It is no secret that I LOVE Nicola Haken especially her book Saving Amy.. It was one of my faves and even made it on my lady boner books of 2012 so far. SO when I found out she was coming out with another book and not only that but it was going to be a series I jumped on that shit faster than a fly on shit!!
So here is my review for
Take My Hand by Nicola Haken
Twenty-four year old Dexter Michaels has arrived in the UK for a fresh start - leaving everything and everyone he knows behind in the states. Determined to put right some of the wrongs he’ll never be able to forgive himself for making and make his Aunt Sarah – the only person left who still believes in him - proud, he lands in London with the intention of working hard, getting his degree and keeping himself to himself. He can’t destroy anybody else that way…
His heart and his body have other ideas however when he finds himself sitting next to nineteen year old Emily Barton in his Psychology class. Moving down south to find her own New Life, Emily is shy, smart and beautiful – everything Dexter knows he should stay away from… everything he knows would be too easy for him to break.
But she makes him feel things he’d forgotten even existed. She makes him laugh, smile, care… forget. Without her trying, and without him realizing, Emily has wound her way into the one place he swore to keep locked away forever – his heart. But can she stay there when she discovers the dark past he’s so determined to keep hidden from her? Or will he destroy her too, just like he always expected?
(Not suitable for under 18's due to language, drug/alcohol abuse and sexual content)
His heart and his body have other ideas however when he finds himself sitting next to nineteen year old Emily Barton in his Psychology class. Moving down south to find her own New Life, Emily is shy, smart and beautiful – everything Dexter knows he should stay away from… everything he knows would be too easy for him to break.
But she makes him feel things he’d forgotten even existed. She makes him laugh, smile, care… forget. Without her trying, and without him realizing, Emily has wound her way into the one place he swore to keep locked away forever – his heart. But can she stay there when she discovers the dark past he’s so determined to keep hidden from her? Or will he destroy her too, just like he always expected?
(Not suitable for under 18's due to language, drug/alcohol abuse and sexual content)
My Thoughts
I am going to do something unusual with this book I am going to divide it between 60/40.. you may ask, "err okay wtf does that mean?"
Well, I wasn't sure about this book until after about 60% in so I am going to divide it into what I thought about the first 60% and then the last 40%...
The first 60% of the book just really lagged, I couldn't get into it much... I wasn't sure where it was going or if I was even going to like the main characters. I definitely LOVED the secondary character, Snickers haha she kept me entertained but one thing that drove me a little crazy was her love of the nickname "Ho". I am all for nicknames.. shit I have a few but she used it a LOT!!
Then it just seemed like Dex and Emily really didn't know each other much. Dex didn't even admit to himself that he liked Emily but then he was saying he was in love with her?
Huh hold up you just became friends...
How do you love her already?
I couldn't really connect with the two main characters.. Too many secrets and not enough details for me..
BUT THEN..
Trudging on...
I get to the last 40% of the book and I am like ohh ok here comes the good shit... Now it is getting somewhere... I am flipping through the pages, finally falling for the main characters. Secondary characters are still my fave, and then I am introduced to more characters and I am loving them too... I was uncovering the secrets (finally) and I just have a feeling something is going to happen that will shock me at the end..
Tearing up, I am heartbroken for Dexter and the guilt he holds that he keeps buried within the recesses of his soul.. He needs help to see that the things that haunt him are not his fault.. But guilt... Guilt, is something people have a hard time overcoming...Almost as hard as grief.
Emily helps him, she is his saving grace and he knows what kind of person he has in her. Emily also knows what guilt is like and I was outraged on her behalf because of the awful things she had to go through growing up...
It's sad, heartbreaking, but I have hope that they can get help one another. They grow a little (not as much as you hope but this is only book one) and by the end I was growing a little antsy on what was going to happen!
Of course the ending is a cliffhanger and I was left wanting more so I can't wait for the second book to be out so I can finally get all the answers I want.
I give this book between 3-4 so I will say a 3.5 but I am anxiously anticipating the next one to see where these characters end up...
If you want to check this book out for yourself the links are below =)
Author Bio:
Nicola lives in Rochdale, England with her husband and four children (and dog!). She is the author of two stand alone novels, Inevitable and Saving Amy, and is currently having fun working on her first series with book one, Take My Hand, to be released in October. When not reading or writing Nicola can usually be found carrying out her daily slave duties – cleaning, feeding the mob, cleaning a bit more etc… or watching The Twilight Saga for the fifty-billionth time :-)
Social Links:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nicolahaken
Twitter: @NicolaHaken - www.twitter.com/NicolaHaken
Goodreads Author: www.goodreads.com/author/show/7094294.Nicola_Haken
Goodreads Book Link: www.goodreads.com/book/show/18141859-take-my-hand
Website: www.nicolahaken.com
Tour Schedule Link:
Buy Links:
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FLCU4RQ
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/356274
20 Fun facts:
20 Fun, possibly weird, definitely useless, facts about me!
1. I don’t like even numbers – Not good when eating biscuits; one isn’t enough, two is even so I couldn’t possibly stop there… so three it is. Unless I’m being a badass, then it has to be five!
2. I still eat like a child. Orange juice, chicken nuggets and fries for me any day over steak and wine. I won’t eat yogurt with ‘bits’ in and the only sauce I’ll entertain is ketchup. And tea and coffee? Blurgh…
3. I could easily recite the entire script from every Twilight movie.
4. Edward Cullen was my first book boyfriend… The first of many I might add ;-)
5. I’m a total Gleek and proud!
6. I have quite a vast collection of tattoos and hope to be almost covered by the time I’m a wrinkly old lady.
7. I couldn’t possibly get through a day without a bottle of Pepsi Max.
8. I married my high school sweetheart when I was 17 – No I wasn’t pregnant, and yes we’re still together!
9. My favourite food is mashed potato.
10. My favourite colour is purple.
11. I HATED school – like seriously detested the place. There is no way I’ll ever agree when people say they’re the best years of your life.
12. I collect Barbie dolls.
13. My favourite band in the world is The Script.
14. The thought of a world without Netflix makes me sad.
15. My favourite TV show is The Vampire Diaries (Team Damon all the way baby!)
16. If my kids ever ask – I’m secretly the pink Power Ranger ;-)
17. I was born on New Years Eve, which means the whole world celebrates my birthday with me!
18. My comfiest item of clothing is my leopard print pyjama pants (I wear them so often my husband keeps threatening to throw them out!)
19. When I was ten years old I decided I wanted to be American and vowed to only ever speak in an American accent from that day on. I’m not sure how long that lasted, but you can rest assured I’m not still pretending now ;-)
20. If you’ve made it to number 20 then I think you’re awesome!
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