Hold Me (Cherry Blossom Lake 3) by Tawna Fenske-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: March 8, 2024

Romeo. Boy Toy. Player. I’ve heard what they call me, and never gave it much thought.
Then Zoe walks in with her library smarts and innocent eyes and one helluva dirty idea.
I guess living in hospitals for two decades didn’t leave much time for dating.
Or any kind of fun, really.
Zoe’s a virgin with a bucket list, and guess who’s on it?
No way am I satisfying her desires.
She’s my boss’s little sister-in-law, and besides.
I’m maxed out with my sick dad and a secret I’m not ready to share.
I’ll help with the unsexy things on Zoe’s list.
Problem is, everything from a foul-mouthed pinball machine to my dopey dog keep conspiring to push us together.
Even cooking class and an oddly sexy oil change lead straight to temptation.
Girls like Zoe don’t end up with guys like me.
It’s basic math even this high school dropout can do.
So how come I can’t stay away?

•••••••

REVIEW:HOLD ME is the third instalment Tawna Fenske’s contemporary, adult CHERRY BLOSSOM LAKE erotic, romance series. This is twenty-four year olds, fisherman / crabber Cal Cornish, and library worker Zoe Brooks’ story line. HOLD ME can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Zoe and Cal) HOLD ME follows the building romance and relationship between our story line couple. Zoe Brooks has struggled all of her life with severe medical issues but a clean bill of health finds our heroine working on a bucket list of things to do. Meeting fisherman and town manwh*re pushes Zoe to make an offer Cal can’t refuse, an offer to help fulfill her list of sexual needs. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Zoe and Cal, and the potential fall-out as Cal struggles with the demons from his past, pushing Zoe away when he needs her the most.

The world building focuses on the Zoe’s need for independence, and her ability to say what needs to be said. Cal is a man struggling with a severe case of low self-esteem, exacerbated by a father with his own demons. As Zoe continues to move forward and out, Cal’s reputation and his poor opinion of himself, threaten a future for our story line couple.

The relationship between Zoe and Cal begins as friends, and quickly develops into something more. A friends with benefits arrangement in the hopes of ‘teaching’ Zoe about life and everything it has to offer but an arrangement in which Cal is hoping for something more.Cal’s reputation with the ladies precedes his introduction to our story line heroine but Zoe is willing to look beyond the ‘mistakes’ of his past. The $ex scenes are passionate and seductive.

The secondary and supporting characters includes Zoe’s sister Cassidy Brooks (Try Me), their mother Ruby, and Cassidy’s other half Jake; Lucy and Peter (Charm Me), as well as Mason, Parker, and Cal’s long-suffering father Edgar Cornish.

HOLD ME is a story of struggle and acceptance, family and friendships,relationships and love. The character driven premise is thought-provoking and honest; the romance is spicy and provocative; the characters are determined and sassy.

Reading Order and Previous reviews
Try Me
Charm Me

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy