ARC Review: One To Hold by Tia Louise

One To Hold is the debut contemporary romance from Tia Louise. I was really looking forward to this one since I knew it was a standalone with a HEA. I have been reading a ton of New Adult books lately and even though I love them, the thought of another cliffhanger was just about ready to kill me. This one sounded like it was right up my alley...sexy vacation fling, ex-marine and ex-cop hero, and tons of chemistry. Despite the promising sound of this one, I found myself not enjoying this one as much as I had thought. Unfortunately this story just seemed to be missing something. The characters were likable enough, and yet I just never felt invested in them.

Melissa is on a spa vacation with her best friend after going through a horrible experience. Derek is in town for a convention. The two meet at a bar and make eye contact over their drinks. They are instantly attracted to each other and they embark on a one-night stand. What starts out as just amazing chemistry quickly turns to a very satisfying sexual encounter and both of them wanting more. Melissa is trying to get over her past and even though she wants more, she knows she needs to stay away from Derek. But fate has other plans for them and they run into each other again. They start spending time together and decide to just have a "one week stand". But as their week comes to a close, both of them are feeling more for each other than they expected and aren't ready for it to be the end. But when Melissa's past catches up to her, and secrets are exposed it seems impossible that Melissa and Derek can ever have a relationship. But Derek isn't ready to let her get away and will do everything he can to hold onto her.

I liked Derek. He was sexy and built. I loved that he never pushed Melissa and was very sweet with her. He was very determined when it came to pursuing her, and he never gave up no matter how many times she tried to push her away. His determination never came off as creepy or stalkerish though. Melissa was very obviously dealing with something horrible, even though we don't know what it is for quite awhile. She was vulnerable and a little bit broken, without appearing as weak. I liked that she opened up a little to Derek and once she made up her mind to have a fling with him she wasn't wishy-washy about it. Derek and Melissa had really great chemistry and the sex was hot! These two seemed to be so perfect for each other when it came to the physical. For me though, their relationship seemed to be rushed and I had a hard time believing in anything other than their physical connection. I just couldn't get on board with how they were all of a sudden having these feelings in such a short time when they really didn't know each other at all. Their lust was very believable, but the rest just seemed unrealistic.

Overall, I would say that I mostly enjoyed this quick read. But I wouldn't say that it is memorable or something that i'm going to read again. I think that the short length of this one really was the problem. There wasn't much of a chance to really get any character development and the story just seemed to be rushed. I would have liked to have seen more depth when it came to the characters and their relationship and also more development as far as the storyline went. I think that contemporary romance fans who are looking for a quick sexy read with a happy ending will most likely enjoy this story. I was just looking for more to the story and unfortunately I found that it was lacking anything beneath the surface. There was nothing wrong with this story, there just wasn't anything exceptional about it either. The sex scenes were the highlights and are what kept me interested enough to finish this book, and are the reason for the rating I gave as they were very well written.

**ARC provided by Inkslinger PR**

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