Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Hold the Door

SERIES:  Open Doors

AUTHOR:  Vinni George

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  270 pages

RELEASE DATE:  April 15, 2021

BLURB:

One hidden crush.
One bunch of plastic mistletoe.
One alcohol-fueled kiss.
One set of taillights as Max Martino left town.

Sixteen years later…

Sam Addison hates change, and his company’s new merger is stretching him to his limit. When Sam finds out an older, hotter, and amazingly talented Max Martino is part of the acquisition, he knows the only way to keep his sanity is to avoid Max—and their history—at any cost.

Max never planned to settle down, but recently he’s been pining for roots. A new job, a new city, and a second chance with Sam makes the thought of staying in one place exciting for the first time ever.
But the harder Max pushes, the farther Sam runs, sometimes literally, and Max begins to wonder if Sam can ever let go of the biggest mistake Max ever made—leaving.

But maybe a second chance at forever is as simple as holding the door open for love.

Hold the Door is an 80,000-word contemporary romance that features friends to lovers and a second chance at love, a sassy work husband, and surfing lessons that often lead to more. Hold the Door is the first book in the Open Doors series and can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW:

Sam kissed Max the night before Max left college after the death of his grandfather.  Boy that did not end well.  While Sam had always known he was gay, he had this years long crush on Max and they had gotten so much closer their senior year and so he was drunk and went for it.  He could have sworn that Max was kissing him back – well at least for a minute.  But then things went badly and when he tried to apologize, Max took off and Sam was devastated.

Fast forward 16 years and Sam’s company has acquired a new magazine.  And who is the director of photography?  That would be one Max Martino – of the unrequited drunken kiss.  And Sam has never had any contact with Max since he drove off in an angry huff.  And frankly he has no desire to deal with him in his very comfortable life in San Diego.  He tries to hatch a plan to move the whole staff of said magazine to Chicago, but to no avail.  So he spends the first three weeks hiding out from Max.  But eventually, they meet on an elevator and Sam has to talk to Max.  Things don’t go horribly and a tentative truce is reached.

Sam’s reprieve from his work is surfing.  When it turns out that  Max lives in the same neighborhood and he’s looking for something to do, he decides to check out the surfing.  And he’s pushed in Sam’s direction for lessons.  Thus begins a tentative friendship and common goal of getting Max up on a board.  Of course Max has to confess that he’s not actually straight.  And of course it turns out that spark is still there between them.  But they are trying to keep a lid on things.  As they grow closer though, it’s obvious that they really do have a deep connection and friendship and more.  You know though that of course it can’t all be smooth sailing 😉  Both Max and Sam have to learn to trust in themselves and each other, despite the different obstacles or perceived obstacles in their way.

Well!  I have been so lucky this year with new authors and debut books, because this one is another winner 🙂  I loved Sam so much.  His anxiety over having Max thrust back into his life after 16 years and a broken heart at the way Max left was so believable.  Sometimes there just isn’t a good way to get over something so traumatic.  His avoidance techniques once they are in the same building are hilarious!  Sam’s “work husband” bestie, Archer, is also a great, dramatic, over the top and hysterically funny character.  He’s a bit sneaky and nosy and in your face, but I adored his friendship with Sam – who admittedly needed some prodding from time to time.  Max was the king of jumping to conclusions – and it takes him a bit to figure out that he just needs to ask!  I loved the evolution over the months of their rekindled friendship and then more.  Sam’s reluctance to take a chance with his heart was so genuine and true to life.  I just wanted to give him a hug!  Max’s family was hilarious and so typical of siblings and parents poking their noses in all the time 😉  I really just enjoyed the heck out of this entire story.  The secondary characters were SOOO great – Brody the surfer dude, Fletcher the surf shop owner, Corbin and Millie from Max’s team, Jane the boss, even Sam’s douchebag boyfriend were so authentic and recognizable.  I was chuffed to find out that this is the first in a series and I really cannot wait for the next book.  Highly recommended and especially for those who love friends to lovers and second chances stories.  Well done!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon