Saturday, December 26, 2015

Series Saturday Audiobook Review: Hold On by Kristen Ashley


Hold On 
by Kristen Ashley
Series:  The 'Burg #6
Pub. Date:  Sept. 1, 2015
Publisher:  Audible Studios
Narrator:  Erin Bennett
Length:  21 hrs 20 min
Format:  Audiobook
Source:  Audible


My Rating:  
Sultry Scale:

Since she was young, Cher Rivers knew she was not the kind of girl who got what she wanted. A girl who could hope. A girl who could dream. She knew a happily ever after just wasn't in the cards for her. 

In love for years with the last bastion of the 'burg's eligible bachelors, Garrett Merrick, Cher worked hard at making him laugh. Being one of the guys. Having him in her life the only way she could. All this knowing he was in love with another woman. 

The Merrick Family is known for loving deep. So when Cecelia Merrick was murdered, it marked the Merricks in a way none of them recovered. Both Cecelia's children found love. Both turned their backs on it. But Garrett "Merry" Merrick knew in his soul the woman he divorced years ago was the one for him. 

Until the night when Cher took Garrett's back and things changed. The Merrick family loves deep. They also protect fiercely. And with his eyes finally open, Garrett sees the woman who truly is for him and he goes after her. 

Ah, Kristen Ashley, my very favorite comfort author. She never disappoints, and is guaranteed to keep me up at night and throw me off my blog/reading schedule. I have been hoarding this book for quite a while, waiting for when I was in a reading slump to pull it out. Then I decided I would be a Christmas present to myself and I would listen on the road trip home for the holidays. But I kept seeing it in my calendar, and I just couldn't wait. So I started Hold On listening to this 20-Hour audiobook one morning before work... and I was finished with it the next day. I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING. My ear got sore from having the ear buds in so long. First world problems, I know.

So we have been waiting for Garret Merrick to get his HEA for a good while now. He is the last of the 'Burg bachelors, and so sadly this is an end to one of my favorite series. I wasn't always sure who Merry's woman was going to be - there was a chance that it was going to be his ex-wife, Mia. But as the series progressed and Cher Rivers continued to hang around and be such a big part of the story, I had a feeling these two were gonna be matched up. Cher is a tough chic "one of the guys" type of woman. She is no nonsense and is not afraid to lay some brutal honesty on Merry when he needs to hear it. She points out some eye-opening knowledge about Mia that everyone seems to have overlooked, and I loved that Cher made them see that it is not only the man's responsibility to make a relationship work. I really hated Mia in this book and I can't remember feeling that way about her in the earlier books in the series.

Cher has had a hard knock life. She got knocked up by a junky boyfriend who left her - but not before stealing all her money. From that moment on, everything Cher did in life was for her son. As an uneducated single mom, Cher did not have many options, but she owned the ones she had. She was unapologetic in the things she had to do to provide for her son. She may be one of the best moms ever. And as a result, Ethan, her son, is super cool. The narrator did a fabulous job portraying his character. I loved Cher. Her character was a great eye opener for me, and is a really a lesson that you should not judge people by their profession because you don't know what they have going on in their personal life.

Merry is a typical guy. He has overlooked Cher for years, when it seems that everyone else had cottoned on to the fact that she had it bad for him. Merry is also all about being a cop/detective/lieutenant. He lives the badge, even though he has a bit of a rage problem. Following in his father's professional footsteps after the tragedy with his mom though has left some festering emotional scars. Merry is afraid to love anyone because he doesn't want to lose them. It was awesome to see him work through these issues and finally talk things out with his pop.

This book is not as suspense-driven as some of the previous installments, but we still got our dose of whacked out psycho and pulse pounding moments. Not to mention the excitement between the sheets that will get your blood moving. In addition - we got to see and hear from all of our favorite characters from books past. And that epilogue - epic. I loved hearing a little about everyone. I am on pins and needles to see what K.A. brings us next.


The 'Burg

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