NEW ADULT MONDAYS: Make It Right (Bowler University #2)

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Make It Right (Bowler University #2), by Megan Erickson
Publish Date: September 9, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Format: paperback, borrowed
Genre: new adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating: 4.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Max Payton lives by two rules:
Size and strength win any fight, and never show weakness.

When a rash of assaults sends Bowler University for a tail spin, Max volunteers to help teach a self-defense class. One of the other instructors is the beautiful pixie-faced girl he keeps butting heads with…and who challenges everything he thought he knew.

Lea Travers avoids guys like Max - cocky jocks who assume she's fragile because of a disability caused by a childhood accident. She likes to be in control, and something about being with Max makes her feel anything but. But during the moments he lets his guard down, Lea sees a soul as broken inside as she is outside. Trusting him is a whole other problem...

When the assaults ramp up and hit close to home, Lea and Max must learn, before it’s too late, that true strength can come from vulnerability…and giving in to trust is sometimes the only way to make things right.

I gotta admit - Megan had her work cut out for her with this one. After how he treated both his girlfriend (well, now EX-girlfriend) Kat and his BFF Alec, I wasn't sure there was any way Max could be redeemed. After reading Make It Right, I've learned never to doubt Megan Erickson again. 

At least Max realizes what a jerk he was, and in the beginning of Make It Right, we see him overcompensating for that. He's feeling awkward around Kat and Alec and their friends after what he did, and to keep from being seen as weak or uncomfortable, he's lashing out at all of them. To make matters worse, Max's relationship with his father is awful, and his dad has backed him into a corner where his future is concerned.  It's really no big surprised that Max is as grouchy as he is. 

Lea has a hard time with large and in charge guys like Max. If she only dates men who are more... submissive... she can keep her feelings for them at a minimum. She has a disability that hinders her ability to walk and includes a nasty scar. Some guys get freaked out by that, so the less attached Lea is, the better. I loved Lea. She's a plucky, strong heroine who doesn't take crap from anyone. I loved the scene in the book where Max walks into the self-defense class he was to assist with and discovers that Lea is not an attendee, but rather an instructor. She blew him away and solidified his attraction to her all at once.

I loved watching how Max's and Lea's relationship develops. In the beginning, they don't really like each other much at all. Well, Max likes Lea, but he doesn't want to like her. It's the same for Lea. So, they dance around each other for awhile, neither willing to admit to the attraction they both feel. But, of course, eventually they both give in to it, and the chemistry between these two was off the charts.

I loved the side story of Max's relationship with his brothers and his dad. He's very close with his two older brothers. They feel for him because they know that he doesn't want to work at the family auto garage, but he's too afraid to tell his father that. Max has some things to work out regarding his relationship with his dad, and we see him struggle with that throughout the course of the book.

The threat of the on-campus stalker is an exciting mystery that results in a scary ending. It was a great catalyst for Max's and Lea's story too.

I'm loving the Bowler University series so much. I'm so sad that there's only one book left now. If I had extra hours in the day, I would definitely spend them re-reading this whole series - it just gets better and better.