This is a funny, enjoyable, ultra-steamy, well-written book. Ultimately, though, I couldn't get past the cheating. There was literally no reason for Laura to make the choice of one man over the other. And the book did nothing to convince me that she won't cheat again the next time she meets a man she's attracted to. The book has no moral center, and the message seems to be that actions don't have consequences.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received.

Just want to advise that I received a free ARC copy from NetGalley for an honest review on the book “Why I held your hand”.

A very cute book. But I felt it a little to cliché for me. I love contemporary romance books, they are one of my top favorite genres for books. But, it felt a little too much there and too fast action for love.. I think that it was a cute story through, with cute characters. I recommend this to someone if you want a book that has a quick and cute romance, depends if you want to buy it or not. But it’s not a bad book and I think people who like a meet cute romance will want to read this book and it’s perfect for them. Overall I think it’s up too you if you want to read this book or not, not a bad book but definitely not at the top of the list.

The perfect read for the holidays! A vacation area town struggling to keep up with the nearby resorts by hiring outside marketing to help them. When Laura meets David, part of the marketing team, she starts falling hard. Facing two paths in life how will it end for Laura? A beautiful Hallmark-Esk read for the winter months!

This book was so so SO GOOD!! I loved the wry humor from the beginning! David and Laura's first encounter was hilarious and oh man, were some of their scenes steamy (swoon!!). But Spence slowly warmed my heart, especially after he and Laura watched the sunset at the hot springs for the first time. I thoroughly enjoyed the graphic scenes (wowza!!) and I definitely got caught up in the "which one will she choose?" dilemma. The last sentence of the book....perfection. Thanks for a fun read!

An absolutely perfect romance to read during the holiday season! This felt a little bit like a (very grown-up) version of Gilmore Girls, with its themes of tourism and small-town charm. I often wish that Hallmark's holiday movies featured a little more grown-up romance, and this book definitely provided that!

I really enjoyed Why I Held Your Hand! If you like steamy romances and love triangles, this is definitely worth a read. Laura loves her small town of North Powell, but it needs tourism boost. When she hires a hotshot PR firm to do just that, she meets David, a smart handsome city boy. They instantly have a connection, and their romance quickly heats up. However, once the PR project is underway, the firm sends Spence, moody but brilliant, to see it through. Spence soon sees the town's understated charm, but is it the town that's charming him or Laura? The sexy scenes are pretty intense but very well done. I like that she didn't vilify any of the characters, which made us emotionally invested in all of them. Great book!

Why I Held Your Hand is a steamy romance that I enjoyed. The love triangle trope isn't one I read often, but this author did a really great job with it.

A good description would be sexy Hallmark LOL. The setting is a small town called North Powell and out protagonist Laura is trying to save the town as it is struggling financially. She hires David and Spence and that is when things heat up.

They are planning a festival to help the town. This is a fun , steamy romance that was enjoyable.

If you like Christmas romance with some heat you will enjoy this book!

This one was so good! I’m not always a fan of the love triangle, but it really works here. Through the pages of this novel, I’m able to really see how someone could really fall in love with two people. This is an open door romance & it’s so sweet. And that ending, the way it wraps it - just wonderful!

This book was JUST what I needed during the holidays, It was sweet, funny, heartstring-tugging .... all of the great Christmas vibes. I loved reading this by the tree and loved the love triangle and the easy, funny read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Never judge a book by its cover.

No really, this cover is adorable, but it's also not a good representation of the book. The cover gives off the idea that this is a cute Christmas rom com, but that's not the case. It's a cute chick lit book, but it takes place throughout about half a year, and just hints at Christmas at the end. It's also MUCH more steamy than anticipated. There were about 3 (?) graphic sex scenes...so you should avoid this if that's not for you.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I sped through it and made connections with the characters. It was also different from my normal read, and I appreciated it for being light, entertaining, and an overall good story.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Rhapsodic Press for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

A beautiful story that was just what I needed to escape! Great characters and storyline that instantly takes you away! A first by me by This author won't be my last !

This book started out so well. It had me genuinely laughing in the first couple of pages and I liked all of the characters introduced and their humor. It was like a steamy Hallmark movie with just the right amount of small-town and corporate marketing talk to make it interesting to me. Also, the love triangle was very well done in my opinion, because again I genuinely liked both of the men involved. Unfortunately, the writing was very over the top cheesy, even for a romance, and quite predictable. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I read this over the holidays and it was a good choice. The lack of contraception is very alarming in this day and age, I cannot believe that people in their late 20s/ early 30s would discuss that before sex. The ending also seemed very abrupt and underdeveloped.

I think the main lesson for me of Why I Held Your Hand is “Be careful what you wish for.”

My #1 complaint about love triangles is usually that one of the partners is so obviously awful that there’s no possibility the story’s protagonist will end up choosing them—instead, you wonder why on earth they think that person is even an option in the first place. There’s simply no real tension in the plot; it’s just a question of how long it will take for the triangle to get resolved.

In Why I Held Your Hand, I see what happens when both potential partners for the heroine actually seem like viable candidates: the choice Laura needs to make … just isn’t that interesting. David? Spence? Does it matter? They’re both caring, thoughtful men who seem completely willing to support Laura in her life and work. For much of the book, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop—for one of the two to reveal something unforgivable that would definitively push Laura toward the other.

There are some vague feints toward making David less perfect than he appears, but Augusta Reilly doesn’t follow through on any of them. Instead, what we get is Laura cheating on one man with the other … and then the first guy saying he can get past it if she wants to stay with him?!? NOPE. No matter how Reilly might try to rationalize it, at that point I was no longer on board with Laura as a protagonist.

