Miss Cecilia Dawson signs up for boxing lessons as a man in order to protect herself from unwanted male attention at the docks when she is working. Lewis Stapleton, the Earl of Lethbridge, is one of the owners of the boxing studio, agrees to tutor Cecilia. After a couple of sessions, Cecilia confesses to Lewis that she is female and they acknowledge the attraction that is building between them. Once they embark on a romance, the thug who was threatening Cecilia at the docks learns of it and challenges Lewis to a fight for Cecilia. Lewis refuses to fight the man but is later locked into a match with him when the guy he originally was to fight is replaced due to injury. A quick, steamy read of finding love when it is unexpected. With love in their Corner is a new series about the Stapleton brothers and their quest to recoup the losses to their family coffers cause by malpractice of their father, the former Earl of Lethbridge.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Fighting for Love
When Lewis starts a boxing club to save his title from financial ruin, he never expects it to change his life. Boxing clubs are meant for men—or so he believes. But when Cecilia walks in disguised as one, Lewis immediately sees through her charade. So why doesn’t he turn her away?
As the truth comes to light, two hearts become unexpectedly intertwined. Lewis soon finds himself fighting not just for survival, but for something far more powerful: love.
If you enjoy historical romance with bold, unconventional heroines and devoted heroes willing to risk everything, Fighting for Love is an engaging and heartfelt story you won’t want to miss.

Cecilia and Lewis were a dynamic duo. He's an Earl at a break8ng point, trying to build back his earldom, while fending off his pestering mother. She is a cits daughter having gone through some painful assault situations. Lewis teaches Cecilia to box and defend herself. Over the course of his tutelage, they get close and start to see a future. But first they have to overcome their obstacles, family, creep etc... writing and pacing was good. The MC's actually had conversations about their pasts, future and relationship, which was refreshing.

#netgalley #WithLoveInTheirCorner

Really enjoyed this one, the pace of the book ensured I continued to be intrigued and the character dynamics were intense at time. The historical setting was well developed and made this boxer romance unique to the others I have read. Having a woman want to learn to box could have brought scandal to everyone involved and instead it allowed our protective hero to get to know our heroine and protect her when needed. I would definitely pick up the brothers' books and continue with this author.

Lewis and Cecelia meet when she needs to learn to defend herself and Lewis opens a boxing club to shore up the depleted coffers of his Earldom. Very unusual for the time I’m sure but the storyline didn’t indicate any real consequences for many of the unusual behavior of our heroine. While it’s a lovely feel good story I struggled to really engage in the story. The characters seem destined for each other and the steam was a little surface level and very early in the relationship. This was my first book by Sandra Sookoo that I’ve read so I’ll try a few more before I decide if this book has normal first book of a series issues or her style is just not for me.

Even though there was a bit too many boxing scenes for my taste, this was a pretty enjoyable read and sweet and steamy Romance

My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Book One of a new series that features three noble brothers of the ton, who are also boxers as a side income. First sweet have Lewis, who is the new Earl and feelings stifled by the changes taking place. In need of income, he and his brothers open a boxing shop. In comes Lia, in disguise wanting boxing lessons. Lia is determined to learn how to stand up for herself. With Lewis, aid and support, the two of them find a place in the world.
Filled with enough detail to learn, some steam and lots of steam.

This is definitely a historical romance with a difference. Our hero and his brothers are boxers, although also part of high society. They need to do something drastic to put money back in the coffers.

Our heroine is the daughter of a retired sea captain. She works at the docks as a bookkeeper for her father's business. Unfortunately, that is not a safe place for her when she is alone.

It is a very unusual storyline with interesting characters. There is a lot of danger and a little steam.

It is the first of the series and must be read before the others. I look forward to reading the rest. The brothers are mischievous.

Good fun.

Good book and Good characters!

I found this book to be a lovely romance. The main characters, Cecilia and Lewis, are two emotionally wounded people by past life events. They met one another through boxing. He practices it for money, and she wants to learn it for self-defense. In a few days, their lives will completely change under the influence of one on the other. They learn from each other, and a beautiful relationship develops and love blossoms. I enjoyed watching their mutual attraction grow and the chemistry between them.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Entertaining tale of aristocratic brothers and their boxing adventures.
Lewis is an Earl who needs to rejuvenate his finances and starts a boxing salon with his two brothers.
Ceci is a bookkeeper who needs lessons in self defense when she goes to the salon.
They are attracted to each other with some hurdles in their path.
Lots of action, a unique storyline, and good character development.

