Quinn Johnson has known the McGrath boys for as long as she can remember.
Luke has been her best friend for most of her life. He’s always been there for her, catching fireflies with her, maneuvering the hazards of high school with her, attending college parties with her, and protecting her. He was the boy that she could always trust, the boy that stole her first kiss.
His older brother, Jake, was the one who teased them mercilessly while they were growing up. Yet, he was the one who would ultimately steal Quinn’s heart.
A surprise pregnancy and an unexpected tragedy are about to change everything.
Forever.
Friendship and family will be tested.
Quinn will find out that sometimes the only way to get through life is to hold on with everything you have. And other times…the only thing you can do is let go.
Meg Jolie is the pen name of a thirty-something year-old, mom. Her favorite pastimes are reading books by indie authors, writing stories of her own and drinking large quantities of flavored coffee.
This was a gorgeous sweet read, I loved it, for the pure hearts and flowers romance side it was just what I needed. I downloaded this as I was promised a tear jerker and whilst the book was sad in parts my tears never fell and I am the first to bawl at anything. I really enjoyed the book and downloaded the next, I needed to see what happened going forward.
My heart felt for Luke throughout the book, I just wish he had grown a pair and then none of this would have happened. Although saying that, they were both as bad as each other...Quinn could have taken the initiative as well!!
FYI, the book blurb gives away the whole plot. I like the idea of the story but it took 75% through the book for it to get to the big thing that happens... Which you already guessed from the book's description. The rest of the book is filled with, well, filler. A LOT of mundane day-to-day stuff that doesn't go anywhere. Buying baby things. Other people's drama that doesn't drive plot. Caveman discussions about the woman staying home because the husband says so. I found myself skimming over huge sections. I really feel like if the author had cut out the middle 50% and gotten right to the main point of the story (the unrequited love) she could have explored that and it would have been super interesting. But, you know, cliffhanger. Again. Like so many books these days. This book could totally have been wrapped up in one book and been heartwarming with a heavier hand at editing.
A blog site posted a link to this book stating it was "a freebie and a tear jerker." Those last two words were the deciding factor for me and I immediately hit the buy button. I felt like a good cry. It was a sad book but I didn't cry. I don't know if it was because it took too long for the tragedy to happen that I'd wasted all my emotions on waiting for it to hit that when it did I kind f felt a relief. Because all in all it was a good read and I'm off to buy book two to find out what's gonna happen next.
Holding On was an okay book. I felt bored with it through out most of the book until the end. I didn't like the fact that you didn't get to see any of the romance build up between Quinn and Jake. And even though Luke was in love with her, nothing was ever done. It was only ever talked about.
Then Quinn and Jake are getting married, and it was like there wasn't any major drama going on. So in my opinion the plot was good, but the book was boring. The ending was the best part, but it took a huge dramatic tragedy to put some "fire" into the book.
I know there is a sequel to this one, but I won't be reading it. This book was just not for me.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Not every story has a happy ending. Hopefully this one will eventually.
I'm no prude but I've become so bored with all of the smut in the new adult books these days. It has really started to feel like you've read ten or twelve, you've read them all. I have found I'm preferring the "fade off to your imagination" style of writing.
As for the story, I love friend to romance stories so this was great (assuming it'll lead that way eventually). I enjoyed the storyline and the writing style. I am looking forward to the next book.
1. Third person omniscient. CAN NOT STAND IT. 2. Pacing. This book was SO FREAKING BORING. Nothing happened until the last 30% of the book. 3. Undeveloped characters. Nothing special, no faults, no development, nothing to make the reader care about them. The only one with any personality was the mother.
Another good idea for a book, but the execution wasn't the greatest. It just seemed to be dragged on and on, probably so she could write more than one book with these characters instead of getting to the point and writing a better story.
This book told a sweet story of best friends--a girl & a boy--who are inseparable as children and the boy's older brother teases him relentlessly. In the end the girl winds up with the boy's brother because he missed his opportunity to be more than just friends.
As you read it, the story looks like it will be the typical story of a young woman who gets pregnant and when she tells her young man he walks away, leaving her to raise their child alone. Then you wonder what type of life she and her child will have, will her family turn their back on her or will they help her. I was surprised when the young man actually came back later the same day after he had a chance to be alone and clear his head. As it turns our the unexpected pregnancy accelerates his plans to propose.
In many books I've read, it's usually the parents of the young man who are up in arms accusing the girl of being a gold digger or just trying to get out of her situation at home. Jake's parents were anything but toward Quinn. They already knew her because she had spent time in their home with Luke and welcomed the news of the pregnancy with open hearts as well as the news that Jake had proposed to her.
Quinn's parents were a mixed bag. You don't read much of her father, who was pretty accepting of the situation, but her mother just made your head hurt and you wanted to some how reach into the pages of the book and strangle her. Quinn's sister, Carly, was a blessing where their mother was concerned particularly after the birth of the baby.
There is an extremely sad part in the book near the end that will make you cry if you have just a little bit of a heart.
4.5 stars I read some reviews saying these should've been made into one book. My opinion is: NO. I think the romances with Jake and Luke were handled tastefully. For me, these books would've had a major creepiness factor if Quinn had been with both brothers in the same book. There needed to be some space between the two. And there was. I think I would've liked Quinn and Luke (separately as well as together) a whole lot less if I'd read about them only a few chapters AFTER.
I do agree that it was a little dragged out in some parts--my reason for docking a .5 star. However, it just left me with the feeling that 1. Bad things happen to good people and 2. Bad things happen when you least expect them to.
Overall, I thought it was a beautiful, touching story. I am only now writing the review after having read all three books.
After reading Letting Go, it just reaffirmed that Quinn and Luke really did need their own book. It was a completely seperate story and I was glad it was treated as such.
I struggled with this book, really struggled. Quinn is best friends with Luke, they have been since they were young kids, but now she is with Jake, Luke's older brother and they are having a (whoopsie) baby. Luke is in love with Quinn and vice versa but neither knew the others feelings and it was never acted on. Now Luke resents his brother for being with the girl he loves. Quinn is perfect, she looks perfect, she acts perfect, she cooks perfect, she has the perfect pregnancy, the perfect wedding and she and Jake have the perfect, sickening romance. For 70% of the book it's gushy perfect romance. The other 30% is pointless, there is a tragedy, and its wrapped so quickly and just seems the whole book is kinda pointless. I don't know how else to explain it, I was waiting for something exciting to happen and it didn't, even the important stuff was rushed through. There is a sequel in this book, not sure if ill read it. I recommend this book for lovers of romance stories with very little guts.
Holding On was a great book and even as I write this review I am still unsure whether I should rate up or down on the 3.6 stars. The entire story was about love and losing and there were several points in the book that I really did not know if I would be able to finish it. It was slow moving but, about 50% through it got interesting. Quinn was lovely and while I loved her I never felt she was woman enough to face her feelings. Jake and Luke were both competitive and really bored me at several places in the book. I am ready to read the second book now so that I can find out more about Luke and Quinn. And by the way Margo reminded me so much of my Mother in Law I had to laugh at several places in this book!
I struggled to keep reading this book throughout it.
Quinn was in love with her best friend Luke when they were growing up, but never revealed her feelings. Then she starts dating his brother, Jake. They eventually marry and fall pregnant until tragedy strikes.
The first 75% of the book is setting the scene. It introduces us to the relationships in the book, and tells the story of Quinn and Jake with flashbacks to the start of their relationship and then their pregnancy and settling into married life.
I kept reading waiting for something to happen. It felt like it was going nowhere for a lot of the book. And then the tragedy struck 3/4 of the way through. I had a feeling the tragedy mentioned in the synopsis would be what happened.
I still stuck through the book to see the ending, but gave it a 3 star because for the most part it didn't feel like it was going anywhere.
This book was a freebie I found on Kindle. I sometimes enjoy a good New Adult book if it's pretty clean. This one was cleaner than most and the story line was pretty good.
