This book accompanied me on a very stressful train ride home and honestly it was the thing I needed. It was so sexy, funny and full of cute banter. There were so many moments I was smiling. I will be writing a longer review for my blog because I have so many thoughts about this book.
Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read it.

Professor Victoria Reese knows an uphill battle when she sees one. Convincing her narrow-minded colleagues at the elite Pembroke University to back a partnership with the local library is a fight she saw coming and already has a plan for. What she didn’t see coming? The wildly hot librarian who makes it clear books aren’t the only thing he’d like to handle.

When a tightly wound, sexy-as-hell professor proposes a partnership between his library and her university, children’s department head John Donovan is all for it. He knows his tattoos and easygoing attitude aren’t quite what she expected, but the unmistakable heat between them is difficult to resist.

And then there’s the intriguing late fee on her record. For the Duke’s Convenience… A late fee and a sexy romance novel? There’s more to Dr. Reese than she’s letting on.

John might like to tease her about her late fee, but when he teases her in other ways, Victoria is helpless to resist. Mixing business with pleasure—and oh, it is pleasure—always comes with risks, but maybe a little casual fun between the sheets is just what Victoria needs.- Goodreads

I don' know how else to describe this book other than one of the sweetest romances I have read thus far. It was adorable from beginning to end. I love the way it builds. I love the fact that John knew what he wanted but at the same time was comfortable enough to let Victoria come to the point he was at. She was frustrating to read. It was like talking with the smartest dumb person in the room. Not only does she need therapy but she also needs to learning how to relax (which thankfully she does a bit in this book).

But I liked Victoria because I was able to relate to her and her mask in the workplace. For some people they don't use it/need it but others such as myself cannot be the same person inside of the office as they are outside. It was refreshing to see that I am not alone in this (I know I'm not but it was nice to read).

The author touches about the topic I mentioned above as well as ADHD, being a teenager and being Black. I would have liked to see more times when Victoria was herself. I felt that she was herself around John but she wasn't her complete self. When she was with her friends their interactions are we comfortable. What I mean to say is  she interacted with other Black females in what appeared to be her real self. Do not get me wrong. Friends are going to see a different side of you than your lover is and that is fine. But it felt like she was wearing a mask with John even at the end.

There was something missing to connect her and John but I am not exactly sure if I can word it right.

But other than that, the author must have known that I have a thing for Vikings because John was *insert chef's kiss*

Overall,

I liked this book a lot.

4 Pickles

This was a sweet story about a professor and a librarian. I felt like the book was longer than it needed to be, and I found myself having to force myself to continue reading. However, it was a cute love story, and I loved the way it ended. I appreciated that the ending wasn't a super quick happy ending that lasted a couple paragraphs. It took it farther than that, and I appreciated it. I loved all of the other characters as well. Their family and friends were an important part of the book, and I liked how well we got to know them.

4 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

Once again this started out as something I really wanted to like. However like most books that feature librarians, it was just not my vibe. Everything was so dramatic.

I loved this book!

My review was published today at All About Romance, and I also published it on my Goodreads page. My links are below.

All About Romance - https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/hearts-on-hold-by-charish-reid/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3177260590?book_show_action=false

It all started with a tweet...

No really! I was minding my business and scrolling through my Twitter feed when I saw a tweet from the author promoting the book and I proceeded to drop everything (aka: my previously scheduled TBR) to read this book and I'm quite happy that I did. It started off a bit slow for me but I think that was my fault; I went in thinking that this was a novella and so I expected the heat to come at me quick. Once I realized it was a full length novel, I settled in and truly enjoyed the ride. I appreciated the characterization of Victoria as a black women in a professional environment and all that entails. I loved her interaction with her friends (fingers crossed we get a book about Paula) and how real and witty and refreshing their dialogue is. And John... don't even get me started on how much I loved him as the hero! From reading to a group of small children, helping his niece cope with an overwhelming number of life changes, his absolute lack of toxic masculinity, and his ability to get down and dirty however Victoria needed him to - he's one of my favorite book boyfriends of the year (and yes I'm aware we're only a good month into the year but still). After finishing Hearts on Hold, I immediately looked to see if Charish Reid had any more books published and lo and behold, The Write Escape is already on my Kindle! I look forward to reading it and more from the author :) 4 out 5 wine glasses.

Full preemptive disclosure: I am an academic - an early career one without tenure. My field is classical literature, classical philology to be overly specific, where, as a woman, I am very much the minority.

