Secretly dating Coach Parker’s daughter was never part of the plan. Neither was becoming her dealer…
ADAMReturning to my drug-dealing past wasn’t on the agenda when I accepted the full ride to play ball at Cypress U. But Mom lost her job. And my sister’s medical bills are mounting. So, I’ve no choice but to change the playbook.When Emily walks into my life, like a fallen goddess with the … Emily walks into my life, like a fallen goddess with the ultimate power to destroy me, I know I’m screwed. I should steer clear, but I’m the one supplying her poison of choice. Falling for her is a complication I don’t need, but the more she’s around, the harder it gets to walk away. She needs me, and I crave her more than the sport I love.
Now, it’s all on the line. Including the NFL career that’s tantalizingly close.
The stakes are high, but family means everything, so I’ll take my chances.
EMILY
It’s only a problem if it’s out of control. And I have it in hand.
Except a certain a-hole discovers I’m using again, and he threatens to rat me out to my folks. Mom’s president of Cypress U, and Dad’s the illustrious football coach. Appearances mean everything to them, and I’m a continuous disappointment. They told me I’d be out on my ass if I fell off the wagon, so keeping it a secret is my number one priority.
Until the super-hot all-star QB takes more than a passing interest in me. Adam gets me, in a way no guy ever has, filling my head with ideas of forever—and now, I want more.
Dating my dealer is a recipe for disaster, especially when it’s forbidden, but I can’t help myself.
Because I’ve fallen too deep.
And the hole is too large to crawl out of.
Due to mature content and possible triggers, this book is recommended to readers aged eighteen and older. Please refer to the note at the start of the book. This is a full-length novel (93k words).
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Holding on to Forever is a stand alone, new adult romance from this writing duo. I have read a lot of Ms.Davis’ work and loved it while I’m a complete newbie to Ms. Alexander. However, these two didn’t pull any punches and went straight for my gut with this heart wrenchingly, angsty romance.
As of writing this review, I’m still mulling over my feelings and thoughts about this book. It’s certainly not all roses and rainbows, because this book talks about deep seated trauma that Emily was going through that made her the broken, addicted, lost woman when she met Adam. It wasn’t easy on both of them to get out from this way of life, especially on Emily’s side as she uses to escape from the pain of her past and present predicament. On Adam, he was out of option even when he has a lot to lose; his scholarship and NFL, possibly his family if he get caught.
The story was gritty, raw, with loads of drama and angsty AF. I felt the hatred against Emily’s mom and her lover that I wanted to protect Em from them. I loved that the authors never shied away from telling the very ugly side of using and its effects to their behavior, even towards their loved ones. I loved Adam’s unwavering love and support all throughout Emily’s journey. Em is one lucky hell of a girl. I don’t think I’ve envied a book character so much, LOL.
There are some scenes that may be triggering to some so you might be aware of that. The story was wrapped up as realistic as it could be, and I loved it more because of that. Sam is the greatest friend a guy could have. His loyalty to Adam surpasses brotherhood. I may have developed a crush on him. Although, I was kind of wondering what happened to Em’s friends, Zach and Scar. Overall, this was an emotional ride, flowing with life lessons and making the right choices.
This book takes on a journey of love, drug addiction, situations in life that are not all pleansent but are very real life struggles for some people. We have the MC Adam who you can’t help but to fall for he’s the star football player with a kind and loving personality not at all like most football jocks we read about. Then we have Emily who I couldnt help loving as she was a lost soul who has been through many life struggles and turns to drugs to help ease the pain of the things she goes through has and has you knowing deep down she is a good hearted person as well. The two of them fave some major challenges that risk there relationship in ways that break your heart and pray for a different outcome. In the end after a lot of heart ache for the two they finally come out where they should be and have a happily ever after. I have been a fan of Siobhan for a while now and knew I would enjoy this story and her and author S.B. Alexander have done an amazing job with this book together. I can’t wait to read more work from both if these authors!
I received this book as an ARC free in return for a honest review.
This book has everything your looking for in a book. All the ups and downs. All the emotions. Love this book from page one to the ending
WOW! This book was packed full of greatness! When we first meet Adam he is the star QB and hoping to get scouted by the NFL, but with his sister sick and his mom struggling financially he turns to dealing drugs. This is where is meets Emily, the girl that he can’t forget about.
Throughout the book we see the struggle of Emily, who had been using drugs since she was 15 after a horrific crime, and Adam, who is selling the drugs to help his family. Emily tough situation is made even worse by her mother and everything she does to her (don’t want to give to much away but it’s crazy!)
