Pumped (Mars Fitness Book 3) by Linden Bell

Pumped is the 3rd book in the Mars Fitness series and the book kicks off with a bang, swiftly followed by a heartbreaking tragedy leaving two known enemies with custody of a six-year-old girl and no idea what to do next. Can two men who are polar opposites get along while trying to raise their niece? Or were they doomed before they even began?


From the blurb:

Love is co-parenting with my worst enemy.

Owen
Everest is an irresponsible, delinquent, attention-hungry man-child.

Ever since my brother married his sister, we’ve hated each other with an unrelenting passion. It was bad enough when I had to see him at occasional family gatherings, but now I’m living in a nightmare and he’s right here with me.

Everest
Owen is arrogant, uptight, snobby, and cold-hearted.

I don’t want to have anything to do with him, but I don’t have a choice. After a tragic accident, we’re forced to raise our niece together, but our grief and mutual animosity is turning the house into a pressure cooker. We have to make peace and learn to work together, if not for our sake, then for the little girl who’s already lost everything.

Pumped is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract MM romance between a free-spirited personal trainer and his overbearing veterinarian brother-in-law. Expect reluctant cuddling, teasing as a love language, annoyingly hot backwards caps, pillow chastity barriers, pool wrestling, begrudging I love yous, and a little girl who has them both wrapped around her little finger. PUMPED is the third and last book in the Mars Fitness series, but can be read as a standalone.


Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:

"𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠? 𝙳𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝? 𝙸 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎."

Owen and Everest have a long-held animosity towards one another that has been years in the making. Unfortunately for them, their respective siblings are happily married, which means they have no choice but to be in each other's lives. They also happen to share the cutest little niece Ivy, whom they both adore. None of them ever expected the tragedy ahead which would take their beloved siblings from them too soon, leaving Ivy without parents. They really didn't expect to be chosen to raise her together, especially given their history.

I have to give Everest credit. He's the one who Owen always thought was immature and flighty, but he was absolutely resolute that he was going to step up for his niece. He put a lot of effort into trying to be the best parent to her, while also taking into consideration Ivy's feelings. She's a 6-year-old who just lost her parents. Kids that age are tough as it is, never mind one who is grieving the loss of the two most important people in her life.

Owen was more reluctant, but no less dedicated to Ivy. He was the stricter parent and he often clashed with Everest's less strict approach. He also was used to keeping his emotions under wraps, so to everyone else he comes off much colder than he truly is. These two stumbled a lot before they got their footing. Anybody thrown into this situation would. Learning to compromise and letting go of his control over everything was not something Owen was used to doing. Everest was used to his bachelor lifestyle and now he had two people he had to consider in his life. It was an adjustment for sure, at least until they added some sex into the mix.

"𝙸 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚎𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛. 𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝."

These MCs were pretty opposite, but I think that is exactly what worked about them. Owen needed someone to convince him to relax once in a while. Everest needed a strong shoulder to lean on when his emotions got the best of him. They were all grieving, but the loss of their siblings led them to creating a beautiful and loving family in the end.

Angel's review:

Pumped by Linden Bell is about two men, and an adorable little girl, trying to navigate their new normal after two devastating losses.

Everest is an easy-going, go with the flow, charismatic, fun guy. He loves trying new things, visiting different places, and experiencing things that are new to him. His sister was his best friend and one of the only people who didn't see him as a failure. Now that she's gone he's floundering with all the newfound responsibilities, but what he's struggling with most is Owen.

Owen is Everest's complete opposite, he's needs order and routine in his life. He has to have a schedule and a plan or else he feels untethered, it's one of the reasons why Everest gets under his skin so much. When he loses his brother and sister-in-law, and him and Everest gain custody of Ivy, these two men learn how to work together, and from that comes something beautiful.

Wow, this story is.. beautiful. It's heavy, emotional, and full of angst but most of all it's just a really stunning story.

Owen and Everest's family are having to deal with two monumental losses that change their lives irrevocably. What started out as being a prison sentence turns into a blessing in disguise.

The writing of this book is exceptional! The characters were phenomenal, the grief that everyone is going through and experiences is so realistic and relatable. I may have shed a few tears while reading this because of how powerful and raw this book and these characters are. The angst I thought was handled in a nice way, the story needed it but there wasn't too much. Things between Owen and Everest worked out gradually overtime which I liked, it felt natural and it wasn't forced.

I do think there could've been less steamy scenes and this book would've still been amazing, but that's just a personal preference. The appearance from the Mars's Fitness guys was awesome! They were so nice and kind towards Ivy, they were so sweet! All in all, I adored this beautiful story.

Heather's Review:

Pumped is an emotional roller coaster featuring characters whose feelings and assumptions take multiple beatings and still come back for more - from past animosity to a tragic present, there is a lot for them to conquer while balancing becoming new parents to an adorable six year old.

This book is for you if you like an opposites attract, hurt/comfort, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine romance that builds as they learn to navigate parenthood and grief while growing their found family>  This is not a light, low angst read, but it is so worth the emotional ringer that both the characters and you face...

While this book can be read standalone, I do think the prior knowledge gleaned by reading the first two Mars Fitness books will serve you well.

Pumped is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription