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Keep Hold
Claire O’Malley isn’t looking for love. In fact, the woman she thought she would spend the rest of her life with just moved to Berlin. Claire’s focus is on mending her broken heart. Not easy when you find yourself sharing a house with your ex’s older sister, Kathryn Mercer.
The Kathryn that Claire used to know—frumpy and boring—has disappeared. These days she walks a little taller, looks a little slimmer, oozes charm and confidence, and turns heads.
Some things should be left alone. Some rules should never be broken. But some opportunities are just too good to miss.
The Kathryn that Claire used to know—frumpy and boring—has disappeared. These days she walks a little taller, looks a little slimmer, oozes charm and confidence, and turns heads.
Some things should be left alone. Some rules should never be broken. But some opportunities are just too good to miss.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2015
3 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Grubb
8 books30 followersMichelle is Tasmanian born and now resides in the UK, just north of London, with her wife. She's a fair weather golfer, a happy snapper, and a lover of cafes, vinyl records, and book shops.
Michelle harbours an unnatural love for stray pieces of timber (she promises her wife she'll build her something one day), second hand furniture shops, and the perfect coffee.
She can play six chords on her guitar, stumble through a song on her drum kit, and if you see her wearing headphones, she's probably listening to Mumford and Sons while dreaming up stories and plot twists.
It goes without saying that writing is Michelle's favourite thing to do.
Michelle can be contacted at MichelleGrubb
Website: http://www.michellegrubb.com/
Michelle harbours an unnatural love for stray pieces of timber (she promises her wife she'll build her something one day), second hand furniture shops, and the perfect coffee.
She can play six chords on her guitar, stumble through a song on her drum kit, and if you see her wearing headphones, she's probably listening to Mumford and Sons while dreaming up stories and plot twists.
It goes without saying that writing is Michelle's favourite thing to do.
Michelle can be contacted at MichelleGrubb
Website: http://www.michellegrubb.com/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
June 23, 2017
Enjoyable book! well written,easy read and very engaging..don't miss out on something this good...lots of frictions and infighting but good friendship which leads to true and promising love...recommend to all
February 7, 2020
The protagonist was dull and characters actions didn't make any sense. Some of it was plain weird.
October 1, 2022
Pretty decent read with plenty happening under a roof with 4 ladies under it where one is a couple (Alex and Jess) and the other 2 are our MCs, Claire and Kathryn, who are staying put under the same roof temporarily. Jess is the common denominator among the 4 ladies; Alex’s wife, Kathryn’s younger sister and Claire’s ex-girlfriend. I liked the dynamics between Jess, Alex and Claire; just close friends, and nothing kinky there. Claire was coming out of a bad relationship with her ex-girlfriend who just packed and left after 4 years, and Kathryn who recently divorced her cheating husband of 15 years.
I wouldn’t say there was plenty of chemistry between Claire and Kathryn but things (or sex) happened between the 2. But I must say that as much as I loved drama in a book, what Kathryn did after was cruel… ignoring Claire after they got together, going back and having sex with a man (or even if it's a woman for that matter) when Claire is just next door (and after you had a wonderful sexual ‘awakening’ with her) is just bad taste to me. But this is fiction after all...so there is that - you either enjoy it or not 😊
3.5 ⭐
I wouldn’t say there was plenty of chemistry between Claire and Kathryn but things (or sex) happened between the 2. But I must say that as much as I loved drama in a book, what Kathryn did after was cruel… ignoring Claire after they got together, going back and having sex with a man (or even if it's a woman for that matter) when Claire is just next door (and after you had a wonderful sexual ‘awakening’ with her) is just bad taste to me. But this is fiction after all...so there is that - you either enjoy it or not 😊
3.5 ⭐
October 30, 2015
Claire O’Malley is still coming to terms with being abandoned by her girlfriend of four years. It wasn’t enough to leave the city, but the country, according to the ex. Gradually falling apart, Michelle is starting to make mistakes at work, which is a problem for a nurse in a big hospital.
One of her best friends, Jess, and her wife Alex, take her under their wing. Complicating matters is the fact that Jess and Claire were once lovers, but are now firm friends. Throw into the mix Jess’s sister Kathryn, a divorced and supposedly straight woman who lands on the doorstep, wanting to move back home.
Things start to heat up when it becomes clear that Claire and Kathryn are attracted to one another.
In lesser hands, this could be a bit of a mess, and certainly a cliché, but Grubb handles the four main characters with ease. We get to see each of them with enough clarity to make sense of their actions, and to feel that they have some depth. What charms is the clear sense of relationship between each of the characters, and how that impacts the others in the group. The dialogue is smart, often funny, and there is a lovely sense of pragmatism and dry wit that runs throughout the story.
The book is set in Melbourne, although there is little specificity about the location, so it reads like any/every city. I think what does show through as Australian is the pragmatism and the dry wit of the characters, and the gentle rebellion against authority. There isn’t any slang, so you won’t run into any “dry as a dead dingo’s donger” or “ugly as a hat full of arseholes”, so you won’t need to be Australian to appreciate it.
I think it’s a gem. Interesting characters, enough challenges to breathe life into the plotlines, and yet the happy ending we pay the money for with a romance.
4.5 stars.
One of her best friends, Jess, and her wife Alex, take her under their wing. Complicating matters is the fact that Jess and Claire were once lovers, but are now firm friends. Throw into the mix Jess’s sister Kathryn, a divorced and supposedly straight woman who lands on the doorstep, wanting to move back home.
Things start to heat up when it becomes clear that Claire and Kathryn are attracted to one another.
In lesser hands, this could be a bit of a mess, and certainly a cliché, but Grubb handles the four main characters with ease. We get to see each of them with enough clarity to make sense of their actions, and to feel that they have some depth. What charms is the clear sense of relationship between each of the characters, and how that impacts the others in the group. The dialogue is smart, often funny, and there is a lovely sense of pragmatism and dry wit that runs throughout the story.
The book is set in Melbourne, although there is little specificity about the location, so it reads like any/every city. I think what does show through as Australian is the pragmatism and the dry wit of the characters, and the gentle rebellion against authority. There isn’t any slang, so you won’t run into any “dry as a dead dingo’s donger” or “ugly as a hat full of arseholes”, so you won’t need to be Australian to appreciate it.
I think it’s a gem. Interesting characters, enough challenges to breathe life into the plotlines, and yet the happy ending we pay the money for with a romance.
4.5 stars.
April 6, 2016
Note: This ARC was provided by NetGalley & Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
I got almost 25% through the book before I knew there was no turning back. I just couldn't finish this novel. The characters lacked in any interesting characteristics and seemed to meld together one after the next. The inner monologues mixed with the narrative mixed with the actual dialogue all within sentences of each other was hard to keep track of and understand. I couldn't get into the story, I couldn't connect with the characters, I couldn't find a reason to finish this book.
I have a very, very, VERY difficult time giving books a 1-star review. Therefore, I am giving this 2 stars since I didn't finish the novel, and will not be able to conduct a complete review. But I have too many books to read and not enough time in the world to get through them all, so on we go to the next adventure.
I got almost 25% through the book before I knew there was no turning back. I just couldn't finish this novel. The characters lacked in any interesting characteristics and seemed to meld together one after the next. The inner monologues mixed with the narrative mixed with the actual dialogue all within sentences of each other was hard to keep track of and understand. I couldn't get into the story, I couldn't connect with the characters, I couldn't find a reason to finish this book.
I have a very, very, VERY difficult time giving books a 1-star review. Therefore, I am giving this 2 stars since I didn't finish the novel, and will not be able to conduct a complete review. But I have too many books to read and not enough time in the world to get through them all, so on we go to the next adventure.
December 14, 2015
This is a surprisingly enjoyable book, breezy and light with four main characters that are very likeable. Nice fluff, I actually want to read another book about how Jess and Alex got together in fact. :) Nothing deep but surprisingly fun to read.
September 19, 2015
This is a tough one to review, because I thought it was a great story but with some big character problems. I liked all the women as individual characters, good and bad, but there is absolutely no evidence as to why the pair the story revolves around have any interest in each other. One of them has such low self esteem that I couldn't remotely relate to her. The other is a sociopathic C-Word. She behaved so terribly that I couldn't believe it when I realized this was going to be the love interest. I didn't see any reason at all to like her, so why would I root for this couple to make it?
The story arc though was great. I did love all the complicated relationships between the women: ex-lovers who are friends, solid couples, pregnant lesbians, a straight woman and a shadow of an ex for most of the story. I also loved that the women were all different: some strong, some weak, some good people, some bad, some psychotic. Much of the dialog was smart and snappy, and the sex scenes were Grade A. I enjoyed that the story did not just cover the romance, but there was also some excitement, some danger, many misunderstandings, and a lot of friendship-love between the women. I just never saw why the one woman was drawn to the other, especially when she was such a lunatic bitch for most of the book.
But it was good enough that I would read it again, and that means a lot from me. Maybe if I just black out all the dialog from the one terrible character, then the story would make sense and I'd give it five stars no problem. And I would love to read something else by this author, she definitely has a talent for storytelling (and sex scenes, hah!).
I was given a copy of this enjoyable lesbian romance by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and my honest rating is FOUR stars.
The story arc though was great. I did love all the complicated relationships between the women: ex-lovers who are friends, solid couples, pregnant lesbians, a straight woman and a shadow of an ex for most of the story. I also loved that the women were all different: some strong, some weak, some good people, some bad, some psychotic. Much of the dialog was smart and snappy, and the sex scenes were Grade A. I enjoyed that the story did not just cover the romance, but there was also some excitement, some danger, many misunderstandings, and a lot of friendship-love between the women. I just never saw why the one woman was drawn to the other, especially when she was such a lunatic bitch for most of the book.
But it was good enough that I would read it again, and that means a lot from me. Maybe if I just black out all the dialog from the one terrible character, then the story would make sense and I'd give it five stars no problem. And I would love to read something else by this author, she definitely has a talent for storytelling (and sex scenes, hah!).
I was given a copy of this enjoyable lesbian romance by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and my honest rating is FOUR stars.
October 16, 2019
Nurses and New Starts
Claire’s ex moved to Berlin without a backwards glance leaving her lost, adrift and in so much pain. Her best friends, Alex and Jess, insist she move in with them at the same time Jess’ sister shows up on her doorstep. Kathryn is newly divorced and is looking for a major change and decides her sister is one to help. While not exactly homophobic, she isn’t comfortable around lesbians, so why can’t she stop thinking about Claire when she is without a doubt straight!
This book is interesting… The story is really pretty good. The characters are unique and different, well one anyway. Kathryn is hard to figure out, she is a conundrum. Sometimes she is ok with being around and involved with lesbians and other times not so much. For some reason she wants to be around Claire, with her, supporting her and maybe even loving her. Claire, Jess and Alex are happy, proud and out lesbians and are just fine being who they are. Claire has a lot on her plate and the hits keep on coming. Her strength is astounding and so encouraging. I loved the other characters as well. They balance out Claire and Kathryn and add so much to the tale. There are some strong emotional parts and many downright sexy ones too that will put you on the edge and keep you there!! This is a fine showcase of Ms Grubbs talent and I look forward to reading more from her.
Claire’s ex moved to Berlin without a backwards glance leaving her lost, adrift and in so much pain. Her best friends, Alex and Jess, insist she move in with them at the same time Jess’ sister shows up on her doorstep. Kathryn is newly divorced and is looking for a major change and decides her sister is one to help. While not exactly homophobic, she isn’t comfortable around lesbians, so why can’t she stop thinking about Claire when she is without a doubt straight!
This book is interesting… The story is really pretty good. The characters are unique and different, well one anyway. Kathryn is hard to figure out, she is a conundrum. Sometimes she is ok with being around and involved with lesbians and other times not so much. For some reason she wants to be around Claire, with her, supporting her and maybe even loving her. Claire, Jess and Alex are happy, proud and out lesbians and are just fine being who they are. Claire has a lot on her plate and the hits keep on coming. Her strength is astounding and so encouraging. I loved the other characters as well. They balance out Claire and Kathryn and add so much to the tale. There are some strong emotional parts and many downright sexy ones too that will put you on the edge and keep you there!! This is a fine showcase of Ms Grubbs talent and I look forward to reading more from her.
September 18, 2015
** reviews to come **
September 8, 2016
One of the best sex scenes I've read in lesfic.
September 11, 2015
Detailed score: 2.75 rounded up to 3
This book is largely tell, not show and the result, as per usual when this is the case, was that I felt very little affinity for our leads. It's not a good sign that I felt more for the (straight) Doctor friend than I did the leads. What made this particularly frustrating is that there are a couple of really nice scenes with amusing banter (one with the doctor - hence perhaps why I warmed to that character?!) that really illustrated what could have been.
Other factors that may interest goodreaders when considering if this book is for them (slight spoilers hidden)
The diamond in the rough scenes kept this book from a much lower score and the pwooaaar scenes, while not the strongest ever were far from the worst.
Overall I'm sorry to say that while the book has potential, this one largely fell short of the mark,
[I was provided with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
This book is largely tell, not show and the result, as per usual when this is the case, was that I felt very little affinity for our leads. It's not a good sign that I felt more for the (straight) Doctor friend than I did the leads. What made this particularly frustrating is that there are a couple of really nice scenes with amusing banter (one with the doctor - hence perhaps why I warmed to that character?!) that really illustrated what could have been.