HEARTS ON HOLD was a delightful read. I saw someone talking about it on Twitter - it had a hot, MALE librarian! and I knew I had to try my luck to read it immediately. It did not disappoint. It is the sort of romance book you read on the weekend, when you have a quiet afternoon to spare, you make yourself some hot beverage, you wrap yourself in a comfy blanket and just want to relax. This book is the sort of warm hug you want on that sort of afternoon.

Sometimes, you will have to just air the blanket a little bit - yes, John, the hot male CHILDREN librarian is just that hot and the chemistry he and Victoria have might spike up the temperature in the room to torrid levels. Sometimes, you will snort your tea out of your nostrils - Paula, Victoria’s colleague is a romance author and of course she is funny and inappropriate as hell. Sometimes, you will feel angry about terrible absentee parents. Once (and probably twice, let’s be honest here), you will have to log in to your library account and check if there are any overdue loans.

HEARTS ON HOLD is a great read. It’s got a little bit of everything that makes it an enjoyable rom-com: the nerdy, slightly rigid academic used to work thrice as hard as her male peers (the way Victoria addresses her department chair in the meeting told at the beginning of the books is basically #AcademicGoals, but I would be fired for that); the hot male MC that single-handedly defeats toxic masculinity with his choice of profession and the love he shows for the niece he is taking care of; the funny friends; not over-the-top drama; a couple of meet-the-parents situations that end up being just fine.

The author was completely new to me, and I surely will read more after this.
Four stars because it is sweet, but not perfect.

in hearts on hold charish reid creates a small town university setting that feels vividly real. maybe it’s all the time i spend on a college campus. but victoria is a total academic, from the top of her control-freak head to the tips of her slightly socially awkward toes.

the way she and john fall into a relationship is so oddly straightforward it’s funny how the two of them get all tangled up. they can’t figure out what they’ve agreed to or what they want. even though everyone else in their life sees the truth.

some of the family meddling was a bit much, but in the end it was good hearted enough, though victoria’s mom is always kind of a challenge on the page.

anyway, i really enjoyed this one. and hope there is more set in this world, there were a few characters who kept hinting at stories.

**hearts on hold will publish on february 3, 2020. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

On the whole, I got a kick out of this romance between an academic and a librarian. Reid excels at workplace scenes that really dig into the mechanics of each character’s job. Victoria’s position as an English professor who advocates for her students as she seeks tenure is especially well fleshed out. I loved those parts.

That said, I engaged less with the characters’ relationship than with everything happening around it. This is largely because Victoria and John share a ton of sex scenes that aren’t my brand of hot. Too much light touching, coupled with terms of endearment that feel like they belong to my parents’ generation. If this is your jam, I’m sure you’ll enjoy those bits more than I did.

The book felt long, too, but I wouldn’t want to miss the academia and I’m sure other readers will want the sex. Someone who’s into both will no doubt relish every page.

I loved this book so much! It's sweet and funny and sexy and charming and just delightful. My full review can be found at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, but here are a few reasons to one-click:

1. The hero is a children’s librarian who looks like a Viking. He is charming and sexy and kind. (He is also the kind of uncle who lets his niece and her friends hold a slumber party at his house where they play Alanis Morisette and paint his nails.)
2. The heroine is a Black professor of literature who kicks ass both in her profession and also, well, she is a military brat and she can actually kick ass. Even the hero’s, if necessary. She is organised and serious and has a plan for everything. (She also has an overdue library book. It’s called For the Duke’s Convenience.)
3. They flirt with literary-themed innuendo and overdue library books and it is unbelievably hot. Seriously, the overdue library book flirtation storyline is the best thing that has ever happened to me in a book. It is charming and sexy and romantic and funny and it has thematic weight and is basically perfect.

This was such a fun, steamy, sweet romance. I loved the librarian/professor pairing and Reid's sharp, witty banter. I look forward to her next release and have been so pleased with all the Carina Press titles I've read!

I unreservedly love HEARTS ON HOLD. A buttoned up, over worked English professor works with a buttoned down, tattooed, man-bunned children's librarian to put together an internship program for students. There's campus politics, kissing in the stacks, family tension, and good friends on all sides.

I adored Victoria's focus. She put together a planner to have an affair! I love it! Her struggle for respect, as a Black woman at an elite, mostly-white university, felt very real, as did the connections and interactions she had with students.

And John's devotion to his family, his commitment to being a good uncle, was heart melting.

