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Motown Down #1

Motown Throwdown

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Because of him college was hell.
I gave him a year, he gave me anxiety.
I thought we were friends, he thought I was a punchline.
Because of him I was undateable.
Because of him I needed therapy.
While he was in prison, I thought I'd outgrown him.
But he's out now and he's... different.

He's obsessed with me.

Because of her college was memorable.
She gave me a year, I gave her a lifetime of self doubt.
She wanted to be friends, I wanted to be more.
Because I couldn't have her, no one else did either.
In one night, I went from a football god to a convict.
She would always belong to me.
Ten years in prison changes a man, it makes him... more.

I'm obsessed with her.

250 pages, ebook

First published April 5, 2015

13 people are currently reading
152 people want to read

About the author

K.S. Adkins

20 books292 followers

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5 stars
65 (31%)
4 stars
61 (29%)
3 stars
47 (23%)
2 stars
18 (8%)
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13 (6%)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for  B.E.Love.
1,401 reviews132 followers
April 24, 2015
I had HIGH hopes and expectations for this book, as some know I am always on the look for a great BM/WW book and they are few and far between, most being erotica I slept with my black boss type books and if that's what you want ok for you but I want a story with a great hero and awesome heroine. When I saw this cover I about freaked and wanted to read it right away and when I read the book description, I knew I had to grab it right away because I love when the hero is kind of a jerk but underneath he really isn't and through the book redeems himself.

Kandace and Roman know each other from college Kandace was a smart hard working young lady with goals of being a doctor. Roman had a dream too ever since his grandfather would toss the football around with him he has wanted to be int he NFL. Now in college and being the top man on campus Roman gets everything he wants, friends, woman, and finally he is drafted. But first he needs to pass a class and for that he needs a tutor. When they first meet they are both attracted to each other but Roman is expected to act a certain way and with the easy road and easy woman thrown at him he delivers.

At first Kandace had hoped to help Roman achieve his dream but soon she realizes what she see's in public is who Roman really. But the more time they spend together the more Kandace see's the true Roman, only to be shot down in public. And then one night out at a party Roman invited her to Kandace see's Roman with a girl known to make trouble and Kandace try's to warn Roman off but Roman being Roman doesn't listen and for that one mistake Roman gets sent to prison for ten years not only ending his NFL chances but labeling him rapists for the rest of his life.

Ten years later Kandace made her dream a reality and finds herself busy more than not but her time for herself is important so she goes to a club ever week to sing, only to find one night that Roman is there. After all these years and all he did Kandace is still attracted to him and finds herself singing to him. Roman never speaks to her and Kandace can't find it in her to either till one night men try to harm Kandace and Roman is there to step in. Though Kandace is still attracted to Roman and knows he was falsely accused and convicted Kandace keeps her distance. But Roman had ten years to think and he grew up fast in prison and what Roman knows is that the wants Kandace, so he sets out to get her.

When Kandace's walls begin to tumble miscommunication and assumptions seem to keep getting in the way, But Roman is more determined than ever and will do anything to get Kandace even though he is still unsure if he is worthy of her. When they finally get together it is better than they could have imagined and they think they may finally have their happy ending but fate may be against them and no matter what they try they may not get their happy ending.

I really liked this book I will say first off the bat that I believe all the side characters with the exceptions of family are from other series from this author so even though I still followed the story completely and never felt lost I knew I was missing thing about some of the side characters that had I read their books I would have understood them more, but them being side characters it wasn't a big deal.

I normally am not a fan of flash backs but how this author wrote them made me really enjoy them and enjoy the book more as well as know the characters better and their past together. At the beginning of each chapter we get glimpses from their past that really worked, they weren't drawn out and we got more present time in the book so the waiting for the floor to drop feeling never happened. Roman goes to crazy (and I mean crazy) lengths to get Kandace and be by her I can honestly say he was willing to do anything to get and keep her, and I LOVED **mini spoiler?** that after ten long years Roman was still celebrate after he got out of prison waiting for Kanadce**END MINI SPOILER**. That right there made my heart melt for him. Was Roman a jerk no he was a monumental jerk in college but I understood it, he had a lot of expectation on his shoulders, but even through that you could see his true feelings for Kanadce(and the length he went to even back then for her) and he more than paid for his mistakes.

Roman was CRAZY POSSESSIVE Kandace was his and he wanted her his secret not out of shame but because he wanted her to himself. Candice was smart and kind and tough and though she wanted Roman she had a backbone and new she deserved love and respect. There is a fair amount of miscommunications and assumptions in this book that had they both just stopped and listened they would have eliminated about 90-95% of their issues but then again the book would have been really short had that happened. I do really wish that the false rape charges and conviction had been ironed out more because being convicted of rape is no joke Roman lost his NFL career his college degree, and his freedom and once he was released was still a convicted sex offender which is something you carry with you and alters your life forever. With that being so HUGE I wanted a more solid conclusion.

