RITA Reader Challenge Review

Once Pure by Cecy Robson

This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by Demi. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Mid-Length Contemporary category.

The summary:

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.

Here is Demi's review:

T/W: past rape/sexual assault; slut-shaming

The experience of reading this book was like dating a really hot guy. In the beginning all I saw was the potential. And the sex? Yes, please! I overlooked his flaws and knew it likely wouldn’t be long-term, but who cared because I was up late at night with his scorching hot kisses and nothing else mattered. A+!

Some time went by – I had to sleep at some point – and the cracks I’d ignored previously started to grate: He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed; he had a tendency toward violence and overprotectiveness and general patriarchal pedantry, while also frequently asking how I was feeling like I was some delicate creature he hadn’t just banged halfway to Sunday.

I made an effort to relate and understand his point of view, because hey – he was from some “wrong side of the tracks” situation in Philadelphia (?) where apparently people eat lots of hot wings and posture in macho fashion, and there is history and neighborhood family complication and so on and so forth and reasons. He was still scoring high in the bedroom department, but I was having serious doubts about my desire to go public with the whole affair. I very hesitantly introduced him to some of my friends and they weren’t impressed.

By the end of the affair I was just biding my time, wanting to get the drama of the break-up over with so I could move on to more promising options, like pirates. Everyone knows pirates are always a safer option. Did I mention the guy was a big deal MMA fighter? Yeah, it didn’t come up much and he tried to teach me how to kick some rear end but unfortunately running and I don’t get along well, and the diet of aforementioned hot wings and the numerous late night “sweat” sessions left me depleted.

I finally called it off and then promptly forgot about the whole thing. Thank goodness for notes.

Here are some of the relationship, er, highlights. Spoilers ahead.

In the beginning, there was sense of humor, fantastic!

“I…” The urge to bolt had me shifting my weight, hard enough to slap the hem of my long white skirt against my bare legs. But I stayed put, trying not to faint from his scorching level of badassness and working to form a decent response. “I was just admiring your sweat.”

So much for a decent response. He stopped smiling. “My sweat?”

I punched him in the arm, because, yeah, I was just that lame. “Totally. You must have had quite the workout, huh, asskicker?”

Finn grimaced as if it pained him to watch me go down in flames. I was good with computers. I couldn’t say the same about men.

It was even unintentionally funny!

When I’d agreed to help Killian, my summer break didn’t seem like enough time to get to know the man I’d first met as a boy.

Is there a secret that needs to be told? I had to pause and ask myself: wait, she used to be a boy?

Let us not forget the random “street” dialect that only came up once or twice!

“Don’t sweat it, Sofia. Mrs. O’Hara could have seen a lot worse.”

Oh yeah. True dat.

It was refreshing that Killian didn’t play games, preferring to be honest about his feelings. Alas, there was slut-shaming and it angered me.

As a little backstory, what’s-her-face the heroine apparently went through a period where she slept around a lot. Killian doesn’t know this, when it just so happens that some really quality guys decide to inform him. Now, what’s-her-face has to pay for not divulging her entire backstory to Killian. Since apparently it’s important to tell one’s current significant other about all past relationships so that he or she may judge you.

“Ask her, man – you think she’s so fucking pure – ask her what she’s done and who she’s done it with.”

I watched him stomp down the street. Two other people from the party followed him. The one girl apologized to Molly before running after him. She must have brought him, but no one seemed to care then.

All eyes, including Killian’s, were trained on me.

There were a few other instances of this type of behavior, notably when Killian’s sister makes rude comments about the MMA groupies. I understand that some groupies aren’t exactly upstanding citizens and all, but that’s no excuse for slut-shaming.

Killian isn’t a bad hero, just a product of his environment. What’s-her-face didn’t have much of a backbone, which is understandable given her history of abuse at the hands of her father. I was hoping, however, that over the course of the story she would grow stronger and learn to fight back, but I just didn’t see that kind of development.

This book is available from:
  • Available at Amazon
  • Order this book from apple books

  • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
  • Order this book from Kobo
  • Order this book from Google Play

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

Once Pure by Cecy Robson

View Book Info Page

Add Your Comment →

  1. kitkat9000 says:

    I saw this somewhere (most likely right here) and initially thought about reading it. However, I realized it wouldn’t be my cup of tea after rereading the review/description.

    So, so tired of slut-shaming. Swear to god, if a woman responds to any type of sexual assault/abuse with anything short of hair shirts, ashes, and shame, she “had it coming” and “asked for it”. And that we get this from other women is what disheartens me so.

    Thanks for the review. I’m fairly certain you rated this higher than I would have.

  2. ReneeG says:

    I have the hate of a thousand suns for “pure”. Hah! I have no words, except how can this still be written in this day and age? Can’t we move beyond that?

    Guess I had a few words left.

  3. Jennee says:

    Great review! I read this book too and felt exactly the same way.

Add Your Comment

Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

↑ Back to Top