Reviews

Hold Me by Anna Zaires

desiree_mcl's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars.

Tropes: Captor/Captive, bad guy/good girl, older man/younger woman, and super jealous/possessive alpha.

TW/CW: Violence, torture of a main character, sexual assault of a secondary character, Stockholm syndrome, attempted sexual assault, non-consensual sex both fantasy and not fantasy. A lot of questionable consent, and a miscarriage.

Pretty sure I would have rated this higher if the aftermath of Julian's torture had been dealt with better/differently. Ok, so I mentioned in my review of Keep Me (Book 2) that with the ending of that book and the trauma specifically Julian had to deal with, that I was looking forward to see what would come of that and how it would affect them individually and as a couple. And I was disappointed that it didn't end up affecting them much at all.

At the end of Book 2, Julian had been tortured, heavily tortured. And one of the bigger injuries that could have affected his skills was his eye had been plucked out. He also had scars on his face and just a lot of torture injuries. So I was interested in seeing how Julian coped with not only his physical scars but how he felt about losing his eye, how he dealt with that with what he does for a living, etc. But as I mentioned there wasn't an issue at all. He got a prosthetic eye and he stated that he compensated and figured things out fairly quickly, there was only a couple sentences dealing with it. And the scars, Julian had worried, briefly, how Nora would react to him, if she'd still be attracted to him but after they had sex in his hospital room there was nothing else said about it (that I remember) or if there was it was a fleeting comment.

Despite that issue, I really enjoyed this last installment in the trilogy. I'm looking forward to listening to the next trilogy and then finishing up the Tormentor Mine series.

smithrachaelynn's review against another edition

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5.0

This book might be my favorite of the whole series. I loved watching these characters challenge each other and settle into their roles. Julian is still such a bad boy and I love that. Loved this series so much.

miihaaelaa14's review against another edition

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4.0

4,5 ⭐️

coco_90's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

suvani_222's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

jamiesbookaddiction's review against another edition

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5.0

So Julian is the main reason I realize I'm giving this series a five-star. I love him. Like he is exactly the kind of guy I'm a sucker for in books. He has a horrible past, doesn't know how to deal with his feelings/relationships, overly possessive (but only because he wants to make sure she is safe)...basically 100% alpha male. You can tell that he loves her even though he can't say the words.

“I will give you the world, my pet. The whole fucking world—just as long as you’re mine.”

Nora I have a love/hate relationship with. She has moments of strength and I love her. But then she talks about him taking her or mentions Stockholm syndrome or says a guy like Julian and I want to scream!!! Seriously, we are on the third book. Why are we still talking about any of this??? I'm completely over it at this point.

The book ended on a high note though. Nora finally stands up to her parents. Julian and Nora deal with them both thinking they are at fault for things that are out of their control. And finally, FINALLY, the words are said and all is right in the world...

“Yes, Nora,” he says hoarsely. “Yes, I love you. I love you so fucking much it hurts. I didn’t know it, or maybe I just didn’t want to know it, but it’s always been there. I spent most of my life trying not to feel, trying not to let people get close to me, but I fell for you from the very beginning. It just took me two years to realize it.”

imlisaok's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars!

holly_suds55's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

thebookconfessions's review against another edition

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3.0

I really loved this series and how it all unravelled.
Julian and Nora are definitely one of the most interesting messed up couples I've read about. Their attraction, passion, and love for each other was toxic as hell but so damn fascinating. I love them and even after all that happened I really wanted their happy ending.

ceb926's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0