Roman was a jerk but the man more than makes up for it and then some in this book, and happily does it to get the woman he loves. If you are looking for a possessive hero you need not look any further. Overall I was really happy with this book. We get a glimpse into and an introduction into book two which is about Kandace's brother which also has me interested, and I am hoping we get more Roman and Kandace in that book. Yes there is some over the top in this book but nothing that made me want to stop reading. This is the first book I have read by this author but I know it won't be the last, she very easy pulled me in and did a great job transitioning from past to present and from Kandace to Roman. Yes the cover drew me in(how could it not) but the story kept me, and left me wanting more.

Profile Image for Bibi.
1,287 reviews141 followers
July 21, 2017
*Spoilers*

The book begins with the protagonists, Kandace and Rome, as college students with Kandace being a straight-laced A student majoring in medicine while Rome is a very popular football player. She has a crush on him and while he feels the same, he goes out of his way to consistently demean and verbally abuse her, all because he thought she was too good for him.

His college and football dreams screech to a halt when he is falsely accused of rape and was thereafter incarcerated for 10 yrs. FF 10 years, Kandace is a doctor who decompresses by singing at a lounge/bar where Rome, recently released on parole, works as bouncer/doorman.

So, to get her attention, Rome orchestrates a series of physically harmful juvenile stunts that leave him in need of medical attention which he receives at the same hospital where Kandace works. I suppose straight out asking for her number, would have been too mature.

Meanwhile, Kandace is still crushing on him and allows him back into her life. Following this, what transpires is a tragic case of abusive drama whereby she takes one step toward him, opens her heart only for him to take two steps back while spewing abusive nonsense. This scenario plays out through the entire book and surprisingly Kandace enables this appalling behaviour as shown in the excerpts below:

“I want a shot with you,” he says kissing me this time. His breath was hot and his lips tasted of citrus. Drowning right here on the couch would happen if I didn’t use the common sense I was sometimes known for. But with him, I wanted to be reckless only that wouldn’t be good for Rome. Rome needed stability. “You’re heaven to me,” he says.

“Let’s start with friendship,” I offer, pulling away even though I’d rather be in his lap.

“Forget it,” he mumbles moving away. Instantly he shut down on me. Tossing the cover off, he doesn’t even say goodbye to my parents as he storms out of the house. Following him out, he ignores me in favor of getting in his car. It was becoming a habit, but this time, I sat on the hood of his car and if he drove off, he was taking me with him."

“Get the fuck off my hood,” he yells at me.
“Get the stick out of your ass,” I yell back.
“God dammit, doc, I don’t want to be here with you, so get the fuck off.”
“Bullshit,” I argue adjusting the strap of my dress before I lost a boob. “You don’t want to be anywhere but with me, you just become a little bitch when you don’t get your way.”
“I didn’t need the show and tell with your fucking family,” he growls"


End of excerpt

Initially, and with an understanding of the crap hand that life dealt him, I held out hope that Rome would step up and prove that he had matured from who he was prior to his incarceration, however, he refused to either show any remorse or any desire to achieve/be better.

Halfway through this book, I was ready to do a DNF but, with hopes that surely the plot could only improve, I persisted, only to be left acutely disappointed because there was no character growth from either of them.

Motown Throwdown could be summed as a "verbal abuse manual for dummies" or perhaps a manual for women on "how not to behave when you are the victim of verbal abuse"

It also has extremely weak characters, lacks a coherent plot structure/scene placement, includes a fair number of gratuitous violence and scene after scene of unprovoked verbal abuse from Roman. Not for me.
Profile Image for Paula.
449 reviews111 followers
July 20, 2017
Good story. Bad hero. He really pissed me off.
Profile Image for ConnieMarie Need Epic Reads.
254 reviews47 followers
February 19, 2015
Touch down! With a field goal!
KS had me completely enraptured with her flowing words and back flash memories. I loved every second.
There is a dynamic in this book I have yet to cross on my narrow path, and I loved the crossover. The brutal honesty in this story makes me love it even more. I love that when I read a book by KS there's no false bravado these characters seem as real as me and my friends, I add them to my family as I read and love them each for their own nuances.
Profile Image for Rachel.
941 reviews72 followers
March 11, 2015
Oh Rome...how I wanted to smack you round the head most of the book, then I didn't. I got so cross reading this book, the injustice of it...gah...I wanted to throw my kindle a few times, this doesn't surprise me as I normally do when I'm reading a KS Adkins book, she certainly manages to evoke a lot of emotion from me! Another kick arse heroine, another hot badass dude...thank you Kelly! Bring on Gage!!
Profile Image for Emily Eck.
Author 8 books114 followers
April 13, 2015
Like Kristen Ashley did with Colorado, Adkins has created a Detroit where in each book we are reacquainted with old friends from previous books. Like, "oh hey Jules. I see you're still bad ass." And "look, Rafe still has his foot in his mouth." It's something I loved about KA's books and love that Adkins has done for me with Detroit.

