Rate this book

Taking Him (2013)

by Jackie Ashenden(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

series

Lies We Tell

review 1: There has been some great Twitter buzz around this book. First of all Hunter is a virgin. I believe the hash tag #dirtyeffingvirgin has been used to describe him all over Twitter. Hello? Dirty virgin hero means there is a 100% chance I will read the book. So I expected maybe Hunter to be shy and awkward and ready to spurt all over the place the second the heroine raised an eyebrow at him. (hey – it’s my virgin fantasy, okay?) But this book is much, much darker than I expected. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – but I had to change my mind-set. I can’t be my pervy self and lust after a hero when he is battling such dark demons. Hunter was sexually abused at the age of 16 by his 38 year-old step-mother. She seduced him, made him do sexual things to her and vice-v... moreersa (never intercourse though). Being a teenager, he thought he was in love with her, but she tossed him aside when his father became suspicious. Years later (I believe Hunter is in his early thirties when the book starts) he has struggled with intimacy. He gets horrid flashbacks and feels shame.Ellie is the sister of Hunter’s best friend. She has had a crush on Hunter forever. He actually used to babysit her for a short time, so he sees her has a kid sister, rather than a love interest. Ellie is a video game designer and moving to Tokyo soon to pursue her dream job. She is willing to do anything to get Hunter to notice her as sexy. So she pursues and pursues, and Hunter reacts violently.So my deal with this book – overall it’s a pretty good book but I definitely had some issues. Ellie comes off desperate a lot through this book. She reallllly wants Hunter. She will take anything he is willing to give her. I got tired of it. And Hunter holds on to the secret about his step-mother forever. So Ellie makes a move, Hunter forcefully pushes her away, Ellie pouts, Hunter feels conflicted and shamed, Ellie tries again..and the cycle continues. Ellie knew something was up with Hunter and Hunter had a million chances to tell her why he couldn’t be intimate with her. The miscommunication drove me nutty.I didn’t dislike these two together but I felt something was missing. Maybe some quiet romance between them. It all seemed too dark and intense, I missed the courtship of it all. I kind of got upset when Ellie pushes Hunter away at the end too.So this review makes it seem like I disliked this book. I didn’t – but it could have been better.Rating: C
review 2: I could just go OMG a gazillion times and that would pretty much express how I'm feeling at the moment. I've had this ARC for a while but kept putting it off because I was afraid. I had such anticipation for this virgin hero I thought there is no way anyone could pull it off. What if I didn't like it?But on the other hand...anticipation also heightens the experience. Just ask Hunter. Or maybe not. He's not that chatty. Or touchy feely. He is however an amazing hero. He's so, hot and adorable and broken and sexy and OMG I think I've just been mentally unfaithful to my DH in my mind.This is all about the story. Ellie has loved Hunter for sixteen years, first as a child being cared for by her brothers friend, then as a young adult. Her last ditch attempt to make him see her as a woman before she goes out of his life forever starts something she did not expect.Hunter, on the other hand is one crazy mixed up dude but there are very good reasons. When Ellie starts poking and prodding, she finds a whole other man behind the caring big brother facade she's been seeing for years.This was an interesting read because often there is a slow build up of tension as things get revealed, but even early in the book there was an emotional gut reaction that kept me edgy. IT was a very emotional story and did bring out the tears at the end. Well worth reading.Another thing I notice as I was reading was that I would flick back and reread passages. Not because I didn't understand them but because I wanted to enjoy them all over again straight away. This is unusual for me. less

Download links for: Taking Him

Advertising