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Blog Tour, Reviews, and Giveaway: Worth Forgiving: Vi Keeland

by - Wednesday, August 27, 2014


Worth Forgiving (MMA#3)
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RELEASE DATE: August 21st 2014
They say men like a lady in the living room and a whore in the bedroom. I never knew the sentiment was reciprocal. Until I met Jax Knight. A gentleman in public, a commanding, dirty talking rogue in the bedroom.

Daughter of legendary fighter “The Saint,” Lily St. Claire knows firsthand how fighters can be. As the owner of a chain of MMA gyms, she’s no stranger to aggressive, dominating, and possessive men. That’s why she’s always kept her distance. But the day Jax Knight walks through her door she’s captivated by his charm. Stunningly handsome, well mannered, Ivy League educated, and confident, he shatters all the preconceived notions she’d come to think were true about men who trained to fight.

But falling for someone so soon after her breakup wasn’t something she’d planned on. And definitely not something her ex plans to allow.

Cover designed by Romcon.com
Model: Jamie Dominic
Photographer: Jamie Dominic Photography

Excerpt: Meet Jax and Lily
Dinner and a dirty mouth

My face pinks when the waiter clears his throat, no doubt he’d heard Jax’s last comment. 

“Are you ready to hear the specials?” 

“Are we?” Jax arches an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming with delight. He’s not the slight bit embarrassed, but knows I am and is quite enjoying himself.

“Yes. Please.” I give him the evil eye and force my full attention back to the waiter. The entire time the waiter talks about the specials I feel Jax’s eyes burning into me. 

“I’ll give you a moment to let you decide.” Graciously, the waiter excuses himself.

“Why did you do that?” I scold, my voice low.

“Do what?” He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms over his thick chest.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Do I?”

“You enjoy watching me flustered, don’t you?”

Jax arches both eyebrows. Bad choice of words.

“You know what I mean.”

Leaning in, his voice gritty and sexy, he looks me straight in the eyes when he speaks. “I love watching you. Period. But what I like best is watching you pretend you’re unaffected. It’s like an unspoken challenge.” He pauses and leans in even closer. “I love the pink that creeps up your cheeks when I say something dirty. The way your pussy throbs when I mention what I’m going to do to you later, and you wiggle in your seat trying to control it. So yeah, I guess I do like watching you flustered. You sit and give your attention to the waiter, trying to pretend you’re listening to whatever he’s saying instead of thinking of me feeding you my cock later, but we both know you didn’t hear one word he said. Hell I didn’t hear one word watching you, just knowing what you were thinking about.” 

This time, I see the waiter before he’s close enough to hear us. He smiles as he reaches our table. “So what can I get for you this evening? Did I interest you in one of our specials?”

I look at the waiter, then Jax, who arches an eyebrow with a knowing smirk on his face, then back to the waiter. “The specials all sounded delicious. I just can’t decide for myself. I’m going to defer to my date to pick one for me.” I return my eyes to Jax with a cheeky grin. 

He throws his head back with a chuckle and looks at the poor confused waiter. “We’ll take whatever two are your favorites. Surprise us.”

"There's only two choices with a man. Forgive him or forget him. If you can't do the latter, then you need to forgive him because he's already stolen your heart."


We met Jax (Jackson) Knight in Worth the Chance. He is Vince Stone's newly identified half brother and now both sons are riding the scandal along with their Senator father. Jax is trying to get out of the limelight in D.C and heads to New York. He is trying to follow his own dreams now instead of the plans his father always mandated to him. Now he has a chance to make fighting more of a job than a hobby.

While doing business with a gym he wants to invest in, he meets gym owner Lily St. Claire. Soon he finds something else to be passionate about. But she has her own rules about workplace romances with good reason. Her ex just won't accept that he is an ex. So she tries to resist Jax. 

But Jax will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And he does not are who he has to fight to make that happens. 

"I'm not a man who's easily deterred when there's something I want either."

Jackson has the manners of a Senator's son, but Jax has the heart of a fighter with a dirty-talking edge. He is sexy, magnetic, sweet, and determined. He is a good guy, but able to be tough when needed. He is protective and alpha without being too possessive or overly controlling. His life has been full of deceit and he is still coming to terms with his anger and resentment. He just channels it into things he is passionate about. It was impossible not to like him.

There's nothing sexier than a man with manners when he's dressed, but a bit caveman-ish when he's in the bedroom. 

Lily is smart and sassy, but also vulnerable and lets people walk over her at times. She is loving and has a good heart, but she has pain from loss and a legacy she is determined to keep alive. And she also has a history with a crazy fighter ex that makes her not want to repeat her mistakes. But she also tended to stick her head in the sand and just let some situations go on too long and I will admit sometimes I really wanted to shake sense into her.