With Love in Their Corner is another of Sandra Sookoo’s alternative takes on Regency life. She always does something to take the reader away from what they are used to. In this book it is a man who is prize fighter by day, earl by night. His father had been a noted prize fighter but also a poor gambler and at his death had left the family almost bankrupt. He and his brothers had decided that opening a boxing school could go a long way in restoring the family fortunes. All was going well until one day a poorly disguised young woman entered the school, wanting to learn so she could defend herself. There would be scandal if anyone discovered she was there and taking boxing lessons, but Lewis accepted her as a private student and Cecelia became a boxing student. Meanwhile, at home his mother was nagging him to marry an heiress as a means for restoring the family fortunes. He didn’t want to marry at all, an heiress or otherwise.

Cecelia was an independent woman. She was not looking for love. She was quite happy with her life, keep the books for her father’s shipping business. There was only one fly in the ointment and that was a Mr. Dickinson who kept accosting her when she was out of the office. He insisted she marry him and TOUCHED her. Hence, the boxing lessons. Lewis was coming to the end of his boxing career: he was getting older and he had some spots on his body that didn’t work as well as they had in the past. But, it did provide a source of steady income and when he discovered his newest opponent was the man who had ruined Cecelia, of course he was all in. Interesting characters and a plot outside of the mainstream. As always with Sookoo, this book was an enjoyable read and even gave a person a thing or two to think about.

I was invited to read With Love in Their Corner by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #SandraSookoo #WithLoveInTheirCorner

Respect, Fate, Refreshing Romance Story:

A most intriguing intro to this delightful story that took me into a different world of boxing. So exciting and I learned so much.
The main characters Cecilia and Lewis were so fresh and unusual. Each were straight forward and honest with each other.
A great way to build their relationship which didn't take long to have the pages igniting with desirous passions.
The story moved at a fast pace and kept me glued to the pages until they reached a very rewarding ending.
I truly enjoyed reading this story.
🤐Mature Advisory🔥🔥🔥+

An unusual strangers to lovers, instructor-pupil and class disparity pugilist romance with two very likable main characters and a good start to the new series! I liked the plot with its delicate themes, angst, scandal, action, suspense and steamy love scenes. Cecilia has had some bad experiences with men and with the help of Lewis she not only learns self-defence but also gains confidence. Lewis is unhappy with the expectations and responsibilities placed on him, but ultimately lets his heart do the talking. The chemistry between them sizzles right from the start and I liked how open and loving they were towards each other.

Lewis Stapleton, Earl of Lethbridge, has inherited his father's ailing estate and a talent for boxing. When his mother tries to persuade him to marry a rich heiress, he comes up with the idea of setting up his own boxing salon with his brothers in order to flush money into the empty family coffers.
Cecilia Dawson is a merchant's daughter and helps her father run his business at the docks.
After a failed engagement to an abusive man and numerous molestations from men on the docks, she decides to take self-defence lessons and visits the Stapleton Boxing Salon.
Since Cecilia cannot train with the male clients, Lewis gives her private lessons and the two soon become close…

All in all, an engaging story with extraordinary protagonists, great character development, action, scandal and spice, which I am happy to recommend!

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

I had previously read Sandra Sookoo's romance featuring a thirsty vicar and I was already familiar with her work. When I saw "prizefighter" and "woman in disguise" in the synopsis, I was sat. This story had a great premise, but I didn't feel any connection to these characters. Cecelia is routinely accosted by a gross dock worker and naturally she wants to learn self-defense. Violence towards women in this time period was unfortunately commonplace, but these scenes made me very uncomfortable. Other than the traditional unwanted cat-calling, her attacker took it too far with forced kisses. I understand these scenes set up Cecelia asking the earl for lessons, but it was extreme. If this chick is as smart as she professes, wouldn't she bring a knife or some weapon after the second incident?

While I was less than enthused over our couple's breakneck courtship, I love when authors utilize the damsels in disguise trope. Slap some trousers and a newsboy cap on your heroine, they'll never know the difference. That is until the hero notices that shapely rear or enormous bosom he can't keep his eyes off while trying to teach boxing. I thought it was hilarious the earl clocked immediately that she was a woman. Ain't no binding tape thick enough to contain those puppies. That was my favorite part of the book. Even if I wasn't fully invested in our couple, ladies pretending to be gents get me every time.

Although I didn't gravitate towards this couple as much as I should, I'm still curious about the earl's brawling brothers. This relationship lacked the finesse I prefer in my romance novels, but I haven't written this author off just yet. I'm looking forward to the future books in the Boxers of Brook Street series. I can't tell you the difference between an uppercut or a half nelson, anything is possible With Love in Their Corner.

This is a very unusual romance for the Regency period, given that young women had strict rules to abide by and men had equally strict rules on how to treat a lady. However, when Cecilia Dawson arrives at the boxing salon with fear in her eyes, Lord Lewis cannot turn her away, despite her disguise that does not fool anyone. Cecilia has sworn off marriage after a disastrous engagement, but when a local forces himself on her, demanding that she marry him, Cecilia has to find a way to protect herself. Lewis is surprised at how easily she picks up the moves, and when she lays him out on the floor of his office, his respect for her increases. Ultimately, Lewis finds himself coming to Cecilia's rescue and having to take up a challenge that leaves him the worse for wear, but having established his superiority in the ring, he wins the fair lady, and the novel comes to a delightful conclusion. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Tropes: class difference; MMC is a pugilist
Steam level: 3
TW's: MFC was physically assaulted by her fiance and is attacked by a current stalker.

2.5 stars rounded up because the steam works and I'm a sucker for the "MMC teaches MFC self defense' trope. Things I liked:
--the MC's have strong chemistry and are likable
--the MFC is an older athlete who struggles with thoughts of not being good enough, making him particularly easy to empathize with
--the MC's have some serious dialog involving how MFC feels about relationships based on negative events in her life
--some good world building/research involving pugilism during that time period

What would have made this a better read overall:
--tighter editing
--less unrealistic and hot/cold behavior from other characters, particularly MC's brothers. They come across as complete jerks in one scene in particular (I wanted to throttle Duncan)
--a more realistic sense of how a woman defends herself against a man who is set to assault her. Instead of a focus on self-defense maneuvers, the MC's engage almost entirely in sparring. The idea of a woman being able to protect herself from a man, particularly a dock worker, with boxing skills learned over the course of a handful of lessons is patently unrealistic and detracts from the tension in the storyline. At a couple points in the book MFC seems confident that she could literally knock out the large stalker who has already assaulted her once, but there is absolutely no evidence that she'd be able to do so (in fact MMC struggles against the man).

I think the author's heart was in the right place when she wrote this, but the topic of physical assault/stalking is one that needs to be taken seriously, even in the context of a HR. When an MFC puts herself down for being a "coward" because she couldn't physically defend herself against her abusive fiance, that's a cue for MMC or at least another character to talk her through how wrong she is. Unfortunately MFC never does have a chance to personally get her comeuppance or even to have much of a character arc, which is a shame.

3 stars for the bond between the MC's; 1.5 stars for plot execution, editing, and characterization.

With Love In Their Corner is an interesting Regency Romance that takes place in an unusual setting. Our heroine is a smart woman used to getting her way from a loving father. Our hero is an unhappy Earl being harassed by his mother to find a bride despite or because of the family’s tenuous financial condition. Cecilia and Lewis meet in a rather peculiar situation and the author takes us on a wonderful trip through their acquaintance. I thoroughly enjoyed their tale.

This was an excellent book. It kept me turning pages until the end. It was more complicated and emotional than I expected. Definitely give this one a try if you are looking for your next fantastic read!

A great start to a new series! Lia is in need of self defense, so she decides to inquire about boxing lessons in a new boxing studio in town. Lewis and his two brothers come from a boxing family. They open a boxing studio who those who are wanting better fitness, balance, boxing and self defense.

What starts out as a business relationship quickly goes physical. Lia realizes that Lewis is really kind, generous and not like other men. This book is open door and very steamy. I enjoyed watching these two good people fall in love and find happiness.

Thank you to Dragonblade for the copy. Opinions are my own.

This first book in The Boxers of Brook Street was a unique and well written historical romance that had drama, action, intrigue, suspense, and interesting and entertaining plots. The characters were determined, strong-willed, complex, and likable. I enjoyed the strong instant attraction and chemistry that led to a forbidden desire and into a delicious passion and beautiful love. This was a heartwarming and original engaing lovely romance. I highly recommend reading!