Ugly as Sin by James Newman

4/5 stars

I’m a huge WWE fan, so I was so excited to see a book centered around a professional wrestler. I was smiling at all the wrestling moves and the cheesy names. Pro wrestling us a hugely underutilized subject in literature, so big kudos to James for digging into that niche.

Man, what a redemption arc, though! I loved how Nick grew over the book. He was very much the typical 2000s cocky wrestler at the start, then he transitioned into a self-aware, regretful man who would do anything to save the family he let down before. He had this absolutely horrible thing happen to him, but when his daughter needed him, he finally stepped up and became the man she needed him to be. James developed him so beautifully throughout the book, and the way his character ended was exactly right for him.

The pacing of Ugly as Sin was really nice. There weren’t any parts that dragged or felt repetitive, and the danger was spread well across the book. I really enjoyed reading this and thought the fluff and the action were really well balanced. I do wish that Nick’s career as a wrestler and the relationships that he built in the industry were explored a little more. I’d have liked to have some of his old wrestling pals show up or be mentioned throughout the story rather than suddenly appearing at the end.

This was a great read, though! I’ve never read anything like it and I loved that this was an entirely new adventure! Huge thank you to BookSirens and Encyclopocalypse Publications for the ARC!