Seeing their relationship grow and how they help each other is amazing, but it isn’t without some horrible challenges that arise. Not only did I fall in love with Adam and Emily, but Sam and Phoebe! These are two characters that I guarantee will make you love them!!
These two amazing authors have outdone themselves with this fantastic book!! Everyone should read this book!!
Holding on to Forever
By Siobhan Davis and S.B. Alexander
Main Characters: Adam and Emily
I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this book without bias or persuasion from the author.
5 out of 5 stars
Adam was on the football team and Emily was the coach’s daughter. Adam came from a low-income family struggling so hard with bills and his sisters CF. Emily had her own demons to fight but Adam fell for her despite her problems and his own. There are ups and downs and real feels in this book. There is plenty of angst and surprises also. So even though the situations in the book are not something I would normally read, I found they handled the subject matters with a fine hand.
This was a very well written book by two authors of only one I have read before. This book is a love story that is tragic in parts but comes out with a HEA ending. It could be a trigger for some people with mentions of sexual assault, drug addiction, and suicide. I prefer more upbeat books and have always disliked reading about drugs. Kudos to both authors and I highly recommend this book.
This book is a wonderful read and a lot of ***I didn’t see that coming *** moments. and I am sure you would love to read this book as well
WOW! The dark side of college dealing with super heavy experiences that are emotionally scarring. Intense feeling of being trapped and just trying to block out the pain is intense and trying to numb.
A very moving story involving mental health issues, drug dealing, ptsd, substance abuse.
Heavy subjects that can be a trigger
Author Siobhan Davis has the characters experience and go through these traumas, and shows there is a way through. With proper outside help and a good support system.
It is possible to survive. I felt hope in reading this.
*I was given a copy and I am voluntarily giving my honest review.
Great collaboration from two good authors.
Emily and Sam’s story is hard-hitting and realistic with the pressures, abuse and the feeling of be unwanted that many of our youth face today.
Great read for the young adult or anyone
The review is difficult for me to write because I absolutely LOVE Siobhan Davis’s writing and I recently discovered SB Alexander who I also enjoyed but this book missed the mark for me. I just couldn’t get into it. The beginning started out a little slow for me and I just didn’t feel the connection between Adam and Emily…at least not until the very end.
Adam is the quintessential all American quarterback. He’s attending college on a full ride football scholarship with NFL scouts already waiting to see him. He’s got a heart of gold and family is EVERYTHING to him. When his mom loses her job and his sister, Phoebe, ends up in the hospital due to her illness, medical bills start piling up and there’s no money for Phoebe’s life saving treatments. It’s for this reason Adam becomes a drug dealer….for the second time in his life. Adam is caring and compassionate, and doesn’t come across as the stereotypical drug dealer. he has a conscious and he isn’t proud of what he’s doing. I really adored him.
Emily is who I had issues with. I felt her character was very immature for that of a college student. I really had a hard time connecting with her. Her actions were more like a temper tantrum when a child doesn’t get their way as opposed to a craving for Molly. Her desire to shut out the pain was heartbreaking and I did feel for her during those moments.
This book takes a look at the harrowing world of addiction and the lengths one will go to, to get their next fix or in Emily’s case, keep it secret. Siobhan and Susan’s writing flowed seamlessly, and you can’t tell who was writing what part. There was a lot going on in this book plot wise and I wish we had gotten more closure in some parts of the story, like with Emily’s former friends. Overall, this book missed the mark for me in terms of “feels” but it was fantastically written and I would definitely another collaboration from these two authors should they decide to write together again.
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CA: https://amzn.to/2m26FhW
AU: https://amzn.to/2m2YnX9
Universal: https://smarturl.it/HoldingOntoForever
Check out the trailer here: https://smarturl.it/HOFTrailer
Another amazing book by Siobhan Davis, and a first for me by Susan Alexander. While this was different than Siobhan’s solo works it was incredible. Adam and Emily’s story was heartbreakingly good! I love all the different elements they included in this story, and it really pulled at the heartstrings! I definitely recommend a read it is absolutely worth it and hope we may see more of Emily and Adam in the future! I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.
