The Two Brains of Book Reviewers: Hold on to Me by Lucia Franco & Review

Genre: New Adult/Coming of Age

Series Standalone

Synopsis:
John Jackson.

He’s a sweet talking Georgia boy, rough around the edges with an irresistible smile. John sets his sights on the new girl, determined to show her what his small town is about. But she isn’t as accepting as he thought and she rejects him at every turn.

The beauty and boldness of Alyssa Winters stirs John’s blood. She quickly works her way under his skin and becomes a constant in his life – his best friend, his other half. As the attraction between the two friends grows, John wants more.

She pushes, he pulls.

When one reckless night of fun wrecks havoc on John, Alyssa risks it all to ease his pain, giving him the one thing he desires most...her. But John’s sadness runs too deep, the damage, irreparable.

He runs, she falls.

John must work to prove himself. Despite everything, Alyssa is the one person he doesn’t want to live without. The stakes are high, and he’s willing to bet it all. Even if it means he’s left to suffer alone.

Darra's Review:

Last year we had the chance to read Hold on to Me. Unfortunately I did not put my review up till now. It is really a shame because I truly loved this book. Well written with such detail and depth into who each person becomes. Truly makes you emotional involved in the life of this book.

Hold on to Me is an ongoing story of several peoples lives and how they are affected by the life choices each makes. There was so much in just the first quarter of the book. Although many books will slowly peak at the end, this is a roller coaster that has up's and down's throughout. I personally was an emotional wreck. Not saying I cried all the way through. But the excitement of when one meets for the first time, the lump in your throat of fear what will happen next, the despair of how one feels, the euphoria of what is to happen.

Alyssa is a wonderful character. Is the kind of person you will wish to read in any book. John and Jace are the people you wish you knew in real life. They live a country life that actually makes you want to be part of. Which is unreal because I am opposite. Just as Alyssa. You will change your mind quickly because you just want to hang with the two guys. They are awesome.

Real life happens and a terrible accident occurs that effect each one. This could happen to anyone, it will hit close to home. With Lucia's writing, you will feel the despair and get choked up.

You will not imagine the turn of events that happen which lead to each ones new chapter. Alyssa has a hard road ahead of her and can't imagine having to live in her shoes. Such a young life that has hardship.

John returns to his past life, which included Alyssa. Only it is not the girl he loved. Now it is time to show how both John and Alyssa can turn it around and move forward with life that they should live. I will not go further into what happens. I will just say there is so much to the plot that I cannot explain unless I make this a 10 page essay.

I am sure I have made my point many times above. Loved the book and cannot wait to read more from Lucia. Hold on to Me moved me. And with how much I read, that means this is a stand out book to remember.

I rate the book a 4.8 out of 5. Don't miss the chance to read this book.

Sunny's Review:

There are so many things that I can say about this book. I really liked this book. I have not read anything by Lucia Franco before but I am going to see what else she has out there.

I had to remind myself through this book that everyone is young. Alyssa is eighteen or nineteen and John is twenty going on twenty one. I loved John, Jace and Ford. They are the three good ole boys in small town Georgia that are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives and just have fun while working it out. They are young and dumb but you can tell that they are really good guys. I am not going to lie. I spent a few summers doing the same things they did in this book, except I was in Texas. Again, I had to remember how young they are but otherwise these guys were great in the beginning. Alyssa deals with a lot of stuff. At first, I was annoyed with her but then as you go along, you see the mental abuse from her mother. I mean she is horrific. I am happy that Alyssa begins hanging out with John. I wish she had not let her mother color her thinking but I loved the banter between them and the fun that the whole group had when hanging out.

There is a major tragedy that changes all of their lives forever. Literally all of their worlds are tilted on the axis and will never straighten back out. They all deal with this in separate ways and none of them are healthy. John takes off and then Alyssa has to deal with different types of abuse.

After a little bit, John returns and realizes how bad he has jacked up parts of his life. He tries to fix everything and I will say it again, I had to remind myself how young they are. He tries to work everything out with Alyssa and I was so mad at Alyssa for a little bit during this part. Then I looked at how she has been treated her whole life. I understand the reasons she did what she did. I understood her fighting John at every turn. I totally love John towards the end of the book. There are a couple of times when I am like "hold on, dude, you can't talk to her like that." Then I realize why he is acting like a jerkwad. He has good intentions.

I am like Darra on this one. I could talk about it all day. I hope I did not put any spoilers in there for you. I am giving this book 4.7 stars out of 5. It is well written and there are definitely a lot of emotions that you have to deal with while reading it. Go get it!!!