Let Me Hold You by Alexandria House

(Heed the trigger warnings: talk of domestic abuse, child abuse, depictions of domestic abuse on page)

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I wasn’t sure what to expect from Leland’s book but I was pleasantly surprised. He was more nuanced and mature than I expected. And considering he’s the young one in the relationship, he was a good compliment to Kim.

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Leland is an NBA player at the top of his game. He recently switched teams as he’s trying to find the perfect fit to get a championship ring. He’s new to the area and tired of dating around. He exclusively dates older women as he doesn’t want any drama and he’s not sure he wants kids. That changes when he meets Kim. She’s oversees the community center where he’s volunteering his time during the preseason and, while she’s older than him, she’s younger than his usual. Doesn’t mean he’s still not attracted to her!

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Kim is back in her home town working for the community center that her son, also an NBA player but in Florida, has started. It’s a fresh start for her and a chance to get away from her over protective son. She had him at 15 and while he’s successful professionally, he still deals with a lot of anger from seeing her partners physically abuse her when he was growing up. It also means that she only looks for very surface level relationships and doesn’t trust that’s she’s deserving of love.

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Leland and Kim work well because he’s patient and unwavering in his love. It takes time for Kim to see it but when she starts to trust him, she realizes that she’s worthy of all the love. It takes most of the book for her to get there but once she does, it’s very satisfying.

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I’m not going to say much as it will give away part of the conflict but trust that it’s a mess. There’s a slight twist that I thought was a possibility but it was still upsetting to witness.

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The author is great at setting up a sex scene and her characters are insatiable! It’s on at any moment of the day and I love that. They can be tender one moment but there’s also room for the bathroom quickies!

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I’m definitely sticking with this series and have book 3 downloaded and waiting.

3.5 out of 5 stars/Recommend

When trying to keep your relationship secret backfires!