Boxers or Briefs by Haley Rhoades

I’ve previously read Haley Rhoades’s The Surrogate Series and loved it, so I had such high expectations for Boxers and Briefs. And I sure was not let down, Haley Rhoades has written another gem!

Boxers or Briefs is so much more than you expect. It’s a story about Ali, who has experienced something truly traumatic that made her flee her hometown and drop out of college. When we meet her she’s struggling with the trauma and with getting by without her friends and family and without any steady income. Luckily she gets two part-time assignments, at a law firm and a gym, where she also gets two bosses, Tyson and Clay. As different as they are, Ali soon finds herself drawn to them both...

”I feel like a character in the contemporary romance novels I read in between the self-help books from the library. I’m not naive enough to believe this will all remain easy and smooth. No, my two worlds are about to blow up in my face - nothing this comfortable can ever work out for me.”

You expect the story to continue with a classic love triangle after this, but no, there is so much more to this book and instead it continues to deal with Ali’s healing and about how friendship and the love of a dog can do wonders to support.

I really felt for Ali and I loved her fierceness, humor and bad-ass attitude. Most of the book I felt like I wanted to hug her and comfort her, to help her through the difficulties she’s experiencing. Some of the scenes that I liked the most were the babysitting ones, I loved that Ali was so good with children. Another detail that I loved was that all names used in the books are referring to famous boxers and lawyers.

I would have liked some more character developments and some more background info to Tyson and Clay though, as well as some more explanations about the traumatic event than just the short retelling about the love subject. But, all in all, this is a wonderful, hopeful and romantic book about finding love and friendship under the most unexpected circumstances, and the strength to live your life fully even after a big trauma.

4,5 shining stars!

​Find out more about this book and all other of Haley Rhoades’s amazing books here: Rhoades to Writing