Reviews

The Hookup by Kristen Ashley

cgastorga's review

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Oh man! Who on this green earth cannot love Kristen Ashley! I know she has multie series out there and I have read from two. I was excited to start this one when she released it.

This story did not disappoint. Johnny and Izzy were literally too cute! I fell in love with the both of them. Johnny is a genuine good guy who has been seriously burned in the past. Izzy is a genuine good lady in the literal sense of the word. As they navigate through their relationship, they never give up on themselves and each other. I could not stop reading this book. Quite simply it was a beautiful story written about a beautiful couple

kellifer98's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

brisingr's review

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3.0

This grew on me the more pages I went through - but I was so thrown off by comments like 'oh no, girly stuff will make my balls shrink' that it took a /tiny bit/ of the enjoyment that the main couple might otherwise have brought. I think I'll love the next book a lot more, since I find Addie a character more to my taste, lmao.

(I'm generally not a fan of manly men, so you can see where the romance of this book went kinda "eh" for me, but it was still a really nice one!)

mandyreads's review

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5.0

Gahhh that was SO good! Johnny and Izzy are my new favorite KA couple. I absolutely can’t wait for Toby and Addie’s book!

isitcake's review against another edition

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3.0

First time reading this author. This is very tropey. Secret millionaire overly protective mechanic and helpless doesn't-know-she's-pretty horse girl. I felt like this book was too much fabricated drama. There's drama with their exes, drama with their pasts, drama with Addie showing up with her son, then Johnny's brother returning, then exes again. I also didn't like Johnny's internal monologue. He was so self righteous about Izzy's upbringing, it came off as weird. And then like why the heck does Izzy have horses and stuff. And we never see her ride them??? Overall the book was fine if you like insta-attraction books where anytime they need to have a serious conversation they get interrupted because they can't keep their hands off each other enough to think.

There's no meet cute, this book starts with the morning after a hook up. Izzy is pretty awkward because she's never had a one night stand and doesn't know how to react so a lot of the early part of the book is them feeling each other out. Quickly learn that they both have troubled pasts / exes. I listened to this on audiobook so I'm gonna get some details wrong. Johnny Gamble (what a name lol) was in love with Shandra but she left him for his brother or something? And took his dog. Everyone thought he would never get over her so Izzy is cautious about his intentions towards her. Izzy has moved to this town to get away from her crazy ex Kent. I can't tell if he was abusive or what.

Plus both of them have lose their parents. His dad died (recently?) and her mom died. Izzy's dad was rich but I think he was abusive to her mom so they grew up poor "on the government cheese" (I hate that phrase, but they say it over and over in the book). Izzy only has her sister Addie now and her toddler nephew Brooks. Addie comes to live with her during the book to get away from the deadbeat dad Perry, who makes an appearance demanding his child back. At the same moment Johnny's brother Toby shows up wanting to join the family mechanic business and conveniently is interested in Addie (soooo book #2). 

Later Brooks gets taken. Turns out its Shandra's brother Stu(sp?) who was going to ransom him I guess. Johnny, Izzy, Addie, and Brooks spend so much time together Stu thought he was important. There's a big townwide hunt to track him down, which they do. Johnny saves the day again.

In the epilogue Johnny and Izzy move in together and he says he has a ring already picked out to marry her.
 

julieschein's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

zaza_bdp's review

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4.0

J'ai adoré ce nouveau roman de Kristen Ashley !! Son dernier m'avait tellement déçue que je ne l'ai même pas terminé, du coup j'avais peur d'être encore déçue ... Mais pas du tout !

Avec The hookup, KA fait ce qu'elle sait faire de mieux : une romance profonde et intense, avec une héroïne à laquelle on s'attache tout de suite, une femme adorable et forte, et un héros alpha au possible, qui peut se montrer cru et macho mais sait aussi faire preuve de douceur et de tendresse.

Comme souvent chez cette auteur, le couple est très vite un couple solide, même si au vu du résumé, on pourrait s'attendre à une présence marquée d'un personnage en particulier, or, celle-ci est quasiment absente du livre. Finalement, elle ne joue pas le rôle primordial qu'on aurait pu imaginer, bien au contraire.

Tous les ingrédients du 'old school KA' sont là : ce couple de héros au caractère bien marqué, ces personnages secondaires très présents, qui se serrent les coudes et n'ont pas la langue dans leur poche, une romance évidemment forte et intense, sérieuse aussi (dans le sens où pour les persos, leur avenir commun ne fait aucun doute, même après peu de temps passé ensemble), un sens très aigu de la famille et des répliques très belles.

Certes, ce livre reprend les vieilles recettes qui marchent, et Johnny ressemble à bien des héros de KA, mais finalement, c'est ce stéréotype de mâle alpha que je préfère chez elle. J'aime que le héros tombe progressivement et profondément amoureux de la femme dans son ensemble, qu'il aime toutes les facettes de sa personnalité, ses petites manies, que cette attirance ne se limite pas à une banale attirance basée uniquement sur les attributs physiques (et réciproquement). On y voit deux personnes qui apprennent à se connaître et se glissent peu à peu dans un quotidien à deux, un quotidien dans lequel Johnny est bien décidé à jouer un rôle prépondérant.

Après, il ne faut pas chercher de grands rebondissements et de scènes d'action ici, le résumé est trompeur à ce sujet. Il s'agit plutôt d'un roman où l'on voit un couple se construire progressivement, apprendre à se connaître et à dévoiler des pans tout entiers de leur vie, à laisser entrer dans leur vie l'entourage de l'autre (mon Dieu, Margot, cette femme est extra !! ). Rien de bien décoiffant donc, mais juste la beauté d'une romance forte et émouvante, ancrée dans la vie de tous les jours. ♥ ♥

bookshelf1792's review against another edition

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I cannot stand the writing style. I was kinda into it and then I put it down to go to sleep and picking it up today I just can’t. It’s written in such a way that I have to keep going back over to make sure I understand and I just don’t even think I like the MMC. 

nessa_d33's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

uehfiwo's review against another edition

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3.0

It’s a cute book with a good amount of steam.. but it’s just one of those books where things fall too easily into place. No real drama, just a bunch of really well adjusted people.