Lyssa Layne

"I feel like I can conquer the world with one hand when you're holding the other." ~AnonymousOn Valentine's Day, Country Music King Lee Maverick's life took a drastic turn when his wife, fellow country crooner Miranda Wallen, asked him for a divorce. It's exactly what both of them wanted but after ten years touring together, Maverick is unsure what his career will be like without Miranda. Kyle Kelly, or KK as her friends call her, has been waiting for her big break into the country music scene. After another broken heart from a local guitar player, KK decides to give up on her musical aspirations, but her best friend, Brianna Rossi, refuses to let it go that easily. Thanks to her best friend, KK joins the newly divorced Maverick in his singing endeavors. After spending the first part of the tour fighting their attraction for one another, they finally give in to the inevitable. Both think they've found their happiness... until Maverick's ex wants back in the picture, exactly where she left off.

Holding the Other

Totally Addicted to Reading

I received this book as part of my October Blind Date with a book. When I read the blurb, I thought a love triangle would be at the centre of the story. Thankfully, this was not the case.

What the story is about.

Holding the Other tells the story of King of Country Music Lee Maverick and Kyle Kelly aka KK. Lee Maverick was on the top of the world as his career had taken off and he was fan favourite of country music lovers. When his wife and fellow country music singer Miranda Wallen asked for a divorce after ten years together, he saw all he achieved shattering before his eyes. It did not matter it was something they both wanted as theirs was purely a marriage of convenience. His biggest fear was his career tanking now that Miranda was no longer a part of his life.


KK dreams of becoming the next Reba McIntyre. However aster several disappointments, which included a broken heart she gave up on her dreams. However, thanks to her meddling best friend she finds herself on tour with the King of Country music. Sparks ignited and after days of fighting their feelings, they decided to explore the attraction between them, but then Miranda returned.


The Story

You see why I thought this would be a love triangle. I was preparing myself for boatloads of drama, but it never came. The story which, was told in dual first person POVs on a whole, was good, but my favourite part was the epilogue. It was sweet and emotional. It made me smile and just gave me an all-round happy feeling. I enjoyed the writing, and I loved that it was not overly dramatic. The story depicted that one’s success usually follows their greatest disappointment.

The Characters
For most of the story, I had difficulty connecting with Kyle Kelly. I did not know who she was as a person and why she acted the way; she did. At around 45% of the story, I discovered she had a difficult life growing up. A mother who was a junkie and a dad who shut her out of his life after her mom passed, but I still could not connect with her. It was not until around the 80% mark when I began to get a feel for her. Even though I never had her experience, I connected with her at that point and understood the reasoning behind her actions. I liked that she finally got a chance to fulfil her dreams after so many disappointments.
There was a particular event in her life that the author failed to develop. We all knew a guitarist broke her heart, but no information was provided in relation to this thread.

Maverick was a mystery from start to finish. Due to lack of information about him before his current life I had difficulty establishing a connection with him. Furthermore, I found him to be a weak character. He relied heavily on his ex-wife to boost his career and now she is gone he became a shell of his former self. It is clear he has the talent, but he lacked the confidence needed to shine on his own. He felt that no one could replace Miranda until KK.
 A hint was given as it relates to his childhood, bit it was not elaborated on, which was disappointing.

Supporting Characters
I was prepared to dislike Miranda, but she surprised me. She proved to be a nice person. Lee’s manager on the other hand was up to no good. I figured he was up to something, but it took me awhile to figure out his end game.

The Romance
Unfortunately, I did not feel the chemistry between the characters. I had a hard time buying into Lee’s feelings for KK. First, he did not want her on the tour, but when he saw how great a singer, she was and how well she gelled with lead guitarist for the band that fronted for him, he became interested. In no time, they became friends and then we see them moving from friendship to lovers. I believe he was using her to replace his ex-wife.

Conclusion

Did I enjoy this story? It was ok, but it was not a favourite.

Holding the Other

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