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A review by mfred
Below the Belt by Sarah Mayberry
3.0
I read Below the Belt all the way through. But I didn’t really like it.
And I think it may be feminism’s fault.
Honestly, weeks after finishing it, I am still torn over this book. Maybe I just expected too much. Did the hopes and dreams of me poor lil feminist heart prevent me from judging this book on its own merits?
Our hero Cooper hears about Jimmy, an up-and-coming boxer who’d like to have him as a trainer. Except Jimmy is actually Jamie and yup, Jamie/Jimmy is a lady! So, upon their first meeting, Cooper insults and challenges Jamie to explain why women deserve to be let into boxing.
Her response? “Sputter sputter sexist pig AND YOUR DICK IS SMALL sputter!”
And my world tilted. I mean, really? REALLY? Your dad was a boxer. Your grandpa was a boxer. Previously, you competed in state-wide martial arts competitions and won titles. In order to win back your family’s honor (squandered by your father throwing a match, going to jail, and killing himself, in that order), you decide to go pro.
Can I just restate that? You, a woman, having grown up in the boxing milieu, decide to become a female professional boxer. Allow me to make the small understatement that female pro boxing is not, you know, the easiest profession for a woman to be in… And shouldn’t you have already known that?
And the best comeback you’ve got is a small dick joke? Lady, you’ve got to be smarter than that.
In fact, the idea that Jamie isn’t smarter than that kind of disturbs me. Makes me doubt her from the start. By the end of the book, it’s clear this is actually part of Jamie’s story- figuring out her own motives in getting into the ring- but having that doubt at the back of my mind about her basic ability to understand herself? Undermines my own belief in her throughout the entirety of the book.
Cooper, against his better judgement, takes on Jamie as a fighter. Instant sexual attraction, etc. etc. As the book progresses, Cooper struggles with his growing need for Jamie and his increasing discomfort with seeing her hurt. Long interior monologues where he talks about how upset he’ll be seeing her get pummeled in the ring. By the end, its clear, this is part of Cooper’s journey, similar to Jamie’s self discovery, but again…
I mean, really? REALLY? You take on the job of getting her into professional boxing, and you’re worried that you won’t be able to stand the site of her getting beat up?
Cooper sees female and his alpha male hormones make him think weak. To me, that means he never actually respected her as an athlete.
And once I start that train of thought, it is impossible to ignore. If Cooper never saw Jamie as a capable athlete, then what the hell was he doing falling in love with her? THAT LADY YOU LOVE IS AN ATHLETE. She was a martial arts competitor! She won championships!!! She wants to be a PRO BOXER. How you gonna love someone when you don’t actually respect that person’s dream, at all?
AARRRRRGH! I HATE IT SO MUCH AND IT’S NOT A BAD BOOK AT ALL.
I think the truth is, I never wanted to read a book that had to defend women’s professional boxing. I wanted that idea, that a woman is capable of fighting professionally, to be ingrained into the very subconsciousness of the story.
I wanted Jamie to be strong and sure of herself and her dreams. I wanted Cooper to be in love with that strong, sure Jamie. I wanted to read a hot and sweet romance novel starring an unconventional heroine in an unconventional setting that was never once required to justify its uniqueness.
And that part, I think, I can blame on feminism.
So I’m gonna give this book 3 of 5 stars. Well written, good romance, hot, sweet, and funny laughs. But I think it could have been so so much better.
And I think it may be feminism’s fault.
Honestly, weeks after finishing it, I am still torn over this book. Maybe I just expected too much. Did the hopes and dreams of me poor lil feminist heart prevent me from judging this book on its own merits?
Our hero Cooper hears about Jimmy, an up-and-coming boxer who’d like to have him as a trainer. Except Jimmy is actually Jamie and yup, Jamie/Jimmy is a lady! So, upon their first meeting, Cooper insults and challenges Jamie to explain why women deserve to be let into boxing.
Her response? “Sputter sputter sexist pig AND YOUR DICK IS SMALL sputter!”
And my world tilted. I mean, really? REALLY? Your dad was a boxer. Your grandpa was a boxer. Previously, you competed in state-wide martial arts competitions and won titles. In order to win back your family’s honor (squandered by your father throwing a match, going to jail, and killing himself, in that order), you decide to go pro.
Can I just restate that? You, a woman, having grown up in the boxing milieu, decide to become a female professional boxer. Allow me to make the small understatement that female pro boxing is not, you know, the easiest profession for a woman to be in… And shouldn’t you have already known that?
And the best comeback you’ve got is a small dick joke? Lady, you’ve got to be smarter than that.
In fact, the idea that Jamie isn’t smarter than that kind of disturbs me. Makes me doubt her from the start. By the end of the book, it’s clear this is actually part of Jamie’s story- figuring out her own motives in getting into the ring- but having that doubt at the back of my mind about her basic ability to understand herself? Undermines my own belief in her throughout the entirety of the book.
Cooper, against his better judgement, takes on Jamie as a fighter. Instant sexual attraction, etc. etc. As the book progresses, Cooper struggles with his growing need for Jamie and his increasing discomfort with seeing her hurt. Long interior monologues where he talks about how upset he’ll be seeing her get pummeled in the ring. By the end, its clear, this is part of Cooper’s journey, similar to Jamie’s self discovery, but again…
I mean, really? REALLY? You take on the job of getting her into professional boxing, and you’re worried that you won’t be able to stand the site of her getting beat up?
Cooper sees female and his alpha male hormones make him think weak. To me, that means he never actually respected her as an athlete.
And once I start that train of thought, it is impossible to ignore. If Cooper never saw Jamie as a capable athlete, then what the hell was he doing falling in love with her? THAT LADY YOU LOVE IS AN ATHLETE. She was a martial arts competitor! She won championships!!! She wants to be a PRO BOXER. How you gonna love someone when you don’t actually respect that person’s dream, at all?
AARRRRRGH! I HATE IT SO MUCH AND IT’S NOT A BAD BOOK AT ALL.
I think the truth is, I never wanted to read a book that had to defend women’s professional boxing. I wanted that idea, that a woman is capable of fighting professionally, to be ingrained into the very subconsciousness of the story.
I wanted Jamie to be strong and sure of herself and her dreams. I wanted Cooper to be in love with that strong, sure Jamie. I wanted to read a hot and sweet romance novel starring an unconventional heroine in an unconventional setting that was never once required to justify its uniqueness.
And that part, I think, I can blame on feminism.
So I’m gonna give this book 3 of 5 stars. Well written, good romance, hot, sweet, and funny laughs. But I think it could have been so so much better.