What do you think?
Rate this book
Hold U Down: Triple Crown Collection
Robbing men, getting money, and living lavishly is all they know. For Unique, Kiara, Kay Kay, and Zoe, tomorrow isn't promised, love doesn't exist, and men ain't worth a thing. Stealing cars is their hustle, and they are at the top of their game, but jealousy, greed, and envy are lurking in the shadows. Unique lives by the motto, Only the strong shall survive and the weak shall fall, but the game of love has won her over. Once she decides to leave the only hustle she knows for the man she loves, her drama begins. When loyalty amongst family is questioned and their fate is unanswered, who will hold whom down?
1 pages, MP3 CD
First published June 30, 2002
59 people are currently reading
2352 people want to read
About the author
Keisha Ervin
59 books757 followersHailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Keisha Ervin is a prolific writer and devoted mother. Her success has drawn much deserved attention to herself and her hometown.
She is the author of the National Best-Sellers Chyna Black, Me & My Boyfriend, Mina's Joint and Hold U Down, as well as the novel Torn and the short story After the Storm, featured in the Street Love anthology.
She is the author of the National Best-Sellers Chyna Black, Me & My Boyfriend, Mina's Joint and Hold U Down, as well as the novel Torn and the short story After the Storm, featured in the Street Love anthology.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 17, 2020
First one by Keisha Ervin. I'd been hearing she was a force in the street lit game.
Her story idea in this piece is really engaging. Unique and Bigg's love affair was the best part.
I was thrown when she added Zoe and Legend in as MCs. The timing was sort of awkward.
The story did hold my attention. The problem I had was the holes and the character make up of Zoe and Legend. I'll explain.
There were things that happened in this novel that had me asking, "How did he/she know that?" When I ask those questions there are holes.
Zoe and Legend were just Unique and Bigg with a different look and story. They talked the same. Zoe acted just like Unique. Legend acted just like Bigg. Their speech patterns were identical. "Don't make me beat your ..." That was a classic line for both male characters. The girls were the same way.
I generally don't like when authors try to blatantly hide something from the reader, such as the ending in this one, but... Keisha Ervin did her thing. It was okay. Since Zoe and Legend has such big roles, why weren't they given a chapter at the end? Could've been a word count thing with the publisher or something but it would've balanced the story more.
Her story idea in this piece is really engaging. Unique and Bigg's love affair was the best part.
I was thrown when she added Zoe and Legend in as MCs. The timing was sort of awkward.
The story did hold my attention. The problem I had was the holes and the character make up of Zoe and Legend. I'll explain.
There were things that happened in this novel that had me asking, "How did he/she know that?" When I ask those questions there are holes.
Zoe and Legend were just Unique and Bigg with a different look and story. They talked the same. Zoe acted just like Unique. Legend acted just like Bigg. Their speech patterns were identical. "Don't make me beat your ..." That was a classic line for both male characters. The girls were the same way.
I generally don't like when authors try to blatantly hide something from the reader, such as the ending in this one, but... Keisha Ervin did her thing. It was okay. Since Zoe and Legend has such big roles, why weren't they given a chapter at the end? Could've been a word count thing with the publisher or something but it would've balanced the story more.
January 18, 2020
Oh, dear Lord, that was torture. I'm not a fan of urban fic, but I can push through if the writing is decent enough. This was bad. So, so, so bad. I've suffered enough because of this book and don't feel like wasting time shaping this into an actual prose-y review, so you get a list.
1. Unique: This dummy gets her own section. We're constantly told that Unique is this bad chick who plays men, is rolling in dough and has high-class, luxurious taste. We're shown everything but. She's constantly five steps behind what's going on.
For example, in one scene, she and Bigg (don't get me started on these dumb af names) are making a deal with a connection in Louisiana. The two men are VERY CLEARLY talking in code. Even my square-ass can pick up on that. But Unique starts mouthing off about how they didn't travel all that way to talk about "candy" and demands the dealer stops wasting their time. LIKE?!?!?!? I thought she was so hood? I thought she knew the game?! How is she making this rookie-ass mistake??
Still, she has the nerve to walk around like she's some kind of bad-ass criminal. A real G in a sea of posers and wannabes. Good God, the only reason her car-stealing ring never got caught is because their marks are dumber than they are. They talk about one of their heists, IN FULL DETAIL, in the middle of LAX. She pulls middle-school crimes like switching price tags on expensive merchandise and thinks the sales associates will just let her get away with that. She dumb!
