Review: Holding Her Close by Lexi Ryan

Posted January 26, 2016 by Shannon in Reviews, Shannon / 0 Comments

Review:  Holding Her Close by Lexi RyanHolding Her Close by Lexi Ryan
Series: Mended Hearts, #2
Publication Date: January 19, 2016
Pages: 200
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four-stars
four-flames

She's everything he detests about Hollywood.
After spending my entire acting career being cast as the airhead, I finally have the serious role I've been dying for, and I screw it all up during a four martini dinner with my ex. Now, thanks to the morality clause in my contract, I might lose the role of a lifetime. My only hope is to convince the media (and my eccentrically conservative director) that I've entered a committed relationship. But when I use my brother's costume party to launch Operation Fake FiancΓ©, I end up in front of the camera with the wrong guy, leaving my reputationβ€”and the fate of my careerβ€”at his mercy. Any other guy I could sweet talk into playing the supporting role I need, but not Officer Cade Watts. Not the man who hates everything about me. Not the man who would most revel in seeing me fail.
He's everything she needs.
I don't care how good it felt to have her in my arms. I don't care that I can't close my eyes without remembering the way she tastes or the sound of her moan. I want nothing to do with Janelle Crane. Her scheme to fake an engagement to save her own career is exactly the kind of manipulative Hollywood crap I left LA to escape. But when her fan mail turns threatening and the tragedies befalling her former co-stars seem to be anything but coincidence, everything changes. Now I don't just want to play the part of Janelle's fake fiancΓ©, I demand it. I won't let my jaded heart cost me another case. I may not trust Janelle but I do care, and the only way I know she's safe is if I'm holding her close.

Cocktails and Books received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that HOLDING HER CLOSE was the love story of Nate Crane (from the Here and Now series)’s little sister, Janelle. Β  I eagerly jumped into the story.

Janelle, beaten down by a cheating ex-husband and all the nonsense of Hollywood, finds herself at her brother’s house dressed for a costume party in an attempt to try and salvage what was left of her acting career. Β A case of mistaken identity has Janelle locking lips with Cade, Β a hot cop in New Hope, who has a grudge against anything Hollywood. Β But when Janelle finds herself and her old TV show roommates in the middle of a police investigation, Cade swoops in to save her despite his misgivings.

Lexi Ryan knows how to write a story, where the characters suck you in immediately. Β Janelle and Cade had me from the moment of their first kiss. Β Their chemistry was almost a secondary character, making me forgive every dumb act each of these characters did because I knew they would figure it out. Β This author is one of the few where I will forgive boneheaded acts and ill thought out declarations because I know it’s the character fighting against the inexplicable chemistry with the other.

This was a faster read than some of the other New Hope related stories and there were times when I felt the storyline was rushed a bit, but that didn’t ultimately take away from the essence of the story or the characters. Β This was another solid entry into the New Hope line of characters. Β I can’t wait to see what the author has planned next

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I am a lover of alpha males with dirty mouths, strong heroines putting alpha males in their place, and the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm a proud hockey mom who can often be found at the hockey rink cheering on my favorite forward, with my kindle close by.