This book has an interesting concept. It is not your usual NA with “usual” and “childish” problems – it deals with drug addiction, drug dealing, se*ual assault, parental problems and a lot more. It ticks all the right boxes to be a book reading which you will need many boxes of tissues, but it did not hit me hard enough. I think it is because FMC is weak, lying b*tch, who does not deserve MC (Adam). Another thing is that I just do not understand how they connected (Adam and Emily). Either he is a masochist or delusional because he fell in love with a drug addict who thinks that Molly solves everything. Regarding Molly… I do not agree with one of early reviewers who said that the book was bad in showing true addiction. I think it portrayed drug addicts very well. The scene where Emily was ready to do almost anything to get her daily dose of Molly was close to a perfection.
Maybe my problem is that I anticipated any FMC to be strong, but I got a weak one…
Anyway.. the book is well written, a reader cannot see who wrote what (it is co-written by Siobhan Davis and Susan Alexander).
I do recommend this book as angsty, emotional NA standalone book.
*I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.
Adam is a QB in his team, with a bright future, but hen the family problem calls for drastic measures, he will do anything to help his family – even get back to his dealing past. family is something that has no boundaries with what he would do (almost). So once again a dealer, Adam meets Emily and becomes tangled with her.
Emily is a daughter of the President of the campus and the coach. And her family is DESTRUCTIVE and well, very painful. Really scarred in the inside. Emily, a girl that has drug problems that need to take control of it. Maybe meeting with Adam, another troubled soul will break her, or make her stronger?
Read it to find out!
Holding on to Forever was a story coloured with mistakes and regrets. It was a story made of hope and second chances. Do not expect a perfect and pretty love story. Because real life is not so. Expect a brutally honest, raw and gritty new adult romance from Siobhan Davis and S.B. Alexander.
Emily and Adam both are deeply flawed and freaked up characters. They are just starting to learn ugliness of life. And Emily already had her fair share of demons. So we have the unlikely pair of a college footbal QB who sells drugs to support her mother and sick sister and the addicted messed up daughter of his coach. So many things can go wrong when Adam wants to save her and Emily wants to be better for her. And it did go wrong. Spectacularly. They may save each other and that is the source of their connection.
Emily is a complicated character. She is trying to escape and defeat the monsters in her life but it is too much. And that is why she resorts to drugs from time to time. She is used and abused by people in her life, by people who should protect her. You have to see some of the darkness in your life to understand the depth of her vulnerability, desperation and devastation. Adam is her saviour. This guy is so perfect with his own issues. He has own moral compass which may be ethically wrong but he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. You will hate Emily sometimes but the struggle is real. My heart was breaking for them. You need to brace yourself as the horror and ugliness of manipulative devils in human body will be exposed fully. But there was also light at the end of tunnel of suffering. There will be justice, hope and redemption. And a beautiful HEA.
Sometimes right people do wrong things and vice versa. You will enjoy Holding on to Forever if you read it in open mind. It was a tragic yet captivating story. It was an inspiring story.
Received ARC for Honest review
It’s been a few days since I finished this book and I really wanted to wrap my head around it and get my thoughts together.
The synopsis of this book grabbed my attention and knowing that Siobhan Davis was one of the two authors, I had high expectations of this being executed very well.
This book hits on a few subjects that may be tough for some to handle (drug addiction, rape, abuse). Siobhan has always been able to handle tough subjects in her book by keeping it real but also doing it respectfully. However, in this book I felt that the drug aspect came across as a bit surreal or more on the lighter side of addiction/drug use. By no means will this hurt most people’s reading of the book but for me, what I anticipated and what I got, did hurt the story for me.
Emily has a drug problem. She turned to drugs when she didn’t get the support from her parents when a terrible incident happened when she was 15. She’s been to rehab but was never able to truly kick the drugs. Both her parents are fairly absent in her life, but her father does try more than her mother.
My issue with Emily and her drug “addiction” is this: Emily has no problems staying off the drugs during the week and only taking them on weekends. For me, that’s a user and not an addict (yet). You do see her dependence kick in when life starts to get tough for her and her demons start to haunt – that is when the addiction kicks in. I won’t go into details but there’s more to her story than just the drugs and it is quite an intense story.
Adam is the star quarterback at their university but has a sister with cystic fibrosis and his mom struggles to pay the bills with a mediocre job (father left leaving mom to find a job to support them). He’s helped out in the past with selling drugs to keep money coming in and comes to a point where he has to again.
Now here’s my issue I have with him selling: he’s the star quarterback!! Even though he’s not selling on campus, he’s selling at raves and places where college students attend – they’re going to know who he is and that news will travel fast in college. Again, there’s more to Adam than just that but I won’t give away the good stuff.
Outside of all that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt most of the actions and nuisances of these characters were true to life and handled certain situations well. Now there a few things that are slightly exaggerated or fabricated but that’s needed to make the story entertaining.
