Synopsis
Living in London after spending almost twenty years in a town with a population of three hundred would be hard on anyone – and Alec Johnson is no exception to the rule.
When Alec followed Lexy to London, he knew his life would change drastically. He just didn’t know how much. With Lexy’s friends and admirer to contend with, he has to show there’s more to the country surfer boy than is ability to ride the waves. With his own shameless admirers, he has to keep Lexy’s trust – and despite her love for him, that’s no easy task.
Beneath her tough girl exterior, all Jennifer Mason has ever wanted to do is paint. London’s School of Art can give her that, and she couldn’t be happier she’s finally breaking free from Lilac Bay. What she’s not happy about is having to leave Carl behind – or his reluctance to visit her while she’s studying.
Their relationship is put to the test as living on her own for the first time and university take their toll on Jen. After all, three hundred miles is a long way to be away from your boyfriend when you’re eighteen years old.
And it’s even harder when you can’t keep your eyes off your best friend’s older brother.
5/5 Stars
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My Review
Alec has moved to London to be with Lexi. Now living in a flat, a job working with her father and having Lexi around him nearly 24/7 is utter heaven for him. That only thing is there is a guy who wants them to split up so he can have Lexi to himself. Oh no, Alec is having none of that! Lexi is his and its going to stay that way for as long as she wants him.
Jen is settling slowly in big, old London. Missing her boyfriend, who refuses to even come down, waiting for her to go back home, its stressing her out and it doesn’t help that she has feelings for her best friends brother. Their sarcastic and snappy comments have been an on-going routine but is that just to hide the sexual attraction she has for him?
Lexi is back in her hometown of London but now she feels like she doesn’t fit in with her old life. Her best friend is a bitch, her guy friend wants to split her and Alec up and she just doesn’t feel like hanging around with this people anymore. She found the real her in Devon and her real friends and she knows Jen and Alec are the real deal, not the fakeness shes been friends with for years, where she lost herself. But shes scared. Will Alec make her see that nothing is ever going to come between them?
Bing has always been a bit of a ladies’ man but he’s also always liked Jen way more than he should. During the summer, they bantered and bit at one another but now shes in London and seeing him nearly every day, the snapping as increased and so has his attraction towards her. He wants her. So will he get her?
You should all know my love of Emma Hart by now. So when I received Holding On (#1.5 Memories) I NEEDED to read it asap. Alec is my book boyfriend so I desperately wanted more of him (and of course Lexi) but also we get Jen and Bing a lot more in this novella.
Emma’s writing is faultless. She knows exactly what to do to keep you reading, to draw emotions from you, to make you laugh, cry, feel anger, you name it, Emma can do it and her writing is exactly what keeps me captivated along with her plots. She could write about a piece of cheese and it would probably hold my attention and make me fall in love with that cheese.
If you haven’t given Emma a chance, then please do, her writing style is a breath of fresh air and you will be turning pages at lightning speed, along with falling in love with all the characters. At one point I was shouting at my Kindle…at who? I’m not going to say…
NOW, if you have read Never Forget (Review can be found here) then you will know that Jen, Bing and Lexi have known each other since they were little, only recently rekindling their friendship. Jen and Bing have this love/hate relationship where they are utterly sarcastic to one another and their banter is simply amazing it was have you in stitches and going ‘ohhh he/she didn’t’. It’s totally hidden sexual attraction yet neither of them can admit it, so they keep on biting at one another.
You can see their chemistry in Never Forget and you can certainly see it turned up a notch in London. One: because Lexi is best friends with Jen, 2: Bing is now friends with Alec and 3: They all hang around together. Unlike in Devon where the comments were fleeting, there are more now they are seeing more of each other.
Poor Jen though. She’s completely uprooted of her life. She’s now in a bustling city, at university so she’s constantly busy, her boyfriend won’t visit her and shes away from her parents. It’s enough to make anyone upset but good thing she has Alec, who has also moved away from Devon too, and Lexi, who is like her soul mate and, well Bing, in some way. Although she has the familiarity of her best friend’s around her, and shes settling in despite missing Carl and crushing on Bing, she is still the witty, crazy, protective Jen we all fell in love with in Never Forget and damn straight, she will never let us forget…not that we would ever want her to change!
Bing is definitely still Bing. He’s a ladies’ man, more in his comfort zone being back at home but something switches inside of him. As I’ve mentioned, he and Jen still bicker and snap at one another, but he definitely address’s why he does this. You see him change, you see him get irritated but you also see his protective streak, not just with Jen but with Lexi. Standing up for her; he’d do anything for his sister. I loved seeing this side of Bing and I know in Always Remember we will get to see more of him all crazy about a girl…oh I’m excited just thinking about him acting this way!!
I did love that Lexi, Bing, Alec and Jen got their own POV’s during the book. We got to understand them more, since Alec and Jen had moved to London, plus we got to delve into Bing and Jen’s heads, readying ourselves for Always Remember. And because of Jen and Bings POV’s, I loved knowing that they had been harbouring secret feelings for one another, only masking them up with witty and sarcastic comments to one another, the only way they know how to cover up their feelings.
Holding On sets us up for Always Remember. We get a glimpse into the life Alec has to adjust to in London while trying to hold back an admirer of Lexi’s, who is more than certain he will split them up and get Lexi. Because of this, it’s hurting Lexi because she’s undoubtingly in love with Alec and she knows Alec loves her. He followed her to London! And would, of course, follow her to the end of the world.
Holding On definitely proves that no matter how long you how known/been together, love holds no time limit, and it really doesn’t for these two. It’s easy to see the love they have for one another is pure and strong and no one in their right mind would be stupid enough to try and break them up. They are the real deal. And don’t worry Alec (swoooon) and Lexi fans; Emma isn’t that horrible to us to break up these two. As I’ve said, they definitely are the real deal and I look forward to them in Always Remember.
The ending though!! I did chastise Emma on Twitter for it, but all is good because I know it only makes me more giddy and excited to read about Jen and Bing in Always Remember even though I want it in my hands now to read!
If you have yet to read Never Forget, shame on you. Go read Lexi and Alec’s story then come back and read more about their life and delve into the start of Bing and Jen’s. Go on, what are you waiting for?
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Author Bio
By day, Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to a terrible two year old and cooking baby, due September 2013. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of wine – well, tropical juice now – and writes books. She likes to write about magic, kisses and whatever else she can fit into the story. Sarcastic, witty characters are a must. As are hot guys. She’s working on the companion novel to her latest release and NA debut, Never Forget (Memories #1), and The Love Game (The Game, #1) will release on March 29th. She likes to be busy – unless busy involves doing the dishes. Ironically, that’s where most of her ideas come from. Her debut YA series, The Mauve Legacy, is an Apple iBooks Bestseller – and this makes Emma excited.
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