Bodhi e Easton Lancaster O’Donoghue sono cresciuti protetti dalla verità. Fino a quando i loro genitori decidono di rivelare che cosa è successo, e come abbia influito sugli eventi successivi.
Bodhi è un ragazzo di poche parole. Intelligente, introspettivo, abituato a nascondere il suo dolore. Sconvolto dalla dura realtà del passato, viene inghiottito da una spirale autodistruttiva in cui nessuno riesce a raggiungerlo.
Easton è molto legato al fratello e lo ha sempre sostenuto. Confuso e addolorato, fa del suo meglio per stargli vicino nel momento di crisi, anche se Bodhi sembra deciso a respingere tutti.
I loro genitori sapevano che questo momento sarebbe arrivato, ma non potevano immaginare le drammatiche ripercussioni. Con Bodhi che si allontana sempre di più e Easton che fatica ad accettarlo, si trovano ancora una volta a lottare per salvare la loro famiglia.
Prima che la storia si ripeta e debbano affrontare un’altra devastante perdita.
Siobhan Davis™ is a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Top 5 bestselling romance author. Siobhan writes emotionally intense stories with swoon-worthy romance, complex characters, and tons of unexpected plot twists and turns that will have you flipping the pages beyond bedtime! She has sold millions of books, and her titles are translated into several languages.
Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Siobhan forged a successful corporate career in human resource management.
Siobhan currently lives with her husband in Cyprus while their two grown-up sons reside at the family home in Ireland.
📚'🅷🅾🅻🅳 🅼🅴 🅲🅻🅾🆂🅴' 📚 Is the 3rd novella in Siobhan Davis's '🅰🅻🅻 🅾🅵 🅼🅴 🆂🅴🆁🅸🅴🆂' and can not be read as a stand-alone, this needs to be read in order. Spoken in 'Multiple POV's
This book made me aware that my mascara was not waterproof like I was under the impression it was! This book hit me where it hurt, those fugly tears made an appearance wringing out emotions I normally don’t divulge on a daily basis. I’ve loved this series from the beginning to the very end, this was inhaled like no other, a quick emotional read.
When the 'Hollywood' world is seen through two teenage boys eyes and a love of a family holds tight to weather the storm.
This is one series I highly recommend and ticks all those angsty, emotional feels this author is known to evoke within her readers. From the tears to the love we feel for the characters she introduces us to she's definitely a #1click author of mine.
What could have been an uplifting story, even with pain through the final resolution, quickly became an angst-filled rationale for building a family by destroying the memory of one who helped to create it. Within the first pages, I was already shaking my head and wondering what alternate universe Dillon and Viv were living in...things that simply would not happen, did. It's years after Reeve's death and Vivienne has written the book and made the movie that chronicled her life with Reeve and his twin brother, Dillon. Easton and Bodhi are now 16, going to high school and Bodhi's having some severe emotional troubles. Easton is a good brother to him and has his back, but one day, Bodhi's locker is plastered with stills of his mother, Saffron Roberts, from a porno flick and the only thing that concerns Viv and Dil is who was suspended from school? This is not realistic because, if this were a real high school and some kids "pranked" someone with nudes of his mother on his locker, it would be handled by the school resource officer as a case of sexual harrassment. Did Bodhi know that it was his mother in those photos? How? Didn't Viv question the school administration about who did it and where the photos came from? But then it all became clear. Bodhi saw the movie. The movie that was made from the book that Viv wrote about how she was "betrayed" by Reeve and "rescued" by Dillon. Wow! And Bodhi's the one with the clarity of mind and who can see right through the lax parenting skills as he verbally berates his mother with "that shit should have stayed buried with both my parents. No good comes from knowing that. I would rather you lied to me. I've been passed around like a sack of worthless shit. You only took me in because you had no choice." This is his reality...his truth and, with that much rage and self-loathing at 16, I don't know how he'll ever heal. Viv and Dillon messed up. He was spiraling fast and they wanted him to get help, but he refused. In what world does a 16-year-old boy get to choose? They needed to have a plan to divulge the truth with both their sons when the time was right, and the time should have been right then, before what happened, happened! They should have explained things in a calm, careful way, in their own words, without blame, in a conversation among family who loved each other. Traumatized by the truth of his birth and upbringing, Bodhi began to unwind. And because of Viv and Dillon's lack of foresight in coming clean with him, Reeve's character and life have been trashed at the expense of Bodhi's mental health. In making Bodhi the bad guy, he's able to speak the ugly truth and to become the unlikely voice of reason and the only conscience in the room. Dillon seems to have forgotten that by stalking Viv with "the photos" from Ireland, he signed Reeve's death warrant, but Bodhi knew it. "You're almost as bad as Reeve. You purposely set out to deceive her, and then you showed up and stressed her out when she was pregnant." Dillon couldn't, and didn't deny it. But the saddest thing for me was Easton's new reality and how he came to see the man he had always known as Dad. Viv's movie invalidated Reeve in E's eyes and he could no longer reconcile his memories to the man he called Daddy Reeve. This crystalized everything for me and reminded me that there were two villains in this story. Reeve broke her. Dillon set out to destroy her and to take revenge on his twin, the man she loved. But he broke her, too, when his threats and photos caused the death of the man she had loved since childhood. These children were the mirror of their parents...the recipients of their love, hate and sins. Where Dillon gets the credit for being a good person, Reeve gets a beatdown. A number of times, in E's own words, Reeve's character is impugned and his memory tarnished. "I still can't process how I feel about the fact Reeve chose Mom and me over Bodhi. It's wrong on so many levels." I was going to stop reading when Easton was getting blowjob under the bleachers, but I kept going. It got much worse with Bodhi, "I'm high as a kite, a mix of narcotics and alcohol sloshing through my veins..." at least he remembered to use a condom before his threesome! Bodhi became a caricature with his drinking, drugs, sex and loathing, but it had to happen in order to tell this story. The most gutting scene, for me, was when he tried to destroy his father's name on the memorial garden plaque in memory of Reeve and Lainey and yelled "You were a pathetic, weak prick who cheated on the woman he professed to love and abandoned his baby son. Why?! How could you give me away? I was just an innocent baby!" Did he know his father was drugged into creating him? He hated his mother for the skank that she was, but he doesn't "know" until the very end how far she had gone to trap Reeve. How far she would go for drugs and how many abortions were the result of her repulsive life. I loved Reeve and hated how his memory was tarnished and, it was professed that his "sins" created this mess. Viv laments that she doesn't want Easton paying the price for Reeve's "sins." Even to the very end, Reeve is villified and invalidated.....Bodhi laments that he never had the chance to know his father like Easton did: "It's not my brother's fault that happened. The blame squarely lies with Reeve and Reeve alone. I won't blame my parents or Easton for Reeve's sin." Okay! I get it! What exactly are those sins? This book paints Dillon in a positive light as the calm, constructive father and Reeve as the destructive force, forgetting that it was Dillon who destroyed him. I was hoping to get some closure to this tale of the damaged and emotionally abused twin Lancaster brothers and their resulting relationships, but I felt depressed and cheated. If only some of the story had been told through Reeve's POV...he deserved that much. I read this book through KU.
I have a lot of emotions right now. I wish I could have read this immediately after the other two books in the series. I think I would have been better able to articulate my feelings about this one if I had. Hopefully, I can do a more thorough job once I've had some time to think about everything.
One thing I have to mention now is ...I don't hate Reeve. I always feel some type of way when he is being torn apart by anyone because of that. I can't help it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that's all this was. Some of them expressed love for him too, but certain things just got to me.
The author makes me feel so much when it comes to these characters, good and bad. I had to give this novella a 5, because all those feelings came back to me immediately. I literally couldn't stop reading. I was supposed to watch TV, so I told myself I would only read a few chapters. At some point, I just stopped lying to myself and finished it all in one sitting.
I'm glad we got this glimpse into the future. I enjoyed seeing these characters again, and I appreciated getting to see how the boys felt when they finally learned the truth about their parents past and their own. I really hope we get more stories in this world in the future. I know the author said there are no guarantees, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Just to be clear this isn't me trying to bash the author in anyway, shape or form, especially since having enjoyed reading some of her other books. This is just me stating my honest opinion, so feel free to disagree. Since at the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Despite the story being centred on Easton the son of Vivien and Dillion and Bodhi their adoptive son, whose biological parents were Reeve and Saffron. It was obvious thatHold Me Closewas going to be another book that continued with the campaign of let us hate and bash on Reeve, despite him having lost everything with ending up dead. The fact that it still managed to blow my mind, how the tarnishing of Reeve's character continuously carried on was unbelievable. Even despite expecting this to be the case. Couldn’t they just leave Reeve be, he was dead for crying out loud! And had been for years now, considering how many years later the book takes place.
Sorry to say but honestly this book seemed pointless, given that it just seemed like it was an excuse to just carry on tarnishing Reeve's character. Whilst uplifting Dillion's character IMO. Yes, Reeve did some bad things, but so did Dillion. Something everyone either seemed to forget or more likely chose to forget. Since surprise surprise Dillion continued to be shown in a positive lighting, despite having played a huge hand in everything bad that went down in the first place. Making his character a villain too! Yet it wasn't ever truly acknowledged and if it was, it would only be a second before being brushed under the rug. With Vivien putting him back on the pedestal that she always seemed to have him on throughout the whole series.
I was so happy to read about Viv and Dillon again. It was a nice surprise. Seeing what happens in the future with their lives. This was a quick read and gut wrenching at times. Keep tissues close. This is about their sons Bodhi and Easton. If read the other books, you will not want to miss this one.
Before you read this novella please make sure that you know and remember some of the most important things that happened in the original duet, trust me it will be needed when diving into Hold Me Close and looking into the future of the well-known and beloved characters - Vivian, Dillion, Easton and Bodhi (they have aged since we last saw them!) Eh... in this book my heart got broken for each character as their story was hard before, and now some time in the future past is catching up - what will happen to them? I love how Ms. Davis is developing her plot and characters - it's AMAZING and so well crafted!
The first two books in this series were absolutely amazing, so I was excited to read this novella and jump back into the lives of some of my favorite characters. Vivian and Dillon had quite the journey. So many awful things happened before they found their happy, and Vivian dreaded the day their sons would learn the whole story. Now she and Dillon must lean on each other to keep their family together. I love how far they have come and how their lives have turned out. And seeing where the rest of their friends and family are at. Definitely time for a full series reread. And I would love if this series was extended and Easton and Bodhi got their own books.
Siobhan has decided to give us the story of Bodhi and Easton Lancaster O’Donoghue and it was a story I didn't know I wanted. It was so great to be back in this world and to see Vivien and Dillon's love just as strong as it was all those years ago.
Hold Me Close is a novella (book 3) as part of the All of Me series but you must read the duet before reading this story. This book is full of turmoil, secrets and heartache as the boys get the real truth of what happened with their boys and it has devastating consequences for them, Can Viv & Dil fight to keep their family together before they suffer any more loss?
What a rollercoaster ride!! Viv and Reeve childhood friends to lovers. And Reeve grows up having his own demons... there's moments I couldn't stand Reeve... but he loved her. Dillon (guy #2) in Ireland has his own demons... so you can help having a love/hate relationship with him.
This one held my interest from start to finish... but moments also made my eyes roll when betrayals happened.
Hold Me Close takes place seven years after Let Me Love You. This is not a standalone so you need to have read Say I'm the One and Let Me Love You first!