Other factors that may interest goodreaders when considering if this book is for them (slight spoilers hidden)
The diamond in the rough scenes kept this book from a much lower score and the pwooaaar scenes, while not the strongest ever were far from the worst.
Overall I'm sorry to say that while the book has potential, this one largely fell short of the mark,
[I was provided with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
September 22, 2015
This started out promising; the opening scene is at least memorable. The problem is the characters. Once again, we're set up with a fairly unsympathetic, uninteresting main character and I just don't have the interest in reading about the adventures of someone I care little about. The writing style was also overly expository and unnatural; the scene rhythm just wasn't there. t tapped out about 50 pages in; that was enough for me.
September 15, 2015
I received a copy via netgalley.
Gah this was so beautiful to read. I really lost myself in the story. It was maddening to watch these two ladies dance over feelings and entirely addictive. Such a HEA ending so worth the bitter feels throughout. Great character depth and story plotting.
Gah this was so beautiful to read. I really lost myself in the story. It was maddening to watch these two ladies dance over feelings and entirely addictive. Such a HEA ending so worth the bitter feels throughout. Great character depth and story plotting.
October 17, 2019
There is something about the way this author writes that makes me disappear into her books. Once I’ve started I cannot put them down, the characters are so real and so engaging, I’m on edge throughout wanting the best for them all.
October 4, 2017
Loved it! Very funny story, with some ups and downs. It was hard to put this one down for even a minute!
October 26, 2015
I'm not going to lie, this book left me feeling a little confused. There were some parts of it I absolutely loved, and other parts that were a little hard for me. But let's see, where to start.
Claire, the protagonist of Keep Hold, is an absolute delight. She's totally relatable, if not a little drama prone. But she's also snarky AF, which is something I adore in a character. The way Grubb wrote Claire's point of view was so funny, I actually caught myself chuckling out load and I've definitely pocketed some one-liners for future use.
Claire is overwhelmingly likable, as are her best friends, Jess (also Claire's ex) and Alex (Jess's wife). Their relationship is really warm and clever and typifies the lesbian relationship cycle: Crush, Girlfriend, Ex, Best Friend. It has happened to every gay woman I know, including myself.
But as likable as Claire is, her love interest is equally unlikable. Kathryn is Jess's older, somewhat estranged, divorced, and pretty homophobic sister. She moves into Jess and Alex's house (with Claire - due to Claire's aforementioned drama) and promptly accuses Claire and Alex of being too cuddly - because watch out, too many cuddles from another person and your marriage is in the shitter, according to her.
Of course, while this all steps from Kathryn's deep seated insecurities from her own cheating ex-husband, I found her attitude throughout the book to be really difficult to deal with. She's one of those, yell and make assumptions first, ask forgiveness later.
When she sleeps with Claire for the first time, she absolutely panics and tries to overcompensate the exact way you'd expect: she sleeps with a man. In the same house that she and Claire are sharing. Drama, Claire's BFF, ensues. Later, she says the phrase that every gay person has heard at one time or another: "I'm not like you, I'm normal." This phrase, and all of its various incarnations, is just plain frustrating to see. Unfortunately, it also really showcases Kathryn's mean streak.
The thing is, I think we're really meant to understand Kathryn, but I don't. While Claire is snarky, I read Kathryn as just plain mean most of the time. And I get that she was battling internalized homophobia - I know from experience that that can turn people mean and bitter when they don't know who they are or if they try to fight it. And yes, I roll my eyes whenever I read a book where the main characters just flip the switch from straight to gay for one person without any sort of mental emotional debate. In that way, I appreciate Keep Hold for it's honesty. But unfortunately, even in the end, I wasn't a huge fan of Kathryn and so I found it hard to root for the love story.
I would be delighted to read a book of Claire's musings. And if she and Kathryn ever break up...I'm on board for another love story. Hopefully with somebody a little nicer.
Thanks to NetGalley for the book!
Claire, the protagonist of Keep Hold, is an absolute delight. She's totally relatable, if not a little drama prone. But she's also snarky AF, which is something I adore in a character. The way Grubb wrote Claire's point of view was so funny, I actually caught myself chuckling out load and I've definitely pocketed some one-liners for future use.
Claire is overwhelmingly likable, as are her best friends, Jess (also Claire's ex) and Alex (Jess's wife). Their relationship is really warm and clever and typifies the lesbian relationship cycle: Crush, Girlfriend, Ex, Best Friend. It has happened to every gay woman I know, including myself.
But as likable as Claire is, her love interest is equally unlikable. Kathryn is Jess's older, somewhat estranged, divorced, and pretty homophobic sister. She moves into Jess and Alex's house (with Claire - due to Claire's aforementioned drama) and promptly accuses Claire and Alex of being too cuddly - because watch out, too many cuddles from another person and your marriage is in the shitter, according to her.
Of course, while this all steps from Kathryn's deep seated insecurities from her own cheating ex-husband, I found her attitude throughout the book to be really difficult to deal with. She's one of those, yell and make assumptions first, ask forgiveness later.
When she sleeps with Claire for the first time, she absolutely panics and tries to overcompensate the exact way you'd expect: she sleeps with a man. In the same house that she and Claire are sharing. Drama, Claire's BFF, ensues. Later, she says the phrase that every gay person has heard at one time or another: "I'm not like you, I'm normal." This phrase, and all of its various incarnations, is just plain frustrating to see. Unfortunately, it also really showcases Kathryn's mean streak.
The thing is, I think we're really meant to understand Kathryn, but I don't. While Claire is snarky, I read Kathryn as just plain mean most of the time. And I get that she was battling internalized homophobia - I know from experience that that can turn people mean and bitter when they don't know who they are or if they try to fight it. And yes, I roll my eyes whenever I read a book where the main characters just flip the switch from straight to gay for one person without any sort of mental emotional debate. In that way, I appreciate Keep Hold for it's honesty. But unfortunately, even in the end, I wasn't a huge fan of Kathryn and so I found it hard to root for the love story.
I would be delighted to read a book of Claire's musings. And if she and Kathryn ever break up...I'm on board for another love story. Hopefully with somebody a little nicer.
Thanks to NetGalley for the book!
October 11, 2015
Posted on my blog here.
I have a confession to make: I finished this book about three weeks ago. Enough time has passed since then, however, that I don’t feel like I can write a regular review. But I did jot some notes down while reading and immediately after finishing the book, so I still want to share those with everyone.
One of my favorite things was that the book was about two mentally ill women. Kathryn has been in therapy for a while by the time the book begins, and Claire, the main character, addresses many of her issues throughout the book. It isn’t often that I’ve read books that have mentally ill characters who actually have their issues acknowledged.
Claire’s friendships were also really awesome. I love books that have strong friendships, where their only main relationship is with the love interest. I did feel that we lost Jess, her best friend, a bit in the middle of the book.
I did have a few minor qualms, such as the fact that I wanted more of Claire’s history beyond just her current relationship with Kathryn and past relationship with Jess. I also felt that there were too many big ‘bad’ things that happened to Claire in the book that made it a bit overdramatic at times. One of these things also wasn’t handled as well as it could have been.
[Trigger Warning: sexual assault] At one point, Claire, who is a nurse, is harshly groped on her breasts by a female prisoner to the point that she is bleeding and bruised. I don’t know if it was because the perpetrator was also female or because there was no penetrative assault, but it is never addressed as a sexual assault when it clearly happened solely to inflict a certain pain upon Claire. It was only ever called an assault, which it clearly was, but the handling felt off to me.
Kathryn’s sexuality wasn’t handled quite the way it could have been either. After sleeping with Claire, she tries to do the least ‘gay’ thing she can do, which is sleeping with a man. This is a pretty common gay panic experience, but Kathryn then seemed like she cared about and enjoyed sex with the guy. She does at one point briefly contemplate whether she could be bisexual, but it’s never confirmed that she’s bi, even though she definitely read as such to me.
3/5 - I had a hard time picking a rating on this, wavering between a 2 and 3. I probably wouldn’t read this again. I think I wanted to like it a lot more than I ultimately did.
I was provided a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have a confession to make: I finished this book about three weeks ago. Enough time has passed since then, however, that I don’t feel like I can write a regular review. But I did jot some notes down while reading and immediately after finishing the book, so I still want to share those with everyone.
One of my favorite things was that the book was about two mentally ill women. Kathryn has been in therapy for a while by the time the book begins, and Claire, the main character, addresses many of her issues throughout the book. It isn’t often that I’ve read books that have mentally ill characters who actually have their issues acknowledged.
Claire’s friendships were also really awesome. I love books that have strong friendships, where their only main relationship is with the love interest. I did feel that we lost Jess, her best friend, a bit in the middle of the book.
I did have a few minor qualms, such as the fact that I wanted more of Claire’s history beyond just her current relationship with Kathryn and past relationship with Jess. I also felt that there were too many big ‘bad’ things that happened to Claire in the book that made it a bit overdramatic at times. One of these things also wasn’t handled as well as it could have been.
