Book Review: The Fight Within by Andrew Grey

Title: The Fight Within
Series: The Good Fight, Book 2
Author: Andrew Grey
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: March 4, 2013 by Dreamspinner Press

Bryce Morton needs a change of scenery. Since his partner's death a year ago, he's become withdrawn and quiet, so his friends, Jerry Lincoln and Akecheta (John) Black Raven, convince him to go camping with them on a Sioux reservation. Though he's not immediately sure he's done the right thing, Bryce becomes more interested when he meets Paytah, the man who owns the reservation's trading post.

Paytah Stillwater's life is filled with hurt, and sometimes the only thing he has left is pride. After being abused as a child and disbelieved when he spoke up, he has withdrawn into himself - but he can never truly put his past behind him, because the source of his pain still lives on the reservation. Paytah is proud of his heritage and careful with his heart, but when Bryce commits a selfless act of kindness for one of the reservation's children, the walls around Paytah's heart begin to melt.

Bryce and Paytah each fight the pain within them. When Paytah's abuser sets his sights on one of the reservation youngsters, Bryce and Payton must set their individual fights aside. Finding a way to stop the abuser unites them to fight their way forward - together.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: Gentle romance of two hurt men finding solace in each other. If the book devolved into cutesy perfection, I forgive it since it’s all so sweet.

The Set Up: Bryce has been lost since his fiancé’s death a year ago. His friends, Jerry and John, take him to visit John’s Lakota Sioux reservation where he meets Paytah, a wounded man hiding behind his stoic façade. Bryce and Paytah begin a tentative relationship only for Paytah’s childhood abuser to threaten him and the reservation children again.

Why I Read this Book: I’m an Andrew Grey fan. In a world where too many MM authors are women writing MM erotica, Grey is a breath of fresh air with his sweet and spicy romances with full characters and plot.

What I Liked: Bryce and Paytah have a fairly uncomplicated romance. They’re drawn to each other and though they’re both emotionally wounded, they never bring that hurt on each other. I enjoyed this sweet romance that mixes in some eroticism but has the emotional romance more of the focus than the sexual.

What I Also Liked: Grey has a knack for writing a cast of characters. Jerry and John are leads from book one in this series and play big roles in this book which I adored. John’s niece and nephew that he and Jerry parent are charmingly cute and just imperfect enough not to be plot moppets. The other Lakota on the reservation are wonderful additions to the store, as is Bryce’s spitfire mother. I enjoy books that offer a community for the leads and that’s what Grey does in this book.

What I Didn’t Like: If I’m honest, this book is a bit cotton-candy sticky sweet. Paytah’s copes with his abuser, Paytah’s brother’s drinking problem is neatly addressed, and Bryce and Paytah’s cultural differences are wrapped up perfectly. I realize this is romance so a HEA is part of it, which I love, but this novel has everything picture perfect and it rang a tad manufactured.

I should also mention Bryce’s white-male savior thing going on here. As much as the noble savage stereotype irritates me, so too does the white-male savior. Bryce comes to the reservation and figures out not one, but two ways to use the Lakota culture for economic growth on the reservation. I roll my eyes at the premise that a person totally lacking in knowledge of a culture can in two weeks figure out solutions to problems that the people living there for generations haven’t seen. One “solution” would have been more than enough but two was ludicrous and pushed Bryce into the white-male savior stereotype in my opinion. Given that my sister-in-law is Navajo, I think I can say with a little authority that reservation life is not as simple as this book hints nor are the difficulties fixed so easily.

IMO: Even though I had some issues with this book, I enjoyed the simple romance and great cast of characters.

J9’s Rating: