Hold On Tight by Abbi Glines | Book Review

Synopsis

Six years ago, Dewayne Falco’s life changed. He lost someone he never expected to lose. Resigned to punish himself for something he felt he could have prevented, he goes through life without getting too close to anyone.

What he didn’t expect was for the girl across the street to move back home and remind him of what they both lost: Dewayne’s younger brother Dustin. However, when a miniature version of Dustin opens the door to greet him, Dewayne realizes he might not have lost everything after all.

Sienna Roy loved Dustin Falco most of her life. He was the boy next door, the high school basketball star and her best friend. But when his life was cut short, she realized he left a part of himself behind.

Now, she’s back in Sea Breeze, thankful to have a home for her and Dustin’s son, but not sure if she can ever forgive the people across the street who abandoned her when she needed them the most — The Falcos.

Betrayal, lies, and forbidden attraction might end Dewayne and Sienna’s story before it’s even begun.

My Review

I definitely read the entire thing in a southern accent! The way the characters speak remind me so much of a few of my friends in Texas. I really enjoyed this book but I think it probably wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, because of how women are spoken to or about disrespectfully, but I think the author meant well and it’s more of a cultural thing in that area, different from the way I’ve grown up, so for that I’d say that’s why I docked a star. Not because the book was bad at all, but that aspect just wasn’t relatable to me, and probably something that would turn some people off from the book.

That out of the way, I really enjoyed this book! I needed a break from another book and this was a book that was really easy to binge in a couple of sittings. I loved Sienna’s relationship with her little boy, how bonded they were, and their journey of reuniting with family.
Spoilers incoming, I really felt so sad for her and what she went through in her past. She had a relationship with a boy in her past who was always unfaithful to her, never valued her. In the book he is described as her best friend, and this was something that kept coming up and struck me as odd, because the author didn’t really provide any background into how on earth they were best friends. He seemed to treat her so horribly, so this was one flaw in the book that was hard to overlook.

Dewayne always stepping up to be there for her in the past and in her present. It was sad seeing him feel like he wasn’t worth anything, always living in his younger brother’s shadow and sacrificing the girl he loved just for his brother to treat her so horribly. It seemed like because he was a couple years older, he never felt like it was his place to pursue Sienna because she was closer to his brother’s age range, and it was her and his brother that were best friends. He didn’t want to overstep, even though his brother expressed no interest in her until other guys started paying attention to her. This aspect I understood, but it was really sad.

This book has a lot of emotional moments, and something I really enjoy is seeing authors compare different types of love in their books; love that isn’t really sincere or healthy, verses love that’s more real and genuine, and this book does that.

Overall I really liked this book. It’s not my favorite, but it’s a solid 4 star read and I liked it enough to binge it, which I definitely can’t do for every book so that’s saying something. Definitely recommend.

The Cozy Cat Rating: ★★★★