Title: Felix (5th Street, #5)
Author: Elizabeth Reyes
Genre: NA | Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 13, 2014
Synopsis:
They say the only good thing about hitting rock bottom is that it can't get any worse . . . or can it?
World famous boxing champ, Felix Sanchez, had it all—the fame, the fortune, and all the women any man could ask for. When the hours of partying followed by hours spent in court and in rehab begin to outnumber the hours he spends training, losing his title comes as no surprise to everyone. The world assumes he deserved to lose it.
Only those closest to Felix know the real truth behind his sudden downward spiral. And if Felix has his way, no one else ever will. With an uncertain future ahead of him, he heads back to his roots—5th Street—the gym that started it all for him. It's where he meets the humble but mighty little Ms. Ella.
The only times Felix had ever decided to forgo the usual meaningless fling and try a real relationship he was burned badly. Now the adorable but tenacious self-defense instructor has him considering this love thing one more time.
Then just when he begins to worry that his past is letting his possessive and jaded heart get the best of him, he's blindsided in the most brutal way—he's brought to his knees—to what could be the one low in his life he may never recover from.
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Review:
This book made me want to pull my hair out. Not in a bad way, though.
In the past books of the 5th Street series, Felix seemed unreachable because of his status. He’s the one you wouldn’t see more of, except in Gio. That made the anticipation almost unbearable. He seemed like this mysterious-but-not-really guy.
Being inside Felix’s head felt like a huge relief. Finally I could see how his mind worked, what he was thinking, what he really thought about how other people perceived him. It felt nice to finally understand him. I liked his character well, although it would have been nice to see something in him that is different with the other 5th street guys. So far, they were all alpha, hot-headed when it comes to other guys near their girls, the jealous and possessive type. I was looking for something in his personality that would make him unique, but I didn’t see that.
The thing that made me want to pull my hair out the most is Ella. She’s great and all that, but she was really frustrating at times. Some of her actions really got in my nerves.
The twists and turns in this book are very unexpected. I think it’s the best plot twist Elizabeth Reyes has written yet. Save the best for last, right? *winks* However, I wasn’t satisfied with how fast things went from there on. The plot twist could have wrenched my heart, but the words lacked enough emotions to really get to me. Everything happened so fast—literally. I would have liked to linger in that emotional state and feel the emotions of the character in their predicament, but I wasn’t allowed to do that because the story was fast-paced and before I know it everything was done. It was like I just breezed through it because of how it is written—how fast the narration went. For someone like me who needed a heavy dose of drama before my emotions locker can produce some serious feelings towards a book, the fast-paced narration of the characters’ predicament didn’t get to me that well.
Felix is another roller-coaster ride constructed by Elizabeth Reyes. It will make you laugh, frustrated, laugh again, get all giddy from all the sweetness, and it might even squeeze out a good measure of tears. All that’s left for me to say is I’m very sad to see the series end. I can already feel the nostalgia coming.
*complimentary copy provided for an honest review
~ Zee
Author Guest Post:
Topic suggestion - "Finding Your Voice: Writing in Third Person (or First)". I (Zee) am curious on why you, Elizabeth, has decided to write your books as third person and have you ever tried writing it in first person or would be interested in writing in first person?
Thank you Diary of a Book Enthusiasts for having me.
Finding my voice. I think how you decide to write is just a matter of your own personal opinion and what you feel most comfortable with. I'd like to think my characters are very real. Flaws and all it is what it is and that's what you get. I have a bit of a potty mouth and this does come across in my writing particularly in my hot headed alphas. I've mentioned this before, as much as my guys cuss they're so much worse before the re-writes when MANY of the f-bombs get deleted. =/ Some of my guys (coughs!*Romero! Hector and Lorenzo!* cough!) are worse than my others. But for the most part the overall voice (mine) comes across in all of my stories.
As for why I choose third person over first? It really depends on the type of story. I've actually written in first person but then gone back and changed it to third. For me contemporary romance just feels like it reads better that way.
I've read in a lot of different genres. In my personal opinion some genres are better told in first person like paranormal and fantasy. I'd find it awkward for a narrator to be narrating such odd scenes where say someone or something does something unnatural. I'd prefer to be in the characters head feeling instantly what they're feeling as they watch another character morph into a wolf or disappear or fly or whatever unnatural thing might be happening.
The same goes for thrillers and some mysteries. It's best to be in their head, experiencing it as they're seeing it. At least that's how most of the stories I've read in those genres have felt for me.
However when I started reading contemporary romance I really enjoyed the books written in third person. Therefore when I decided I'd be writing romance I felt that was the best way to go. Same went for dual POV's. I know some readers prefer first person single POV. I'm a very curious person. I like to know what's going on in the other MC's head AS the story is being told. I don't want to have to read the entire same story again just to see what he might've been thinking especially because I already know how the story ends. I like the suspense of having to wait but not that long. I'd rather just wait until we're in his POV in the next scene or chapter but we'll know AS the story is being read.
Now with that said. I have written other stories or begun some in other genre's or slightly different twists to the love story that I do feel better if it's told in first person. Some of these stories I do hope to publish eventually. I haven't decided if I'll use a pen name or not but I do anticipate sharing my first person stories with the world soon. =)
Thanks again for the interest and for having me!
Eli
I, too, hope that you publish it one of these days. It would be really interesting to see how Elizabeth Reyes writes in first person! I'm looking forward to that. :)
~ Zee
Grab the rest of the series!
About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling Author, Elizabeth Reyes continues to answer to her calling on a daily basis. Since releasing her debut novel Forever Mine (Moreno Brothers #1) in 2010 she has now published 9 full length novels total and fast at work on the next. The excitement her Moreno Brothers, 5th Street, and Fate series have garnered has far exceeded her wildest dreams. It is with as much excitement that she'll continue to put out books related to these series as well as introduce brand new ones very soon.
In 2014 she will take her next step in the exciting world of writing and publish her first traditionally published book with Simon & Schuster/Atria. But she will continue putting out self published books as well.
