Review: Love Hurts by Mandi Beck

Even when she won’t fight for us, I’ll go to war for her… 

Inside the Octagon, I have no fear. I’m at home, in my element, inflicting pain onto men trained to hurt me just as badly. Making them submit, knocking them out, maiming them, because it’s them or me. And I choose them. 

Outside the Octagon, my only weakness is a five-foot-two, classy as fuck woman that I’ve loved for most of my life. She’s the one that brings me to my knees, fills my arms, my heart, and one day soon, my bed. She makes me reckless. Volatile. I drink too much and try too hard to fuck my way out of feeling—all because of her.

Frankie De Rosa is my girl, my best friend. I haven’t earned her yet, but I won’t stand by and let anyone take her from me. She will be the greatest fight of my life, but she’s worth the battle. 

Love hurts, but anything worth having does, right?

I’m Deacon “The Hitman” Love — Welcome to the Cage. 

4.5 Star Review by Jennifer Skewes

Oh My God this book!!  I am not even sure where to start but to say that I LOVED it.  It gave me all of the feels that I love.  A few people had ben raving abut this book prior to it's release and knew I had to read it.  I sort of went in blind not really knowing exactly what I was getting into.  Love Hurts is a story about friends to lovers.  It has a ton of angst and drama to keep your heart beating throughout the whole book.  And it has a sexy, dirty talking alpha male name Deacon Love!!  Enough said!!

Deacon and Frankie have been friends since they were kids.  Frankie was basically raised by her father, her father’s best friend and his three sons, Sonny, Mav and Deacon.  She was and still is their Princess.  They have always loved and protected her through the years.  But her relationship with Deacon has always been a little different.  Deacon has always been her go to person. No matter what, he was the one person that she always needed and always went to.   For Frankie they were nothing more than best friends.  But Deacon has loved her for years but was never ready for her, he wasn’t good enough to be hers.  Until the day of her birthday when he finally tells her how she feels.  But unfortunately for Deacon, things did not really go as he had hoped.

Fast forward a few months later and Frankie is hurt and needs Deacon more than she has ever needed him.  And of course he runs to her side.  He almost lost Frankie once and this time he will do everything in his power to fight for her, for them.  Frankie just came out of a relationship that ended badly and while she loves Deacon, being more than friends with him scares the crap out of her.  If there is one person in this world that knows Deacon better them himself, it is Frankie.  Loving Deacon as more than a friend can only end with her getting hurt.  And she has to decide if giving her heart to Deacon is a risk that she is willing to take.

Oh Deacon Love, you sexy, filthy talking, dominating man.  You had me from the very beginning.  From the very first moment you feel the connection between him and Frankie and feel how much this man loves her.  That moment when he confessed his love to her and what a after just broke my heart.  The way he protected her, the way he cared for her and loved her just caused me to go weak in the knees.   He would stop at nothing to prove his love and fight for them.  He may have messed up along the way and made a stupid decision but no matter what I loved this man!!

I loved Frankie but at times she frustrated me a bit.  I understood her reservations I really did.  Because she knew who Deacon Love was and what he was capable of.  I get that she was scared, but she had to know that he would ever intentionally hurt her.  But despite the frustrations I loved her.  She had been through enough and deserved to be happy and for me being happy meant being with Deacon.  And of course he would agree.  They were perfect together.  They had such an amazing connection that as the reader you felt, both physically and emotionally.  But these two have known each other for a long time and they know each other’s pasts.  And it's their pasts that threaten to get in the way of their future. And that is where the drama and angst comes in.

To be honest I have a love/hate relationship with angst.  I love it when it is happening. And at times when I read a book where the level of angst is kept to a minimum, I find myself wanting it.    And then there are the books that you know ahead of time are filled with angst and you are so nervous to read them.  I guess because it’s the fear of the unknown.  But with Love Hurts, as I said earlier I went in blind.  I wasn’t prepared for the drama or the angst and to me that is the best way to read a book.  I felt it all with this book.   I felt my heart racing and at times I wasn’t even sure what would happen or how it would end.  There were moments that killed me, and moments where I wanted to punch someone.  At times I felt like I got whiplash from Frankie’s feelings.  I laughed with these characters, I hurt with them and most of all I fell in love with them.  And the ending, Holy Crap!  I was cursing my Ipad and hoping that if I kept swiping my fingers across it enough times that there would be more!!  But right there, everything that I just mentioned is what makes a book like Love Hurts a fantastic book.  It is the roller coaster ride of emotions that leaves you with a book hangover and wanting, no needing more.   I will be patiently waiting for the rest of Deacon and Frankie’s story!!