I read a LOT of small town romances and this one was only okay. I liked the main characters well enough and the plot was cute. I think this would be a perfect palate cleansing book between heavier reads or just a great book to read by the light of your Christmas tree!

Sweet, light, and a good time. Cheesy but exactly what I wanted. Just a fun read perfect for the winter months with a cup of tea and a blanket.

David or Spence? Spence or David? Laura has quite the luck: going from single to loving two men at the same time. Laura is trying to save her quiet town when she first meets David. He is the head of an advertising/marketing firm that Laura hopes to secure. David pursues Laura unbeknownst to his coworkers. When Spence is assigned Mondays with Laura, he starts to pine after Laura as well.

I loves this cute romance. There was enough lust and plenty of desire to keep me turning pages. I honestly didn't know who I was hoping Laura would choose and couldn't predict until late in the book. Augusta kept me teetering back and forth all the way to the end.

While the beginning of the book did grab my attention, I did feel like there wasn't enough intro to the characters. We were thrown right into a relationship between David and Laura. Otherwise, this was a fun and quick read ad! 4 out of 5 stars for me.

This is a is a romance set in a small town, that’s in desperate need of help to to get tourists . We meet Laura whos desperate to save her beloved town,by hiring a marketing team where she meets David and the Spence . She’s instantly attracted to David, but as she spend more time with Spence they developed and form a deep bond that has her questioning her heart .
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At the beginning of the book I love Laura, she witty, sarcastic and has a big heart . Laura, I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU!!! About 50% into the story Laura actions were making me cringe . I could not get over was how she acted, She crossed so many lines and I dislike her more and more. The story had an “happy ending “ but at this point Laura was dead to me. OFF WITH HER HEAD!! I’m Being dramatic but 🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️. Anywho, please give us David’s Story, and DO NOT mention She Who Shall not be named 🙄😤
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As you can see, this book gave me big emotions 😩. There are some steamy scenes ( which I skipped through ) and the writing and pace of the story was good. I flew through this book, less than 24hrs. The story flowed , and I was loving it, until that Laura ruined everything for me.

A small, quaint town is struggling economically. A heroine who serves as the town's treasurer brings in a marketing firm with plans for a Dickens Christmas festival to revitalize the town. This novel is set up like the beginning of a Hallmark holiday movie.

However, that's not really accurate at all. It is told from the heroine, Laura's, perspective. And yet, I found it difficult to relate to her. As she finds herself torn between two potential crushes, it felt clear to me who the hero should be. And I didn't respect her much.

The book is very steamy. If you like a lot of steam in your romances, then this might be the book for you. But for me, it wasn't a good fit. I had hoped for the sweeter holiday romance.

This was a fun mindless read. To be quite honest though, I gave it three stars because it just feels like something I have read before, and although this is pretty standard for most Christmas or rom-com books, the plot was feeling extra flat.

Also, I hate love triangles, like come on Laura just make up your mind.

A cute and cozy Christmas read that reminds us that love isn't always black and white. I enjoyed Why I Held Your Hand and honestly, couldn't put it down. It was just the comforting read I needed.

Why I Held Your Hand is a tale of 27-year-old Laura Delaney, whose town hires a marketing firm to turn their charming North Powell into a destination able to compete with the local ski and resort towns. Laura quickly falls into a romantic relationship with one of the firm's project partners, David, who spends almost every weekend with Laura moving forward. While keeping their relationship a secret, Laura and Spence - the firm's Creative Director - create a strategy for North Powell (to the tune of a Dickensian festival) and also a dilapidated Victorian home that had been willed as an estate to Laura as a trustee. Laura finds herself looking more forward to her Mondays with Spence, and can't shake the feeling that there's something more between them. In the end, Laura will have to choose between a safe love and someone who held her hand...

This read was only three stars for me, which isn't usual in terms of my Romance novel ratings. While I loved the charming town of North Powell, I did feel that some of the momentum in Laura's separate relationships with David and Spence didn't always feel connected. I will say, what the book lacked in some of those connections (the plot moves really quickly!), it made up for in the romance scene. They certainly were steamy - so if that's your cup of tea, definitely look forward to getting the full kettle with this one!

If you enjoyed - any Hallmark movie (but wish they were steamier), I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella, You're the One that I Want by Giovanna Fletcher, Dream a Little Dream by Giovanna Fletcher, 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne, The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker - then you'll enjoy Why I Held Your Hand!

*CAUTION Review contains some spoilers *

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Laura Delaney is a determined 27-year-old trying to save her hometown from basically going under. Not only is she working to bring more tourism to her little town of North Powell but she is looking to restore an old Victorian house. She enlists the help of a marketing team at KPS which consists of three men, David Harper, James Murphy and Spencer Markham. Laura and one of the KPS members have a secret romance not known to the other teammates. She also finds herself working closely with another member of the marketing team and while she tries to ignore these feelings developing she can’t seem to stop thinking about him.

Laura now has what seems like an impossible choice. What is going to happen when both men find out about each other and Laura is stuck in the middle?


It took me a really long time to decide how exactly I wanted to rate this book, as I enjoyed the writing and finished the book within a day. It was a quick and cozy read. The second half of the story really turned me away from the book.

However, the steaminess of this book! WOW, I was not expecting it to be this steamy! Trust me whatever you are thinking about, double it. I had to re-read many of the scenes because they were that good!


Characters:

Outside of the love triangle, I loved Laura. She was sarcastic, witty and for some reason, I was getting Pamela Anderson's body vibes minus the height. She literally made me laugh out loud. I loved how comfortable she is in her own skin and how confidently and sarcastic she is with others. Honestly, Laura and I could be best friends. However, what I could not get over was how she acted through the second half of the book. I wanted to grab her and shake her. She crossed so many lines and I was starting to dislike her more and more. If I was Laura’s friend I would have smacked some sense into her. *shaking my head*

David was a charmer. A man who writes notes before leaving someplace? Hi, where do I sign up for a David? I saw many other reviews where people called David arrogant and I didn’t see him like that at all. He is someone who is established, knows who he is, has a great job he seems passionate about. I didn't find anything wrong.

Spence, oh you hunky softy. He reminded me of those kids in the class that were barely there or sat at the back of the class but turned out to be the smartest. They are always big softies. Spence was just a big teddy bear with heart eyes throughout the book. Adorable.


Things I liked about the book:

1. I loved the characters. I haven’t read a book so far where I like every single character. Especially in these types of novels.
2. The storyline, the characters, the love triangle was very realistic. You read books where you know things like this won’t fly in real life. I can 100% say I know Laura in my life and her actions were the same.
3. The novel was very well written. The reason why I was so frustrated with Laura was how well and realistic she was. I really wanted to know how things unfold, what Laura’s actions would be, who she would choose. Not that I approved of any, it still had me wanting to know more.
4. The steamy scenes in the book. I was not expecting them to be THAT good!


Things I didn’t like:
1. Laura crossing some lines I was not happy about. I think I would have enjoyed the story a bit more if one of the guys was acting like a jerk or mistreating Laura. It would have made better sense for her to want to be with the other guy. In this case, the biggest jerk of all was Laura.


My final thoughts:
I loved it! This book gave me everything a romance book should. I had such a fun time reading this book, even though I had to walk away just to clear my head for a little bit (it’s all your fault, Laura, haha). The reason why I am giving the book 4 /5 stars is that I was not able to get past the part where Laura would cross the line acting single to get one of the men.


Overall rating: 4/5 Stars.

Laura lives in a small town that is experiencing some financial setbacks due to the towns need of revitalization. Since Laura wants to see her town thrive once again, the mayor requests her help in getting the town back to its best. She hires a marketing group to help rebrand her town, renew business and increase revenue. One way to do that is through a seasonal Dickens festival.

Why I Held Your Hand is a very steamy romance and not your typical sweet, holiday-themed story. In fact, there is not a great deal of Christmas in this story. It begins in the summer months and ends at New Years with a brief nod to Christmas. It features a complicated love triangle and a somewhat questionable female protagonist. I know that others found the writing style appealing, but I felt it was a bit choppy and abrupt, even a tad crass, lacking finesse or subtlety.

