Can second chance love survive past trauma?Reece has one goal: to compete in the Olympic Games. With the gymnastics World Championships looming, his dream is one step closer to becoming a reality.When his childhood sweetheart, Alex, walks back into his life unexpectedly, Reece’s world is turned upside down. Alex was the boy who inexplicably pushed him away and broke his heart; the boy he still … him away and broke his heart; the boy he still loves.
When the truth behind their break-up is revealed, Reece wants to hold Alex up and give him the strength to heal.
But can Reece be Alex’s rock, and remain focused on his training, or will his Olympic dreams suffer in the process?
Hold Me Up is a MM second chance romance, with a slow-burn relationship and lots of hurt/comfort. It’s the first in a series of books that follows male artistic gymnasts as they chase gold.
Trigger warnings: Hold Me Up features a character who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, due to a past event that is briefly described.
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An amazing second-chance romance with forgiveness, struggles and so much love. These characters are wonderfully created and given emotion and events that will capture your heart and soul. The writing was awesome and the flow and pacing were just right.
Reece and Alex are just amazing together. Their connection and love simmers on the page. As i found out the reason for their breakup years ago it just broke my heart. The pain and suffering that is inflicted on some people is horrific and you will feel that struggle here. Love doesn’t magically fix things and i so appreciate that these guys used all the tools available.
This is book one of the new Chasing Gold series and i am so looking forward to the next book!
I was gifted this book from Gay Book Promotions and i freely give my honest opinion and review.
This book made me remember how, a few years back, I had a huge crush on one of my country’s representative gymnast. I would follow all his competitions and watch videos of him on repeat. I’m not even ashamed to admit that it was all for the eye candy, not in the least interested in the sport’s technicalities.
I was pretty much like Alex. He would get mesmerized by Reeces’s body, and he often spaced out just watching the gymnast’s muscles moving. And I think we can all understand that,right?
Talking about technicalities, Colette Davison did an awesome job at explaining the exercises, at offering a great visual of what the gymnastic programs entail. I’m thankful for the behind the scenes explanations,because being a witness to the training regiment and the amount of work behind what seems a simple exercise, definitely increased my appreciation for the sport.
I often asked myself about how hard it can be for athletes to juggle the separate parts of their lives, and how romace would effect their concentration. In , Reece has had good and bad concentration, all mostly influenced by Alex. In the past, Alex has brusquely cut Reece out of him life, causing an obvious drop in Reece’s athletic performance. But now he’s back, bearer of ugly revelations and I was afraid he would mess up Reece’s future.
Just like every other book I’ve read by this author, has been an emotional ride. Alex is weighed down by debilitating anxiety attacks, which in turn makes Reece feel guilty and powerless to help. It was overwhelming to watch them together, each step forward laden with uncertainty, trying first to be just friends and hoping for more.
I read this in one sitting, glued to the pages. It was a beautifully written love story about healing,second chances and giving it all fighting to make dreams reality. Loved it.
Who doesn’t like a good second chance romance? Hold me up is the first in a series and it’s a contemporary novel with dual POV.
Reece and Alex are meant to be together. Reece is anabsolutely amazing guy. He’s very understanding when Alex finally divulges the reason they broke up. Loved the progress of their relationship and especially Alex becoming more self confident.
A lot of the gymnastic stuff went over my head but that didn’t have any impact on my enjoyment of the novel. It’s heartbreaking to see Alex’s struggle with anxiety. The book is really well written and it just sucks you in. Really looking forward to read the next book in the series!
*ARC provided by the author via Gay Book Promotions in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
He was my best friend, we were together and then we weren’t, I never knew why. When we meet up again it’s been 5 years since we last saw each other, Alex is a reporter now and chasing a story and I’m still a gymnast getting ready to compete in the World games. I can’t believe it’s still there the friendship, the love, maybe this is our chance, but first I need to find out how to fix what was broken, and hopefully move forward into a future together, he left me once before, maybe this time he’ll stay. I loved this book, it drew you in because the characters had you so emotionally invested in their story that you had keeps reading, because you had to know if this love story was going to give you the happy ending these two guys deserved.
I love second chance romance stories and this book is absolutely perfect and I highly recommend it!
After a confusing and heartbreaking rejection from his childhood boyfriend Alex,Reece concentrates on his gymnastics and his goal to reach the Olympics.He is chosen to be a member of the British gymnastics squad and Alex, now working as a journalist,is asked to write an exclusive article about Reece and his team mate.
After so many years apart, their meeting is filled with tension and awkwardness. As Alex and Reece are thrown together again and the devastating reason for their break up is revealed,is it too late for them? Or can they become reconciled?
If you love second chance romances then give this a try, you won’t be disappointed.
This is a story of the dedication and commitment in the gymnastics community. Reece is a gymnast getting ready to compete in the World Champions Competition with his sites on the Olympics. It’s what he has dedicated his every waking hour to. Alex is the guy that broke his heart 4 years ago. Alex is struggling to explain to Reece what happened. His anxiety over the years has become debilitating basically ruining his life. Once Reece sees Alex again he realizes his love never stopped. This is a GREAT story about how they are both dedicated to helping the other succeed. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!
Well, to say this book put me through an emotional wringer is saying nothing at all! I am now experiencing a perfect reader hangover!
This book is amazingly written, with raw emotions and brilliant characters. I loved the story and the acrobatics backdrop, but the book is so much more than just a sports romance. It’s a beautiful hurt / comfort second chance story so well crafted there is not one thing I could point out as a flaw.
If you are looking for a fluffy read about an instant attraction with only a few bumps along the way, this is not the book for you. The happy ending for these two is a hard fought one. Each has to deal with an event in their past that tore them apart from each other and essentially kept them from developing health, loving relationships. When they reconnect several years later they have to decide if it is worth the excruciatingly painful work it is going to take to reestablish trust, face reality and heal. The emotions are so raw but so well described you get inside both men and come to love and appreciate them for finding the strength to be together. I loved the characters but I also loved the sports setting which can sometimes be a turn off for me if it overshadows the personal story, if the author takes it for granted I already know about the sport and doesn’t explain enough or if I do know something and can tell the research on the sport was shoddy. None of those problems arise here. The balance and integration are superb and the information is accurate. A heart wrenching, emotional and wonderful read.
This was such a bittersweet, poignant, emotionally charged, grab-you-by-the-feels, heartbreaking yet hopeful, amazing, slow burning, made-me-shed-tears-of-both-sadness-and-joy, gritty, intense, powerful, and totally awesome tale. The painful event in Alex’s past made me want to hug him and shield him from the world, and watching Reese help him heal made this a beautiful hurt/comfort and second chance romance story that pulled me in from the very first page.
Both Reece and Alex have been through so much. The chemistry between them is undeniable. Colette writes about mental health in a meaningful way in this book, and it is obviously clear the amount of research she has done on this matter. I loved these characters and was completely drawn in from the first page.
This book packed an emotional punch and didn’t let up.
Poor Alex nearly broke my heart.
He suffered through a traumatic event when he was a teenager and shame and the fear of the repercussions on Reece and his future hopes of achieving Olympic gold led him to lash out and drive Reece away which in turn broke his heart.
4 years have passed and Alex is not any better. He’s never told anyone about what happened and he’s barely holding on.
When their paths cross due to Alex’s job as a reporter writing up a series about the hot gymnast team vying for Olympic glory, the past reaches out and very nearly crushes Alex.
Reece was devastated and when he pushes Alex and the truth is revealed, he’s bowled over by it and determined to help Alex find peace.
They struggle through Alex’s issues and it was truly wonderful to see them being tackled with such aplomb and not simply brushed over.
These two young men, especially Alex suffered through so much and it was immensely gratifying to see them get their very richly deserved HEA.
Reece’s biggest dream is to compete in the Olympic Games and it is closer than ever. It all depends on how the team performs on the World Championship. A few weeks before the Championship, Alex, Reece’s high school boyfriend who is now a journalist, walks in the gym to interview him. The break up with Alex was bad and left Reece heartbroken for a long time. As the two of them start reconnecting the truth about why Alex broke up with him is revealed and they get closer.
This book has one of my favorite tropes, second chance love. And I adore gymnastics! It was the perfect book for me and I loved every single word. Beautifully written, heartwarming, Reece and Alex were wonderful together, so sweet and loving and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the gymnastics competition.
I cannot wait for the second book, I wish I could read it right now!
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
3 1/2 stars
I’ve read a few books by this author, but what really drew me in was that the one main character was a gymnast. We get tons of baseball, hockey and football players. Lots of dancers (although I could always use more dancers), but gymnasts? Few and far between I’m afraid.
The author definitely did their research as far as the technical portion of the gymnastics. That was refreshing. I am going to ignore that Reece had zero recovery time after training.
Instead, let’s focus on the relationship. Reece and Alex were high school sweethearts. There was no closet for them to come out of. Their parents were totally accepting. Until Alex suddenly broke up with Reece for seemingly no reason.
Fast forward a few years when their paths cross. Actually their paths sort of crash into each other. And even though Reece was the one left blindsided with the break up, he is willing to forgive and forget. Once he gets a valid reason for the break up.
I am going to call this book NA because they are young-ish. I want to say 21 or 22? Alex has no experience outside of the teenage fumbling they did together and Reece has very little experience. Together they rediscover each other, first as friends, then again as lovers.
Reece is incredibly patient with Alex. Working to help Alex overcome past trauma and eventually heal the relationship with his mother.
Reece and Alex are the type of adorable couple that you just root for. High school sweethearts that just belong together.
Hold Me Up is the first book in the Chasing Gold series by Colette Davison. It is a contemporary m/m romance with second chance theme that burns slowly but wonderfully. There is alot of drama, hurt/comfort, anxiety, emotion, and a beautiful love story. The characters pulled me in and made me care about them and their journey. Reece and Alex are great and I needed to see them get a Happily Ever After.