ONE TO HOLD by Tia Louise

ONE TO HOLD by Tia Louise

Advanced Reading Copy

Published: October 9, 2013, Tia Louise

My Rating: 4.5 of 5⭐️

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Melissa spots him across the bar at the hotel, where her best friend has dragged her for a week's worth of spa treatments. An escape, from what she has set in motion back home. She knows she has to go back and deal with the fall out, but for now, she is going to try and enjoy this one week of relaxation. She will need all her strength whe she gets back, in order to tie up all the loose ends and make a new beginning.

She is sitting alone at the bar when Derek sees her, and without hesitation he starts making his way over. He is in Arizona for a conference, giving lectures on Internet Security, one of the things his company specializes in. He had just wandered in for a drink when he spotted her, beautiful, but looking unbelievably sad. Not quite sure what is drawing him, he feels the need to make her smile.

Their attraction is immediate and combustible, and for the duration of their one week stay in this Arizona hotel, they can't seem to help but continue to seek each other out. What neither counted on, were the growing intimacy and emotions, as well as the piling up of questions and uncertainties. But when the week is up, they each have to return and deal with life as they knew it, but what did they know?

*****

Wow, hose me down!!!! ....... This is the second time I have been blown away by the quality of a debut novel, written by a journalist or former journalist. There is something about the ease with which this book seems to flow. A certain rhythm and confidence, all it's own, that you don't often see in debut novels. Don't get me wrong.....those other novels can still be excellent, but the writers are often still finding their comfort zone, their 'groove', if you will. 

Tia Louise quite obviously has found her 'groove' already, she tells this story with a confidence that I was able to sense from the first page. 

Not only does she tell the story confidently........she tells a damn good tale. An interesting storyline that pulls you in from the start, but only shows little glimpses of an underlying picture, slowly revealing an increasingly intricate plot, with a twist over half way through, that caused me to have a physical reaction. 

Her characters are more mature, which is something that certainly appeals to me. Their emotional responses tend to be more mature and thought out and that is perfectly reflected in the writing. These are people who take themselves and others seriously. No playing games when it comes to feelings. 

Melissa is a private person. She feels very conflicted, but is determined to finish what she set out to do, by herself and under her own steam. One of the most self-reliant heroines I've encountered. She also has a passionate side she is only now starting to discover and explore, or perhaps, she has only now met the person she feels free enough with to allow that side of her to come out.

Derek is in a complex and difficult situation. He is immediately taken with Melissa, but he can tell right from the start that she is a woman who carries a heavy load. Having taken a long time to get over his own heartbreak, he recognizes pain when he sees it. He acts on duty, feeling and instinct, not necessarily in that order, and leaves any decision making out of the equation, for now. 

✨A fabulous debut, with emotional turmoil, tense moments of suspense and thigh-clenching sex scenes!✨

**ARC provided in return for an honest review.**