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BALANCE BY LUCIA FRANCO

1/20/2021

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​If you enjoy extremely forbidden romance novels then you need to read Balance by Lucia Franco! I really enjoyed this one and am looking forward to starting book 2. 
Rating: ★★★
​Release Date: August 28, 2016
Genre: Forbidden Romance. Sports Romance. 

Series: Off Balance series #1
Pages: 610 pages
Format: eBook. ​Source: Purchased. 
​Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she'll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose—producing champions.

Perfection, precision, and dedication are required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn't come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him.

Kova's power and domination, coupled with Adrianna's fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything 
​they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.

WARNING: This novel contains explicit content.

PURCHASE A COPY


** Due to the forbidden nature of this novel, the first book had been banned on amazon. You can purchase the 1st book (both eBook and paperback) via the authors website!

EBOOK (AUTHORS WEBSITE) | PAPERBACK (AMAZON)

𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥
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READ MY BOOK REVIEW

My Rating: 3 Stars
Genre Forbidden Romance | Sports (Gymnastics)

𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚: Statutory Rape | Consensual Sex with a Minor

BALANCE is the first book in the Off Balance series by Lucia Franco. This book/series follows an aspiring gymnast as she delves into a consensual (albeit forbidden) romance with her coach. There are a total of 5 books in this series and they all must be read in order. I look forward to reading the next one as this one ended in quite the cliffhanger!

Balance is a good book even though I only rated it 3 stars. There were definitely a few things that I didn’t like about this one, but I have a feeling the series is going to get better as it progresses which is why I’ll be purchasing the next on immediately. There’s just something about a forbidden romance like this one that intrigues me! I know there will be a few readers who dislike it BECAUSE of the underage sex (and the age gap between the two!), but I enjoy the fictional aspects of it because its an escape and something DIFFERENT from what I tend to read. So, heed my warnings; if you don’t like books where the forbidden romance involves underage but consensual sex then don’t read this one! If you can keep an open mind and enjoy the slightly taboo nature of the story, then I definitely recommend picking it up!

𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞

Adrianna Rossi is a 16-year-old gymnast who is looking to improve her skills so that one day she can go to the Olympics. In order to do this though she needs to go out of state to an elite gym where she will live and breath everything gymnastics. The work is grueling and the competition intense, but Adrianna’s dreams are coming alive. The only thing standing in her way is her incorrigible coach who knows how to get under her skin….

Coach Kova also lives and breaths gymnastics. After going into the Olympics, himself, and winning medals of his own he wants to help others train to meet their goals. But one girl is about to change everything for him. Who knows what will happen if one little touch or one little kiss gets out?

Readers will see as they dive into this intense and sizzling romance novel.


𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞

▶ I love a forbidden romance. Give me all things age gap and all things taboo and I’ll read the heck out of it! This one is even MORE FORBIDDEN then others that I have read because the sexual encounters occur when she is UNDERAGE. I know many will be sickened by this but it’s their relationship that makes the series so INTRIGUING. I can’t wait to see what happens as their relationship explodes!

▶ The sex scenes are on point! Lucia knows how to write a sizzling scene (or rather, many of them). This one is hardcore and HOT.

▶ I liked how complex the characters were. While I wish their stories felt a little more authentic (more on that below) you could see their wavering emotions and fears.

▶ This book is a part of a longer series. I love book series, especially those that follow one main couple! This is the first in a series just like that!

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞

▶ I never felt the initial chemistry. We’re TOLD that they slowly developed intense feelings for one another due to their close proximity for hours on end, but we never really see the buildup. It almost felt like they knew each other only for a few hours before they started their relationship which isn’t even the case. I wish the buildup were more apparent.

▶ This book is overly long for the content presented. Had the author focused on their angsty relationship and the buildup of feelings rather than every other page of sex scenes we could have had a shorter book that felt authentic.

▶ I disliked all the gymnastics talk 🙈. I know I KNOW this is a book about a gymnast and I appreciate the time and effort the author put into studying all that it entails but I felt bored reading so much about it. Instead of learning about how to perform the gymnastics (and I’m not kidding, it was DETAILED on how to do some of these tricks and tumbles) I personally would have preferred a little less detail on this and more focus on the relationship that was developing. I’m not saying to get rid of the gymnastics talk completely (that would take away from the setting and reasoning behind them being together) but a little less detail on that would have worked just as good.

𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗧 𝗨𝗣

Balance is an enthralling and forbidden read that seasoned readers who enjoy a little kink, and a lot of taboo will love. While the story needs a little bit more for me as a reader when it comes to chemistry and authenticity, it’s still a good read. I look forward to continuing on in the series and seeing what happens next!

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐

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