She also delivers yet another broken man and the woman who, slightly damaged herself, helps the both of them find love in one another... Of course, it's not without a few throwdowns that Adkins swears she's tried.

Along with the scorching sex scenes that have you running for the nearest man or battery operated device.

Two brass knuckled thumbs up!!
Profile Image for Nicky .
416 reviews
March 17, 2018
Holy shit, The H is such a douche! Like he’s in my top 5. The h was such a doormat. As kickass as the author tried to make her, letting the H treat her that way took off serious points. What badass bitch would let any man treat her like that?
Profile Image for Melissa.
460 reviews2 followers
April 23, 2015
The cover really freaks me out but the book was amazing.
Loved it.
Profile Image for Cynthia Austin.
Author 12 books298 followers
June 11, 2018
Motown Throwdown brings you right back to the most humiliating moment of your high school career. You know. When you haven’t yet uncovered who you are and are still vulnerable enough to let the hot jock walk all over you.

That was Kandace and College football star, Roman Peterson. Fast forward 10 years and the roles have reversed. Kandace is a medical doctor and Roman, an ex con.

The two reunite and at first, we only see flashbacks of the torment and bullying Roman put Candace through in college. But as their relationship unfolds, we catch glimpses and more intimate times and slowly begin to understand the two have a relationship much deeper than bullying and bickering.

The storyline itself was great. The characters all came to life and I was emotionally tied to each one, so much so, that I cried at many parts. However, the tense switched back and forth and really needs some work. Also, if Rome was a senior in college (just weeks away from playing pro) when he was sentenced to prison, and he served 10 years, that would put him at age 32, not 29. Those small issues were not enough to tear me away from the story itself. Great job!
Profile Image for Asia.
585 reviews1 follower
December 7, 2018
a mi sie podobalo. Romus co prawda nie przebiera w slowach:P ale to wpadanie w szal z szybkoscia blyskawicy to po cioci Asi normalnie:D zreszta jej tez nic nie brakuje:> jesli chodzi o predkosc wpadania w furie:D inna konwencja to prawda.. trzeba sie przyzwyczaic.. to prawda. ale to calkiem naprawde niezla ksiazka. mocna 4czka. i naprawde naprawde pod koniec myslalam ze zawalu dostane. myslala ze sciemniaja im tam w tym Sierra Leone zeby prawdy nie powiedziec. moze tego trzeba im bylo...moze 10 lat to za malo. i jednego mi zabrakło. ukaranie zlego. ze zlem sie nie rozprawiono. wpieprz to za malo. ja lubie jak jest wszystko po kolei. zlo przegrywa i zli siedza w ciupie i placa za swoje. przynajmniej dwa razy tyle powinna zaliczyc... howgh.
Profile Image for Adriana.
793 reviews14 followers
December 22, 2019
This was a really good book but at times hard to read because I just wanted to give Kandace a shake and be like CMON GIRL OPEN YOUR EYES. Rome was a complete and utter fucking douche to Kandace pretty much throughout the whole book. I feel like he just needed to man the fuck up and stop acting like a baby spitting it's dummy out. Although Kandace definitely wasn't a door mat, she still let him back in after so many times of him hurting her. In my opinion she deserved a lot better than Rome. BUT I still really enjoyed the book and I would definitely read it again. And to be fair to Kandace, she did end up putting her foot down and being like enough is enough. I was very proud of her. But still, they both got what they deserved in the end and it was a good ending so I was happy
Profile Image for Sarah.
555 reviews4 followers
May 19, 2016
I wish that I could label this as dnf, or better yet that I had never even read it. It's one of the few books that I didn't look at the reviews before reading, if only I had then I might have spared myself. The book is well written but I felt that the synopsis was a complete misrepresentation of the content. I was expecting something a bit hard/edgy and an Alpha male, what I got? Angst, angst and more angst!

Spoilers ahead, you've been warned...