The way the two characters play off each other, and their near-instant lust, was great. This book is steamy and emotional, and funny. I just adored it.

This was the first book I've read by Charish Reid, but it won't be the last.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for review.

Included in SBTB's monthly New Releases post, which highlights upcoming books for the next month: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/02/februarys-new-releases-part-one/

Charish Reid, the author of The Write Escape (Harlequin-Carina, 2019), has written another fantastic contemporary romance. The story features a literature professor named Victoria Reese and a children’s librarian named John Donovan. The premise of this story is so fun, and the characters are well-developed. Victoria is hard-working and successful, but struggles with perfectionism and has a difficult time functioning without a schedule…for absolutely everything. Her personal growth throughout the novel is wonderful to read about and very relatable. John is wonderful at his job, though his life is currently more complicated because he’s caring for his niece. Together, John and Victoria help one another to navigate various challenges, all the while falling in love. The love scenes are mostly well-written, though they are graphic (cringe-worthy, at times) and, in my opinion, there’s one too many. You could easily skip these scenes and have no trouble following the story. I really enjoyed reading Victoria’s journey—seeing how she comes to terms with her need to control everything, how John provides the support for that (but she still does it on her own), and how she defends herself to her mother.

I think I preferred The Write Escape to Hearts on Hold, but I would certainly recommend Hearts on Hold if you enjoy spicy contemporaries, and I would recommend it especially to those who like to read books about books—lots of library talk in this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

(This review was posted to my blog on 2-2-2020)

Take two book nerds, get them to work together and you have Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid.

This was the sweet steamy read I needed. John and Victoria had me in stitches during their "deal" to have an "sordid affair" while their working together to put a program in place between Victoria's school and John's library.

Things I loved most about Hearts on Hold:
Victoria's relationship with her good girlfriends. Black women need friends that's gonna tell them when they doing too much or too little...
John's relationship with his niece, it was super sweet to read.
Mention of John's adult ADD.
Victoria's nerdy and very PG ways. I mean the woman wouldn't even say gahtdamn, she said "GD". lols!
When Victoria bought out that damn day planner to schedule their "moments" during said affair. I about died and so did John.

Not too much drama and very humorous moments made Hearts of Hold something special for me. Even though Ms. Reid touches on very serious topics in HoH, we still get a sweet but again steamy story.

Definitely one to add to our reading list.

*Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read/review.
A more detailed review will appear via my blog on release day.

Sometimes I find myself slowing down as I read a book because I truly want to savor it, and Hearts on Hold is definitely a book to savor. This tale of a literature professor and a children’s librarian finding love is one of the more romantic novels I’ve read in a long time. By turns sweet and sexy, this story is a delight.

The beginning of this book introduces the heroine and her work world very well. We see Dr. Victoria Reese’s intelligence and competence come shining through in a faculty meeting. And we also see what she’s up against in the form of a dictatorial, narrow-minded department chair trying every means at his disposal to shoot down her idea of creating an internship for students interested in library work. I’ve seen people put lots of energy into telling audiences what microaggressions are. Reid paints them vividly on the page, and it sets an unmistakable tone for the reader.

The daughter of a successful Marine and his very driven wife, Victoria has spent her entire life knowing that she has to have a plan and that she needs to execute it every time. She’s pretty tightly wound, but honestly, I could see why. And I could also see why she and John Donovan would be each other’s perfect match.

John is fairly open about his ADHD in the book, and we can see where staying on track and being organized poses a real challenge for him. However, he has ways to cope (not to mention that organization is Victoria’s superpower) and just as we get to see Victoria shine at the university, we also get to see John connecting with children and doing work  he is obviously both skilled at and for which he has a real passion.

Speaking of passion, the romance between John and Victoria has plenty of heat. John somewhat jokingly refers to their arrangement as “a sordid affair,” and yet there’s a real sweetness about their deepening connection. That’s not to say that there isn’t also a fair amount of steaminess. Not only does Reid write some very passionate love scenes, but they are perfectly timed to show the emotional arc between the characters. I see reviewers write often about pacing in suspense plots, but this book has near perfect pacing in its emotional development, and that makes it a delight to read.

On the surface, this tale of a professor and a librarian putting together a college internship might sound like a fairly straightforward plot. However, the author takes this book into some very deep territory and that complexity makes the story go from good to amazing. Given Victoria’s status as a Black professor in a primarily white, upper crust school as well as the fact that John himself is white, there are plenty of opportunities to explore issues of race and identity.  As a white reader, I’m sure there are things I missed as I read. However, I still appreciated seeing how Reid’s characters grappled with these issues and I came away from the story with empathy for just how much Victoria had to deal with that some of her white counterparts in academia do not.

