2.5 stars

****Full Review****

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Kat is on the run, accused of murdering her stepfather and out on bail she decides Canada sounds better than a lifetime in jail. On the road Kat finds herself behaving and doing things she never would have thought herself capable of before. Only one man has been able to catch up with her, a bounty hunter she calls Steel because of his hard grey eyes and refusal to tell her his real name. Steel has been in the game a long time and plans on retiring after he collects this last bounty. The only problem is the closer to giving Kat up the more he doesn't want to. It becomes a game of who captured who and who will save who?

This story is written in first person pov with chapters alternating between Kat and Steel, this is not my favorite writing technique and is a personal prejudice that probably added to a lower rating, I feel it disrupts the flow of the story. If this doesn't bother you then please consider that when looking at my rating. The author also has a tendency to write with lyrical prose, very over descriptive and flowery, which I didn't really connect with. The suspense side of the story had a broad arc that was intriguing and good but some of the finer points were missing. The USB key around Kat's neck is mentioned sporadically throughout alerting the reader it is probably important but not until the very end is it explained and utilized in the story. Also, Kat is said to be a computer genius but her or Steel never take a moment to sit down and think about how they keep getting tracked down, seems like something people on the run would focus on. These were just two examples of the problem I had with the storyline, solid connecting puzzle pieces were left out in favor of creative writing side tangent ones.

The relationship between Kat and Steel worked better for me. Steel was alluring with his distant, hard, and cool personality. Kat is in her early twenties (Steel is in his early thirties) and their age difference with Kat's good-natured, pop culture spouting, light attitude ,and personality appeal mightily to his tired world weary soul. It is clear they both sense something in the other that each other needs and wants, Steel and his strength and Kat with her humanity. They play well off of one another, if not quite delving too far below the surface. This is in the vein of a New Adult so while Kat and Steel are extremely attracted to each other the sex scenes are muted.

There is an abrupt ending with everything wrapped up far too cleanly but also satisfactorily. There are a lot of hands in the pot, clingy ex-girlfriend, psycho sister-in-law, mother murder drama, and competing bounty hunter that fill out the puzzle, if not entirely click together. Held Against You is a quick read with a mysterious, sexy, and dangerous lead male that will capture your attention even if the surrounding story falls a bit short.
( )

I picked up this book at the bargain section at Barnes and Noble for $5.00 bucks and it was worth it. This is the first book I read from Season Vining and I really enjoyed it. While I'll consider this a romance it had a lot of suspence that kept me guessing and wanting to know what was going to happen.

I absolutely loved Kat. She's outgoing and smart yet afraid of the unknown. Although she is on the run for murder, I was rooting for her from the beginning. I truly loved the 80's references as I'm an 80's junkie.

I liked Samuel's character, however, I will say that I thought he'd be a little "tougher" and deny his feelings for Kat for longer than he did. I believe that as soon as Kat shared with him the abuse her mother and her endured throughout the years, Samuel felt an instance sence of protecting her because he always felt he failed to protect his own mother from domestic violence.

All and all I really enjoyed this read and it got me out of my reading slump. I'll definitely read other books from this author. ( )

I would like to thank Dundurn & NetGalley for granting me a copy of this ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review.

Goodreads Teaser:
"Accused of a horrible crime and on the run, Kat has been rejected by everyone she loves. She’s a fugitive from her past, flitting from town to town with nothing but the clothes on her back. Until she meets a man who literally stops her in her tracks.

This notorious bounty hunter, with his stunning good looks and powerful instincts, never fails to capture his prey. But there’s something about his newest mark that gets under his skin–and it’s not just the naked innocence he sees in her eyes. Behind his ice cold demeanor, he has his own secrets... and now his lively, vulnerable captive is about to crack him wide open.

As they drive across the country together, neither of them can deny the spark of attraction between them. Will their journey force these two passionate opposites together…or will their dangerous secrets be too much to bear?"

Entertaining story, but lacks that certain je ne se quais that makes it stand out from all the others within the same genre. The characters are entertaining, yet they have a certain recycled feeling for me, almost as if bits and pieces of other characters were thrown into a blender until each of these characters came out. I suppose that could technically be said about all characters, heck all people, but in this case the main characters lack that cohesion that allows them to have a magnetism that draws me into their story. Unfortunately that leaves me with a story that feels rather like unleavened bread, except in this case there was supposed to be an element like yeast to allow the story to rise to its full potential (if we're sticking with the bread analogy) - and for me it was lacking that essential ingredient.

While all that may sound excessively negative, it doesn't mean that this story is a waste. It's a fun read, easy and mildly entertaining. That's simply my problem with it. The mild part. It was like going to watch a murder mystery movie that you were really excited about, only to figure out the entire plot, including the supposed twists, and who the actual killer really is, all in the first five minutes of the ninety minute movie. That leaves you with a movie where you're somewhat bored and restless, and apt to pay more attention to the scenery that the characters and action that was the original draw. But unfortunately that scenery isn't enough to return the film to its anticipated blockbuster hit status you held it to prior to seeing it (or in this case reading).

I may have judged this harshly, but I will say at the least it won't fail you as a beach read or post-surgery. It will keep your attention if there's nothing else around to distract you, and if you do get distracted and forget to mark your page - well if you pick it up again a few pages ahead of where you left off before, not to worry. . . you'll be caught up with the plot line in minutes, no worse for the wear. ( )