Review: Hard To Hold by Julie Leto
October 15, 2010 
6 Comments
Hard To Hold
by Julie Leto
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: HCI
Available: September 14, 2010
Genre: Contemporary (Reality) Romance
New York lobbyist Michael Davoli feels like he’s been sucker punched when he meets Anne Miller at a Jeff Tweedy concert. And it doesn’t take long for him to realize that he’s fallen hard when they wind up living in the same Albany apartment building. After all, Anne’s hot, his dog likes her, and she can pick a lock faster than Sydney Bristow can disarm a nuke.
Always fiercely independent, Anne’s crackerjack reporting skills and keen intellect are no match for the chemical reaction she has to this man with electric blue eyes. But while he effortlessly holds her with his gaze, he withholds the embrace she longs for. Why is he so distant? Has Anne misread his signals? Yet there is no doubt that she’s under his skin and he’s in too deep when Mike confesses that he harbors two secrets that could keep them apart: He has a neurological disorder that has shadowed him since childhood, and although he’s mastered the physical tics so others don’t notice, he may never be able to hold her in his arms at night for fear of the bruises he could inflict.
Anne isn’t about to let anything like Tourette’s syndrome keep her from the man of her dreams. But Mike has a second secret. Will this secret be the one that even a grand passion cannot survive?
Reviewed by: Sophia (FV)
I used to avoid reading contemporary romance because it sometimes hit a little too close to home. I read to escape the real world for a small amount of time each day and so I turned to genres that would take me to worlds beyond my own. However, this past year I’ve discovered that contemporary romance can take me away like a nice Calgon bath and I’ve come to really enjoy the genre. So when presented with the opportunity to read a reality based romance from the new True Vows™ series I was on board.
Micheal Davoli, a lobbyist, has recently moved to New York. While out with friends at a concert one night he is introduced to Anne Miller, a crime reporter. They hit it off immediately, or so Anne thought. Anne invites Michael out for drinks but Michael turns her down leaving Anne totally confused, thinking she must have misinterpreted the vibes she was getting from Michael. But Michael has Tourette’s syndrome and although it’s nothing like the extreme cases most people have probably heard of, Michael has a more difficult time managing his tics under stressful situations and so he bowed out of the invitation.
Time passed and although they had mutual friends, Michael and Anne never crossed paths again but both still thought of each other often. Until one day, as luck would have it, Anne discovers Michael struggling with his dog while moving into his new apartment that just happened to be in the same building she lives in. Reunited they discover the attraction is still there. Now they have to see who will make the first move toward developing a friendship and an eventual romance.
Michael is sweet, on the shy side and cautious when it comes to relationships because of his Tourette’s syndrome. He prefers to take things very slow and while I can appreciate that in a real life situation, it’s not really what a want in a romance novel. Anne is cute, and a little quirky and thank goodness willing to step up and make the first move to get ball rolling. They are opposites in so many ways but seem to somehow compliment each other nicely.
Hard To Hold is exactly what it’s billed as; a book based on a true life couple and their road to happily ever after. It’s a sweet romance however if you are expecting a story filled with drama and major relationship obstacles that need to be overcome, you may be disappointed in Hard To Hold. Anne and Michael seemed like just your average everyday couple that had to face everyday issues that arise in almost every new romantic relationship. They faced a few trials that would test most relationships but nothing too far out of the ordinary. It’s a story you might enjoy listening to at a dinner party with friends. However, reading this story as a full length novel, I found it a bit slow, and somewhat lacking in entertainment value and overall enjoyment. I have to admit, I feel uncomfortable admitting that because although I am referring to the story as a whole, these are also the details of someone’s real love story.
Even in contemporary romance, I need a touch of fantasy, a bit of the unexpected and a chance to leave the world behind for a little while. However I didn’t experience that while reading Hard To Hold. Instead it was an average story, about average people living in the real world, which is fine, but it’s not what I read romance for.
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Great review Sophia.
Thanks Tori.
Contemporary romance is usually not my top genre to read, so when I do I need to be wowed.
Nice review FV
KC–I like to be wowed too
I completely agree…I get average people have average lives..but that is not what I want to spend $ on when I buy a book.
Nice review!