I’m sure many will find this book to be a quick, humorous, spicy romance, but I admittedly prefer a more festive, sweet HEA type story and this one just wasn’t for me.

This was a really cute read! The writing was good and I was very interested in the story line! I certainly wouldn't have made some of the decisions Laura did and I did sometimes wish she were a little nicer, but overall a good read, would surely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this ARC!

English Review:
5 / 5 stars
Laura is a worried citizen of North Powell, which is completely lacking of turism and financial goods; because of this, Laura decides to hire a marketing team to promote the city as much as they can before is to late. But, at the first meeting, Laura ends up meeting David, who she starts dating in secret. Meanwhile, she is also spending a lot of time with Spencer, one of the guys in charge of promoting the town at its best.

Without exaggerating, Why I Held Your Hand is probably one of the best romance novels ever written. It has everything a good romance novel has, and it handles it so well that I couldn´t help but finish it in less than three days. Everything about this book is amazing.

Laura, as a protagonist, was so convincing and I never got tired of her, despite it being written in third person. Laura´s confusion and happiness was so well written that even I couldn´t "choose a side" between David and Spencer; who, speaking of them, were both great love interests and made the love-triangule not as cringy as I usually find them.

Overall, Why I Held Your Hand is a great romance novel, and I personally feel is the perfect fit for the next famous rom-com! (P. S.: I also loved all the song references, I can´t stop listening to The Band Played On).


Reseña en Español:
5 / 5 estrellas
Laura es una ciudadana preocupada de North Powell, el cual carece completamente de turismo y bienes financieros; por esto, Laura decide contratar un equipo de marketing para promover la ciudad todo lo que puedan antes de que sea demasiado tarde. Pero, en la primera reunión, Laura termina conociendo a David, con el cual termina saliendo en secreto. Mientras tanto, ella también esta pasando mucho tiempo con Spencer, uno de los chicos encargados de promover todo lo que pueden la ciudad.

Sin exagerar, Why I Held Your Hand es probablemente uno de los mejores libros de romance jamás escritos. Tiene todo lo que una buena novela de romance tiene, y lo maneja tan bien que no pude sino terminar este libro en menos de 3 días. Todo sobre ese libro es impresionante.

Laura, como protagonista, fue tan convincente y nunca me cansé de ella, a pesar de estar escrito en tercera persona. La confusión y felicidad de Laura fueron tan bien escritos que incluso yo no pude "elegir un bando" entre David y Spencer; quienes, hablando de ellos, fueron ambos buenos intereses amorosos e hicieron que el triángulo amoroso no fuera tan irritante como usualmente son.

En general, Why I Held Your Hand es un gran romance, y personalmente pienso que sería el perfecto libro para adaptar a una comedia románica. (Posdata: También me encantaron las referencias a canciones, no puedo dejar de escuchar The Band Played On).

I found this book a bit on the disappointing side. The main character, Laura, had some unlikable qualities that made her a bit annoying and self-centered. Although partially engaged in the storyline, the lack of growth in the characters left the story somewhat flat. I was able to finish the book, but found that I really didn't care about Laura's final decisions nor her relationship with either man. I also thought there were other directions the author could take, which left my feelings removed with the actual direction taken. I appreciate being invited to read the advanced copy, though, and wish you the best of luck.

This was a quick and entertaining romance story. The first thing that had caught my eye as I was reading was the fact that there was a Charles Dickens Festival. I thought that was really cool and was actually jealous that I can't attend it in real life. The setting was really good and I loved the small quaint village setting. Moving on to the characters, I actually liked Laura quite a lot. Even though she knows that she's falling for two men whom both are nemesis with one another, she remains honest and genuine with each of them. This plot was basically a recipe for disaster but the drama kept me interested the whole time and I anticipated the moment when everything was going to blow up. Overall, this was an enjoyable read but the one thing that irked me was the Christmas-looking cover. As someone who hugely devours Christmas novels, I was disappointed that this didn't take place during Christmas. I felt that it was misleading albeit a pretty cover.

