In a bout to attract tourists to the town of North Powell that appreciate the quaintness of the town rather than its natural resources, the town brings in a marketing team. Laura Delany is to liaise with the team. She soon finds herself attracted to one team member and then another. She starts to date one (David) while she works together weekly with the other (Spence). He even helps her with renovation work on an old Victorian.

After many hot and sexy scenes, things come to blows and Laura realises she must really pick up of them. The author does a good job of making both men sympathetic so neither is too obvious as the final choice. Although I think Laura should have taken into consideration that she did home renovation with Spence. If you can do that for six months and not going after each other with hammers, you have the kind of relationship that can weather any storm.

Some minor gripes: the sex scenes where long drawn out and male centric. Seriously, Laura gave one of them permission to do what every he liked with her body and when she realised he used that permission to do things to please <em>her</em> she made him stop. And I would have liked the occasional mention of safe sex. The sex scenes were long enough to incorporate in some rolling off of condom.

I should have paid more attention to the description because I hate love triangles. But if love love triangles then this will probably be your thing

Thank you to Netgalley and Rhapsodic Press for my eARC copy of "Why I Held Your Hand" in exchange for an honest review. This book is already published, but it was available so I took the chance.

I feel estrange with this book, because the romance itself doesn't feel awkward, it feels nice and the way the love triangle is nice, until it isn't. There is a lot of sex in this book and the sex itself isn't bad, is hot and steamy but is the context of those that made it uncomfortable for me.

So if you are into romance with steamy sex, with a not so unproblematic context, you should read it. The romance in the book is quite good like I said is romantic but with a bit problematic sex scenes.
I don't want to explain why I found the scenes problematic but let's say that the protagonist get herself into a risky sex-health situations, which are never addressed. But aren't considered risky for some people because is during a relationship, but at the same time not because is a relationship means that is okay to do so but that is a thing for the next time.

I am not saying that the book is bad, I enjoyed but at the same time I was uneasy because I found them complicated.

Laura, our main character, loves her picturesque hometown. She hopes to revitalize it with a film festival and quaintly activities throughout the holiday season. With the help of a marketing team it looks like that’s exactly what will happen for the town, what about her personal life? I can’t tell you, pick a copy up.

I should have paid attention to the warning about the love triangle and not read this one. Because I hate love triangles. However if you love that trope you will love this book.

I'm very sorry that I didn't love this as much as I thought I would. Reading the synopsis, I really wanted to give this a chance. I recently read Dear Emmie Blue which had a love triangle plot which I really loved so I thought I would try this out. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this as much. I found this book lacked the depth and maturity that I was expecting and I understand that perhaps Dear Emmie Blue set some unrealistic expectations.

This book was also extremely graphic and smutty which is not really my cup of tea. I would probably put this in the category of erotic romance rather than just romance to be honest, but hey, if that's your jam, you'll probably like this more than I did. Other than the smut, the writing itself was not bad at all and quite funny in some scenes. I really wish there was more of it and less of the smut.

In addition, I found Laura very challenging to like as a character. The guys were better, but also a bit unlikeable overall - David is better than Spence but still... not a fan. I will say though that Augusta Reilly did a great job writing both characters to be quite different. Based on the writing style, I would not hesitate to pick up another book by Augusta Reilly, but I would probably check first to see how smutty it is and whether the subject matter is something I'm totally interested in.

The story line behind Why I Held Your Hand is really cute. Lauren made me quite angry with some of her very non professional behavior, but get why it was needed for the plot line. While there weren't too many steamy scenes, the ones that were in the book were like 20 pages long (and I had to skip over those!)

So this isn't a bad book. I liked both David and Spencer a lot but at the risk of sounding like an unsupportive woman, screw Laura! Honestly, no thank you! Not only because of her role in the triangle but because of the piss poor life choices she made throughout. You don't go hiking in the dark with a man you just met you silly woman! Also cheating is never a good look emotional or otherwise.

The choice was pretty clear to me early on but the author does do a decent job of keeping you guessing and while I was happy about the ending I was also like ugh she doesn't deserve this! And yet the reader does so, um... *shrug*.

Funny, super steamy, frustrating and somewhat predictable. A good book when you just need to get away from the heavy reads.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a good review.


TW - infidelity

“Why I held your hand” is a lovely romance novel, and I recommend it if you feel like reading a romantic, angsty triangle.

Firstly, I liked the theme of the story. The author wrote the love triangle in a complex manner, where nobody is at fault (well, except maybe Laura for loving two men). Moreover, I loved David and Spence, so it was interesting to see who Laura would choose. Both men have distinctive personalities and make the story shine in their manner. Also, as I have personally experienced such a situation in my life, I could entirely relate to how Laura felt. I thought the author wrote her personality pretty well. One of my favorite scenes was when Laura and Space go rock climbing and see the hot springs the first time. The author captured the moment beautifully!

Additionally, the author also knows how to make a novel steamy. She writes the romance scenes in a hot yet passionate manner. On a side note, as a Dicken’s fan, I loved the idea of a Dicken’s themed festival and would love to participate in such an event if it existed.

