Two Butterflying Awesome Book Chicks: Review: Take My Hand by Nicola Haken

Review: Take My Hand by Nicola Haken

Synopsis:

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 recommended for younger readers due to language, drug/alcohol abuse and sexual content).

Nicky's Review

4 Stars

Characters- I loved Emily and Dexter. They were perfect opposites but similar, I know oxymoron right, but it's the truth. They were perfect together. Jared and Rachel were pretty funny and well written supporting characters.
Plot/Storyline- Story was great with great twists and I loved that both Emily and Dexter were flawed.
Steam Factor- Dexter is FREAKING HOT AS HELL!!! Who doesn't love a man with his man parts pierced?! And boy can that guy please a girl. Phew!!
Cover- Cover is very clean and beautiful. Love it!!
Cliffhanger- YES!!!!! Next book comes out JANUARY 2014
Overall- I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to others. Great job Nicola Haken!!

Let me just start by saying that this book took me for a ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved how Emily was the shy girl but was a very strong character when it came to Dexter. I loved her honesty and selflessness. She was very relatable and the fact that Nicola added great shout outs to other books, which I TOTALLY loved and read myself, made me feel like Emily and I could totally be friends. It was fun to read the names, Dean Holder and Travis Maddox, and relate to losing myself in a book just as Emily was doing. I just thought that was such a neat touch and made me happy.

It was nice to see the relationship between Emily and Dexter grow and develop. Watching them feel attracted to each other but constantly denying that feeling made the transition from friend to more really enjoyable. It was believable. Each of them have baggage and find solace in each other when confronting these demons.

Dexter holds a secret inside of him that keeps him from pursuing love and happiness, but Emily is his kryptonite. He can not resist her and watching the struggle between them was enjoyable because Emily was always there for Dex, no matter how hard he pushed her away. They really balanced each other out.

The supporting characters, Rachel (Emily's best friend) and Jared (Dexter's only friend), were a great source of support for the leading characters and they also provided humor and sideline drama, which was enjoyable and laughable. The only issue I had was Rachel's constant need to refer to Emily as Ho; it was really the only name she referred to her as. She never used her actual name and this made me a little stand-offish to Rachel, since Emily was anything but a ho and it's just not a term I would use for a friend, but that's the only hang up I've had in the book.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that includes a swoon worthy bad boy, a sweet yet strong lead girl, two funny supporting characters, and secrets that make you keep turning pages to see what happens next and what the answers will be. It was also nice to read that the demons Emily and Dexter are fighting are legitimately serious issues that would certainly explain their behaviors. I really don't enjoy reading books where the secret is so silly and you come away feeling like the characters were so ridiculous for making such a big deal out of the situation. You will not find that problem in this book. The issues at hand are sad and would cause anyone to shut themselves off and consume themselves in self hatred and guilt. But the story of Emily and Dexter surviving these issues with each other is a great story and I look forward to reading the continuation of their story this January when the second Nicola Haken's Take My Hand series book, Hold on Tight, come out. Until then, Thank you Nikola Hanken for allowing me to take this journey. Bravo!!

Favorite Quotes:

"Seconds later I caught Jared's eye and so I cocked my head and set my face into a firm scowl which I intended to read 'if you value your balls get your ass back here NOW.'"

"Jesus, I thought I was an unsociable person. This chick made Adolf Hitler look like Mother freakin' Teresa."

"This girl was definitely a Tootsie. Her friend? Well she was a whole new breed I hadn't ever come across before. Maybe a Snickers- completely fucking nuts."

"But to be honest I can't seem to stop myself wanting to whip out my Kindle and get back to Dean Holder."

"You every seen one of those shows about dog rescue pounds? You know, the ones where they find an emaciated dog tied to an old gate just minutes from death and then they take it back, give it a bath and fee it it's first meal in three months? Well then you'll know what they look like when they get their mouths round that food- the way they vacuum that shit up without stopping to take a breath. Yeah, well that's how Emily eats- and it's freakin' adorable."

"Emily is like no other person I've ever met. There is no confectionary category for her- she's moade up of the most delicious parts of every piece of candy ever invented. Somehow, every second I spend with her she amazes me a little more. I can do 'this' with her. I have to."

Purchase this book:

Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Take-My-Hand-ebook/dp/B00FLCU4RQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381088551&sr=1-2&keywords=Take+my+hand

Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/take-my-hand-nicola-haken/1117075691?ean=2940045312189

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