3 stars
audiobook review

Overall there were parts of the story that I liked but not enough for me to be able to overlook how I felt the story was written with too many moments of dragging out the drama/angst. It took me a while to finish this story because of how upset I would get with the story and the characters developments that by the end I was celebrating parting ways but a bit of longing because I wished it was better. The narrator did a great job but for me in my pov I would have liked another narrator to voice the two women.

Hold You Down was a great read by Tracy Brown. Mercy and Lenox Howard have always had each other. They grew up on the streets of Harlem with an absentee mother. They always had eachother and have found themselves as young and smart mothers. Mercy is a straight laced hospital administrator who is struggling to make ends meet. She spends her free time pouring her heart into cooking with the dream of owning her own restaurant. Lenox is a wild child that is looking for excitement. Their sons, Deon and Judah, were raised more like brothers than cousins. Lenox ends up heading down a path that she believes with bring success and power and it changes their entire lives forever. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

This surprised me by how much I enjoyed it’ oh a disservice I have done for shelving this book for so long

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a lot different than i expected! really wild read but i loved every minute of it. would buy and recommend!

I received an ARC of this from the publisher and the audio galley from Netgalley. This does not affect the objectivity of my review.

Hold You Down is a story of the love between sisters, cousins, and aunties. We meet two sisters, one who’s living life by the book and the other who is manufacturing crack. Though they each disagree with their respective lifestyles, they always hold each other down.

I thought that the strongest part of this book was the love between sisters. I love how they always have each others backs. No matter how crazy life gets, they have a bond that is unbreakable. I also love that that relationship extends to their kids. Ultimately, this is a tight knit family who loves and protects each other.

The characterization was good too, especially in regard to the kids as teenagers. I remember having some similar worries to them at their age and I thought Brown really captured teenage angst well.

That said, I felt like the overall plot was missing something. It felt a little bit disjointed…perhaps just because it covers a large expanse of time. It wasn’t a major issue, but it did throw me off once or twice.

All in all, I think that if you like family drama, exploration of social and economic issues, and a story that spans several decades, you will probably like this story.

As for the audiobook, I thought the narrator did a good job of capturing everyone’s voices. It felt authentic and I could always tell who was supposed to be talking.

The story of two sisters who approaches life differently, one plays life by the rules and the other is all about the materialistic things in the world, try to navigate life together with their sons. Tracy Brown knows how to write about familial love. This story took me on a rollercoaster of events in the 80s-90s. I was enthralled with how relatable all of the characters were and was saddened by the tragedy that kept hitting this family. You WILL NOT regret reading this book!

HOLD YOU DOWN was so good, and grabbed my heart right from the beginning.

Set in Harlem, 1984, the story follows sisters Mercy and Lennox, best friends and single moms, raising their sons Judah and Deon. From their childhood and through decades, the story continues as we follow the family through the heartache and the challenges that come from living in a low-income area of Harlem, and the drugs that saturate the Harlem area during the 80s.

I loved the audiobook, and was so gripped by the narrator, and really brought the story to life through the emotion and made me feel what each character was going through.

*many thanks to St Martins and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

Mercy and Lenox were sisters who were polar opposites but loved each other immensely yet to a fault. Mercy was the quiet, strong, level-headed sister who spent more time giving and protecting her sister from self-destruction than living her life. Lenox, while she loved her sister, was wildly ambitious to the point of detriment to yourself and those closest to her.

Unfortunately, this pattern would later take shape in their sons, Judah and Deon. Judah, Mercy’s son with a promising future and guided by the same loyalty and strength as his mother, would find himself giving and protecting his cousin Deon. Deon, like his mom, Lenox, loved his family but was uncontrollable and a bit selfish yet misunderstood.