Beyond her weak criminal instincts, she just acts like a weak, silly girl. She pouts when she can't buy an expensive purse. Is she loaded or not!?!? Go back and buy that shit the next day! She preens because Bigg called her pretty while chewing her out over the aforementioned dealer blunder, oblivious to the fact that, with her out of the room, he and the dealer could be cutting her out of the profits. I mean, that's what I would do. Cut her dumb-ass out completely! She's a liability. And nearly every other character in this book pulls some scam on her. Her cousin, her ex, her sister. She's the biggest mark in the book!
Winter (i.e. The Coldest Winter Ever) would be disgusted with this faker.
2. Beer taste on a champagne budget: I've lived in St. Louis damn near 30 years. It's not L.A. or NYC, but it has its luxuries. Unique and her crew get nowhere near them!
One of the appeals of these books is reading about people making crazy amounts of money in risky ventures and spending it in ways you can only fantasize about. We're supposed to believe that this group is made up of high rollers with expensive taste. But Cezar, the ringleader, lives in a $500K house in Chesterfield?! And they club at T Billy Buffet's?? And Unique brags about her loft on Washington Avenue ... with a $2,500 rent??????
I know I'm bougie af, but come on! Chesterfield is just the suburbs. Like, your dentist would live there. Nice houses, but basic when it comes to wealth. T Billy Buffet's, a.k.a. "that old people's club" as my sister calls it, is a club in a strip mall next to a McDonald's and a Dollar Tree. And am I supposed to be wowed by Unique's rent? That's on the high-end of rents for St. Louis (average for other places), but again, not out of reach for a lot of people. I thought the woman regularly spent $10,000 on clothes and shoes! What's $2,500 for a loft? (That's another thing. This bitch is renting!?)
It's more of the what I mentioned before. We're told how these people are, but they behave a completely different way. I'm constantly pulled out of the story because things don't fit or make sense. There are rich areas in St. Louis with actual mansions, such as Clayton and Ladue. There are also expensive luxury lofts you can buy for more than $1 million. And wouldn't this tight clique of dealers have their own private clubhouse? It would be exclusive, with security, but still be luxurious and fancy. Hell, they got money. Hire a cook, a maid, a full-staff! Wouldn't that be more fun to read about than an over-40 club located in Overland Plaza? Everyone in this book is so new money; all these designers are mentioned but it's clear they don't know what actual wealth (or "ballin,'" excuse me,) is.
(Also, not to knock the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but I'm assuming that Unique and Zoe are going there because that's the only place they can get into. Surely it can't be because they can't afford any of the other college or universities in the area. Saint Louis University. Washington University in St. Louis. Fontbonne. All bougie, rich-people options. Just sayin'.)
3. Too many of the wrong details and not enough of the right ones: If the author spent half the time developing the plot as she did describing what everyone was wearing, this could have been a slightly better book. We're frequently updated on what all these characters were wearing (down to the accessories!); yet, entire plot developments, such as Unique and Bigg's relationship, Zoe and Legend's relationship, a murder and a molestation reveal, are skimmed over in a few sentences. THAT's the shit we care about! In fact, the murder mystery could have been really interesting had the author spent more time developing it. There were a lot of suspects she could have set up as the real killer. I liked reading about that more than whatever outfits these fools were wearing.
4. Everyone talked like Cita from BET: It was annoying and corny af. It also made no sense. Even Legend talked like he was some gang banger when on the job.
Slang is also a quick way to date your book. This book feels so early 2000s, I thought I was having flashbacks to freshman year of college. I swear, D4L started playing in the background every time I opened the book. (Actually, this may be the one thing the book did right. Say whatever about the phony characters; the setting felt authentic!)
5. Bad plot: This book draggggggggggggggggs for 80 percent of its length before swerving all over the place like a drunk-driving toddler in the end. We have to read about Bigg and Unique's boring relationship (they fight, they have gross sex, they fight, they have more gross sex, and so on and so forth), as well as Zoe and Legend's boring relationship (they fight, they have gross sex, they—... you know what? You get it). The author tries to pull these crazy switches and reveals toward the end, but anyone who's read a book before will see them all coming from 20 yards away. By the end, I was just tired and ready for the book to end.
There's other stuff, but I'm so over this mess. Unique, girl, you better be glad everyone you know is an idiot. You're a medium-sized fish in a tiny puddle.
TL;DR? Fiction's one job is to tell you an entertaining lie and I couldn't believe a damn thing this book said.
1. Unique: This dummy gets her own section. We're constantly told that Unique is this bad chick who plays men, is rolling in dough and has high-class, luxurious taste. We're shown everything but. She's constantly five steps behind what's going on.
