ARC Review: 4th Degree by Nikki Castle

The latest book in The Fight Game series releases on Friday 3rd May, and I wanted to share my review of 4th Degree by Nikki Castle, having received an ARC.

I want to start this blog post off by saying thank you to Nikki Castle for providing me with an ARC of her latest book and allowing me to delve back into the world of MMA she has created.

Since joining the Bookstagram community, I have read countless books in a whole variety of genres. However, romance seems to be the most common because of the increase in popularity surrounding it.

One of the series I've loved reading is Nikki's The Fight Game series, which consists of five books with the latest coming out on Friday. The series is a sports romance series, specifically MMA, which Nikki has experience in as she runs an MMA gym and is married to a retired fighter.

I have always wanted to learn martial arts or some sort of self-defence, so I love reading about it in Nikki's books, especially 4th Degree.

4th Degree, as I said, is the latest book in the series and I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy, so continue reading to see my spoiler-free review.

ARC Review of 4th Degree by Nikki Castle

Genre: Romance

Tropes:

• Sports Romance (MMA)

• Forbidden Romance

• Age Gap

• Found Family

• Sneaking Around

• Coach/Athlete

4th Degree by Nikki Castle is one of the best books I've read this year. Once I knew book five in the series was going to be about Coach and would have the Coach/Athlete trope, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to read his story because, throughout the series, we fall more in love with Coach as it goes on.

This book follows the story of Coach Dominic and Skylar Vega. Coach, of course, is well-known in the MMA world, having been a champion himself. Now, he dedicates his time to teaching aspiring fights, like Tristan from book one, 5 Rounds. He has always kept a line between his professional and personal lives but that all changes when Skylar enters Bulldog MMA. Skylar comes into the gym looking to learn martial arts and something about her catches Coach's eye.

And so blossoms a romance.

Coach Dominic is a tough man. He's a retired fighter with a rough exterior, but a heart of gold (to be cliché). He spends most of his time at his gym, training fighters but also being a father figure to some. Coach doesn't like seeing people struggle so he has built a well-respected reputation for himself in the MMA world to pass on his knowledge.

Skylar, on the other hand, dedicates her life to others in a different sort of way. Not only is she working multiple jobs, she is a student, who looks after her family and never really gets time to herself. The gym was her way of reprieve from life's usual stresses and a way to develop new skills.

The last thing Skylar or Coach need is a relationship, throwing their lives off balance. But the temptation is too difficult to resist.

I absolutely loved Skylar's character. She has an eagerness about her that Coach likes because she is driven and thrives on learning new things. For me, she is one of Nikki's best female protagonists because she is incredibly strong, resilient and I see a lot of myself in her in regards to her passion, hard work and love for her family.

Before reading 4th Degree, I would have said that Tristan, or Jax, were my favourite heroes from Nikki's books. And I would love to say they are still my top two, but Coach blew me away. Dominic's character is different to the other male protagonists, and it may be because he is older and has a different lifestyle from the others, but I really enjoyed reading his story.

The dynamic between Skylar and Coach was great to read. The respect they have for each other, their situations and what it would mean for them to pursue a relationship together is clear from the very start. But there is only so much chemistry one can ignore.

When Skylar and Coach commit to testing the waters, it is explosive. Fiery. Hot. It is an age gap, forbidden romance, but 4th Degree is so much more than that. The sexy moments are definitely sexy, but there are so many sweet moments that are filled with tenderness and care and love. Their characters fit together perfectly and I couldn't imagine any other storyline or tropes for them.

Skylar and Coach are multifaceted characters, who will hook you from the beginning and keep you with them all the way through. I loved 4th Degree and seeing the other characters as well only heightened my reading experience because I do love a good found family story, and this book really conveyed the meaning of family – biological or not.

Nikki has once again written a book that had me feeling all the emotions and I would 100% recommend 4th Degree – and the whole series – to lovers of sports romance, forbidden romance or found family!

Thank you again, Nikki, for giving me an ARC.

You can read 4th Degree on Amazon here once it is released on Friday 3rd May.

Until next time...