Throughly enjoyable

I loved this book from start to finish, Stella Bloom narration is super she really does portray the characters well .Izzy and Jonny’s story is heartfelt both with their histories the way Kirsten writes has you totally absorbed , I look forward to more in the series ,

4 people found this helpful

All too familiar but still enjoyable

This book has left me with mixed feelings.

I appreciate this book is called The Hookup and the premise is in the title but for me, a book which starts with a sex scene is something that I generally loathe. I need to get to know my characters before getting to know them intimately if you know what I mean. Despite my initial reservations though, I did find myself connecting with the main characters relatively quickly. Both Johnny and Izzy have troubled pasts but find themselves coming together, literally and figuratively, unexpectedly having met in a bar.

Izzy is new in town, having escaped her ex, and now enjoying a rural lifestyle, she is trying to find her feet within her new existence. With a domestic menagerie living under the same roof as her, Izzy works hard to enjoy what she has created for herself and that's a sweet, country home.

Johnny runs the local garages and having been burned in love before, isn't looking for anything more than a one night stand, that is until he meets Izzy and despite only spending a few short hours getting to know each other before ending up in bed, it's clear that he has no intention of letting her go without a fight. Izzy doesn't know how to deal with Johnny's plans for her and Izzy's head is spinning but she is more than happy just to enjoy whatever time she has with him before he tires of her.

The story and their relationship progress with each getting to know the other and trying to combine their lifestyles and work commitments. Johnny is a dream though and being a horse owner myself, I would love someone to come into my life and to be more than happy to take care of my beasties without being asked!

The side characters are also as equally enjoyable but especially Izzy's sister, who comes to stay with her, and also Johnny's brother, Toby. Thankfully, Adeline brings her baby son with her and he adds some fun times and drama to the story.

For me, this story was spoilt by its sweet nature and all too frequent sex scenes. There was a serious lack of drama in the storyline, apart from towards the end of the book. The story was slow to develop and at times, dare I say it, slightly boring. I feel this is always the downside of insta-love stories because there is no slow building relationship, something that this author is well-known for.

The other downside to this book, for me, was the inclusion of a male narrator. KA always uses females and I am a particular fan of Stella Bloom but her magical performance was overshadowed by an overly enthusiastic Lance Greenfield who over-played his part of the narration, on this occasion.

I do still love this author's writing though and whilst this is probably my least favourite story of hers to date, I will read/listen on with the series which overall left me with a warm feeling and endless hope for more of what we come to expect from KA in future books.

2 people found this helpful

Disappointing with too many unfinished plotlines

The unbearably nice h in this book has a farmyard of cute animals, and birds who perch on her shoulder. She merrily breezes through the days effortlessly holding down an executive position (with two hour commute) while tending to her land, horses, dogs, birds, along with gardening, making her own vodka, being a master of upcycling and a brilliant cook. She is, of course, stunningly beautifully, extremely sexy, but at aged 31 unaware of her perfection, and so sugary sweet that she got embarrassed when she enjoyed great sex. She was always “cute” or “adorable” even after sharing 8(!) bottles of wine with 2 girlfriends, and even, apparently, when she fell asleep while minding an unrestrained baby in a public park, and didn’t wake when the baby was removed.

The short tempered H, meanwhile, gets upset whenever the h fails to read his mind, or dares to do something “manly” (like moving a chair!). He spent three years moping after his ex (nothing about that scenario made sense), and the reader is constantly reminded how much he had loved his ex, and how “destroyed” he was when she left him. He expects the h to fall into line with his needs, (especially, unlike his ex, always putting him before family) and she willingly obliges by being a complete doormat who resists only until he kisses her, and then swoons into his arms, and appeases him by doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

This book has a lot of over-the-top graphic sex. Waaaay too much. They also talk about sex. A lot. The endearments and nicknames were awful, and the fabulous KA alpha male has gone all new-age and is now comfortable nappy changing and childminding, but feels his manhood is threatened by feminine décor or sitting on “fancy” chairs.

The reader was teased with potential plot strands (ex girlfriend back in town; stalker ex boyfriend; the absent father; the sister’s ex) but nothing developed any further until a random kidnapping plot is plucked out of thin air and was over almost before it began, and which, strangely, was all about the sister. In fact there was so much of the sister’s drama in this book I cannot help feeling that the upcoming story about her has already been done.

The epilogue had a lovely emotional scene, but unfortunately it was between the H and his ex-girlfriend - who was actually very likable. Then we had more about the sister’s romance. And the H and h had more sex because that’s really all their relationship was. Sex. All the time.

I had high hopes after the excellent “Complicated” that Kirsten Ashley had got her mojo back after the awful “Honey” series but….nope. This was a cookie cutter book, with every romance cliché thrown into the mix, stirred around and then left uncooked. Maybe she has a ghost writer?

1 person found this helpful

romanticism of a guy with anger issues

there are A LOT of red flags with the hero in this book. he has anger and control issues and considering his counterpart is a female from an abusive home it was quite daunting.
this was the kind of male character I'd expect from a. Sandra brown novel from the 80s

Loved it!

I enjoyed the storyline and definitely Izzy’s character. She was into Johnny but her head was screwed in right. Loved this book. Long reign KA!

Pointless

Girl meets boy, they have sex, fall in love and get married. There really is no story here and the male narrator is just ridiculous, big dramatic pauses in husky voice... “and he turned the tv on”. Just pointless nonsense.

Beautifully written, beautifully narrated

Loved the story. It was really easy to connect with the characters. Definitely recommend. The narration is excellent love both narrators

Slow. Did not like male character

It took me a few listens to finish this book. I found it slow from the start and should have given up then. The author has a habit of describing things in alot of unnecessary details, which drags the story out. I don't care about the fret work on the porch, or how many crystals are missing from the chandelier!

I also did not like the male character, Johnny. He came across as a bit controlling getting really angry about things that didn't warrant it. Like Izzy hanging some lights from a tree and carrying some chairs. I love an alpha hero who takes care of his girl but in this book it came across as more than that.

I don't think the choice of male narrator helped with this. I've enjoyed lance's narration in other books but I don't think he suited this book. He made Johnny sound more like a controlling jerk I think.

Not one of my favourites

I'm a fan of Kristen Ashley and Stella Bloom is one of my favourite narrators so I was looking forward to this. Though aspects of it are enjoyable, I found it a little slow and staid compared to most KA books I've read. The male reader is also kind of annoying - he reads everything like it's the trailer for an action movie which makes it hard to engagte. Kristen Ashley books usually involve fairly graphic love scenes, but these ones were GRAPHIC and a little too much for me, it grossed me out a little and I'm usualy not too phased by such things. I have also tried the next in this series and it's pretty much worse so I shall have to wait for Ms A to come up with a new series!

Old fashion relationship ideals

Struggled to finish it. Really possessive man with very old fashioned veiws. I personally didn't enjoy