[Trigger Warning: sexual assault] At one point, Claire, who is a nurse, is harshly groped on her breasts by a female prisoner to the point that she is bleeding and bruised. I don’t know if it was because the perpetrator was also female or because there was no penetrative assault, but it is never addressed as a sexual assault when it clearly happened solely to inflict a certain pain upon Claire. It was only ever called an assault, which it clearly was, but the handling felt off to me.
Kathryn’s sexuality wasn’t handled quite the way it could have been either. After sleeping with Claire, she tries to do the least ‘gay’ thing she can do, which is sleeping with a man. This is a pretty common gay panic experience, but Kathryn then seemed like she cared about and enjoyed sex with the guy. She does at one point briefly contemplate whether she could be bisexual, but it’s never confirmed that she’s bi, even though she definitely read as such to me.
3/5 - I had a hard time picking a rating on this, wavering between a 2 and 3. I probably wouldn’t read this again. I think I wanted to like it a lot more than I ultimately did.
I was provided a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 4, 2015
Received a copy of the book through Net Galley for an honest review.
The promise of a good story that the synopsis provides is not followed through. Usually when I am reading a book, by the halfway point I form a connection to the characters and start rooting for them but in this book I couldn't find anything to connect to or root for. In-fact I was more interested in the background characters then the main characters.
Claire is a nurse and Kathryn is an accountant, both of them have gotten out of bad relationships recently and are "scarred" because of those relationships. Kathryn has trust issues and sometimes acts like a major homophobe and has never been in a relationship with a woman. Claire blames herself for her ex abandoning her out of the blue and has horrific nightmares because of these issues. Jess, who is Claire's best friend and Kathryn's sister invites them to stay at her house for a multitude of reasons. All of this can still lead to a good story but that didnt happen. There was no lead up to the "relationship", no chemistry that shone through their conversations. The relationship starts because of a drunken kiss, I thought maybe now there will be more chemistry between the characters but I was disappointed once again. The author does not develop the relationship between the characters, and when the relationship does start it has too many disruptions and not enough sweet, romantic moments. I also didn't like how the writer dealt with the psychological issues that Claire faced, no one gets cured from their issues because they had sex with another person. Also, the use of genuinely horrific incidents to further the relationship was very disturbing. The fact that the MCs needed something horrible to happen to the other person to act in favor of a relationship does not bode well. The end was even more unrealistic, in a matter of weeks the MCs relationship progresses and they buy a house together and move in together and talk about marriage and kids, that's too much to soon even after factoring the U-haul factor.
There were many problems with the book but the main problem was that the main characters and their relationship was not well written. I couldn't connect with the characters or the relationship because there was no real character development or relationship development, everything was too abrupt and too overwhelming.
The promise of a good story that the synopsis provides is not followed through. Usually when I am reading a book, by the halfway point I form a connection to the characters and start rooting for them but in this book I couldn't find anything to connect to or root for. In-fact I was more interested in the background characters then the main characters.
Claire is a nurse and Kathryn is an accountant, both of them have gotten out of bad relationships recently and are "scarred" because of those relationships. Kathryn has trust issues and sometimes acts like a major homophobe and has never been in a relationship with a woman. Claire blames herself for her ex abandoning her out of the blue and has horrific nightmares because of these issues. Jess, who is Claire's best friend and Kathryn's sister invites them to stay at her house for a multitude of reasons. All of this can still lead to a good story but that didnt happen. There was no lead up to the "relationship", no chemistry that shone through their conversations. The relationship starts because of a drunken kiss, I thought maybe now there will be more chemistry between the characters but I was disappointed once again. The author does not develop the relationship between the characters, and when the relationship does start it has too many disruptions and not enough sweet, romantic moments. I also didn't like how the writer dealt with the psychological issues that Claire faced, no one gets cured from their issues because they had sex with another person. Also, the use of genuinely horrific incidents to further the relationship was very disturbing. The fact that the MCs needed something horrible to happen to the other person to act in favor of a relationship does not bode well. The end was even more unrealistic, in a matter of weeks the MCs relationship progresses and they buy a house together and move in together and talk about marriage and kids, that's too much to soon even after factoring the U-haul factor.
There were many problems with the book but the main problem was that the main characters and their relationship was not well written. I couldn't connect with the characters or the relationship because there was no real character development or relationship development, everything was too abrupt and too overwhelming.
October 17, 2015
Read the full review on Bookaholics Not-So-Anonymous.