This story was steeped in the harsh realities of the lower economic status and traumatic family dynamics that many black families faced in the 80s/90s (and undoubtedly still face today). If you are looking for an easy read, this is not it. It is extremely heavy from the beginning to the very last word. Due to that, it was a slow read because it could only be consumed in doses. While the storytelling was impeccable, the readers must endure the drawn out pain and tragedy of each character. In other words: you’re going to feel this. As sad as it was, that is also the beauty of it—that you feel it. There is only one small glimmer of hope and while it is uncertain, we are given a sense that the family bondage and generational curses can be broken and new life restored.
Takeaway: It’s not about others holding you down, but about being able to lift yourself up. SN: Fingers crossed that a Judah follow up story is in the works!
Format: Audiobook - Three out of Five. Due to some enunciation & pausing issues, the delivery missed the mark at times.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I will forever love Tracy Brown and all her books. White Lines still remains one of my all-time favs.

In Hold You Down, Tracy did not disappoint, the book was gripping and filled with intrigue.

The story begins in Harlem in 1984 and we meet sisters Mercy and Lenox Howard and their sons, Judah and Deon. As the decades progress, we follow them on their journeys and we see how they essentially hold each other down. Throughout the story we see each sister's life as they navigate some of the issues that are happening around them the crack epidemic, raising boys as single mothers, life choices, and living in a low-income community.

The characters were complex and the story itself was a rollercoaster, in the best way.

I don’t think I was the target audience for this one. I gave it until 10% and ultimately decided to DNF.

Fantastic look at a family ravaged by drugs and the after effects it has on them. I listened to the Audiobook and while I enjoyed the story of the Howard family, the narration was not good. For the most part, the narrator was consistent with her voices, but occasionally there was like, a line or two edited in after the fact with a completely different emotion. It felt more like a rough draft than the final project. However, I did enjoy the story. Hated the ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ FIVE STARS!!

Where do I start! Prepare to be taken on a rollercoaster for this urban story about the relationship between sisters Mercy & Lenox and their sons Judah and Deon. Told in two parts throughout the years in varying perspectives between Mercy and Lenox and then Judah and Deon you can't help but be engulfed. I couldn't finish this quick enough.

Set in NY in the early 90s, the sisters are best friends and raising their sons each as single moms. Throughout the story you are taken on a journey of each sister's life and experiences through the crack epidemic, life in the projects and raising their boys + the boy's lives and how those choices impact who they become.

From the point of view of each character, their struggles of life, loss, survival, love and how your family can mold who they become and the lives they lead. This was my first time reading a book by Tracy Brown and won't be my last. The audio also gave a full grasp of the emotions and different character arcs that were crucial to the experience. I found myself laughing out loud and crying (sobbing) through different parts of the book.

I was left with a full story that came to completion. This prompted many thoughts and reflection on my own personal experiences and friends and I loved every minute.

TW: drugs, grief, rape & some violence

I’m beginning to think that urban fiction is just not so much my thing anymore… I remember loving it some time ago, but IDK I just can’t get with it now…

Mercy and Lenox are sisters and BFFs, even their own kids are really close. Although so close, Mercy, and Lenox are extremely different from each other— Mercy is responsible and mature, and a motherly figure for Lenix especially now with the loss of their mother. Lenox is wild and young and looking for the next big thing that will allow her to have the luxurious life. She dreams of even if it means it’s a gamble. One night Lenox gets mixed up with a lifestyle that is fast paste and dangerous, and her decisions leads to some detrimental consequences throughout the rest of the story.

Quite frankly, I didn’t feel as if I connected to any of the characters, and I just feel like it was so full of trauma, they all need some therapy and a new start in life.

I wasn’t sure what kind of emotional roller coaster I was getting into with this book. I knew it was going to be pretty emotional, but shoo.

This book really consisted of more negative than positive emotions. So much awful happened to this family and it is absolutely heartbreaking. BUT I gotta say the story was so good! It was well rounded in that it felt so real! I could absolutely see this being a true story and that just breaks my heart.

I won’t pretend to understand the circumstances of the family in this book. I can’t. All I can really do is empathize with what they dealt with and be proud of how they handled themselves throughout the course of their struggles.

Overall, I did enjoy this. It was emotional and felt like the real ebb and flow of life - while I definitely felt more negative than positive emotions, but considering the storyline I think it fit. There was enough positive to mellow it out so it wasn’t SUPER heavy, but it was heavy enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a free AVR copy from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I listened to the AUDIOBOOK version. First and foremost..... the narraration was ON POINT! I felt like I was listening to the book play out in movie form. If a book ain't narrarating like this......... I don't want to listen to it!!!!!

