Tapout

De: Nicole Disney

Narrado por: Keira Grace

Every fight has stakes, and the hardest jabs are the ones you don’t see coming.

Laila Moretti was on the verge of making her UFC dream a reality. A standout in the regional circuit, she was one win away from a contract—until a crushing defeat shattered her confidence. Convinced she’s not cut out for the big leagues, she walks away from the cage, her coach, and the future she fought for.

Harlow Hayes doesn’t believe in limits—only opportunities. Running an underground fight promotion takes nerve, ambition, and a willingness to play dirty. She’s built an empire on giving fighters a shot the system never would. But the audience craves blood, and with her reputation on the line, she needs a star who can do more than survive—she needs someone who can win.

When Laila steps into Harlow’s world, she sees the fighter Laila refuses to believe she is. Their attraction is undeniable, their ambitions impossible to ignore, and as the lines between business and something far more dangerous begin to blur, Harlow faces a choice: push Laila to reclaim the dream she abandoned or admit she’s already lost sight of her own.

©2025 Nicole Disney (P)2025 Bold Strokes Book Inc

Eden, Laila and Harlow, Oh My!

When I saw there was a new fight book from Nicole Disney, I immediately bought it. I hadn’t made the connection, even after reading the title details, so was thrilled when I started listening, and the epiphany hit. This is Laila from ‘The Clinch! Eden, and Emerald Tiger! I settled in with my old friends, ready for the tale to unfold.
Being privy to Laila’s background, and to her MMA debut brought the story full circle. Hearing about underground fighting, of which I had no idea was a real thing, was an eye opener. Fighters who fight illegally with an ‘anything goes’ mentality. It’s a virtual bloodbath, with broken bones, and where hurting each other purposely is acceptable and encouraged.
Eden was a strong second character, here. Brooklyn maybe two or three mentions, and no Jin. I believe we the readers, are to assume he’s passed on. I want to believe he went to Japan to visit his family. I’ll continue that thought.
Laila struggles with the demands of MMA and in a dramatic scene with Eden, she leaves Emerald Tiger. Her friend Vic (I didn’t like her from the first word) introduces her to the beautiful, tough, yet secretly, kind- hearted Harlow, who owns and operates ‘The Yard’ an illegal fighting ring. Leila decides to fight in this new venue, and begins a relationship with Harlow. This doesn’t bode well with Eden, and the tug of war begins.
The fight scenes are written so realistically, that ‘The Yard’ descriptions were making me a little sick! This story is as great, and as layered as ‘The Clinch’.
The narration, here I had a bit of a problem. Eden’s voice was no longer the same; she sounded like a character from ‘Rocky’. The narrator’s cadence was a bit disconcerting. She has hard ‘t’s’ and ‘r’s’. Some words are spoken with more syllables than they have, and the ending word of a sentence is said with a risen emphasis.
This book was such a great surprise, and doesn’t disappoint. Thank you Nicole Disney for such gritty, and gutsy MMA stories. I’ll be listening to these again and again.

Character development

I’ve been waiting for this book for so long and it did not disappoint. The author is do talented with her story telling. It’s provocative, thrilling and feels like a guilty pleasure. Compelling story telling and just a thrill all around.

Sexy, exciting, funny and just plain amazing!! A must read!

Seriously I had to circle the block several times because I was listening to this book in my car and I couldn't stop! It's action packed and sexy as hell (I may never get over the roof scene 😉). Laila is so hilarious, sweet, impulsive, dedicated and relatable. Harlow is sexy, devoted, sweet, strong and very possibly my dream woman 🤣. The fight scenes are written so well you feel like you're part of the moment.
A definite 5☆ for me!!