Hold My Heart

The Laguna Beach Series, Book 1

By: Nikki Larson

Narrated by: Lorana Hoopes

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

The last thing Chloe Savage needs is a boyfriend. But she’s caught the eye of Travis Goldman, and the more he gets to know her the more he realizes she is a lot like the heroine in his book, the girl of his dreams.

Fiercely independent and struggling with inexplicable health issues, Chloe is determined to get her own place and strive for contentment on her own, without the help of any guy.

Travis Goldman’s dream is to become a best-selling author. He’s been working on a young adult fantasy novel and now he is ready to submit his manuscript to eager agents.

When they meet at a Bible study, sparks don’t exactly fly. Chloe is attending out of a desire to please her grandmother, and, if she must admit, out of her own (mild) curiosity. Travis thrives off the excitement of socializing with many people, and of delving a little deeper into the Bible.

Whitney, a mutual friend, can see that Chloe and Travis are perfect for each other, but Chloe is determined to keep Travis at arm’s length.

That is, until the unthinkable happens....

A sweet, clean romance.

By Christian romance author, Nikki Larson - glorifying God by weaving biblical truth into compelling fiction.

©2018 Andrea Ludwig (P)2020 Andrea Ludwig

Hard to review

I didn’t really connect with the characters. So many issues are covered in the story but the plot seems convoluted and undeveloped.
I received a complimentary copy of the audio book; I was not required to write a favorable review. All opinions in this review are my own.

She must live through the pain before knowing her answers.

I found myself not liking Chloe, feeling that she was too self absorbed. Then as life brought difficulties and pain that she didn’t expect and couldn’t remove with her previous assurance, she found what faith & trust really was.
The narration was clear and flowed smoothly as it added an extra touch to the story experience.
I was given a review copy of this title and am willing posting my thoughts.

Fantastic Moving Story

This story was amazing. Lorana Hoopes does a fantastic job of making the story and characters come alive. I cried and laughed and anger shot up at times. The story is moving your emotions all around. I loved listening and being able with the help of Lorana Hoopes voice to imagine what each character looked like and their attitudes.

Good story

This was a sweet, clean romance. What a great book to listen to. The story kept my attention on Chloe & Travis’ journey. When you least expect it, you find love, as the saying goes. Lorana Hoopes does a fantastic job narrating.

Sweet romance

Chloe is suffering from so many aches and pains. Her immune system is a mess, and having autoimmune diseases is not an easy thing to deal with. But she is determined not to be dependent on anyone! Her faith in God is guiding her. Travis comes to one of the bible classes and there is instant chemistry. But neither of them is ready for a relationship. Or are they? Nikki Larson writes a wonderful love story. Her characters are real, have relevant issues and let us take their journey through life. Chloe at times is frustrating, very demanding but I like that she is aware of her issues. Travis is a sweet man, and I love how his problems are eventually dealt with together. This is a good listen, brings realistic problems to light and is a wonderful love story.

Lorana Hoopes gives a fantastic narrative to the story. She is in tune with the characters and brings their personalities to life. I enjoy her voices and always look forward to her performances.

The book evolves and becomes much better

I had a hard time with this book. It was slow going for the first. Chloe was so self absorbed and overthinking everything she had a hard time even carrying on a conversation. It almost seemed like she was using her Bible as a crutch. She had a form of survivor guilt and totally closed off any chances of a relationship. Her health had also been poor with allergies, migraines, arthritis and fibromyalgia, which caused some of her self absorption and introspection. Her relationship with Travis started slowly but he somehow was able to work around her barriers. When I read other reviews about mental illness, I thought it was about her because she had a boatload of different anxieties. I wasn’t expecting it to include Travis. In the end it got through her self-absorption and made her look and care for someone else. This definitely is not an easy fluff book but hang in there a lot gets resolved.

Clean romance

Hold My Heart was a good, clean romance, but it was a little too heavy on scripture for my liking. Those that enjoy a sweet Christian-themed book should really enjoy listening to this. Lorana Hoopes is a good narrator.

finding true love

Clhoe is been fighting some health problems and she is afraid to be dependent. When she meets Travis at church she doesn't want to feel attracted to him but the connection exist. Can Travis past the walls in Clhoe heart? a sweet love story

Clean, Christian read

I enjoyed bits and pieces of this. Author dealt with a lot of issues and due to that some of it felt undone. I did enjoy the scripture text and Christian based of the book.

I received a free copy and have left my honest review.

Good read (hear)

I got this on audible. Good read with unique story line. I like Nikki Larson and Lorana Hoopes.