For example, in one scene, she and Bigg (don't get me started on these dumb af names) are making a deal with a connection in Louisiana. The two men are VERY CLEARLY talking in code. Even my square-ass can pick up on that. But Unique starts mouthing off about how they didn't travel all that way to talk about "candy" and demands the dealer stops wasting their time. LIKE?!?!?!? I thought she was so hood? I thought she knew the game?! How is she making this rookie-ass mistake??
Still, she has the nerve to walk around like she's some kind of bad-ass criminal. A real G in a sea of posers and wannabes. Good God, the only reason her car-stealing ring never got caught is because their marks are dumber than they are. They talk about one of their heists, IN FULL DETAIL, in the middle of LAX. She pulls middle-school crimes like switching price tags on expensive merchandise and thinks the sales associates will just let her get away with that. She dumb!
Beyond her weak criminal instincts, she just acts like a weak, silly girl. She pouts when she can't buy an expensive purse. Is she loaded or not!?!? Go back and buy that shit the next day! She preens because Bigg called her pretty while chewing her out over the aforementioned dealer blunder, oblivious to the fact that, with her out of the room, he and the dealer could be cutting her out of the profits. I mean, that's what I would do. Cut her dumb-ass out completely! She's a liability. And nearly every other character in this book pulls some scam on her. Her cousin, her ex, her sister. She's the biggest mark in the book!
Winter (i.e. The Coldest Winter Ever) would be disgusted with this faker.
2. Beer taste on a champagne budget: I've lived in St. Louis damn near 30 years. It's not L.A. or NYC, but it has its luxuries. Unique and her crew get nowhere near them!
One of the appeals of these books is reading about people making crazy amounts of money in risky ventures and spending it in ways you can only fantasize about. We're supposed to believe that this group is made up of high rollers with expensive taste. But Cezar, the ringleader, lives in a $500K house in Chesterfield?! And they club at T Billy Buffet's?? And Unique brags about her loft on Washington Avenue ... with a $2,500 rent??????
I know I'm bougie af, but come on! Chesterfield is just the suburbs. Like, your dentist would live there. Nice houses, but basic when it comes to wealth. T Billy Buffet's, a.k.a. "that old people's club" as my sister calls it, is a club in a strip mall next to a McDonald's and a Dollar Tree. And am I supposed to be wowed by Unique's rent? That's on the high-end of rents for St. Louis (average for other places), but again, not out of reach for a lot of people. I thought the woman regularly spent $10,000 on clothes and shoes! What's $2,500 for a loft? (That's another thing. This bitch is renting!?)
It's more of the what I mentioned before. We're told how these people are, but they behave a completely different way. I'm constantly pulled out of the story because things don't fit or make sense. There are rich areas in St. Louis with actual mansions, such as Clayton and Ladue. There are also expensive luxury lofts you can buy for more than $1 million. And wouldn't this tight clique of dealers have their own private clubhouse? It would be exclusive, with security, but still be luxurious and fancy. Hell, they got money. Hire a cook, a maid, a full-staff! Wouldn't that be more fun to read about than an over-40 club located in Overland Plaza? Everyone in this book is so new money; all these designers are mentioned but it's clear they don't know what actual wealth (or "ballin,'" excuse me,) is.
(Also, not to knock the University of Missouri-St. Louis, but I'm assuming that Unique and Zoe are going there because that's the only place they can get into. Surely it can't be because they can't afford any of the other college or universities in the area. Saint Louis University. Washington University in St. Louis. Fontbonne. All bougie, rich-people options. Just sayin'.)
3. Too many of the wrong details and not enough of the right ones: If the author spent half the time developing the plot as she did describing what everyone was wearing, this could have been a slightly better book. We're frequently updated on what all these characters were wearing (down to the accessories!); yet, entire plot developments, such as Unique and Bigg's relationship, Zoe and Legend's relationship, a murder and a molestation reveal, are skimmed over in a few sentences. THAT's the shit we care about! In fact, the murder mystery could have been really interesting had the author spent more time developing it. There were a lot of suspects she could have set up as the real killer. I liked reading about that more than whatever outfits these fools were wearing.
4. Everyone talked like Cita from BET: It was annoying and corny af. It also made no sense. Even Legend talked like he was some gang banger when on the job.
Slang is also a quick way to date your book. This book feels so early 2000s, I thought I was having flashbacks to freshman year of college. I swear, D4L started playing in the background every time I opened the book. (Actually, this may be the one thing the book did right. Say whatever about the phony characters; the setting felt authentic!)