I absolutely loved Dillon and Vivien so I was so excited to jump into this book to see what their life with kids was like. Also with their complicated past, I was excited to see Bodhi and Easton's personalities. I was interested to see who they took after and what traits they shared from their parents. I have to say that I was not at all prepared for the emotions in this book! I will admit that I cried while reading Say I'm the One and Let Me Love You, but I ugly cried through several parts of this book. I felt like my heart was being ripped out, but I couldn't put it down! I read through this book so fast because I just wanted to see what was going to happen with Bodhi and Easton.
This is a quick emotional read so make sure you have tissues and free time because you aren't going to be able to stop reading it. I am hopeful that we will see more of Bodhi and Easton in the future because I really fell in love with their characters!
I love this world this author created. The first two books were some of my favorites with a triangle that will take you on the most epic rollercoaster ride! This is a novella that looks into Viv and Dillons future with their family of 6! This deals with the fallout of Viviens movie and how Bodhi and Easton deal with it. It was beautifully written and I truly would love to see them each get a book from this point on however I do not want a triangle involving them both😩my heart couldn’t take it! I love the similarities in both boys but equally love their differences. Their personalities couldn’t be more different but they are alike in a lot of ways and I loved reading about it!
If you haven’t read the first two books it is a MUST before reading this and you won’t be sorry but you will hate your kindle and you will throw it across the room 🤣You’ve been warned!!!
Happy reading!!!
Oh and Reeve is getting a book from his pov (hated him in the beginning redeemed himself in the end) and I can’t wait to read that!!!
Wow I was so excited to be delving back into Dillon and Vivian’s lives.. and I was not disappointed seeing how far they have come over the year.
Years where their two son’s Easton and Bodhi have gone from two little boys without a care in the world both happy to have found a brother and heart broken to have lost a parent, to two strapping lads at the age of 16 trying to make sense of their past and the fact everything happened in front of the world with media to twist it and a movie to document it.
This was an enthralling.. emotional.. heartbreaking account of when the boy’s finally understand what their Dad’s put their Mum through.. how they were sidelined for other people and how their family came to be today.. it’s full of anger.. self loathing and hate.. but above all else, it’s full of love.
An absolutely amazing read, I would highly recommend reading Say I’m the one and Let me love you first as it gives all that background of this amazing family. Also have tissues lots and lots of tissues.
Leave it to Siobhan to leave me in a broken pile of emotions. This novella was everything I didn’t know I needed. I treasured being back with these characters and all the old feelings and angst just came flooding back while reading. The duet nearly killed me the first time around but getting a glimpse at where they are now settled my soul in ways that I can’t even describe. The love that this family has and the demons that they slayed to get where they are bursts from the seams and really shows you the loyalty and dedication that they have. I adored every single second of this, and I just hope that Siobhan isn’t done with them yet and gives us more in the future. Because this was just a sample and I’m ready for the entire meal.
Talk about all the feels! It was so good to see what this family has been up to these characters are one of my favorite from Siobhan their love and loyalty is unmatched we get all the angst and emotions from this family we see them dealing with old demons together as a family and it warmed my heart I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed that this author isn’t done with them yet !
I enjoy Siobhan Davis' writing, so I will not be rating this one because its purpose makes no sense to me. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations. After reading it, I am in no way better or worse off and certainly not MORE engaged in this dysfunctional family story arc.
The first two books in the series were good, albeit melodramatic. This is essentially about a traumatized teenager acting out and coming to his senses rather quickly. However, the triggers for his extreme actions, both negative and positive, are not entirely believable. I honestly think an effort to explore Bodhi and Easton's lives as young adults in their own books would be more worthwhile.
When I read the first two books, I never imagined the fall out of the boys learning their parents history. It was intense, destructive & emotional. I couldn’t imagine having to process all of that at their age. I did really like getting to see into their future & it was a great quick read.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.
Hold Me Close is a novella as part of the All of Me series, but must be read after books one and two. It focuses a lot of Bodhi and Easton and their relationship now that they are teens and all that has happened to get them to this point in their lives. Though they were once as tight as ever, the past has come full circle and is wreaking havoc on their happy family, and no one may come out of it the same.