I started out the book feeling like it was kind of slapstick and not my taste (the first few pages almost had me declaring it a DNF right then and there), then was sort of into it for a good stretch (charming town, easy-to-read prose), and then around the three-quarters mark I thought the whole book completely derailed. Maybe love triangles, in any iteration, just aren’t my thing.

Holy smokes! I think I need a cigarette!

If you’re looking for a steamy read, look no further. This small town romance novel was not what I was expecting at all. I did not expect this from looking at the cover and reading the synopsis. Do not go into this thinking this is about the holidays because the only thing holiday related is a festival that is happening.

This was a good debut novel by this author. It had its humour parts, along with steamy sex scenes. Multiple partners. And anything in between you can think of. The character development was a bit lacking. And I felt many decisions that were taken within the novel quite questionable.

I was invested in knowing who Laura, our main character was going to pick in the end because you got that right, there was not only one guy in this one, but two mcsteamy worthy opponents.

Overall, I do recommend this book however like mentioned, it is fairly graphic, there are some questionable moral dilemmas but in all a good read. Just not my cup of tea, I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

A special thank you to Netgalley for granting me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It’s weird to not be a fan of books about infidelity, but enjoy a love triangle right?! I feel like the love triangle trope is so rarely used lately, so I enjoyed how well this one was done.


Things I loved:
-This one is S.T.E.A.M.Y. Strongly recommend reading with a fan on standby...wow. Like wow.
-small town vibes, and the storyline of improving the town and it’s businesses
-I truly didn’t know which way the main character was going to go in the love triangle, the author did a good job of making you root for both men

Things that weren’t my favourite:
-I wasn’t a fan of Laura’s (main character) behaviour at times. I appreciated her honesty about her actions, but I do wish she didn’t act on her feelings before being honest with the other guy...but then again, it set up the storyline so I guess it works even though it made me mad at her
-there wasn’t the best safe sex messages in this one, obvious lack of protection and multiple partners

Thanks to Rhapsodic Press & @netgalley for the #gifted copy!

Content warnings: infidelity, recollection of death of a parent

This was a very steamy romance read with the charm of a small town. I was expecting a more holiday themed read because of the cover but it was set in June through December. I loved the main heroine Laura and her 2 love interests as well! A quick but satisfying read.

A small-town woman with an age-old problem🤔

3-3.5🌟 stars
This love triangle romance was fine but not particularly special. Laura's dilemma of falling for two men working for the same consultancy firm is totally plausible. Dave and Spencer each have different positives that make them a good match and I also preferred the fellow she eventually chooses. The ending and the slight twist regarding the historic Victorian mansion that Laura and Spence have been painstakingly reviving were a really nice touch.

However, the marathon steamy scenes and some inconsistencies marred the story somewhat for me. I don't mind steam but my attention wavers when the scene goes on for pages and pages. IMO, in this respect, less is more!

Thanks to Rhapsodic Press and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

Ok so anyone that knows me, knows that i love me a romance especially with a good love triangle. I loved this book but i will say to me the MC was a bit fast as they would call it back in the day for someone who is a bit Promiscuous!! She had intercourse with multiple people in a short time span and they all finished off the sex inside her if u know what i mean! That’s not too bad because i don’t judge and feel like maybe she was just living her best like, who am i to judge who people have sex with! I’m all for women empowerment so yea more power to her. Overall i definitely likes the steamy ness of the book. Because what’s a romance without some steam to it. I would definitely recommend to adults who like romance with a twist and some good sex scenes.

3.5 rounding down to 3 but this was really a fun and fast read! Featuring a love triangle which I feel like one of the most overlooked tropes out there, this book follows along Laura as she is trying to work out a marketing campaign to benefit her small and overlooked town. With two possible love interests on the team of marketing specialists, she is forced to question her true feelings for both.

This book is a 5 out of 5 on the steam factor. The sex scenes were very graphic but, if you are okay with or a fan of open door romances, this is definitely the book for you. I personally don't mind them but unfortunately, their presence in certain points definitely weakened one of the love interests from my point of view as the reader wasn't as privy to the true emotional connection of the characters, especially in comparison to the other love interest in play. The scenes also seemed to always go on just a bit too long and made me question if the main character of Laura was in it just for the physical companionship or if she was looking for a true life long connection.

Overall, I really rooted for Laura though. She owns her sexuality for sure and, being that she was only supposed to be 27 years old, I think she was a pretty good representation of how a single 27 year old female should be, as well as the fact that she seems to be very responsible and dependable in her every day life. While she may make some questionable actions in her love life, she owns up to her mistakes which I always like seeing in my female protagonists.

I had hoped to be more sold on the "main" relationship in play but, as mentioned above, there just wasn't enough emotional depth provided that would allow me to get behind it more. Overall, I really liked wondering how it would all end up for Laura and the ending was incredibly satisfying. This is a perfect winter read to hunker down with for an afternoon, just prepare for some MAJOR blushworthy scenes! It is also a true example of why Goodreads NEEDS HALF STAR RATINGS!

Many thanks to Get Red PR and the published for my gifted copy in exchange for my honesty.

At first blush, this story is a sweet holiday romcom about a love triangle in a sleepy, snowy town. But don't let the adorable cover fool you...

I knew going into this one that a love triangle was about to ensue, and I was totally here for it. Laura finds herself in the impossible situation of being worshipped by two perfect(ly opposite) men. As expected, intense feelings develop and a choice must be made. 

I loved the playful conversations and witty remarks, especially coming from David. But Spence is the typical hometown bff who you could spend hours talking to. Ah, the choice is hard! What's more difficult is the extreme attraction between Laura and both men. Whew! I was not expecting some of the steamy scenes but was pleasantly surprised. 

This is a fast and fun read that might leave your head spinning because I honestly don't know who I would pick in the end.