Tuesday 21 January 2014

Blog tour stop and giveaway ~~ One To Keep (One to Hold #2) by Tia Louise




WARNING: Mature themes, strong language and sexual content. Recommended for adult readers (18+) only!

Theres a new guy in town...
 
Patrick Knight, single, retired Guard-turned private investigator. I was a closer. A deal maker. I looked clients in the eye and told them Id get their shit done. And I did...
 
Patrick doesnt do nice.

At least, not anymore.

After his fiancée cheats, he follows up with a one-night stand and a disastrous office hook-up. His business partner (Derek Alexander) sends him to the desert to get his head straightand clean up the mess.

While there, Patrick meets Elaine, and blistering sparks fly, but shes not looking for any guy. Or a long-distance relationship.

Patricks ready to do anything to keep her, but just when it seems hes changed her mind, the skeletons from his past life start coming back.

(Standalone, M/F, HEA)
 


 ARC RECEIVED FOR AN HONEST REVIEW
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, One To Hold, so I was looking forward to One to Keep.

It has now been a few days since I have read One To Keep and it has taken me this time to come back and write my review.  Hmmm, how do I write this?

Patrick's fianc` cheats on him with their neighbour, and his way of dealing with it is to become a total man whore.  Really, really bad man whore.  He gets it anywhere and everywhere.  Seriously by 25% he has been there and done that with numerous people, getting there so quick my head was spinning!!  He went from the tattoo artist Kenny (a girl!!) - who I really kinda liked to the next woman before I could blink!  All the time I was thinking

Kenny and Patrick had the emotional connection that they both needed to combat their demons, and after a night of passion, they become firm friends.  I wished things could have happened with them.

After dipping his wick in the office ink as they say, his boss/business partner sends him interstate till things settle down.  Well, everything settles down except his junk!  This is where we overlap with book 1.

While the beginning of the book is all about how Patrick and how he got to where he is today, the rest of it is about his new "insta relationship" with school teacher Elaine.

And her is also where I found that that story started to lose me.  After first meeting Elaine (continuity problem #1 he knew her name was Elaine before he had ever seen or met her! I went back and reread the chapter before hand to make sure I hadn't missed anything).   

Cue "insta love".  I am NOT a fan of insta love.  After their first date of sorts, he was declaring his love for her.  Insta Lust yeah I get, but this, nope. Not at all. Everything all felt too rushed.

Elaine just didn't connect with at all.  I was quite ambivalent towards her, I neither loved nor loathed her, she just didn't stand out for me.  Don't know what it was about her but there was nothing outstanding about her.

There was a bit of angst when Patrick and Elaine had to part after their lustful few days together, and he tried to convince her that a long distance relationship would work.

Just as things started to go well, Patrick's past catches up with him .  Kenny contacts him with some news that throws a real spanner in the works.  Since I couldn't connect with Patrick and Elaine as a couple, I really really wanted something to happen with Patrick and Kenny.  They had the connection ,the friendship.  Kenny coming back into the picture really made it harder for me to see Patrick and Elaine as the couple.

There were also other side stories carrying on in the back ground that I felt really didn't need to be told?  Maybe more time on the Patrick and Elaine and I might have connected more? 

Overall, as much as I love Tia Louise's writing and loved the first book in this series, this one just lacked for me. It had serious potential to be a great book, but it fell flat with me. I nearly gave up before finishing it, but I am not one to give up on a book.

I know lots of others are going to love One to Keep, but it didn't fully work for me.  I will read more of Ms Louise's works in the future though




About Tia Louise:

Tia Louise is a former journalist, world-traveler, and collector of beautiful men (who inspire all of her stories... wink)turned wife, mommy, and novelist. 

She lives in the center of the U.S.A. with her lovely family and one grumpy cat. There, she dreams up stories she hopes are engaging, hot, and sexy, and that cause readers rethink common public locations 

Its possible she has a slight truffle addiction.

Books by Tia Louise:

One to Hold (Derek & Melissa), 2013 
One to Keep (Patrick & Elaine), 2014
 

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