Tag Archives: Take My Hand

Book Review: Hold on Tight (Take My Hand #2) – Nicola Haken

via goodreads

via goodreads

In this second installment of the series, Dexter fell apart yet again pushing everyone away. His addiction took a toll in his relationship with Emily who still supported him regardless – the question is will Dexter still be able to come out of this black hole or will he drag Emily down to its core? This is the continuation of Dexter and Emily’s story from Take My Hand picking up the story after the death of Dexter’s mom and the appearance of his Dad who’s supposed to dead.

This is actually slightly better than the first installment only because it’s meatier and it clearly shows a very realistic portrayal of someone in Dexter’s condition. I find some parts of it a s bit “over the top Days Of Our Lives” dramatic but overall, it explains a lot about Dexter which I appreciated. The latter part became painfully predictable but with all the drama going on, the predictability seems like a smart option for the author. I’m still not sure if I’m gonna hang on with the series… perhaps another time.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Take My Hand (Take My Hand #1) – Nicola Haken

via goodreads

via goodreads

I’m first to admit that I got this title primarily because of its high rating (along with the rest of the books in the series – four overall!). I was maybe hoping that I’d stumble upon another “Beautiful Disaster” or some “Slammed” goodness.

 Take My Hand centers on Dexter and Emily – both with troubled past they’re trying to forget / evade. Dexter is an American expat in London who escaped from home in the hopes of inflicting less pain and avoid dragging down the people he loves with him. Then he meets Emily, the shy, naïve and compassionate student who so clearly made it a point of not veering away from him despite everything she have learned about his past. This leads to Emily pushing away everyone including her family, friends and even school in order to tend to Dexter and his personal demons – personal demons that Dexter have been avoiding from the moment he realized that he’d fallen with Emily.

I find the whole conflict of the story a bit weak – that with Dexter’s mother an all dragging a whole lot of the story. The character of Rachel annoyed me at no end and I’m glad that she was toned down a bit midway. The first person approach narration felt ridiculous, that with the vibe of the character talking to its readers – it just didn’t work for me. I loved the Travis Maddox and Young The Giants reference though. Hooray! Going back to the novel, I’d say it’s a decent intro into the series. It has enough charm but there’s nothing new to it. And it sort of reminds me of “More Than” series by Jay McLean which I’m still cringing whenever I think about that god-awful series. I’m crossing my fingers that the story will pick up on the second book because this seriously has great potentials.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars