Held Against You by Season Vining
St. Martin's Griffin
Contemporary Romance
Published January 13, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Why I picked up this book:
I grabbed this one because of the words 'bounty hunter' and the tattoos on the cover. Yup, pretty superficial reasons.
Blurb:
Accused of a horrible crime and on the run, Kat has been rejected by everyone she loves. She’s a fugitive from her past, flitting from town to town with nothing but the clothes on her back. Until she meets a man who literally stops her in her tracks.
This notorious bounty hunter, with his stunning good looks and powerful instincts, never fails to capture his prey. But there’s something about his newest mark that gets under his skin–and it’s not just the naked innocence he sees in her eyes. Behind his ice cold demeanor, he has his own secrets... and now his lively, vulnerable captive is about to crack him wide open.
As they drive across the country together, neither of them can deny the spark of attraction between them. Will their journey force these two passionate opposites together…or will their dangerous secrets be too much to bear?
My thoughts:
Held Against You is an action-oriented contemporary romance that pushes together a computer nerd who has jumped bail with the bounty hunter trying to recover her. Kat's accused of murder and is pretty open about both her life and crime whlie her captor refuses to share as much as his first name.
This (I would argue New Adult) romance is told in his and her chapters, which is a bit of a neat trick given how much he is concealing. I did appreciate the two viewpoints, but I never really understood why he wouldn't tell Kat his name. It makes for some entertaining moments as Kat makes up names for him to suit the situation.
While I did enjoy Held and its mixture of obvious and blindsiding twists and turns, I felt it had me itching to read something that felt a little more realistic. Granted, the world of bounty hunting is so far outside my everyday scope, I usually have no problem suspending my disbelief with romantic suspense novels. For some reason, I wanted this one to be a little more relatable - maybe because it also had this New Adult feeling to it?
I really liked Kat. I thought she was pretty great, and that her emotional ups and downs as she faces her fate read as really genuine. I also appreciated how she tried to survive on the run, giving herself a new persona, that she hated, to do whatever was necessary to stay alive and on the move. The mysterious bounty hunter was appropriately sexy and tortured. He had some rather endearing moments.
This story has a great 'on the run' vibe that kept me flipping pages. I thought the balance between action and quieter, more revealing moments was excellent. I also appreciated that there's a sense of connection between Kat and the bounty hunter that goes beyond simply sparking at first sight.
Bottom line:
Held Against You is a really good contemporary romance/romantic suspense story with New Adult flair. I found Kat to be pretty engaging, and her bounty hunter to be suitably dreamy. There was a 'something more' missing for me in the bigger picture, but overall, this is a fun one to read!
4 stars
For fans of chase/on-the-run stories, bounty hunters, contemporary romance
But don't just take my word for it! I grabbed a few links to other blog reviews of Held Against You:
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