What can I say. I liked this book. Must read. Do it. If you do anything else. Read this book today. Great read and enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and Kata Cuic for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Question of the Day: Do you always read series in order? I’ve been known to grab a book and devour it without realizing it’s an installment in a series. This is one of those books that I would NOT recommend doing that with! To be fair, the author did give a warning that this could be read as a standalone but would be much more enjoyable and understandable read as a series installment. So any issues I have with this are being taken with a grain of salt because I didn’t follow the rules. That all being said, I was conflicted on how to rate this one. Follow up QOTD: What was the last book that left you unsure of how you felt about it?
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This book surprised me. When I hear sports romance, I usually think light and fun. I wasn’t expecting so much depth and story packed into a sports romance. This is not your typical light sports romance. Holding has layers worth exploring. The chemistry between PR intern Tori and NFL player Mike is capital h HOT. There were a few times that chemistry surprised me. I’m going to leave that vague but if you know, you know. Not judgement, I was just really surprised it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Which leads me to the timeline of this book. I didn’t realize I should be paying that close attention to the little hints of time because about halfway through the book we’re a year in out of nowhere. Around 70% I had pretty much no clue what the timeline was and I didn’t understand a good chunk of the plot. BUT this is where I remind you, this is book #5 (FIVE!!!) in a series. So this is totally my fault. You can’t really jump into movie 5 of Harry Potter can you? Well you, but it’s just not as good.
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My takeaway... READ THE SERIES PEOPLE!

I enjoy reading stories about football players falling in love. So, I was looking forward to reading Holding by Kata Cuic. It is an entertaining sports romance about a football player in need of some PR help. This is the first book I have read in this series and Kata Cuicis is a new author to me. While I enjoyed this story, I have to admit, at times, I found it confusing. There were a lot of different characters and since I didn’t read any of the other books in this series, I didn’t know their back stories and I felt a little lost.

Mike and Tori, the two main characters, are likable and it was fun reading their story. They are compatible and help each other through some tough times. They make each other feel better and help boost each other's confidence. I hoped they would be able to work through their issues and be together.

Along with Mike and Tori there are a whole cast of entertaining characters. This is an engaging story and it is the fifth book in the Moving the Chains series. If you like reading about football players, you will like this one.

I really liked the story and the characters, I couldn't put it down, so I had to read it in one sitting.

Inner conflict is rampant within the characters of this book and even though it’s part of a series there is enough information provided one can follow along. The characters are strong, but it seems that the book is driven by sexual tension and abuse. I personally had a hard time finishing the book.

It took awhile to finally get all the pieces and they were not pretty for any of the characters and this is one very emotional heavy book.

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

I loved the storyline of “Peaches” and “Teddy Bear”. I loved how their love story was very realistic, not all sunshine. But I felt like I was an outsider trying to put all the pieces together for most of the book. I did not realize this was a series and was confused about some of the characters’ backstories. I also struggled with the foul language and the fact that Tori and Mike didn’t really have a definitive closing to their story. That being said, I will probably read the next book to find out about Alex. Now my curiosity is piqued!

** I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

The author states that this book can be read as a stand-alone. I don't agree with that. I have read the previous books in this series, and even I was confused by things that occurred. The timeline of events was hard to understand. I was unsure at times if a month had passed or a year.

I enjoyed the characters and their chemistry. They were funny, and the storyline was interesting. I'm looking forward to Alex's story.

Tori is an intern with the public relations group promoting the Albany Wolves football team. Her assignment is to babysit one of their star players, Mike, who has too much negative publicity. He resents having a public relations person buts finds Tori very appealing. The public relations department believes Tori should be Mike’s pretend girlfriend and the problems begin. I liked that Tori has brothers and Mike has sisters. It helps Tori and Mike understand each other even better. I really liked this book. Mike and Tori find themselves in lots of interesting situations, sharing family and friends and a lot about themselves. It is all about trust and friendships which both figure into a love relationship.

3.5⭐️

Okay, so maybe I need to read the previous books first and I am still intrigued to read them. But this one was just a little bit draggy for me. And I got lost and it got a bit confusing sometimes especially with the time jumps. It was kind of hard to follow. There are certain things I like about it like the plotline. But it didn't satisfy me enough. It felt like I was missing something. And I find it a bit frustrating that they always have reasons that kept them apart.

I still think this story was entertaining and I might need to go back to the previous books.

You can't judge a book by the cover. Especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Cuic does a beautiful job of driving that point home in the most enchanting of ways. Holding opens the heart to all life's possibilities with characters who are so much more they seem. Tori and Mike yank off the blinders of bias and prove that with a bit of effort anything is possible.

Complex friends-to-lovers romance

This story spans a couple professional football seasons as Mike and Tori's slow-burn romance develops as an extension of her work for him as his PR rep. Their working relationship soon involves her having to pose as his girlfriend for the publicity boost, which of course gradually grows into a real relationship.

As a standalone romance, this book covers their initial meeting all the way to their HEA. However, it apparently builds on the events of the earlier four-book series that charts Rob and Evie's romance in which Mike is a close friend of Evie's and has had his life greatly shaped by those prior events. I wish that the author had taken the time to have Mike explain his history with Rob, Evie, and Alex to Tori on page, rather than just have her acknowledge that he did explain it all to her at some point. Not having read the previous books, this approach leaves holes of indeterminate size in our understanding of Mike's motivations.