5. Bad plot: This book draggggggggggggggggs for 80 percent of its length before swerving all over the place like a drunk-driving toddler in the end. We have to read about Bigg and Unique's boring relationship (they fight, they have gross sex, they fight, they have more gross sex, and so on and so forth), as well as Zoe and Legend's boring relationship (they fight, they have gross sex, they—... you know what? You get it). The author tries to pull these crazy switches and reveals toward the end, but anyone who's read a book before will see them all coming from 20 yards away. By the end, I was just tired and ready for the book to end.
There's other stuff, but I'm so over this mess. Unique, girl, you better be glad everyone you know is an idiot. You're a medium-sized fish in a tiny puddle.
TL;DR? Fiction's one job is to tell you an entertaining lie and I couldn't believe a damn thing this book said.
October 26, 2010
♥ GREAT BOOK ! ♥ Keisha Is A Beast ! ♥
November 14, 2025
Reading this again made me realize the females really got on my nerves. Like I kept trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, and they stayed doing something to irritate me. And on top of that, there were some loopholes in the story that had me questioning a lot. Like it didn’t make sense.
But one thing you definitely are going to get is drama. The mess was constant, the emotions were high, and half the characters were creating problems for themselves.
Overall, this was an okay read. It had the chaos, the street vibes, and the drama I expect from urban fiction.
3.75 ⭐️
✨Nostalgic November Read✨
But one thing you definitely are going to get is drama. The mess was constant, the emotions were high, and half the characters were creating problems for themselves.
Overall, this was an okay read. It had the chaos, the street vibes, and the drama I expect from urban fiction.
3.75 ⭐️
✨Nostalgic November Read✨
Read
August 5, 2024I had this book feels like forever. I stumbled upon it while unpacking my books to shelf them at my new spot a few weeks ago & was amazed that I still hadn't read it yet.
I'll crack it open soon..until then.. BRB to add review Later.
I'll crack it open soon..until then.. BRB to add review Later.
August 15, 2017
Definitely a good read
Started out a little slow but after a couple of chapters I couldn't put the book down. A big fan of this author!
Started out a little slow but after a couple of chapters I couldn't put the book down. A big fan of this author!
May 9, 2019
Loved it
May 13, 2019
The name of this book should have been Karma because baby evey one got just what they deserved. This book had a few twist and was over all very entertaining.
Read
August 12, 2019Im pretty sure i read this book but didn't mark it accordingly.
Read
December 9, 2008Th ebook im reviewing is called Hold U Down by Keisha Ervin. The main characters in the book are Unique, Zoe , Big ,and Legend. Unique is one thee bossy ones she likes thing done ehr way. Shes a con artsist steals cars for a living and sells them to others not thinking about the harm shes causing to others.One day she realizes that what shes doing isnt all that great, the money, cars , and nice life style isnt all she need. She wants love, she told her girls how she was feeling but they just ignored it Unique was always the one to say love is nothing and boys arent shi* but hoes.Her mother had schizophrenia all of her life, got raped and got pregnant with Unique. She hates Nique for the fact that she reminds her of the rape. Unique also has a little sister Name Patience. Mother got taken away to the hospital when she was still youn., they lost their home so Unique had to grow up faster and take care of her little sister, feeling obligated. She became a Car thief, With her 3 other cousins Kay Kay, Kiara and Zoe. She also hooked up with this Man Name Tone. Who helped her up, treated her even rented her own apartment. Everything come with a Price, Tone will double cross her. She Never believed in love, the only love she had was for her paper. She always said love looses everyone so she has no love for anyone but her family Til one day she meets Biggs. Just released from jail good looking hustler but different from the other. They deal with each other like in the streets. Unique and Big end up falling in love and killing the guy that was giving them a hrd time basically he was acting fake his name was naSheed they ended up killing him and living happily ever after. my opinion about this book was that was it was okayy alot of stuff that happen in the book cant happen so it kinda made em not wanna read it.
October 18, 2013
Hold u down is a fiction book. The main characters are Unique, Zoe, Bigg, and Legend. Unique is the bossy one of the group and has had a bad past and is now stealing cars for a living to make money. Her mom gave up on her when she was born because her mom was raped and got pregnant with unique and her mom said that she doesn't want her because when she looks at her it reminds her of getting raped. Unique was dating a guy named Tone that gave her everything she needed while she was stealing cars. He provided her with an apartment and all the stuff she would need to live.
Unique, and Zoe went to the club one night to hook up with some guys and find so hustlers to find a job to go steal cars. She ended up running into a guy named Bigg that was recently let out of jail and was out to begin dealing drugs again. Unique and Bigg hooked up and later in the book she decides that she is going to stop stealing cars because she wants to marry Bigg the man of her dreams. Zoe hooks up with this guy named Legend that was an undercover cop that was on the hunt for Bigg because he was still in the business of dealing drugs.
I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that likes books with a little twist to it. i hate the part that they ended up killing the guy that was Biggs best friend for a long time and he ended up ratting Bigg out.
Unique, and Zoe went to the club one night to hook up with some guys and find so hustlers to find a job to go steal cars. She ended up running into a guy named Bigg that was recently let out of jail and was out to begin dealing drugs again. Unique and Bigg hooked up and later in the book she decides that she is going to stop stealing cars because she wants to marry Bigg the man of her dreams. Zoe hooks up with this guy named Legend that was an undercover cop that was on the hunt for Bigg because he was still in the business of dealing drugs.
I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone that likes books with a little twist to it. i hate the part that they ended up killing the guy that was Biggs best friend for a long time and he ended up ratting Bigg out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2008
Keisha done it again liked this book had me on the edge of my seat to the end. Nique, Zoe, Kay Kay and Kiara was all about there money no matter what falling in love for them was out of the question but, Nique meet Bigg a big tymer all about his money and for sure wanted to make Nique his. She put up a big front but, at the end he got her to fall in love with him and he so fall in love with her. Mainly it was jeasouly that took over with Kiara she hated that Nique abandomed them for Bigg so she set out to get back at Nique no matter what. Zoe also found herself falling in love with Legend a man with two personally the gansta Legend but, also the FBI agent that was there to see if he can catch Bigg up to his old tricks. Now NaSheed was Bigg's side kick home boy, friends but, NaSheed was out for himself no matter what he wasn't going back to jail and the only way that was going to happen was to snitch on Bigg but, after he couldn't find anything on Bigg he set him up to dry while NaSheed hit on Nique while Bigg in jail then NaSheed ran off when he seen that Bigg wasn't going to stay locked up to long. At the end I was a little sad but, it all payed off Keisha set it off right at the end had me suprised at how it ended loved this book Keisha done it again.
November 5, 2014
I love this book, I've read it more than I care to say. This book is full of passion and excitement. The reason I've read this book so many times is because I love reading about the romance between Bigg and Unique bloom.WOW. This was a juicy love story. I have not read a story where mental illness was a part of the plot. I loved most of the characters in the book especially Legend. I love what he stood for and the fact that he held on to his convictions. Unique was more than a little crazy herself, but her and Bigg made a beautiful couple. I loved how the story ended. This is a definite reread. Highly recommended.
May 22, 2016
In this game only the fittest survive. Her cousin Kiara was scandalous she neglected her daughter Arissa her sister Kay Kay always took care of her. Bigg also had issues with Bipolar disorder and being tested and beaten by staff at 12 years old by his mom he had a terrible childhood. Patience was molested by Tone Unique boyfriend and was told not to tell and threatened to hurt her and her sister. Then he had the nerve to record it and put on DVD he degraded Patience took away her innocence.
October 21, 2019
I didn't like Unique.
It's hard reading a book when u don't like the main character. I did not like Unique at all. She was a loud mouth and disrespectful. She got in my last nerves. I loved bigg he was a good dude. Over all a decent read.
It's hard reading a book when u don't like the main character. I did not like Unique at all. She was a loud mouth and disrespectful. She got in my last nerves. I loved bigg he was a good dude. Over all a decent read.
November 30, 2007
I just stated this book but so far It is very ghood it lets females know that you don't need a man for everything you can do bad all by yourself.
Want to read
February 23, 2008this book was great i love it
Read
February 11, 2009I liked this book a lot, I enjoyed all the charcters and how they played off one another, It was fast paced and I enjoyed it
Read
May 22, 2009Great book :]
October 27, 2009
Another great from the fav. other Keisha Ervin.
Read
December 7, 2010This author is great. all of her books are interesting.
December 13, 2010
this book is dope!!!!
ilove this book
even niya likes this book
ilove this book
even niya likes this book
September 9, 2011
This book reminded me of true to the game and I loved the fact that everyone had a good ending
February 18, 2018
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Another Keisha Ervin Classic. I have read this book several times and I know I will again. Your books pull you in from page 1 and I love it.
Another Keisha Ervin Classic. I have read this book several times and I know I will again. Your books pull you in from page 1 and I love it.
January 13, 2012
Yet again another good book by Keisha Ervin!
December 5, 2012
I won't read but it' not working
March 28, 2015
this book was so good
February 6, 2016
I almost cried reading this. With the way Unique was treated by her mom and Patience going through the ordeal she went through. I epically loved the ending, so not expected but well worth it.
July 7, 2016
that ending got me.
March 27, 2009
*book iz krazy hot*love keisha's book's all of of them i've read kept my attention the whole time*
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews