Royal Reviews: Hold On by Kristen Ashley

Title: Hold On

Series: The 'Burg #6

Author: Kristen Ashley

Narrator: Erin Bennett

Publisher: Audible Studios

Length: 21 hours 20 minutes

Source: Publisher (Audible)

Rating: Performance: 4.5 Story: 5

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 from. 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.

***Please note this review was also posted on Simply Angela on 10/09/2015***

My Thoughts: Cher Rivers and Merrick ‘Merry’ Garrett are quite possibly The. Best. Couple. Ever. I could not get enough of them. They had me laughing with them and sighing with them and hoping they would finally deal with their issues and get the happy they both deserved.

Here’s what’s going on: Cher has been in love with Merrick since she first laid eyes on him but Merrick’s been hung up on his ex-wife, Mia. Although when Mia announces she’s engaged, Merrick and Cher ends up draining the top-shelf whiskey then spending the night together. While their lives are messed up, and Merrick is pulling away, outside threats against Cher and her son, Ethan, has Merrick wanting to protect them and protecting them means allowing them into his life. Soon he realizes he doesn’t want to let them go. But first, he needs to overcome the obstacles blocking him from his happily ever after.

How have I not heard of The ‘Burg series until now? I know I’m relatively new to the yumminess that is Kristen Ashley’s writing, but I cannot believe that I missed this series but I’m so thankful I got to read this one—the last one in the series—and I will so be catching up with this series in the near future.

Okay, so this book 6 and while I didn’t have any trouble following along, I would have loved to get to know the exciting and colorful residents of The ‘Burg. I have a feeling that this is one series that’s worth every last drop, so if you can, read them in order.

I loved Merrick. His mother was murdered when he was young and that’s left him damaged—and I do love a damaged hero. It also caused his first marriage to fall apart. He thought he would have time to get his crap with Mia together, but now he’s realized that Mia wasn’t strong enough to deal with his situation. Luckily, Cher is and until he let go of Mia, he never realized just what Cher could offer him.

Cher has her issues too. She’s a single mother, she dated someone who turned out to be a serial killer, and she believes that nothing good can come her way without her messing it up. Not only is she battling to get away from the stigma of dating a serial killer, her son’s mostly absent father—who is also a former addict—has been prodded by his new overbearing wife to seek custody of Ethan. To top it all off, she’s also fighting to maintain a relationship with Merrick. But Cher refused to give up. She’s willing to fight to make sure she and her son get all the goodness they deserve and that includes Merrick.

Merrick and Cher were amazing together. I wanted to see them succeed. I wanted them to get their crap together so they could find their happiness. And I loved that neither was afraid to call the other out. Not only were they good together as a couple, they were good together as friend too. And I loved watching Merrick grow close to Cher’s son, Ethan, who idolized Merrick.

Cher and Merrick had amazing chemistry; I’m surprised my Kindle didn’t explode at the intensity of it. While they knew how to rock each other’s bodies, they stumbled a bit navigating their relationship. And they had real issues and real conflicts that they had to overcome. Hot and steamy sex scenes abound in Hold Tight and they will definitely leave you fanning yourself.

There was a bit of suspense mixed in and while it wasn’t front and center, it was definitely there and kept me wondering. While I had a feeling from the start what was going to happen, it did keep me on my toes as the plot moved on.

This book had they best (and I mean. THE. BEST.) epilogue that I’ve ever read. Even though I missed the first five books, the epilogue left me smiling because all of the couples in the series found their happily ever afters.

Thanks to Audible, I was lucky enough to get to review the audiobook and I have to say, Erin Bennett was the perfect narrator. Her pacing was perfect and she truly brought each character to life. She was very engaging and easy to listen to and allowed me to immerse myself into the story.

Because this book is NSFW or for listening to when in the presence of children, I also purchased the e-book and with Whispersync I was easily able to switch from audio to e-book without losing my place.

Overall, I loved this book. The plot was amazing, the narrator was perfect…and have I mentioned, Merrick and Cher, BEST. COUPLE. EVER.