Fighting Silence: On the Ropes, Book 1

Before I review this book, I just want to say (or shout) to everyone… If you haven’t read this book- read it. Read it now. Fighting Silence is an incredibly powerful, beautiful and moving story. It’s the first book I’ve ever read by Aly Martinez. I had no idea what was going to be in store for me when I started, but wow. I was totally and utterly wowed. The best book I’ve read in a very long time- I can see this book being my favorite book of 2015. It is at the very top of the list so far.Till Page and Eliza Reynolds both have home lives that are less than ideal. When they are just 13 years old, they develop this friendship. It’s an old abandoned place near both of their homes, but it’s somewhere they can go and get away from their lives. Their friendship is invaluable to each of them. Just knowing they have somewhere to go to get away from it all, someone who cares. It means everything.As these two get older, things change. Eliza gets a scholarship to the local college and moves out of her parents home. Till isn’t so lucky. With two younger brothers he’s supporting and basically raising, he’s stuck. Till is scared. It feels like everything is changing. Eliza is going away. It’s not far, but things will never be the same.
After Eliza’s high school graduation, things do change for them in a way. Their friendship goes to a different level. All the feelings, the love that’s always been between them comes out in a different way.Eliza and Till’s relationship is more than friendship. It’s more than a romance. It’s just more. They are everything to each other. As the years pass, their bond only grows stronger. They had that one night, but now they are friends, neighbors, and family.Till is a fighter. He fights for his brothers, he fights in the ring, but there is one other big thing he will be fighting. For sound. Till has a genetic condition that is making him progressively lose his hearing. It’s scary. Thank goodness he has Eliza and her window. For a while, he can escape reality and just be there with his best friend. Even though he and Eliza have been just friends for a long time, just her being there makes it feel like maybe things will be okay. That they can fight this. Together.Eliza is one of the strongest and best heroines I’ve ever read about. She is such a beautiful person. I love how she is with Till, the relationship she has with his brothers. I just love her period. And Till is just the best. He’s a man who knows what it’s like to struggle, to be knocked down and to get back up and fight. I love how devoted he is to his brothers, how he is always willing to sacrifice anything for those he loves. His brothers and Eliza are his family and he would no doubt do anything of them. Their love and friendship is inspiring. I can say without a doubt that this is the best friends to lovers story I’ve ever read.One thing I really loved is the fantasy/reality aspect of the story. Living a hard life like these two have, I can imagine it would be difficult not to try to live in a fantasy world at times. I just thought that part of the book was really well done. Every time Eliza would talk about wanting to be his reality I couldn’t help but tear up.I could go on and on about this book. It’s one of those books that touched my heart and I know I’ll remember it forever. I was pulled in from the beginning and loved every second of this book. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I cheered these wonderful characters on every step of the way. It’s one of those books I devoured from start to finish, I couldn’t put it down.Eliza and Till’s story was engaging, brilliant, original, passionate, sexy and all around just an outstanding read. I love a book that makes me feel and this one put me through the ringer. I felt all of their struggles. I felt their want, their need, their love. This book had so much heart. It’s one I just want everyone I know to read. Aly Martinez is new to me, but I can tell you now, she will be an auto buy author from now on.

