My Reads: One to Hold by Tia Louise

If you’re here, you probably already know what I write, but in case you don’t, well, let me just define it this way: There is no word too “dirty” for my work. No, I don’t write erotica and erotic romance all the time, and not all of it is raw and scary, but a good deal of it is. When I read, I usually read in that vein, not always as raw, but still along those lines. So I don’t know how I came across it, but I found this read last year and decided to give it a go. Even though the sex wasn't as crazy and hot as that to which I've grown accustomed, I’m glad I gave it a chance.

Tia Louise was an unknown name to me. I bought the book blind. I have no idea how I did that. Maybe it was one of those “customers who bought this also bought that” things. I find a lot of books that way. However I found it, there it was on my iPad while I was sitting at the garage waiting for a ton of stuff to be done to my SUV. I wondered if it would be interesting enough to keep my attention.

And I didn’t stop that day until I’d finished it.

One to Hold is a story about wrong assumptions, misunderstandings, and eventual resolution. The first thing that drew me in was the point of view: First person past tense. Editors and publishers will tell you not to write in first person, that readers won’t read it, that it won’t sell. To that I call bullshit. FSOG is first person. I’ve read a lot of really good first person over the last year. I wrote a book in first person; matter of fact, I wrote four, and I’ve got seven or more waiting for me, all of which will be written in first person, and a great many of them in present tense. (If you want to do something that will have your shoulders in knots, write in present tense. It’s not for the faint of heart.) Lots of books are being written that way, and I, quite frankly, like them much better than third person. That said, I was glad to see this one written in this voice, and Tia did it well. It wasn’t stiff or odd at all. It was very comfortable.

The second thing that cemented the read for me was the likability of the protagonists. I’ve read quite a few books over the last few years that had protagonists I could never really care about. To me, that is the epitome of poor writing. I can forgive a lot of things, but that I cannot. If you can’t pull together a couple of characters I can have some kind of emotion for, don’t bother. That said, I really liked both the male and female protagonists in this book. Tia did a very good job of character building, not as detailed as I usually prefer, but still good compared to others I’ve read (I like lots of detail on my characters). Besides, let's face it: It's first person. How many people are going to fill you in on their own details? Only narcissists. That said, I knew enough about the female protagonist, Melissa, to want to choke her when she got on that plane, even though I knew she had to. And I knew enough about the male protagonist, Derek, to know something was going on there that no one could guess.

And with that, I’m going to tell you my favorite aspect of this book. I’m not into spoilers. I just don’t do them. And I don’t think this will be one. But I have to say, the first time Derek told Melissa “thank you,” my heart melted into a puddle. There was something about the way Tia handled that scene that left me saying, “Oh, my god, that poor guy.” And those of you who read my work know what I’m going to say next, don’t you?

Derek? Yes - he’s Vic. He couldn’t be more like Vic. He’s the big, tough, strong guy who’s really soft and warm and cuddly. And you know he’s carrying a load of pain – it just smacks you in the face from the very first time you’re introduced to him. You know it, just know it, and you’re waiting to find out what it is, how bad it is, how deep it runs, how broken your heart will be when you find out. You’re hoping that she won’t just leave. You’re hoping he’s gambled soundly. And so you wait.

Let me just say, you won’t be disappointed. Even though this was a slightly softer read than I usually pick up (oh, yes, the word "cock" gets used more than a few times, so I'm good with it), I was so not disappointed that when I finished One to Hold, I immediately one-clicked One to Keep. More about that later. But first, jump into this sweet little read and let it work its magic on you. I guarantee that it will.


A huge thanks to Tia for sending over the high-resolution cover art to go with this piece.