and gritting my teeth from the contrived feelings it gave me.

😘What I liked:
- The misunderstood love interest.
This is my favorite type of love interest. The "Darcy" character. Eric is a misunderstood romantic who has to put on this caveman "Brick" boxer persona. But he does it to support his family. During the day, he plays Brick, but at night he can be Eric, lover of languages and playmate to his beloved niece and nephew.

- Puns! I will admit. I love a good, dumb joke. Dad jokes are my jam. The drier the better. The little puns Eric would come up with were just terrible and I loved it. I find puns adorable.

“What’s often on the ground that’s brown and sticky? A stick."

- The relationship building. I liked the arc the characters were given. It was a very slow burn, so it felt satisfying when they finally got together. We had plenty of meaningful glances and touches. I love it when authors make it a point to write about these aspects as part of the relationship building. Isla and Eric had a lot of chemistry and they felt like a good fit together.

😕What I didn't care for:
-The poetry.
Maybe I'm just not a poetry person, but the poetry aspect seemed to be toeing the edge of pretentious way too close for my liking. It felt a little contrived to me.

- "Bullet points" character traits.
It seems like Isla's only personality traits were: she has panic attacks, she hates boxing, and she loves poetry (and not Netflix!). That's it. Same for Eric too: he is a boxer, he loves his family, and he likes studying languages. The characters were just embodiments of these traits. They didn't feel like real, fleshed out people. We only met two people in Isla's life: her dad and her friend, Heather. Except Heather hardly makes an appearance. I even forget about her until her name randomly popped up halfway into the book after only being mentioned briefly before and I was like?? Who is this person? We don't even know is Eric has any friends. It's just his family, his trainers, and his dog Whit.

- The steam.
The "steam" factor was a little too much for me. I read romance for the relationship arcs, not the steam. I want heart-fluttering feelings. From the get go, we had the love interests hot for each other and it was very descriptive with how they felt about the others' outward appearances. I didn't really care for that, especially after they just met each other. Also the intimate scenes were just... awkward to read. As a person who also speaks a foreign language, it's just awkward to speak it to someone who can't even speak the language, let alone when you're having sex. People who do that, I find, just want to show off that they know another language. It isn't a turn on. That also adds to the pretentious factor that I felt before.

- The ending.
Cheesy. Not in a good way. The interview was just... wow. Everything came together too well. It showed that the main conflict actually didn't need to happen if only Eric had talked with his sister from the get-go. That's the worst kind of conflict.

Overall, it was a light read that deals with topics of trauma, mental illness, and other health issues.

Isla Slade grew up with a famous boxing father and she hated it and it caused her panic attacks. Because of that, she vowed to never professionally or personally be in that world again. Until her dad, who is just diagnosed with Parkinson's, asked her for help as a physiotherapist. Reluctantly she joins him to Las Vegas for a big fight with boxer Brick Smash, and it turns out he is nothing like his boxing persona. He is extremely smart and caring and charming and soon enough they can't deny their spark any longer. With the promise of him retiring from boxing, she agree's to move forward in a relationship. Things are going great until another boxing match looms and Eric has to decide to keep his word to Isla or suport his family and pay off his debts.

I really enjoyed this book. it was a super quick read. I found Isla and Eric (Brick Smash) so charming and I'm a fellow chicagoan, so go Chicago! The secondary characters Heather, Preston and Graham were all very different and enjoyable. The Preston dating line was funny, a little predictable and corny, but I liked how their relationship grew and he ended up helping her with Eric's relationship in the long game.

It really annoyed me that his family relied on him so much. And I wish it wasn't like 30 tragedies in 3 chapters and he had to borrow all this money. I feel like it didn't really add anything to the plot we already knew he was supporting his family and he owed money we didn't need to see all the tragedy that he couldn't do anything about.

The Knockout Rule was a very predictable read. I’m not a huge fan of ‘insta love’, so because of that (and the poetry), the story was a bit much for me. I wasn’t as invested in Isla and Eric's relationship as I expected to be. I understand however, that my opinion is in the minority!

This was my first book by Siskind; I found that the story started off slowly but picked up as it went on. I always enjoy a happy ending and a misunderstood love interest! It dealt well with health issues, such as anxiety, and what it is like to have panic attacks. Overall, this was a quick read, and if you love ultra cheesy, steamy chic lit, this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

When your whole life has been dominated by boxing, the last thing you want is to fall for someone whose career revolves around it. But when her father, retired boxing champ Graham Slade asks his daughter to accompany him on a trip to Vegas as a personal trainer to the new up and coming boxer, Brick, Isla can't refuse. While there, she finds herself conflicted about the new boxer whose barbarian onstage persona doesn't add up with the sensitive linguist she gets to know in the gym.

Brick, AKA Eric, is in boxing to support his family. While he'd rather be studying Latin, he deals with the lifestyle in the ring to make sure he can take care of his mother, sister, niece, and nephew at home. Even if he can't stand pretending to be some meathead for the camera. When he falls for Isla, he doesn't have time for any distractions. Especially distractions that clearly state in their online dating profile they hate boxing.

Things heat up as the two find themselves drawn towards each other's kind natures and intellectual interests.

The Knockout Rule pushes the envelope on something I thought would be cheesy in a romance novel, but surprisingly enjoyed more than I thought I would: poetry. Isla is a huge fan and poetry works its way into the plot in many creative and interesting ways. I loved Isla's journey dealing with anxiety and PTSD within the book for the reality it portrayed surrounding childhood trauma. Eric was also a great character for his interesting academic pursuits and overall kindness as a friend to others within the novel.

The tension between the characters in this book was really well written, and I enjoyed the emphasis on their banter. I would definitely recommend this for a slow-burn that pays off in the end. Isla and Eric have lots of angst, but they're also tremendously loyal and fun friends. The novel set up their relationship in a lovely way that definitely pulls at the heartstrings. I'm going to read this again, I can tell already.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Knockout Rule is a sweet slow-burn romance. The chemistry between Isla and Eric is just off the charts. I just love their connection. Well, I was not the hug fan of the poems. They were okay, but not something that is so good that I would devoted my life to it.... Maybe, I just do not get it.
What I love about this book is how real it felt. Their talks , their break, their make up, it just felt right and real.
This is also about family and the love between siblings.
This also deals with loss, panic attacks, parkinson disease, and how to over come everything.

It was a sweet read, this for me is nearly 4 stars read (3.8). It just gave me feels.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝🥊

✨ 𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤.. I seriously loved all of them. They were so well developed filled with the perfect amount of quirkiness!

✨ ℂ𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕪 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕀𝕤𝕝𝕒 & 𝔼𝕣𝕚𝕔. The connection and passion... 🔥WOW.

✨ 𝕀 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕖𝕞𝕤. As a reader, I felt like these pulled me deeper into Isla’s story and brought a stronger connection.

The Knockout Rule was a beautifully written slow-burn romance that was fun, heartwarming, and sexy read. It was the perfect happily-ever-after that everyone dreams of. I didn’t want this book to end!

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars.

If you are familiar with Kelly Siskind, this is book #4 of The Showmen Series. This was the first book that I have ever read by Kelly Siskind, & it was a 😉🥊 ⓚⓝⓞⓒⓚⓞⓤⓣ! I’m super excited to look into the rest of The Showmen Series 😍

❤️ Thank you to netgalley & XpressoBookTours for this e-copy ARC of The Knockout Rule by Kelly Siskind in exchange for my honest review.