These book flowed well and it was very hard to tell that two people wrote this book. There were times that chapters moved a bit too far ahead in the timeline and sort of made you stop quickly and realize we’ve jumped to a new day or so many days ahead. I understand the need for this to keep the timeline of things realistic and also prevent from adding filler and elongating the book, but at times it hurt the flow.
Overall, it was a good read. It kept me captivated and the characters were likeable. It’s a nice intro into what you can get from these two authors and the subjects they delve into.
I finished this book yesterday and really struggled with what to write in this review. I wanted to love this story as I recenty discovered Siobhan Davis’s books and have really enjoyed them, however, I really kind of struggled with this book. I can usually finish at least a book a day, and admittedly this book took me about four days to finish, and I just could not get invested fully in the story enough to want to read it. I had to keep putting it down and then picking it back up and it almost became like a chore. It takes a lot for me to DNF a book and this book was not really anywhere near that for me, however I just didn’t really feel a connection to the characters or the story line. I feel like several different parts of the plot were somewhat unrealistic and too far fetched to be believable.
I felt like the first half of the book was really kind of slow and redundant which is why I think I kept putting the book down, but I really did enjoy the last 30% a lot more and it seemed to flow better and seemed more interesting. I also struggled a bit with the drug aspect of the book. I don’t have any personal experience with drugs or know anyone who has had a problem with drugs, however, something about how it was relayed in the story felt off to me. I struggled to connect witth Emily’s character much of the time and I didn’t quite feel the connection between her and Adam, though I did really like Adam’s character. I liked that Adam cared so much for his family and cared so much for Emily, but he was juggling so much between his family and school and football and dealing that at times this also did not seem realistic.
I think the premise of the story was intersting and a lot could have been done with it, but unfortunately the execution missed the mark for me. I definitely did enjoy the second half more than the first though and I enjoyed the ending and Adam definitely made this book more enjoyable.
This was a great standalone book that covered some extremely difficult topics. I appreciated the warning in the front and the resources in the back. Emily has been through some shit, and she is struggling. We find out more as the story progresses, and my heart just breaks for her. Both she and Adam are in some impossible situations and not making the best choices, but I get it. There were some absolutely terrible people that they had to face, and I wished all the bad things to happen to those bastards. They were the worst. I so needed Emily and Adam to make it through and have some happy in their lives. Such a good story.
***I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary ARC of this book.***
Gritty but BEAUTIFUL!
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book as I’m not typically a fan of main characters being involved with drugs but this story sucked me in. It’s a gritty story about healing but also beautiful story of their love. Emily is going through the struggles of overcoming addiction and all the challenges that come with it while Adam is facing his own challenges. Holding on to Forever is so well written that you can actually feel the love between Adam and Emily and that love is so pure. I want to say so much more but don’t want to spoil anything. Do yourself a favor and read this book, you won’t regret it!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
I can’t believe this book had two authors! It is seamless and I became addicted to the story and these characters. Adam is not your typical cocky alpha QB that I have seen so often in sports romances. I found his wholesomeness to be refreshing, and I developed a major crush on him. I empathized with him throughout the story, and I adored his sister Phoebe. He’s an incredible character and one I will never forget.
It took me a while to relate to Emily because I have never been in her position, but I grew to love her as her story unfolded. I found her and Adam’s romance to be sweet but also hot and heavy. This would make a great movie or TV series!
I loved all of the supporting characters as well. Sam and Phoebe, especially. Emily’s parents had many moments that had me glued to the pages as well. I also wonder what Zach is up to and how his life will turn out.
My favorite quotes:
“And I can ruin you in a heartbeat, darling. If you try to take me down, you’re going down with me.”
“…there is no denying Adam Miller is one damn fine specimen of masculine hotness.”
I received a copy and volunteered to review it.
This book took me a little bit to grab me, but when it did there was no turning back. I was hooked, and on the edge of my seat. I loved these characters, Emily and Adam. There are parts that are so heartbreaking and you think that their lives have to get better now, but something else gets in the way. I was so happy to see them get their happy ending. I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.
These characters broke my heart. The issues that this book talks about are incredibly difficult and gut wrenching. But the author dealt with them beautifully. I love the character development that happens throughout the book for the main character. She starts off so lost and broken and the ending she gets is perfect for her. These characters battle through so much together and the twists shocked me . I highly recommend reading this book. Some parts will be hard, but it is so worth it!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.