Still, the focus is on Mike and Tori, and their romance is sweet, steamy, tender, and heartwarming. I loved how they built a solid foundation of trust right from the beginning, and how that allowed them to feel safe in revealing more and more of their secret selves to each other. They have a terrific HEA that also gives hints into a future book focusing on Alex's relationship with Amira.

If you've already read the first four books, I've no doubt you'll be right at home with this one and will not want to miss Mike's well-deserved HEA. If you're new to the series, be prepared to not quite understand his relationship with his high school friends, but be assured that that history doesn't really get in the way of his moving forward with Tori. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

ok, I am going to agree with Nina T, I got to chapter 9, about 17% and I am done. I can't finish this. IT says it is a standalone, that is not true. The prologue makes not sense. I don't understand why a fight between Mike and Alex makes his teammates think he is gay? friends fight. we have one scene where Mike goes to Tori's apartment and they are talking about his image, then she s going home with him for a family wedding? Why? if that is to confusing enough, then she is drunk and throwing up, I assume they are in a hotel? then she stands up and starts taking her clothes off?!?!?! yeah, no just no

I picked this book for three reasons : I can’t resist to sport romance and it was described as a stand-alone no need to read other books in the serie and is a fake marriage relationship one
Even though the writing stile is good i had to suffer with timeline and side characters stories. Backgrounds I did not understood
I should have read eve and rob story first
The prologue did not fit/macht the story
There is indeed good material here with a more accurate d’editing this can be a nice book
Not as it is now
2 stars for potential

just reviewed Holding by Kata Čuić. #Holding #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Ugh, another DNF. @ 17 %.

The book starts with a prologue that left me consufed. I had no idea whose POV it was and what it was about. It felt like being thrown into the scenery so I can only guess it has something to do with previous books.
I was willing to let it slide but unfortunately, the next couple chapters weren't any good. It felt like something was missing, like I should be reading the previous books even though this is a standalone. I didn't know what was going all, all was told and not shown.
For example, one moment they are having a normal conversation, the next she was being told (the conversation was brief so we don't get a glimpse of what was really going on) to go with the hero when he was going home. In the next chapter she was already drunk and stripping completely in front of him and I had no idea what was going on. None.
There were so many twists and turns, each chapter felt like being on a carousel and suddenly falling down in the middle of the unknown and doing what you can to figure out where you were. Seriously, the background of every scene was lacking. I like some mystery but if I don't know where the scene starts and why are the characters acting as they are, I have no choice but to put the book aside. I can't read it anymore and wondering each chapter what was going on. I can't.

I received this ARC for an honest review.
The characters, Tori and Mike, are both very likable characters. Tori is the youngest daughter with five older brothers and a father, who is in the Navy. Tori wants to experience life outside of her families protective circle. Mike is a new pro football player trying to play football and take care of his family. When Mike gets in an altercation with another football player, who is also a childhood friend, the football team hires Tori to be Mike's babysitter.
This book was promoted as part of a series, but it was also said that it could be read as a standalone. This is the fifth book in the Moving The Chains series. While you can read it as a standalone, I would no recommend it. There are elements of the previous books that are important to the characters, mainly Mike's, story line. There is history from previous books that would be important to know. If I had read the first four books in the series before this book I feel that I would have given it a higher star rating.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance reader copy of this book; I very much appreciate the opportunity to read it!

I'm struggling with how to rate this book as there were some things I really liked and others that were confusing & bothersome. I very much enjoyed the characters and their dialog. However, the plot line and the reason for the fake romance seemed manufactured and the timeline was difficult to follow as it jumped around quite a bit. Also, this book is billed as part of a series but can be read as a standalone, but I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read others in the series.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the author and netgalley.

This book is my first by this author. It is a series and a standalone though in some parts of the book it is hard to follow because they are characters from the prior book and their stories are intwined.

Though I was confused at some points the author does a great job of weaving the story of Mike and Tori. They are really great characters and I enjoyed the dialogue between them. The writing is great which is really what kept me in this story! The premise of this book is about Mike and Tori. Mike has had a hard time in the press and Tori is hired to pretty much babysit and help boost his image, though she initially tells him she’s his new PR rep. They work on boosting his image and through that they get to know each other and form a friendship. They eventually decide to fake a relationship together in hopes of bettering his image and helping her career.

Overall this was a good read I just wish I had a little more background or had read the other books prior to reading this. I feel it would easier to follow of I had. I will read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for a arc copy for a honest review.

This is my first book by Kata Čuić now I have to go back and read the rest of the series a 4 star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy Reading

Lisa

I love a good romance novel once in a while. So when I had to chance to receive this as an ARC I jumped. I was totally in the mood to escape.

However, I had some issues with this book. It was supposed to be a standalone even though it was part of a series. But I felt like I was missing something and needed to read the previous books. It referred to people as if we should know who they were.

The other issue I had was that it didn't make sense. I can think of better reasons to fake a romance. And I could swallow it, but then the reason for the breakup, then suddenly it didn't matter.. I was confused. And it felt like a good bit of manufactured angst, which I really hate.

All that being said, I kept reading it - I was somehow drawn in. I liked the characters and the supporting friends. I am confused as to how to rate this, so I will give it 3 stars, Some things I really liked and some things I hated about it.

I do want to thank the author the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC - this did not impact my review.

Quick moving, steamy and exciting. Kata has a great style.of writing that makes you want to keep turning pages