This story brought me to tears more than once. My heart truly broke for everyone. The author did such a wonderful job with these characters and evoking all the emotions of this complicated story line. Though their past was not easy, there is so so much love, and I was so happy to revist these characters and of course see everyone ultimately come out on the other side even stronger.
**Audible Review**
I really enjoyed the narration in this story. Sarah Puckett always delivers exceptionally strong narration and is among my favorite narrators to listen to. Eric Nolan and KC Sheridan both did an amazing job as well, My one struggle with the narration was that Logan Anare seemed to be yelling at times in the narration and while it seemed to be in line with the story at times, at others it did not, and overall it wasn't pleasant to my ears. In general though, I highly enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it.
“Intanto inizio ringraziando l’autrice per aver scritto questa storia e la Ink Literary Pr per averlo pubblicato e quindi abbiamo l’opportunità di leggerlo. Grazie 😘 “
Recensione
Buonasera lettori,
Eccomi oggi con la recensione del libro STRINGIMI FORTE della serie ALL OF ME #3 di Siobhan Davis. Ed eccoci al terzo e ultimo libro di questa bellissima serie, scritta bene, scorrevole a tratti anche un po sofferta! Questa volta vediamo che la storia prosegue dopo sette anni da tutto ciò che è accaduto nel precedente volume, i figli scoprono la verità sulla storia dei loro genitori ed è un crescendo di situazioni ingestibili e di autodistruzione per uno dei ragazzi, ma basterà un evento per far capovolgere la situazione e ritrovare quell’amore e armonia familiare. 5⭐️
Adoro la scrittura di Siobhan, come riesce a rapire il lettore e come ha strutturato la storia, ho apprezzato molto il multipov, si è riuscito ad apprezzare ancora di più la storia. Sono felice di aver fatto il viaggio con questi protagonisti in questa storia.
Trama
I figli pagano per i peccati dei loro padri…
Bodhi e Easton Lancaster O’Donoghue sono cresciuti protetti dalla verità. Fino a quando i loro genitori decidono di rivelare che cosa è successo, e come abbia influito sugli eventi successivi.
Bodhi è un ragazzo di poche parole. Intelligente, introspettivo, abituato a nascondere il suo dolore. Sconvolto dalla dura realtà del passato, viene inghiottito da una spirale autodistruttiva in cui nessuno riesce a raggiungerlo.
Easton è molto legato al fratello e lo ha sempre sostenuto. Confuso e addolorato, fa del suo meglio per stargli vicino nel momento di crisi, anche se Bodhi sembra deciso a respingere tutti.
I loro genitori sapevano che questo momento sarebbe arrivato, ma non potevano immaginare le drammatiche ripercussioni. Con Bodhi che si allontana sempre di più e Easton che fatica ad accettarlo, si trovano ancora una volta a lottare per salvare la loro famiglia.
Prima che la storia si ripeta e debbano affrontare un’altra devastante perdita.
Review : I loved 'I'm the one' and 'Let me love you' by this author so much that I was all over this book when it came to my Kindle. Meeting those same characters again was the biggest dream for me. This book is set years after the ending of that series and unravels more of the secrets in it but with the different pair of characters and the second generation.
The suspense and the angst of this author is unmatched to that of another one and that is the reason why I always read her books. Definitely recommending this book to all the Siobhan Davis fans who have read the orevios duet because this one is more like a follow up for that one.
“The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.” Bodhi and Easton Lancaster O’Donoghue have the perfect life with loving parents, godlike good looks, talent, and money. But it came at a cost. Their parents, Vivien and Dillon had a long road to happiness, and Reeve didn't live to see his sons grow into men. When the boys learn the truth about their parents' past, it rocks their very foundation. East is hurt and angry but Bodhi is devastated and heads down a path of destruction. As he spirals out of control, it looks like history may repeat itself.
So, everyone knows the All of Me duet is close to my heart. It contains pieces of my own life's losses, and Vivien will always be special to me. I love Dillon and the rest of the characters. To the point of obsession. So, of course, I couldn't wait to revisit the characters. This wonderfully written story captures generational tragedy beautifully. Bodhi never knew his parents yet they damaged him all the same. His inability to cope with his pain was a trait inherited from all of the former Lancaster men. His downfall and the repercussions on East and his parents were heartbreaking. But once again, love overcomes. It's hard to believe a novella could contain so much raw emotion. It is a worthy return to Viv's world.
Just so you know, I'm not ready to say goodbye forever to Viv and Dillon, their family, and friends. I have already suggested more stories. Let's just say, Siobhan was not amused but I think she will come around, eventually.
Siobhan Davis kills me every single time when she takes me back to my favourite couples' life. Hold Me Close is the next heartaching part of Viv and Dillon's life as they hold to each other while navigating through some emotional dark times.
This story is an extended novella after All of Me duet and you cannot read it as standalone. Viv and Dillon are now successfully running their business and Dillon is still a rockstar and they are a happy family. Their boys Bodhi and Easton and their girls are their lifelines. But Bodhi has a past that he didn't have full idea about. And he is spiralling down now.
It was such an emotional and uber nostalgic read. Bodhi and Easton are both at an age when hormones and emotions run high. And the revelation about Bodhi's past were difficult for him. He was acting out and he was hurting and he was full on self destruct mode. He was closed off and at a dark place and no one could reach him. Not even his brother and parents. My heart was breaking for Viv and Dillon and East. But their relentless love and support brought Bo back to their loving family. Viv and Dillon's bond is stronger than ever. And my heart is so happy and full for them. Bodhi and Easton have grown up to be such amazing talented young man and I hope the author writes their story some day too.
Hold Me Close is book 3 in the All of Me Series by Siobhan Davis. Wow, woman how do you do it? How do you take an amazing duet and then turn around that make it even better in the next book? How do you touch my heart and soul so deeply? I love reading…like it’s my favorite thing to do to unwind but Siobhan, you just reach right into my chest and make these characters cling to me like I’ve never felt before. You blew me away again as usual. As I’ve personally told you how much Let Me Love You touch me in the most intimate of ways…this one ripped right into that special place I’ve reserved for LMLY! Thank you once again for being everything you are especially sharing your magnificent mind with all us who are just begging for more. You always exceed every expectation. Never letting us down, I know it’s a lot of pressure to be such an amazing writer all the time. But know you are killing it! Bodhi and Easton are senior in high school when they watch “the movie”. They both take it hard each dealing or not dealing in their own ways. Can Viv and Dillion reach them before it’s to late? Find out for yourself because you don’t wanna miss this! It is not a standalone it is the 3rd book in the Hold Me Close Series and you need to read from the beginning Say I’m the One to understand it all. But you won’t be disappointed! I received a free advanced copy to read and review.
This is an emotional epilogue novella of one of my all time favorite duets!! The All of Me duet was one of the best, and most emotional, stories I've ever read and reading this epilogue was a heart-twisting, but perfect piece of the pie I didn't know I was missing.
As a parent, you truly believe you are doing the best for your child. I know the best intentions are always in the front of my mind when it comes to my own children so I know when it came to Vivian and Dillon's hard won love story, it was also front and center for them.
The hard part of being a parent is never knowing what the ramifications will be on the decisions you make. Every stroke of a butterfly's wings makes the slightest change in an outcome, at least that is what they say...Bodie and Easton are living products of the choices their parents made years before, but as parents all we see is the beauty of those choices, but as the child in any family...well, life always looks very different. Especially when you are a teenager.
Siobhan never fails to wring every last drop of emotional wreckage out of me, which I absolutely love. I'm soooooooo happy that this novella exists, even with all the hard and twisty turns it took. For the best enjoyment Hold Me Close needs to be read after reading the All of Me duet.