The story was relatable and unfortunate. This book was speaking to an Era that my family lived through and I was born during. The story was much simular to the stories my family told me about the crack epidemic. The family dynamics were not unheard of and I feel like I have known someone in my life that had a family just like this one.

I cried. I laughed. I didn't want to stop listening (wish I didn't have to work or I'd listen to it nonstop).

Get this book. Don't have time to read? The audio is more than worth it!!!

It is hard to know where to start with this one. Literally Fiction is not my genre of choice, so the fact that I was 100% engrossed in the story the entire time is no small matter. The characters were complex and believably constructed. While the book isn’t short, I felt like all of the events added up well to support the conclusion. I was left with a heavy heart and and occupied mind. If you need a lighter diverting read, this is it for you. But if you want to be moved and feel all of the things, look no further.

I don’t even think I could praise this book enough. What Tracy Brown did was put me in an emotional chokehold and didn’t let up. From the BEGINNING I was hooked. When I tell you I laughed, I cried, I felt pain, I even felt helpless…. Hold You Down was a story so well told!!!

The characters were SO SO well developed I could vividly picture them throughout the whole story. It was like I was standing there watching it all unfold. There wasn’t any changes in perspectives from chapter to chapter, it was all told in a way that flowed effortlessly from character to character pov. The read was so fast paced.

I really can’t praise this book enough. It has drama, hardships, family, relationships, heartbreak, just about everything. Read it.

Truth be told, this book should definitely be made into a movie, or even a dramatization series.

I was thankful to receive an ARC from St. Martin’s press , as well as audiobook from Netgalley. Switching between both was effortless and I enjoyed both formats equally!! The narrator definitely was an unnecessary bonus.

A heartbreaking story of family, love and survival as one small, close-knit African American family lives and dies in Harlem, NYC during the 80s and 90s. The first half of the book follows sisters Lenox and Mercy, both single moms who take very different paths trying to support their sons, Deon and Judah, who grow up more as brothers than cousins. Then the second half switches focus to the boys and their unique challenges growing up at that time as young Black men. Great on audio, this book really reads like a high-drama tv show or movie and sweeps you away in these characters' lives and struggles. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and a for sending me a finished copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: drug dealing/crack cocaine distribution, gun violence, incarceration

✨ Review ✨Hold You Down by Tracy Brown; Narrated by Patryce Williams

I was captivated from the first pages of this audiobook. The narrator is incredible -- she will pull you in and make you feel ALL THE THINGS. The character development and use of emotion in this book are remarkable.

This book follows sisters Mercy and Lenox, who grew up in Harlem, and who moved to Staten Island in the 1980s as single mothers to raise their sons together nearby. As Mercy struggles to make ends meet, working at the hospital and dreaming of a restaurant, her sister Lenox, diva and style queen extraordinaire, gets into the drug game to bring in some cash. As the sisters struggle, we see the rippling consequences of the sisters consequences as they impact each other and their sons, Deon and Judah.

The book has such a powerful sense of what's coming that it will keep you on the edge of your seat, while forcing you to grapple with questions about individual choices, the power of family, and impact of systemic racism and capitalism on NYC Black residents. Such a great read, and one that's bound to make you think.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: contemporary fiction, historical fiction (1980s/1990s NYC)
Location: Staten Island
Pub Date: Out now!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!

"You can't fight for somebody that won't fight for themselves.."

4.5/5 stars!
This book was an emotional rollercoaster ride I couldn't stop reading.

Hold You Down follows the path of two sisters and their sons during the 1980s - 1990s in Long Island. With shifting narrative perspectives we follow each character through the ups and downs of life intersected by drugs, the U.S. incarceration system, love, grief, violence, determination, and family. This realistically crafted story had me in shock, tears, and contemplation. Definitely be ready for complex characters and reflection on an under-analyzed time in recent U.S. history.

I was so attached to each of the characters and was truly immersed in this book. I hope to read more work by Tracy Brown soon!

Be mindful of the Trigger Warnings and prepared for emotional investment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tracy Brown for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.