"I want to be there to catch you if you fall from now on, Angel."

But I did really like Jax and Lily together. They had an easy going rapport and good chemistry. But secrets, lies, misunderstandings, and other people could be their downfall. There are outside influences chopping away at any potential happiness and causing stress and trust issues. And when these toxic forces accelerate a situation that exposes secrets and possible betrayal, all she can do is either forget him or forgive him.

And Jax will do anything to be a man worth forgiving.

This was told in both Jax and Lily's points of view allowing us to understand their conflicts, feelings, and fears. I enjoyed getting more with Nico, Vince, Liv, and Preach from Worth The Fight and Worth the Chance.  This book is also about Jax coming to terms with his family secrets and his new half brother, Vince. It brought more of their story together. The whole series has humor, passion, conflicts, pain, misunderstandings, drama, and a bit of intrigue. I am kind of sad to see the series end, but I think fans of the other books in the series will enjoy Jax and Lily's engaging story as well.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 


Lily St. Claire co-owns and runs a chain of MMA gyms. While she doesn’t fight herself, she was raised by a fighter and the industry is in her blood. She is dealing with the lose of her father and trying to put distance between herself and her ex-boyfriend. The problem is that she works with her ex, and he’s her co-owner’s nephew, so distance isn’t exactly easy to find. I had a hard time connecting with Lily initially, but she grew on me and by the end I loved everything about her (even the parts that didn’t sit well initially). 

I have loved Jax from those first scenes he was in during Worth the Chance (even as he was flirting with Liv) and I love him still. Trying to lay low from the press as interest is sparked again by his father’s announcement to run again for Senator, and Vince’s MMA announcement, Jax heads to New York hoping to lay low in a city he isn’t as easily identified. I wasn’t sure how he ended up at Lily’s gym at first, but what really got him there was a perfect reason and I love how it blended both sides of him -- the businessman he was groomed to be and the fighter within.

I think because in my head I was comparing the plot to the first two books, and both the fight aspect and emotions seemed to run higher, longer in those two. But this one had a slow burn that was nice. There was definitely a lot going on, between Jax’s relationship with his family and Lily’s ex who can’t take a hint. The couples from previous books are less involved in the storyline as Jax and Vince aren’t on the best terms after the revelations in Worth the Chance, but where they do appear it is magical. Nico, Vince, Liv and even Preach give some great advice and insight to Jax and Lily as they struggle to find the footing on their own relationship.

If it weren’t for the last 20% of the book, this would have been just ok. That last fifth though? It absolutely made the story. Most of the high emotion and tension between Lily and Jax happened in that last bit. That’s not to say the beginning didn’t have emotion and tension, it just wasn’t as extreme. Lily and Jax had a relatively smooth relationship for the most part. Well, until they didn’t, anyway. 

This was full of energy, from start to finish. As Jax and Lily struggle to move beyond their nightmares, they don’t take an easy route, but it is one that is worth it in the end.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 
These books have interconnected characters but are about different couples and can easily be read as stand alones

Worth the Fight  (MMA# Fighter 1)
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Kim's 4.5 star review

It didn't matter that the ref called it a clean hit. Nico Hunter would never be the same.

Elle has a good life. A job she loves, a great apartment, and the guy she's been dating for more than two years is a catch and a half. But it's boring...and she strives to keep it that way. Too many emotions are dangerous. Her own past is living proof of what can happen when you lose control.

Then Nico walks into Elle's office and everything changes...for both of them. But what can the tattooed, hard-bodied MMA fighter and the beautiful and always steady attorney have in common? A lot more than they bargained for.


Worth the Chance (MMA# Fighter 2)
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Kim's 4.5 star review

Meet Liv Michaels
It may have been seven years, but I'd know him anywhere. Sure, he's grown, filled out in all the right places, but his captivating blue eyes and cocky grin are exactly the way I remember. Even though I'd much rather forget.

Liv Michaels is almost there. She's smart, determined and weeks away from landing the job she's dreamed about for years. Time healed old wounds, even her broken heart from the devastation of being crushed by her first love.

Meet Vince Stone
Women love a fighter, especially a good one. Lucky for me, I'm damn good. But there's one woman that isn't interested. Not again, anyway.

Vince 'The Invincible' Stone is every woman's fantasy...strong, sexy, confident and completely in control. Growing up surrounded by chaos, he's learned never to get too attached. Love will drag you down. He adores women, treats them well, puts their own needs before his own...for the night anyway. With the biggest fight of his life coming up, his focus should be on training.

When fate brings Vince & Liv back together again, there's no denying the chemistry is still there. But can Vince erase the old scars their past left behind? Or will Liv hurt him instead?


Additional Books by Vi Keeland

First Thing I See

Belong to You (A Cole Novel, Book One)

Made For You (A Cole Novel, Book Two)
Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!

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