However, why I enjoyed the story, Laura’s decision conflicted with me in the end. I will not spoil it, but I felt that she made the wrong choice, as I liked the man she did not choose. Also, I felt the author rushed the ending because I wanted to read the perspective of the guy Laura rejected.

Apart from that, this was a sweet story. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

This book should come with a steamy warning right from the start. This book has some serious heat! I am happy the cover was changed because this new one does match the book much better. The love triangle between Laura, David, and Spence made me blush, laugh, and need a cold drink. I wish Laura's shop was a little more relatable because a knitting shop doesn't seem like it would be practical in this economy. Overall it was enjoyable.

Thank you, Netgalley and Rhapsodic Press, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an enjoyable book to read. It had twists and turns, mystery and love. I enjoyed reading it and highly recommend!

This book was a hot mess. It was all over the place. It skipped around and I kept getting so confused. This had had great potential but it felt dragged out in the first part and rushed in the second half.

I hate to say, but this book was all over the place. It has the small-town romance element mixed with some erotic romance and a love triangle trope. But wait! There was also some "old-fashioned" aspects of romance thrown in and Christmas festival to round it all out. I was so confused at one point that I went back to make sure I hadn't skipped a part!

But here's the thing, the story started strong with a meet-cute and funny moments between the main characters and I was so looking forward to enjoying the story. However, it all went downhill in a flash. I didn't like Laura and I especially didn't like her with David. David wasn't half bad. He was kind of old-fashioned in his pursuit but dirty in bed, which was great. Then there was Spencer. I liked Spencer, he was so nerdy and geeky-cute. I liked his sense of humor and the candid conversations he shared with Laura. Still, I thought both David and Spencer could have done better than Laure. I got the feeling that she didn't really cared which man she was with.

I really thought this story had potential, but it wasn't executed properly. The characters weren't fully developed and the last couple of chapters felt rushed with an unbelievable outcome. In the end, I didn't become invested in any of the characters' lives and skimmed my way through the book (even the sexy times!).

I received a copy of this title on exchange of my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Rhapsodic Press for my eARC copy of "Why I Held Your Hand" in exchange for an honest review.

This book came with a HIGH HEAT warning, and phew - it was much needed. Grab a cool glass of milk, turn down that AC, and get ready - because this book packs some SERIOUS SPICE.

I will say this was one of my favorite reads of the holiday season, even though it wasn't inherently Christmas-y, which is usually my cup of tea. The book begins with small town Laura, who is concerned about the future of their picturesque small town, and enlists the help of a marketing team. Through this team she meets hotshot business man David, and awkward quirky (and TALL TALL) marketing team member Spence. The love triangle ensues, and it is HOT HOT HOT.

I will tell you I blushed, I laughed out loud, and I forced a friend to read along with me so we could discuss *several* scenes. I gave it 5 stars for the unique storyline, the humor, the interesting storyline about the town, and the spice.

Buckle up boo, it's a wild ride.

I’m not sure how I feel about this story. Unsettled, I guess. It has funny banter and steamy scenes galore.. It’s a love triangle with two good guys and one very confusing woman. The plot twists and turns and drags you through an emotional wringer. I just felt sad for everyone, I guess.

Whew! I stayed up all night reading this book. I had seen it characterized in a couple reviews as a "holiday romance" so my expectations were moderate but this book HOOKED me. (I would also not describe it as a holiday book.) This story was a lot more emotional than I was expecting and the developing relationships with each man felt so real. Disclaimer: it is a love triangle and that's mildly stressful, at least to me, because it inherently involves some aspect of emotional and/or physical cheating. I have never read anything by Augusta Reilly before and this will certainly not be my last...and not only just because she gifted us with one of the best sex scenes I've ever read!

Couldn't finish this one, unfortunately. Thinly written and it feels plot-driven instead of character driven. There's hardly any chemistry between the heroine and the two heroes and their interactions feel stiff. I don't like the heroine much or any of the other characters, really - there's nothing to root for or empathize with. The premise isn't bad, but it wasn't executed well and the writing is so clunky and awkward.

I really should've seen this rating coming...after all, love triangle is my least favorite trope. So, to read an entire book built around that main plot line? Yeah, I should've seen this rating coming.

A good ol fashioned love triangle!
I liked that going into this book it wasn’t immediately clear who Laura would have her HEA with. I enjoy romance novels, but they are usually predictable from the start, so I liked that this was different.
The love triangle certainly lasted longer than I expected... and after awhile it’s no longer a “love triangle” it’s straight up cheating.
Which means I was rooting for the guys more than I was rooting for her.
But I did enjoy my read regardless. I wanted to know who she would pick and I was not disappointed.

I get the idea of the heroine having two guys that she can't choose between but usually you don't get explicit sex scenes with both heroes-sometimes even close together! The heroine seemed to be in love with whoever was in the room. I found that more than a little questionable. Plus, hero one is constantly buying her sexy things to wear without her consent and won't introduce her to his mother with really flimsy excuses. I kept waiting to hear that there was something wrong with him but no! He just seems borderline controlling. Very odd relationships but the setting and story were nice and festive so I breezed through the book quickly.
Thanks to NetGalley and Rhapsodic Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.