This was my first book by this author and I loved it so much that I can't wait to read more from her!Till’s parents didn’t care about him or his two younger brothers so when it became too much at home, he took off. What he didn’t expect to find was a girl in an old and desolate apartment, a girl his age and so beautiful he knew he would never be good enough for her. Eliza’s parents weren’t much different to Till’s and when her parents fighting drove her away to a quiet and deserted apartment building, she took comfort in the silent place where she could draw without disturbances. At least until a boy came crawling through the window. A boy so handsome she knew would always be close to her, a boy from her school, a boy who became more than she ever thought possible.The story of Till and Eliza was heartrending. It began when they met at a young age, both desperate to get away from their homes. Over the years a bond between them formed which became much stronger than just friendship which helped them to get through tougher times in their lives.I loved how compassionate both characters were and how caring, selfless, humble, and self-sacrificing Till was. His brothers were great personalities and I can’t wait to read their books.The story had a lot of depth with both characters’ missing love at home and also their struggles (not only financially) through life. My heart ached for Till and I was in awe of how strong he was despite some seemingly hopeless situations.Till found a family not only in Eliza but also in Slate, the owner of On the Ropes which became Till’s second home because he spent every spare minute when he wasn’t working or taking care of his loved ones training in the gym. This after school program which became more to him than just a hobby was Till’s big dream because he wanted more in life than his parents ever gave him.Because Till never experienced his parents love for each other but only their cheating ways and multiple partners, he expected every relationship to fail after the love has worn off. Since he couldn’t live without Eliza he couldn't risk the chance of her leaving so he didn't dare and try anything more than friendship to not lose her forever.This story had some very heartbreaking and shocking moments when my heart shattered into a million pieces. Even my eyes didn’t stay dry during this read. There were some heavy sucker punches to the gut but also many funny and lovely moments. The characters looked after each other and I envied their cohesion and loved their dynamic. I loved the banter between them all.Till was one of the most selfless characters I’ve ever read about. He was self-sacrificing, devoted, sweet, thoughtful but also very stubborn. I loved how he took care of his two younger brothers. He didn’t turn his back on them when he could have so easily when he moved out. Although Till was physically so strong, he was emotionally on the brink of tumbling down the deep end a lot. It was so hard to watch how he wanted to be strong for his family but struggled with his hearing loss.Eliza was a pretty great characters as well, she took matters in her hands and helped with Till’s brothers. She was an awesome person and perfect for him.I loved the ending but it was a bummer that it felt a bit crammed with so much going on at once. And it was a pity that his boxing was pushed to the background at the end. I also didn't understand how he managed to keep boxing with his disability. I would have liked more info on that.Even though I thought this would be an adult book I really liked and adored the characters. Because the reason why I rarely read coming of age romances or young adults becoming new adults is that I can never really catch up to the fast growing up of the characters which is why I always still keep imagining them as young kids even at the end of the story. This was also the case here because although I knew they weren't thirteen all the time, I just never felt that they were much older which made everything so weird when they lived independently and were actually grownups.Regardless, I have so much love for this book and I kept thinking about the characters even days after I’d finished reading it.

The book is penned down beautifully and so are the characters specially Till and Eliza. I m huge Aly's fan now and this is one more feather in her crown..

I have read all of Aly’s latest novels with hunger and having finished them, I thought I would go back and read some of her earlier works. Cricky what a revelation. This trilogy is absolutely mind blowing. It is as ever well written. It has some very serious subjects, both physical and psychological. We have three brothers of various ages, being basically brought up by their eldest brother Till Page. He befriends a girl called Eliza who’s parents are more concerned with arguing than parenting. Eliza finds a bolt hole, and Till discovers Eliza. Doddle. The story unfolds beautifully. It is full of tender emotional scenes, dark passionate scenes and family dynamics. Topics covers are obviously abandonment concerning children, and in this case their coping mechanism. Deafness and genetic impacts, and finally boxing and all the hype, training program and attitudes that ensue. Plus all the sibling interactions. So very well written, descriptive and absorbing a book and trilogy and m sure will not disappoint. 5 stars is most definitely not enough

This is a sweet story and I actually enjoyed reading it. But I can't say that I loved it. It's all very subjective. There are many stories that have similar elements. In telling them, some writers are able to reach me at a deep emotional level; others just float more on the surface to me.

with the maincharacters of this book. Eliza is the sweetest crybaby I've ever read about. Till was just breaking my heart every few minutes and rebuilding it more solid than before.

“Every single first you have to give, I want it.”FIGHTING SILENCE is a powerful and emotional story full of love, family, loyalty and sacrifice! I was absolutely blown away by the love between Till and Eliza - A once in a lifetime love that is INTENSE, passionate, SOUL DEEP and all consuming! I loved that this couple were friends then lovers, but during their entire friendship and relationship, there were no unnecessary misunderstandings and dramas. In fact, this couple are together for the majority of the book, fighting life's challenges as a couple and as a family unit. My heart broke as the inevitable occurred - Till losing his hearing - I knew it was coming but it was still difficult to comprehend.Aly Martinez's narrative was spellbinding - I was hooked from the very first page and now cannot wait to read Flynn and Quarry's stories next. The storyline was unpredictable and all the characters came to mean so much to me! I am invested to know what becomes of their futures. 4.5 "we are okay" stars!!!