Knockout Heart

In the quiet industrial town of Maplewood, Ohio, eighteen-year-old Jake "Jax" Harlan fights every weekend in local boxing matches just to keep the lights on. Orphaned and alone except for his fiercely loyal best friend Leo, Jake has no room in his life for distractions-until the night he locks eyes with a fragile girl in the stands and the world stops.

Mia Ellison has been secretly watching him for months. Quiet, insecure, and friendless despite living with her family, she slips into the gym's shadows after every match, heart racing, never daring to speak. She never expected the undefeated local boxer to notice her... or to discover they share the same high-school classroom.

What begins as love at first sight quickly spirals into a storm of stolen glances, protective jealousy, heated misunderstandings, late-night training sessions, and an intimacy neither of them is prepared for. Between the roar of the crowd, the ache of bruises, and the fragile hope of two lonely hearts, Jake and Mia must decide if love is strong enough to survive the ring-and each other.