Hold On

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Since she was young, Cher Rivers knew she was not the kind of girl who got what she wanted. A girl who could hope. A girl who could dream. She knew a happily ever after just wasn't in the cards for her. In love for years with the last bastion of the 'burg's eligible bachelors, Garrett Merrick, Cher worked hard at making him laugh. Being one of the guys. Having him in her life the only way she could. All this, knowing he was in love with another woman.

The Merrick family is known for loving deep. So when Cecelia Merrick was murdered, it marked the Merricks in a way none of them recovered from. Both Cecelia's children found love. Both turned their backs on it. But Garrett "Merry" Merrick knew in his soul: The woman he divorced years ago was the one for him. Until the night when Cher took Garrett's back, and things changed.

The Merrick family loves deep. They also protect fiercely. And with his eyes finally open, Garrett sees the woman who truly is for him, and he goes after her.

©2015 Kristen Ashley (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Very good addition to the series :)

4 stars

This was a very good story. I wasn't sure if I'd like Cher and Merry as a couple but once I started reading I found that I really like them together.

Cher has had a rough life but has made the best she could out of what she has. Cher got pregnant at a young age by her boyfriend who then took all her money and ran out on her. She didn't have much so she became a stripper in order to give her son, Ethan, the best life she could. Then she fell for a man that she thought was good but ended up being a serial killer (see book #1 in the series, For You). While that sucked, she found friends and a better life as a result but she didn't have a man and figured she'd never be lucky enough to actually find a good man that would love her.

Merry is a police officer and the brother to Rocky (the heroine from book #3, Golden Trail). He was married but divorced his wife, Mia due to some issues left over from childhood trauma. The whole town thought that Mia was Merry's "one" and many thought they'd eventually get back together.

When the story begins, Merry is in J&Js (a bar that Cher works in) drinking after hearing that Mia is engaged to marry another man. Cher is working and her and Merry are friends and have been for years. She is supportive of him and makes him realize that maybe the issues with his Ex weren't all his problem and maybe they weren't such a perfect match after all. As a result, they end up spending a night together and have a night of awesome sex. The problem is that Merry thinks that Cher will be ok going on as just friends (and I wasn't too happy with Merry because of how he handled things at first). Cher has loved Merry for years but is sure a "woman like her" won't get more so she tries to be the best friend she can be to him.

Something changes though and Merry decides that maybe he wants more with Cher after all...the problem now becomes that Cher is stuck in the mindset that Merry only wants her for sex and nothing else. Merry ends up having some problems trying to get her to believe they could have more. With some time and a good amount of effort, Merry gets in there but it's not easy and they both are broken in certain ways so they have to work hard not to screw things up between them. Their situation isn't helped by (among other things) the fact that when Mia realizes that Merry is moving on, she's not happy about it and does her best to impede their growing relationship. Regardless of their issues (both internal and external) Merry and Cher do their best to work through things together and make things work between them. They have some drama and a bit of danger to deal with but in the end, they get their HEA together.

I enjoyed this story very much. I really liked Merry and Cher together. As secondary characters in previous books, I liked them alright but I wasn't as excited for their book as I have been for others. Once I got the feel of them together, I found that I really liked them as a couple and was rooting for them to get their happy ending. While not perfect, the story was pretty good and gave a good platform for Merry and Cher's growing relationship. I'd recommend this story. :D

I seriously Cannot Love Kristen Ashley Books More

You know when you hear about a book or movie coming out and get are really excited because you are sure it is going to be something you enjoy. Then when if finally comes out, there is a bit of apprenetion because you are not sure it will live up to all the expectations you have set. Well I am here to say, I did that for this book and it still exceeded my expectations, and the bar was really high. This is a repeat list for me for sure. I savored this book, since it is the last, and in some ways my favorite of the 'burg stories. I highly recommend this one and anything else with Kristen Ashley's name on it. You cannot go wrong here.

Yes!!! 5 plus stars...

The novel is good, it's great actually. But the epilogue is over the top, absolutely wonderful. For the true burg fans it's all you could ask for! I listened to it twice & cried and laughed both times! Thankful for KA and her amazing gift.

Just as I adored the written version, I LOVED the

The narrator of Hold On was perfect for me. Erin Bennett’s intonations were spot on. She handled male and female voices with care, avoiding caricatures. There are many characters in a KA book. The narrator didn’t get hung up on that. She didn’t try to “sound like a man” or completely alter her voice during a dialogue to designate a different character. Rather, with a slight tone change she fluidly went through the dialogue and continued the story. With one exception. Ryker. He was portrayed on one tone, one emotion – anger. While he is a force of nature, and intense, I didn’t *read* all of his parts as anger. So this was a different take on his character.

The audio experience gave clarity to some of the written word that I found confusing as I read.

The narrator was hilarious! She accurately portrayed in her voice the humor written by Kristen Ashley. As well, she captured the emotionality of the story perfectly!

Once Again KA!!

I have read/listen to most of KA's books and I just love her writing. I love the way she ties all of her characters together. Her characters are people (human, flawed and real). I am so going to miss her until the next book.

Tugged at the Heartstrings *sigh*

Any additional comments?

I LOVED this whole series and Kristen Ashley never disappoints me. Hold on, is a perfect end to the burg series! I recommend everyone to read it. it was as Kristen Ashley said "Based in my hometown of Brownsburg, Indiana, The ‘Burg Series is six books following the interweaving tales of friends, family, love and crime in a small town." You will fall deeply in love with the characters and go through a roller coaster of emotions and come out inspired!

Pure Kristen Ashley Gold

Hold On was outstanding. Easily a 10-star read. Pure Kristen Ashley gold. Absolutely LOVED it.

The epilogue was pure magic and totally amazing.

Dusty vs. Cher

Overall good story. Loved hearing about how other characters in the series are doing. Only complaint is that Cheryl's character was so close to Dusty's character that I sometimes got confused.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered...

It is as I stated it in the title of this review. I don't know which is fabulous, Merry and Chers' story, or the stories of all the characters from the previous books and the children they are blessed with. Even though, the drama is still ever present, bad men abound, murder and mayhem too, but the romance is thick in the air. There is also one theme I adored in KA's books, the absolute loyalty of her heroes to the heroines. There is always, almost no cheating on the part of the Hs. They never give room to it. They shot it down firmly. No give.The epilogue is like another story. It is like 15-17 years down the road. The kids are now getting married, or dating. Even Jack Colton, Feb's and Colt's son. Lastly Ethan, mama's boy got married. This is why reading is my passion. I got to lead a charmed life through my favorite characters. Thanks KA for another memorable journey. 'Merci'.

omg I so love it ...

I was in tears wanting it not end I love this series and absolutely love the ending.

Awesome book

Great book and great series. I loved this book it was a great narration and it finished of the series perfectly.

Worth a credit, but could be better

The h in this book is bold, brassy, over-the-top sexy and the sort of person who never gives up no matter how tough life gets. She had come from a life of hard knocks and learnt – the hard way – to depend on no one. That said, she was fiercely loving to her son and inspired loyalty from those around her.

The H had spent the past ten years married to, divorced from, but still loving and missing another woman. I didn’t like him at first. He had moped around yearning after his ex-wife for years, hooking up with her occasionally, but still sleeping around with casual females inbetween these hook-ups. It was sort of weird. Even more weird was that when the “love of his life” got engaged to another man, he had a drunken one night stand with the h, and suddenly decides that he is completely over his ex and wants to get involved with the h. Since the H and h have been friends for years and he has never shown any indication of wanting more than friendship, this was difficult to understand.

Also a bit illogical was the h going on and on about how her life sucked and she didn’t deserve a “good man”. Why? Her past had “sucked” but she had worked hard and had a decent job, a decent home, a great group of loyal friends, a loving mum and a fabulous son. Yet we got endless self doubt from the h, and the belief that she was bound to mess up any chance she had at happiness? I just didn’t get why she would think this way.

I also have to agree with other reviewers about the h’s son. He is charming and adorable, but if it wasn’t for the constant reference to his age, I would have thought that it was an editing error that made him 10/11 years old, rather than the 16 or 17 he should have been to fit with his character.

However for all my criticisms above, I did enjoy the developing romance. To his credit, the H (eventually) realised that the failure of his relationship with his ex was partly his fault and he set about ensuring that he did not ruin his chance to have something good with the h by making the same mistakes.

That said, the book did drag a little after the couple got together. This happened pretty soon in the book so there was no “would they/wouldn’t they” suspense that makes a good romance. The second half of the book then sort of fizzled out. Problems with the h’s ex wanting custody, the H’s ex wanting him back and the criminal element living next to the h promised excitement but failed to deliver. In the end the focus seemed to be on endless domestic issues – birthday party organising, Christmas decorations etc, and it was ok but not exactly enthralling.

I did enjoy this book, I liked the epilogue but this was only because I had read all the previous books and knew the characters. This book is not the best in KA’s library, and I have no urge to read it again, but it was ok and worth a credit.

I hope there is another Burg book

I hope there will be another Burg book, but I fear this is the last. I know I will register and re read them many times in the years to come and this last book is no exception.
Shear joy!

Good

I have enjoyed this series, I do find its not a great idea to listen to too land KA books in one go as they can be a bit samey.
Worth a credit