Once Pure

By: Cecy Robson

Narrated by: Mercedes Moreno

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

RITA AWARD FINALIST

She bears the scars of the past. He blames himself for things he can't control. Their defenses are up, but in Cecy Robson's latest Shattered Past novel - perfect for fans of Monica Murphy and J. Lynn - true love lands a knockout punch.

Sofia Tres Santos remembers a time before her life went sour, before her innocence was ripped away, before she began punishing herself with risky behavior and unworthy men. Now, at 20, she just hopes she's ready to rebuild some of what she lost. One way or another, it always comes back to her childhood friend and longtime crush, Killian O'Brien.

As strong as Killian is, Sofia has always been his one weakness. He knows Sofia has suffered and wants to ensure she's never hurt again - not like before, and definitely not under his watch. When Sofia agrees to work at his mixed martial arts gym, Killian seizes the opportunity to help and protect the sweet girl he's always cared for. And yet, as he trains Sofia to defend herself using his hard-hitting MMA techniques, he's drawn to the vulnerable beauty in ways he never expected. As Sofia grows stronger, she also grows brave enough to open herself up to love. And along the way, she challenges everything Killian believes to be true, showing him that no matter how much he dominates in the ring, the real battle is fought in the heart.

©2015 Cecy Robson, LLC (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The sexual tension between Sofia and Killian is super steamy; the passion builds with every page." (RT Book Reviews)

"Sexy and heartbreaking, Once Pure is an excellent, emotional read." (New York Times best-selling author Monica Murphy)

loved it

great book.  I really enjoyed this book. I look forward to reading more books from this author in the future.

good but last chapter was wasted

l loved the book but the finished 15 minutes was wasted going over the whole book that i just listened too.

Good Story

4 Stars for me!

My rating range throughout the story... 3.25 - 4.25 Stars

Main Character Ratings... H = 7 Stars - h = 6 Stars

Scenes with heat..several

Heat Rating... 7/10 Stars
Clean - 1 or 2
Descriptive Sex - 5 or above
Beyond Descriptive Sex - 8 or above

The back story... The H was abused by her father and raped as a teenager and then she made some self destructive choices. The H seems ultra normal but has secrets of his own.

The Romance... Very slow burn as they liked each other for years but neither took a chance. It builds through the story.

The drama explosion... The h has a dramatic secret released and not much after that, she learns one of the H's secrets.

Final Notes... Good story with tough subject lines.

HEA or HFN? HEA

Love, love, love

Loved this story, as with the other books in this series. brought me to tears, and I really loved following all the lives that came together in this series.

will be listening again!!

None of this series is a happy from beginning to end kinda story but ALL in this series will have you crying happy and sad tears in between LITERALLY laughing out loud and falling in love with these ppl.. one of the best series in the plus catalog I've listened to. :)

another great story

(Killian & Sophia): TRIGGERS: child abuse, molestation and rape. Finally, we get the story of the youngest in the Tres Santos family. Sophia has been in love with Killian for a long time but she's shy and she tends to flinch around men. She's had a rough childhood with an abusive father and a dark secret. Killian was friends with her brother but he was her friend first, he's had a thing for her for a long time, so when she shows up to work for him, he thinks this is his chance. Living in the same neighborhood, Killian's life was just as hard but his huge family is there to help soften the blow. This story will seriously have you on the brink of tears in almost every chapter. It's not just a romance, the author will actually take you on a journey through their past, their traumas and their bumpy roads in their relationship. Not only is Killian's family present in this book, Mateo and Evelyn make an appearance as well to show much needed support to Sophia. I really loved the final book of this series.

Pure

Honestly, I was hesitant to read this book. Even though I really wanted to complete the series, glimpses of how tough Sophia had it were given in the previous books. I had a feeling it would be heart wrenching and it definitely was. I was totally sucked in. All the feels, it gave you all the feels! There was plenty of good, but you knew bad stuff was coming and you just didn’t know how it was going to be delivered. Cecy did an awesome job delivering all those feels! It was great finding out how things were going with Mateo and Evelyn and the glimpses of Brody and Lety were good too. I see there are books about Killian’s family so I’m now off to read more about the O’Brian siblings!💖💖💖💖💖💖

Great story! But the narration? not so much

The author has penned a poignant, heart-felt story but it is almost ruined by a mechanical narration. it was hard to listen and get through it. I know narrators get better the more books they do, let's hope. Now I need to hear the entire series.

Liked this story the best…

I liked this book the best. Although, you could just listen to the last chapter and you get the whole story in a nutshell!

Couldn’t put it down!

I love the way Mercedes Moreno reads these stories. She makes the book hard to put down.