Review: Once Pure - Cecy Robson

She bears the scars of the past. He blames himself for things he can’t control. Their defenses are up, but in Cecy Robson’s latest Shattered Past novel—perfect for fans of Monica Murphy and J. Lynn—true love lands a knockout punch.

Sofia Tres Santos remembers a time before her life went sour, before her innocence was ripped away, before she began punishing herself with risky behaviors and unworthy men. Now, at twenty, she just hopes she’s ready to rebuild some of what she lost. One way or another, it always comes back to her childhood friend and longtime crush, Killian O’Brien.

As strong as Killian is, Sofia has always been his one weakness. He knows Sofia has suffered and wants to ensure she’s never hurt again—not like before, and definitely not under his watch. When Sofia agrees to work at his mixed martial arts gym, Killian seizes the opportunity to help and protect the sweet girl he’s always cared for. And yet, as he trains Sofia to defend herself using his hard-hitting MMA techniques, he’s drawn to the vulnerable beauty in ways he never expected.

As Sofia grows stronger, she also grows brave enough to open herself up to love. And along the way, she challenges everything Killian believes to be true, showing him that no matter how much he dominates in the ring, the real battle is fought in the heart.

Shattered Past Series:
Once Perfect
Once Loved
Once Pure

O'Brien Family Series:
(Characters were introduced in the Shattered Past series but this series can be read separately)
Once Kissed
Let Me
Crave Me
Feel Me
Save Me

Visit Cecy Robson's website for more information.

Review:
I have been dying to read Sofia and Killian's story ever since they were introduced in the first book of the Shattered Past series. Sofia is the youngest of the Tres Santos family and her siblings Mateo and Lety have always been very protective of her, something that only increased when she went through a horrible traumatic experience a few years ago. Sofia's experience broke something inside of her and the previously shy and quiet girl went completely off the rails making poor choices when it came to men. It's taken a long time but Sofia has finally put her life back together, she is studying hard and knows what she wants from the future but she is still very timid and her experience has made her very wary of new people, men in particular.

Killian has always had a special place in his heart for Lety, they were childhood friends and he cares deeply for her but she is his best friend's little sister and therefore should be off limits. That hasn't put a damper on the attraction he feels for her though and he would do anything to erase the past and give her back her confidence. When Sofia agrees to help Killian update the website for his MMA gym it means working in close proximity and Killian sets out to help Sofia regain her confidence. He starts with self defence training but the more time they spend together the more he realises that he wants so much more. It's not going to be easy to convince Sofia to give him a chance but she is definitely worth fighting for.

I absolutely loved this story, we've already seen how much Sofia has been through and I was desperate to see her find happiness and start putting the past behind her. More than anything Sofia is a survivor and I loved seeing her slowly grow more confident as Killian and his family encouraged her to stand up for herself. Killian was fantastic, unlike so many new adult heroes he's not a player, sure he's no innocent virgin but he's not someone with a different woman on his arm every night who has no intention of settling down. In fact, for a long time the only person he has been able to think about is Sofia. He is incredibly patient with her and I loved the way he helped to build her up, when he looks at her he sees a strong and independent woman and he wants her to see herself in the same way. They do have issues to work through but I never doubted that they'd be able to make it in the long term.

Once Pure is quite an emotional story, it's utterly heart wrenching and in places brought tears to my eyes but there is also plenty of humour thanks to Killian's crazy siblings. Can I just say right now that I loved all of the O'Brien clan and I'm incredibly excited that Cecy Robson will be writing stories for each of them. I'm already particularly excited about Finn and Wren's books but I know I'll be devouring them all! Another thing I really enjoyed was getting the chance to catch up with both of the previous couples. Mateo is not happy when he finds out about Killian and Sofia but the guys work things out and I think even Mateo can see how good they are together. I love this series and can't wait to continue reading it.

Source: Received from publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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