Most of the book felt like it was just character building. Don't get me wrong, I love diving into characters thoughts and getting to know them, but I just felt it was all the book was doing. In the middle of the book, I said.. Oh great, I know exactly where this is going.. so I kept waiting for something to happen, waiting for the big BAM of SOMETHING! When it did finally happen I was actually SHOCKED! Even though I felt like it was a long time coming, I didn't have a clue what it was going to be. It wasn't what I thought would happen!
I couldn't decide if I liked it to 4 stars or not, or maybe a 3.5. I think I didn't give it a 4 because it didn't give me much to latch on to until the end. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series, but my curiosity has grabbed me now.
I read this in one sitting, so I definitely liked it - but found it incredibly predictable. There was only one area where I was stunned by the outcome, and that was in the very beginning of the book. I came across a minor editing error or two, but overall, I liked it enough to read the entire thing... that's saying a lot because I deleted fifteen books after three chapters prior to starting this one... I'll definitely read the rest of the series, it was interesting enough.
She's loved him forever, they were best friends since they met - but one night with his brother, and his chance is gone.
Quinn had hoped Luke felt for her what she did for him, but after years of waiting she was done. Enter Jake, his older brother. Immediately head over heels in love, they start a life together. Luke leaves town, along with his family and friends unable to deal with it. Besides Luke missing from their lives, things are wonderful, until tragedy strikes.
Totally fell in love with this book. Quinn & Luke have been best friends since they were young. When Luke's brother Jake ask's Quinn out, she says yes. Luke is so upset because he has been in love with Quinn for years but has never taken the step to tell her. When Quinn finds out she is pregnant she is afraid to tell jake. Jake is so happy about the baby, he takes her out for a romantic picnic in the park & asks her to marry him. He has been planning this for a while. Luke & Jake's relationship has been strained and Luke barely even speaks to Quinn. It is really hard for them all. But finally Jake & Luke seem to be working things out between the two of them. Will things ever work out between Quinn and Luke? When disaster strikes will their friendship pull them through? Read this book you will not be disappointed!!!
While I did end up liking this book, it was a bit slow out of the gate. This was a love triangle of sorts, so I understand there was some build up, maybe just a bit too much in certain areas and not enough in others.
Quinn grew up with Jake and Luke McGrath, her and Luke were best friends from grade school through college, up until she fell in love Jake. Now Luke doesn't know where he fits in with Quinn and his brother, so he doesn't even try to.
Jake and Quinn decide to get married which brings Luke back into their lives full force. Secrets are revealed and tragedy ensues.
This review is hard to write as I do not want to spoil it for other readers. Like I said, the book was good but a bit of a slow start.
I really liked this book! I wouldn't say loved because there were a few things that bothered me about it. Like the fact that there are no confrontations by anyone. Maybe it's just me, but the fact that no one really fights with each other doesn't sound real. In my family we can argue over anything; we still love each other but we argue. A lot. So this "everything is hunky-dorry" thing going on in the book just felt a bit fake to me. Also, Quinn is a pushover. That upset me too; I'm used to heroines who speak their minds constantly and don't let anyone get in their faces lol I liked the rest of the story though and most of the characters are pretty endearing. It'll give you some major feels towards the end but you'll get through it lol
This book is about the McGrath brothers Jake and Luke, Luke is the younger of the two and the same age as Quinn who's his best friend and also the girl he grows to love, he gives her her first kiss but never gets around to asking her out, frightened it may spoil their friendship if she doesn't feel the same way. Quinn had a crush on Luke for the longest time but since he doesn't ask her out she assumes he doesn't feel the same way. His brother Jake who's a couple of years older knows how Luke feels but after giving him more than enough warnings and time he asks Quinn out himself. What follows is a lovely tale of love, regret, families and friendships, this book is beautifully written with some great characters, if you're like me it will have you laughing and crying.
Warning! Have your tissues at the ready for when you read this book.
Apart from one teeny tiny mistake where Jesse is called Jake by Jake this book was perfect.
Quinn has been best friends with Luke her whole life, there as close as two people could be and Quinn has harboured a crush on him for a long time.