The whole book is littered with flashbacks to when Rome and Kandace were in college, a point in time where Rome was down right horrid to Kandace. Flash forward 10 years and they meet again, at first I liked the guy but as the flashback's kept coming and he showed how little he had matured while in locked up. I know that he was in prison and didn't have socialization and real life event's to help him, but it was like he hadn't learned from his past mistakes, at all!

The biggest fail in this book for me was when they caught on camera a confession from the girl who had accused Rome of rape. This is why I finished the book, I kept waiting for them to run with that and get his charges over turned. Being on a sex offender list is a HUGE thing, if you didn't commit the crime and have proof that your accuser not only lied but actually raped you?! You take that shit to an attorney or the police, you don't hold on to that shit and let it be.

And yes men can be raped, if the person says no and you coerce them or if you fuck them when there drugged or drunk and not coherent (especially after they've said NO previously!), then that is RAPE! WTF?

I have a lot of negative feelings about this book and how the plot wrapped up. I really want to give this author another try because it was well written despite my negative feelings towards the plot.

2-2.5 stars
Profile Image for JadeShea.
3,235 reviews59 followers
September 19, 2019
Motown Throwdown begins when Kandace finds out that the man she gave her heart to in college so many years ago is out of prison. She never believed he did what he was sentenced for, and now he seems to avoid her. The problem is she still wants him, and she's scared he will treat her how he did in college, which was to say very poorly.

Roman doesn't know how to deal with Kandace and he really doesn't know how to deal with this life he's currently living either. He's pissed about what went down so long ago, and it's even worse now.
But when he realizes that Kandace will give him a chance, he will do everything he can to make up the past to her, and to create a future for them both.

This book was very interesting, and a really great start to this series as well. I really loved Kandace! She was a great heroine, and I adored how she handled the hero throughout the book as well. She was super strong, and very smart too.

And while I had a problem with Roman at times he made up for it big time in the end. I also really loved the ending as well. It totally sets us up for the next book that looks even better than the first one.

Overall this book was GOOD! I enjoyed the plot line, the characters, and of course the promise of more too.
Profile Image for Caroline.
1,093 reviews5 followers
May 4, 2016
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I cried, I laughed, I cheered and I was so, so happy to reconnect with all the Detroit After Dark family…
Motown Throwdown is another incredible roller coaster ride from KS Adkins.
Her writing is original and unique. I love the way she makes me feel the characters so deeply.
Ah, Rome, I loved to hate him so much. I wanted to cuddle him and kiss every single inch of him then a few pages later beat him to death!
Kandace, sweet Kandy girl, she’s Jules’ “Sensei Sexy Ass” and so much more.
Here is one of my favorite excerpts:
“You the amazon, the fucking bookworm, the fucking nobody. He told me I could suck his dick but the only bitch he’d be fucking was you.”
“He’s sweet like that.”
I have read every single book by this ah-mazing author and each one is better than the last.
I can’t wait for Motown Showdown (Kandace’s brother Gage’s story) to be released and hope to get more of Rome and Kandace!
Profile Image for Chris Brown.
Author 8 books23 followers
May 10, 2015
This is not my reading genre of choice, but as part of my discussions with other writers about how to best push my own work forward, I bit the pill and read it open minded.

I'm glad I did for what I found was amazing character creation, dialogue and left me with a sense of knowing just enough about them, but at the same time willing to follow them further.

The story was engaging enough to sustain my interest throughout and again offered me excellent ideas on plot development and structures in story telling.

Readers before me have detailed the review in depth, so I'll sign off by saying that this book has had a deep impact on me as a writer as well as entertaining as a reader.
Profile Image for Robyn Castle.
4 reviews
February 18, 2016
Amazing!

This book was outstanding, to say the least. I couldn't put it down, read it in its entirety in a few hours, and can't wait to start the next one. Kandice, although I thought was a bit pretentious at first, ended up being a woman I could identify with, and I was definitely loving her by the end. I highly recommend you read this book if you have even an ounce of good taste in books. Thanks for another good one, K.S. Adkins!!
Profile Image for Dorinda.
57 reviews15 followers
April 10, 2015
Holy Moly!

Another incredible roller coaster ride from KS Adkins. Fantastic chemistry between the main characters! Love how she can make you feel like you are part of the characters, feeling what they feel, breaking when they break and coming out the other side.
Profile Image for CA.
777 reviews4 followers
May 27, 2015
Must say I wanted to slap Rome a few times, especially when I had tears running down my cheeks. Kandace was a saint but a couple of times I also wondered if she was a martyr too. In the end I got my HEA so all was good.
Profile Image for Aylenne.
2 reviews
June 7, 2015
DNF 37%

This book was so so bad...
Never again.
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