And I can’t end this review without also mentioning how much I enjoyed seeing Victoria and John’s family and friends on the page. Both Victoria and John have strong friendships with people they can trust as sounding boards, and I really enjoyed the glimpses I got into those sides of their lives. John is also caring for his Black niece while his stepsister works overseas. Through this circumstance, we not only get to see John connecting with and building a strong relationship with his niece, but we also get to see this bringing John and Victoria even closer together emotionally.

If you’re looking for a book that brings plenty of depth, passion and sweetness, do check out Hearts on Hold. This beautiful story is a real delight, and I suspect this will end up being one of the reading highlights of my year.

Buy it at: Amazon
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John Donovan is my new book boyfriend.

I might be biased, as a children's librarian myself and someone who gets big heart eyes over any man who is good with children, but I adored this hero.

Victoria Reese is AMAZING. Her drive and ambition are enviable and I absolutely loved her as the heroine.

Charish Reid has done it again - she's written a beautiful book that swept me up into the romance. The relationship was believable/swoon-worthy, the sex was fire, and the minor characters were fantastic. I really hope Charish has a companion book in the works because there were some hints about two other characters...

Lastly, as a follower of Charish on twitter, she definitely did an amazing job at weaving her own personal experience as a WOC in academia into this book. There are heavy themes, you'll feel heartbroken and exhausted for Victoria at times, but hard work and utter dedication prevail in the best way.

Great book.

You may not be able to tell from this cover, but the steam level on this is pretty high. I enjoyed the steaminess and feel like it is important to share with y’all.

The heroine, Victoria, is a college professor and she comes up with an idea to help boost attendance at the college. She wants to partner with the local library to help her students learn practical skills about libraries. To be honest, I skimmed some of that stuff because I wanted to get to the relationship :) The hero, Johnny, is a tattooed librarian. He also suffers from ADHD and it is depicted on the page as him having a hard time focusing on things at time and his office is very messy.

Victoria and Johnny have chemistry from the first moment they meet. They quickly agree to having a “sordid affair” that ends up not being very sordid because Victoria likes to plan everything. Planning does not equal sordid and Victoria does get to learn that lesson.

Johnny is caring for his niece while his sister is off in Sweden doing some sort of study for work. His niece avoided being a plot moppet by having a fully formed story, well as much as a pre-teen needed to have in a romance novel about other people.

Victoria’s mother is overbearing and was annoying to read. It was wonderful when Victoria found her voice and used it.

I enjoyed the journey that Victoria and Johnny went on to find their HEA. The story did drag a little from about 60-80% but it could have just been me getting caught up on my own life stuff too. Reid wrote Victoria and her friends has having a great friendship and y’all know how much I appreciate that.

I would definitely recommend this book. Reid also sprinkled in some tidbits that I like to think will appear in another book for a different couple. So I hope that is true.

“Let me know if I need to bail you out of book jail.”

Ah! Book jail! Who hasn’t owed a fine to the library? While for most people it may only be a dime or two, Victoria owes almost $30 for a steamy romance novel and it’s the catalyst for a meeting with the local librarian.

It was an absolute joy reading about Victoria and John. She is an English Professor dealing with micro aggressions at work and an overbearing mother. John is a Librarian with ADD and is caring for his niece while his sister is away on a extended business trip.

This story just felt so real. From John’s relationship with his sister and niece to Victoria’s conversations with her girlfriends. So many scenes had me laughing out loud. John’s mom and stepmom are hilarious. Any book that can make me laugh is a winner and the ending was perfection. I screamed when Victoria described her outfit for the costume party. Well played.

If you’re looking for a delightful romance about opposites attracting and then having to figure out a way to make it work then this book is definitely for you. Highly recommend.

This is quick, fun read between two big book nerds- so really, what more can you ask for? For me, the parts of this book that were definitely the most successful were the main characters-- I really liked them & their dynamic. Pretty much everything else here was just kind of fine to me. I am likely biased here, as I worked for a university for a few years so I know how that sausage gets made (this wasn't wholly implausible or anything, but a few details didn't ring quite true to me) and I'm predisposed against any book with kids as a big element.

Still, I recommend this one to anyone who thinks this sounds like something they'd enjoy