But it's Luke's older brother Jake that Quinn ends up falling in love with. This obviously causes problems between the brothers and Quinn but I don't want to say too much without ruining the story.
Cannot wait for the sequel Letting Go. Definitley a must read, add it to your too read lists if its not there already.
Even though the summary pretty much gave away what was going to happen, I still enjoyed this book. I liked the storyline and I loved Quinn. She wanted Luke, and Luke wanted her, but neither of them put it out there, so she ended up with Jake, Luke's brother. This was really hard for Luke, and his releationship with his brother and friendship with Quinn struggled. But...ultimately Quinn loved Jake. They were planning on forever, and unexpected pregancy helped with that. Then tragedy struck, and left Quinn picking up the pieces. With the help of family and friends, Quinn may be ready to move on,which is how Letting Go (the sequel) begins.
I liked the idea of the book. I read this one and the sequel so my review is kind of OVERALL. I liked the characters, I liked the storyline, I did not care for the seemingly unnecessary dialogue. Sometimes it seemed like there was so much dialogue that I really didn't need to grasp the story or that added to it. From the beginning, you knew, absolutely knew, something was going to happen to Jake. I kept expecting it, then it wouldn't happen, and wouldn't happen, wouldn't happen. I mean, I'm glad the author gave us a chance to get to know Jake and love him, but both these books could have been combined into one without any issues. Overall, they were ok, a little slow though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The cHapter 18 of this book really tore my heart a trillion times :( though I am not done reading the entire book/series but geez I know that kind of situation happens in real life but this one surprise me at all no signs of what is happening with Jake then suddenly he's gone :( Im really affected with what Im reading.....
After reading chapter 18, I think Ive spent 30-40% crying the entire time until I am done reading the book. Love-Romance-Love Lost and I guess Romance again. Glad that Carter Lucas McGrath is bringingn happiness in their family.
I will admit, I spent most of the book, waiting for tragedy to strike. Sad, but true. This book dragged for the first three quarters. I contemplated just not finishing because I was bored. I think the problem was that Jake and Quinn already had an established relationship that flowed too smoothly until the 75% mark. I needed some conflict. The only conflict was the fact that Luke, Jake's brother was in love with Quinn. If Luke acted on his desires, that would have amped up story, but I got nothing until the end. If the book started at about the 50% mark, it would have been better.
I will confess I was waiting for the tragedy to happen, due to the blurb giving me too much information.
I did enjoy the read, very sweet, heart wrenching about Quinn and two brothers, Jake and Luke, having a complicated relationship. I enjoyed the detail, well described and had me visualizing the characters. The book did touch me, and even though I wasn't so keen on what was coming I enjoyed the read.
I did like this book. However, I did find that it dragged on a lot; especially in the first half or more of the book. I felt that the author expressed how Quinn and Luke felt about each other and their conflicts way too much. I also found myself skimming along just to get to the climax of the story. All in all it was a good filler to read while I wait for a couple of my favorite sequels to come out.
I loved this book. Could not put it down. Quinn is in love with Jake. She has been friends with his brother Luke always. However she finds out that Luke had more than just friendly feelings for her. She too at one time was secretly in love with him. But she is pregnant and getting married to his brother. I don't want to spoil the ending but this is a really good book and I am going to read the next book.
WOW!!! What a beautiful emotional read!!! This book had me from page one and never let me go until the very last page!! Quinn....what a awesome chick who by the end of the book had me a sobbing mess. Jake & Luke brothers in love with the same girl. Love how Meg Jolie set this storyline up and the way it was written...wow!! Glad I waited til all books were released in this series...now starting Letting Go:))
Loved the story line and I think that going into book #2 "Letting Go" this story is going to pick up even more. I did feel that it didn't have the "action" parts to it, but more of a happy-go-lucky relationship. I also was waiting for more to happen. That I hope happens more in the next book! I am really curious to see where Quinn will go with a new relationship and how that will unfold!! Sweet short read with definite leave you wanting to know more!!!