Balance

Off Balance, Book 1

De: Lucia Franco

Narrado por: Sarah Puckett

Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she'll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose - producing champions.

Perfection, precision, and dedication are required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn't come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him.

Kova's power and domination, coupled with Adrianna's fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.

©2021 Lucia Franco (P)2021 Pink Flamingo Productions, LLC

Buckle Up and Get Ready For Teenage Angst!

Title: Balance (Off Balance Series Book 1)
Tropes: Taboo Romance, Coming Of Age, Sports Romance Age Gap Romance
Author: Lucia Franco
Narrator: Sarah Puckett 

Likes:
-Narration. Sarah Puckett did a phenomenal job!  Each character had there own unique voice (male or female) and accent. The Russian accent sounded authentic and even though I don't speak Russian that dialoged sounded so natural and not at all forced. Sarah gets 5 out of 5 stars for her narration!
-Tension. I felt the worry, stress, awkwardness as the FMC moves to this brand new place, on her own and has to learn how to fit into a new group of people. Also, I enjoyed the tension building between the 2 main characters as they start to feel a connection between them and don't know what to do with those feelings.

Dislikes
-Gymnastics descriptions
As someone who knows nothing about gymnastics besides a basic cartwheel or handstand, the long descriptions of FMC's routines did nothing for me. I feel like they could have been shortened a lot! I like that she described how she felt while she was doing these moves, but it felt very repetitive after awhile. But I can see why someone who knows gymnastics terms would appreciate it. 
-Spicy Scene Descriptions
In this first book the spice at times felt very long winded and sometimes awkward. Half the time I did know what position they were in or even how they were achieving a certain position.

Wow

I had no idea what to expect when i went into this book but it definitely exceeded all my expectations! I love age gaps and this was so good!

I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the H but alas I’ll still read the rest because i wana know what happens!

Can’t wait to dive into the second book! Definitely recommend this!

Taboo & forbidden…yet an addicting storyline with a remarkable narration!!!

A story so taboo on multiple levels, YET it’s such an addicting and captivating storyline! It felt so wrong reading this book at times but I couldn’t get enough of it! It’s a forbidden and taboo age gap romance as Kova is a gymnastics coach and Adrianna, is his gymnast. Not only that, but he is 32 years old while she is 16 years old, and also a virgin. However, the characterization of Kova and Adrianna was so well done that I was just immersed into the plot and easily kept reading this book chapter after chapter! It takes you on a rollercoaster journey with shocking surprises along the way and keep in mind, the book does end on a CLIFFHANGER! This is book 1 of a 5 book series so be ready to jump into book 2, Execution! If you love all things taboo, lots of steamy romance, plus fantastic character development with an exhilarating storyline then this is the book for you!

The incorporation of the gymnastics element into this storyline was just remarkably done!! It was just the right amount of information included in the story to understand what Arianna and the gymnasts were doing which I loved as it enabled me to understand the sport without going over the top in detail! It kept me intrigued and interested in what was happening with their gymnastics while also keeping the plot moving. Flawlessly done! Also, I have to mention that the addition of the gymnastics terms as innuendos during the romance was pure gold!!! I absolutely loved that Lucia snuck that in there!

Sarah Puckett absolutely did a stellar job with the narration of this book!! She brought emotion, passion and power to everything she spoke while performing! Also, her Russian accent for Kova was perfection! My husband actually speaks Russian and he even commented how well she spoke and also that her pronunciations for the few Russians words were spot on! It just made the narration feel so realistic and like there was a 2nd voice even though it was a single POV! I can’t wait to hear more from her in the rest of this series!

Wow!

Loved it! The narrator was top notch, she made these 2 really come alive.

Balance

Wow this is the first book I have read/listen to by Lucia Franco. I really enjoyed this book. I was surprised the range of emotions I felt while listening. This has a slight bit of age gap taboo. I was not ready for it to end. I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. Sarah Puckett did a fantastic job narrating especially Kova's Russian accent.

Balance

Holy $h!t, this book was so freaking Intense, damn I feel in love with it. I can't wait for the next book to come out. I need to know what happens. idk what to say but that you guys have to read this book. you won't be disappointed. this is a must read. it's so well written and the sex sense are so freaking good and hot, hot, hot 🔥. oh believe me I would so read/ listen to this book over and over again. that's how good it is. and the narrator of course did an amazing job. she's one of the best 👌 👍. well I hope you guys like the book as much as I did.

Wow

I will start by saying I don't normally like age gap but the book sounded interesting so I gave it a chance and I'm so glad I did! I really enjoyed this book good taboo story the narrator did a great job

It’s a great age gap story

I love this series. I’ve read the books but listening to it brings it to a whole new level.

Angsty and Steamy Age Gap!!!

I have read this whole series before and to this day it is one of my absolute favorites. Age gap romances are my jam!!! I jumped at the opportunity to dive back in to World Cup and be surrounded by Kova and Adrianna, and let's be honest, Sarah Puckett narrating both of those characters because she seriously kills this book!

Adrianna wants to increase her training and maybe one day make it to the Olympics, and in order to do so starts training at a gym several hours from her home. At a young age, she now lives on her own and gets tutored for school and trains 50 hours a week for gymnastics. Kova is the owner of the World Cup and her new Coach and also a friend of her father's.

Adrianna and Kova's relationship is intense, angsty, tumultuous, steamy and very much a roller coaster ride. The chemistry is definitely there no doubt. The author did a great job at times with Kova's struggle with the morality of their relationship which I think came through in his hot and cold, back and forth treatment towards Adrianna and in other ways as well.

I was hooked from the start, not going to lie. Yes, this is taboo book and yes there is sensitive subject matter, but hello it is FICTION. I applaud the author for writing this story and for continuing to publish it. This book was 100% engaging; from beginning to end, I hung on to every word.

This book does raise a lot of questions at various times that could get you thinking, but again the book is fiction. A lot of what I read in a lot of different types of books are not things I would necessarily do or condone in real life, but the books are still insanely entertaining, just like with this one. I was fully invested in these characters and the story line and the story evoked ALL THE EMOTIONS AND FEELS!!!

Sarah Puckett did a brilliant job with the narration of this story. To not only do a fantastic job with the narration as Adrianna, but to also be able to do such an amazing job as Kova with his Russian accent truly says everything about her skill as a narrator. She has been a favorite narrator of mine since I first listened to her, particularly because I enjoy how she reads both female and male characters, but for this book she is truly exceptional!!! #PinkFlamingoProductions #TheFlock

Captivating

Balance...the title doesn't quite fit the story...at least not yet. I love taboo stories, and this one did not disappoint. From the beginning as I began to listen, I knew there was going to be a romance. We met Adrianna, with the sole focus of wanting to be a gymnast in the Olympics. With some pull from her father, a deal is struck and she is now training with the best. Kova is a two time Olympic champion, and he knows what it takes to get there. And getting involved with one of his trainees is not part of the program. Not only is it illegal, since Adrianna is underage, but it will destroy both of them. But the pull is so strong! I couldn't decide as I listened if I loved these characters or hated them. The sign of a great book to me, since they are constantly on my mind and I need to keep listening to make the decision! Adrianna is a tough one to like. At first, I thought she is amazing, focused, a little bratty but good head on her shoulders. I thought the same of Kova at first. Driven for perfection, tough to get the result out of his students. Then things changed, and I thought...they know better than this...I kept going back and forth and honestly, I still am not sure! It's full of steam, it's enlightening to the exorbitant training and cost for the love of a sport and made me both cringe and smile. And interesting start to this series, only leaving it so I need to know what happens next!

Sarah Puckett brings it all to this book. With the story line, she needs to be young, naive, mature, sensual, frustrated and passionate...and that is just for Adrianna! Add in Kova, with his tough exterior and his Russian accent and she nails this performance. She is amazing in her ability to go from ages 16 to 32 flawlessly, giving attitudes to the teammates, and building the emotional story up to the very end.