Undefeated by Stuart Reardon, Jane Harvey-Berrick

🌟🌟 out of 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis:

When your world crashes down...
When they all say you’re out...
When your body is broken...
I will rise.
I will return.
And I will be undefeated.

Nick Renshaw is the golden boy of British rugby. When a serious injury threatens his career, he starts to spiral downwards, a broken man.

Feeling abandoned and betrayed by those closest to him, he fights to restart his life. Maybe there’s someone out there who can help him. Maybe he can find his way back toward the light. Maybe … not.

Dr. Anna Scott might be the one person who can help Nick, but she has her own secrets. And when Nick’s past comes back to haunt them both, the enigmatic doctor is more vulnerable than she seems.

Broken and betrayed, the struggle to survive seems intolerable. Who will give in, and who will rise, undefeated?

*I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review* 

I loved that this book had a character that played rugby. I've always found the idea of rugby interesting but haven't had the time to devote to learning more/watching any of the matches. I have to admit I've often wondered what motivates people to play such a bloodthirsty sport. They don't have padding like the men that play football and I would be scared of injury. I think that is the reason why I found Nick's point of view in Undefeated to be so interesting. I learned quite a bit about rugby and what might motivate someone to play the game. It made Nick feel electrified and he liked being pounded on by the other players because it made him feel alive. I enjoyed the journey that he went on throughout the book. Anna was fine as a character but didn't really grab my attention. I found her to be a bit bland. I thought that she had poor judgement and I got sick of her push and pull with Nick. I loved the message of the book which was to pick yourself back up even when everything seems lost. There is a quote that is used in the book a few times and I'm not sure if the authors of the book made it up or saw it somewhere but I loved it! It is actually the first portion of the blurb for the book. I thought that the story and the progression of it was just okay. I didn't really like how the book focused on Nick for so long and then all of the sudden Anna was the focus. It was a little disorienting to say the least. I would have liked for the book to have focused solely on Nick because it is already mentioned that Anna had had a low point in her life years ago. I don't feel like she needed to have any more focus on her than that in order to solidify the theme of being undefeated.