If you like your Christmas romance stories with a healthy dose of steam, this is the story for you. Laura finds herself trying to save her hometown right before Christmas. She is charmed by two men and she must choose one. Entertaining and sweet, I was rooting for Laura and who she would choose. I was surprised by the ending.

A cute and STEAMY romance! Man, this book was steamy! I fell in love with the writing and the storyline so quickly which I knew meant I was in for a good read.
Laura lives in a small town that is experiencing some financial woes and hires a marketing team to help out. Here she meets David and instantly falls in love. Soon though, she spends more time with Spence and things start to get complicated for Laura.
I was expecting this to be a cute funny romance love triangle like a Hallmark movie but boy was I wrong!! It was all of those things but it was also full of steamy scenes which ultimately made the plot a little less interesting to me. I thought this was going to be a Holiday book based on the cover but it takes place mostly in the summer. Not a dealbreaker but definitely confusing. 100% worth the read it was a GREAT romance! Huge thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and Augusta Reilly for allowing me to read this ARC!

Such a cute read. Thank you netgalley for the arc!! I was searching for something like this and received it at just the right time.

This book honestly has me really conflicted. I’m not usually a fan of “insta love” and I usually love a good “love triangle”. I liked Laura. She seems like a well rounded woman with good intentions for her small town. I didn’t like David. He seems pretentious and I just wasn’t a fan! I loved Spence. He is hardworking, selfless, and so cute. I wasn’t a huge fan of the insta love between Laura and David. I think it was just because I wasn’t a huge fan of him but some of the things he said and did just bothered me. I loved how steamy this book was. It was surprisingly super steamy and I really loved it! I didn’t like the cheating. Love triangles are tricky but the minute you get cheating involved, I just don’t love it. Something else I loved was the tourism marketing. It was done well and I love reading books about tourism marketing!!

Overall, this was a good read. I read it in about 2 days and I loved how the title ties into the end of the book. I think if you like love triangles and like a steamy romance you’ll enjoy this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Get Red PR for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

Why I Held Your Hand tells the story of Laura, who lives in the quaint town of North Powell. Laura loves her town, but it is unable to compete with some of the surrounding tourist towns. The town of North Powell is in desperate need of a makeover, or at the very least, something to attract more tourists. She enlists the help of a big time marketing team, which is composed of three main members: James, David, and Spence. All three guys are very different, yet they work well together. Over the course of the novel, Laura falls in love with David, but she also falls in love with Spence. Laura is likeable, and this book deals with the question of what if you meet your soulmate when you're already with someone? I enjoyed following along on Laura's journey, and North Powell's journey as well. One of the things that Spence suggests to revitalize the town and attract tourists is a Charles Dickens Festival. Of course, this made my literary heart so happy. What book lover wouldn't love to attend a Charles Dickens Festival?! This was a quick and entertaining romance story. It took me a little over an hour to read it, so it was definitely a quick read. I appreciated that Laura was genuine; even though she fell in love with two guys, she was honest with both of them, and actually cared about their feelings, making her a decent human being. I was rooting for her and I am glad the book ended the way it did. I don't want to give too much away, but it was an enjoyable read. I thought the cover and label was a little misleading; from the outset, it looks like this is going to be a holiday romance. However, I didn't really get that vibe at all, other than the fact it ended with two of the characters going on a date on New Year's Eve. That would be the only thing I would "change" as far as this book goes. Thank you to the author and Get Red PR for the chance to read a digital copy of this book. My tour date for this book is scheduled in November, so I will post my full review on my Instagram page @readingmama_reviews at that time.

This is was a pretty fast read and I enjoyed most of it. I loved the small town atmosphere and Laura made you really love the area. However,
I feel like Laura’s decisions made me cringe a little too much. For me it was hard to see her cross the lines with her relationship with Spence when David was such a great guy too. I think I would have felt more okay if he was a jerk, but since he wasn’t it was uncomfortable. Overall though if you could get past that the storyline and writing is really good.