Note: This ARC was provided by Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
Keep Hold is a standalone F/F contemporary romance by author Michelle Grubb and is a love story between thirty-one-year-old Claire O'Malley, an emergency room nurse who broke up with her girlfriend four months ago, and thirty-nine-year-old Kathryn Mercer, an accountant who divorced her boring husband three years ago. Claire and Kathryn are tied together by way of Jess, Kathryn's younger sister and Claire's ex-girlfriend, who is now married to Alex and expecting twins. The story presents an interesting twist in that Kathryn has always been heterosexual plus their attraction to one another could affect their respective relationships with Jess. The fact that all four of these women are currently living under the same roof (since Claire and Kathryn both have housing problems) complicates things further.
Claire's issues with her recent breakup are affecting both her mental and physical health, but while pursuing a secret affair with Kathryn is stressful, it also helps her make certain realizations with as far as her past relationship is concerned and what she wants from being with Kathryn. Then there's Kathryn, a woman who has been straight for all her life and then begins to develop feelings for her sister's ex. The possibility that she's actually a lesbian is one that she's not all that thrilled about and it's a perfectly understandable reaction. How she and Claire deal with their respective and joint issues are what make this book an interesting and enjoyable read. There were a lot of humorous moments mixed in with the much heavier times the cast of characters faced, and while it did have issues, Keep Hold is a solid four-star read. ♥
Note: This ARC was provided by Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
Keep Hold is a standalone F/F contemporary romance by author Michelle Grubb and is a love story between thirty-one-year-old Claire O'Malley, an emergency room nurse who broke up with her girlfriend four months ago, and thirty-nine-year-old Kathryn Mercer, an accountant who divorced her boring husband three years ago. Claire and Kathryn are tied together by way of Jess, Kathryn's younger sister and Claire's ex-girlfriend, who is now married to Alex and expecting twins. The story presents an interesting twist in that Kathryn has always been heterosexual plus their attraction to one another could affect their respective relationships with Jess. The fact that all four of these women are currently living under the same roof (since Claire and Kathryn both have housing problems) complicates things further.
Claire's issues with her recent breakup are affecting both her mental and physical health, but while pursuing a secret affair with Kathryn is stressful, it also helps her make certain realizations with as far as her past relationship is concerned and what she wants from being with Kathryn. Then there's Kathryn, a woman who has been straight for all her life and then begins to develop feelings for her sister's ex. The possibility that she's actually a lesbian is one that she's not all that thrilled about and it's a perfectly understandable reaction. How she and Claire deal with their respective and joint issues are what make this book an interesting and enjoyable read. There were a lot of humorous moments mixed in with the much heavier times the cast of characters faced, and while it did have issues, Keep Hold is a solid four-star read. ♥
October 9, 2015
I really enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised that it was located in Melbourne Australia. As I am from Melbourne myself I enjoyed reading a good book from Oz!
I thought this book was real, the characters weren’t perfect and I felt the emotions felt real. Yes Kathryn did have her moments of acting stupidly at certain points of this book but I think her actions were very realistic for a late 30’s women who thought she was straight struggling with her sexuality. Even though these reactions were real the author was walking a thin line with some of Kathryn’s actions as you found yourself disliking her which I think for a main character is something you need to avoid. I found myself on a roller coaster of feelings jumping from dislike to like. I thought the author could have shown more moments of why Kathryn is really a good person who was just freaking out.
You couldn’t help but love Claire and I loved the supporting characters, I thought they were great addition to the book. All in all I loved this book, great read with interesting issues to work through.
I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review.
I thought this book was real, the characters weren’t perfect and I felt the emotions felt real. Yes Kathryn did have her moments of acting stupidly at certain points of this book but I think her actions were very realistic for a late 30’s women who thought she was straight struggling with her sexuality. Even though these reactions were real the author was walking a thin line with some of Kathryn’s actions as you found yourself disliking her which I think for a main character is something you need to avoid. I found myself on a roller coaster of feelings jumping from dislike to like. I thought the author could have shown more moments of why Kathryn is really a good person who was just freaking out.
You couldn’t help but love Claire and I loved the supporting characters, I thought they were great addition to the book. All in all I loved this book, great read with interesting issues to work through.
I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review.
October 14, 2015
Book supplied by NetGalley...
Wow... I absolutely loved this book, from the very first page to the last. It had everything I look for in a romance novel. It was humorous, the chemistry between the characters was good and believable. The plot was believable as well, it all seemed to fall into place. I would have given it five stars until the middle of the book, I didn't like how Katheryn dated a guy for a while. Her feelings for Clare was so obvious that sometimes it was hard to believe that Jess and Alex had no idea what was going on between them. But Kathryn with Tony, I wasn't ok with that, especially how Clare just took it, and forgave her instantly. Clare was only mad for a day or two and then it was like it never happened. Because of that situation I removed a star, but I would read another book by this author, and highly recommend it.
Wow... I absolutely loved this book, from the very first page to the last. It had everything I look for in a romance novel. It was humorous, the chemistry between the characters was good and believable. The plot was believable as well, it all seemed to fall into place. I would have given it five stars until the middle of the book, I didn't like how Katheryn dated a guy for a while. Her feelings for Clare was so obvious that sometimes it was hard to believe that Jess and Alex had no idea what was going on between them. But Kathryn with Tony, I wasn't ok with that, especially how Clare just took it, and forgave her instantly. Clare was only mad for a day or two and then it was like it never happened. Because of that situation I removed a star, but I would read another book by this author, and highly recommend it.
August 11, 2017
Claire O’Malley is no longer with her girlfriend of four years and is invited to stay at her friends' place. Not to mention one of these friends is her ex, her ex's sister, Kathryn Mercer, is living with them as well. Claire sees no traces of the frumpy and boring person that Kathryn used to be.
Claire, Jess and Alex have an interesting dynamic and not many would understand their friendship and relationship with each other which even Jess' sister didn't.
I found that that the characters were likeable, however, it was hard to like Kathryn at first since she seemed so judgmental and jumped to conclusions on more than one occasion.
Keep Hold is not my favourite from this author but it is still a decent enough read.
Review also posted here: http://wp.me/p4Pp9O-EH
Claire, Jess and Alex have an interesting dynamic and not many would understand their friendship and relationship with each other which even Jess' sister didn't.
I found that that the characters were likeable, however, it was hard to like Kathryn at first since she seemed so judgmental and jumped to conclusions on more than one occasion.
Keep Hold is not my favourite from this author but it is still a decent enough read.
Review also posted here: http://wp.me/p4Pp9O-EH
September 8, 2015
Netgalley
I really liked the beginning of this, it was refreshing. Fast paced, I enjoyed the writing and the characters.
As the book progressed my enthusiasm decreased, the characters were a bit stereotypical, as was the story. But I still liked the characters.
It takes place in Australia and the language reflects that, which was fun. Unfortunately the story is so closely told that otherwise a sense of place does not develop.
I really liked the beginning of this, it was refreshing. Fast paced, I enjoyed the writing and the characters.
As the book progressed my enthusiasm decreased, the characters were a bit stereotypical, as was the story. But I still liked the characters.
It takes place in Australia and the language reflects that, which was fun. Unfortunately the story is so closely told that otherwise a sense of place does not develop.
November 19, 2015
I thought this was a pretty basic story. I liked the characters and the overall plot. However, it was a bit of a stretch to believe that one of the main characters suddenly found herself attracted to another woman for seemingly no apparent reason that possibly a physical connection. Although, I suppose that's why she went back to men for a period of time. I really liked the main lesbian couple and thought they were well drawn. I'd recommend this to others if you're looking for a quick read.
March 22, 2016
What a fantastic book, I've read it in just a few short hours as I couldn't put it down. I will admit that at first I did get confused with the names and who was who but as I read it fell into place.
I ally enjoyed the main protagonist Claire, although she must be one of the unluckiest characters I have read. I loved the tension between Kathryn and Claire and enjoyed the ending, even though it was a bit fairytale.
I will defiantly seek out more of Grubbs books.
I ally enjoyed the main protagonist Claire, although she must be one of the unluckiest characters I have read. I loved the tension between Kathryn and Claire and enjoyed the ending, even though it was a bit fairytale.
I will defiantly seek out more of Grubbs books.
October 9, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Fresh, amusing and the characters could be real people.
I think a true review comes from someone who actually buys the book. I did and it was money well spent. I giggled on the bus on the way to work and was never without my kindle.
I'm looking forward to Michelle's next book.
I think a true review comes from someone who actually buys the book. I did and it was money well spent. I giggled on the bus on the way to work and was never without my kindle.
I'm looking forward to Michelle's next book.
September 25, 2015
I loved Michelle's first book and this one didn't disappoint either. A different feel and a much more classic romance. The author has a great sense of humour and an entertaining style of writing. I will defiantly read more.
September 24, 2015
Finally, a lesfic book with real characters and some laughs.
Light hearted and good fun but touching and real in some places.
A great read.
Light hearted and good fun but touching and real in some places.
A great read.
November 8, 2015
Review can be found here at Blow Pop's Book Reviews.
December 18, 2015
I laughed at some parts, got teary-eyed at some and cheered at happy moments. Overall it's a well written, lighthearted read.
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