4th Degree

The Fight Game, Book 5

De: Nikki Castle

Narrado por: Sean Masters, Stella Bloom

He's her coach. She's too young. They're both risking everything.

Forced to grow up too soon, Skylar has built her entire life around taking care of her family. But when she catches her first lucky break, she’s finally able to pick up the sport that has always intrigued her.

Signing up at the local MMA gym is where she meets Coach Dominic. Because everything in Dominic’s life is based on his reputation as a coach and fighter, he’s always kept a professional boundary between himself and his students. But when Skylar impresses him in the gym, and their post-class chats start to last into the night, that boundary begins to blur. Before long, a relationship develops between them—that they’re forced to keep behind closed doors.

While Skylar struggles to balance her feelings for Dominic with taking care of her family, Dominic has to decide if he’s willing to risk everything for a chance at love.

Will Dominic and Skylar let themselves find happiness with each other? Or is the cost of their relationship too high?

4th Degree is the fifth novel in the Fight Game series, but can be listened to as a standalone.

©2024, 2025 Nikki Castle (P)2025 Audio Sorceress and Nikki Castle

Swoon

Love Sean Masters! This was a hot, quick, swoon listen! Had me blushing, crying, and giddy by the end.

Coach and Skylar!!! 😍😍😍

I didn’t think I could fall more in love with Dominic and Skylar but Stella Bloom and Sean Masters really brought these characters to life!

This audiobook is so good! I know probably say this every time but I seriously don’t know what Nikki puts in her books! I love every single book in this series but I’m sorry to say Coach and Skylar just took the top spot as my favorite in the series! If age gap and forbidden romance is your thing you don’t want to miss out on this book!

Not going to lie this is my first coach/athlete romance but not my first age gap romance, and Nikki has me hooked!! Coach and Skylar were the perfect introduction to this trope if you ask me, which you probably didn’t 😂. The dynamic and build of their relationship was perfection. I loved Skylar’s character so much, she hasn’t had the best life and she has a hard time letting anyone care for her, she’s a hard worker and just overall an inspiration. And Coach! What can I say, he’s hot, and he wants to take care of Skylar but he knows he shouldn’t pursue a relationship with her because she is one of his athletes, but he can only hold out for so long 🤭. And in true Nikki fashion the spice was hot and I just couldn’t get enough of these two, I wanted more at the end!! Let’s also not forget all the cameos from past characters I think that’s my favorite part of this series the gym family dynamic is something I’ve never read before and I’m so here for it!!

I seriously cannot get enough of this series or Nikki Castle’s writing and I can’t wait to see what she brings us next!!

COACH!

October 2025 Review (Audio)

Story: 12/10
Spice: 5/5
Spice Hierarchy: spicy
Narration: 5/5, duet

Skylar is looking for something just for herself as a chance to take a break from the demands of her life. Dominic is content with the life he’s built for himself.

Even doing this story the second time, I still love it. Skylar is so strong and Dominic doesn’t ask her to change. But tries to show her ways to find joy and happiness in small things just for herself. I love this found family of Bulldog MMA.

We needed coach to have an authoritative voice while also being the more playful Dominic that Skylar brought out. Sean Masters did exactly that. Skylar needed to sound like the 19 year old she was while brining that piece of maturity that set her apart. Enter Stella Bloom. Both narrators were perfect for their roles.

I don’t want this series to ever end. Especially when Nikki keeps writing incredible stories and selecting phenomenal narrators.

*Original Review (May 2024)
Story: 12/10
Spice: 5/5
Spice Hierarchy: Spicy

Dominic is content running his gym after retiring from MMA fighting. He has his fighters that have become his family and he doesn’t want or need anything else. Enter Skylar. Fighting and the workout it provides is the release and one selfish thing she does for herself. Skylar and her family have not had it easy and she works tirelessly to take care of her family while also going to school full time. They have an immediate attraction, but resist. For awhile at least. But once they start, all bets are off.

We’ve met Coach Dominic in the previous Fight Game series. Color me shocked to find out that Coach was the same age as me (36) not a much older man (50s-60s) that I had been picturing through the previous stories. When he reminds Skylar she is with a man, not a teenager, I was done. He is. A. GROWN. MAN and knows what he wants and uses his dirty words to make * it * happen!

I don’t know what Nikki puts in her drinks, but I will buy her a lifetime supply. Everything she writes is just absolute perfection. That moment from even the chapter headings going from “Coach” to “Dominic” added to the story.

Was I worried about this much of an age-gap? Initially yes. But the story was just so good that it didn’t seem like it was a big gap. While the age difference bothered Dominic to start and he was worried about how he would be perceived, he never wavered in his feelings for Skylar. If anything, he was extra cautious because of the age gap. And Skylar has lived more in her 19 years of life that she was more mature than many her age. Because of their age difference, it allowed Dominic to show Skylar how to find small times and small ways to enjoy her life outside of work, the gym, and her family responsibilities.

I got to 75% and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to abandon all responsibilities and finish or slow down time and just stay in this world forever.

A Teddy Bear Coach and His Brave Fighter

“Every rule I ever made for myself shattered with her.”

This book had me melting and fanning myself in equal measure.

Coach Dom Caruso is a gentle giant—a total teddy bear despite his fighter exterior. I was so touched when one of the gym kids came to him for a recommendation; it showed how much trust and respect he earns outside the cage. His heart is huge, and his love for Skylar sneaks up on him—and us.

Skylar Vega is pure selfless strength. Balancing school while caring for her disabled mom and little brother Joey, she’s been carrying the weight of the world on her young shoulders. Seeing her finally step into the Bulldog MMA gym—and into her own life—was so rewarding.

The spice in this one? WHEW. By far the spiciest in the series.

1.Their first time after Dom kicks out her obnoxious classmate? 🔥
2.The “teach me” scene? I was clutching my invisible pearls.
3. And every moment after? Explosive and tender all at once.

The duet performance by Stella Bloom and Sean Masters brought Skylar and Dom to life perfectly. Sean gave Dom this warm, controlled yet deeply protective tone, and Stella captured Skylar’s mix of determination and vulnerability beautifully. I also noticed the subtle narrative shift—chapters are labeled as “Coach” until after their first time together, when he becomes Dominic. It feels symbolic: the boundary between coach and lover finally blurs into intimacy.

This story was tender, emotional, and scorching. Dom and Skylar’s love feels risky, forbidden, and absolutely worth every second.

📣 Special thank-you again to Nikki Castle and the Facebook giveaway that introduced me to this unforgettable series. I’m so glad I got the chance to experience these characters and their journeys. What a ride!

Baby...you're worth everything.

Stella Bloom and Sean Masters became Skylar and Coach. 4th Degree is a character-driven story featuring a real connection between two people, and I felt that.

Skylar joins the Bulldog gym. She’s always been interested in MMA, and Coach Dominic, as a former fighter, is inspiring. A role model. And, well… maybe there’s more to it than that, but he’s seventeen years her senior and her coach.
When they start talking, it’s innocent. They watch fights together and talk about them. But Dominic is also fighting whatever this is because it could endanger everything he’s worked for all his life.

Of course they’re both convinced it’s not meant to be. They’re wrong.

Sean Masters is perfect as Coach Dom, the older man with a flawless work ethic who is there for everyone. The good guy. The one who is suddenly drawn to a student much younger than him.
And Stella Bloom … The way she played Skylar did things to my heart. Her strength because she never had it easy. Her determination because she never felt like she could rely on anyone. Amazing!

Both narrators amped up the connection between two people who are perfect for each other. Even when the “wrongness” of it is still at the back of their minds, you can hear how good they are together. Their mutual respect, affection, and genuine need.
Plus, the steamy scenes in audio were earbud-melting!

I loved their back-and-forth and the playfulness between them. Stella gave me a Skylar that slowly opened up to Dom and explored new things, while Sean gave me a Dominic who is grumpy but sees right through her and what she needs. Who encourages her every step of the way.

The found family came through beautifully in audio—the people who are and will always be in your corner. Their combined strength and vulnerability and the way they fight for each other and for their happily ever after made this audiobook for me.