Back of Book: 

I can't do this here. I probably shouldn't do this at all. If only there was some magic, over-the-counter pill I could take that would counteract my hurt feelings. I'd call it Thera-Blue...

When Robin agreed to star on The Holdout, America's most brutal reality competition, she never expected to lose her heart—or have it nationally televised when heartthrob contestant Grant betrayed her for the million-dollar prize. Now back in her hometown, Robin's hiding from the humiliating footage playing weekly on primetime, convinced her family's whispers were right: she doesn't have what it takes to survive. But when jury duty unexpectedly lands in her lap, Robin finds herself thrust into a real-life drama that mirrors her reality show past. As she navigates both the courtroom and her family's I-told-you-so's, Robin discovers that true strength might not be about winning at all—but about finding the courage to risk her heart again and to stand up for what's right.

Can Robin finally write her own definition of survival? 

Book Number: One 

Genre: Adult | Contemporary | Romance

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Told in dual timelines, "The Holdout" explores American justice on a reality TV show and in the courtroom. 

Robin Bricker was desperate to win The Holdout, a reality TV show in which members of a tribe vote people of the island after each challenge to decide who is the ultimate Holdout. Unfortunately, Robin got lost in the eyes of one of her fellow contestants, Grant, and got sidetracked from her original goal. Months later, Robin is embarrassed for the world to see how Grant used her on television. At least she has jury duty to keep her busy. Luckily, nobody seems to recognize her. Robin can't help but compare jury duty to her time spent on The Holdout. Hurting from the way Grant treated her, Robin now must decide whether she has the strength to navigate this cruel world on her own, or if she is willing to put her heart on the line and risk it being broken again. 

I've been a huge fan of Laurel Osterkamp's "Sugar Pine" romance series, so I was super excited to check out some of her earlier work. I definitely didn't enjoy this one as much as her newer rom coms, but I feel that has more to do with the drama of "The Holdout" rather than anything else. 

The thing I found most fascinating about this book is how it looks at justice in America. Robin is on a reality TV show that forces her to partake in a jury and vote out fellow cast members. Once she returns, she finds herself on a real-life jury in the courtroom. Robin spends a ton of time comparing the two situations and comes to the conclusion that there is no true justice in this world. No one can be truly impartial (we're only human, after all), so someone always gets screwed over in the end. 

This book also does a great job at portraying the complexities of human interactions. The Holdout is truly a bizarre social experiment that shows just how far some people are willing to go for cash, fame, and the chance to come out on top. People like Grant don't care about others, so it's interesting to see the way that they are willing to manipulate people for their own gain. Even good people like Robin find themselves doing things they wouldn't normally do when it comes to winning at something like this. Seeing how people behaved on this show was rather fascinating to me, even though I don't watch a ton of reality TV myself. 

I personally don't think I would consider this one a rom com. There are certainly romantic elements, but it leans more women's/psychological fiction, in my opinion. I thought that it was an interesting study into how people's brains work and much less of a romance. 

I was a bit torn on this one, because I felt that every time something juicy was happening, it would switch to the other timeline. Part of me thinks it would have been easier to read chronologically, but then it would have been a lot harder to compare Robin's time on the Holdout to her time serving on the jury. 

I also had a bit of a hard time with Robin's family. It took me forever to keep them all apart, mainly due to the fact that we only see most of them together at big family gathering such as Christmas and Thanksgiving. Once I finally could tell them apart, I cam to realize that I didn't really like any of them. This wasn't that big of a deal, because most of them weren't that important to the story, but I found all the family drama to be a tad frustrating. 

Overall, I found "The Holdout" to be an interesting study of the human mind and the lengths that people will go to tear down others for the chance to better themselves. I don't know much about reality TV or jury duty, so I felt that this book was enlightening in several ways. Robin was a fine main character, and I'm definitely looking forward to exploring more of her story in future installments of this series. 

Audiobook Note: Claire Duncan was the narrator of this one. I feel that she did a great job of bringing Robin to life. She spoke with so much enthusiasm, which made this audiobook really easy to consume in only a few sittings. I look forward to listening to her again when I get around to reading "The Standout." 

Back of Book: 

The rain pours down, plastering his hair to his head and his shirt to his body. He takes my hand and puts it over his heart.

"See? Still beating."

Pounding is more like it...

How do you let go of your first love when his memory still owns your heart?

Ten years ago, Robin's world was cracked open by Jed—a brilliant, complicated young man who told her not to fall for him. But she did. She gave him everything, only to lose him to a chronic illness that was always waiting in the wings.

Now, Robin is finally rebuilding. She has a new career, a small but solid circle of support, and Nick—a funny, passionate, infuriatingly earnest guy who sees her for who she is. He doesn't know about Jed. Or the play Jed wrote for her. Or that Robin has agreed to star in its long-overdue debut.

As opening night nears, Robin is haunted by what could have been—and by what still might be. She's caught between honoring the past and claiming her future, between the person she was and the person she wants to become. And the more she tries to move forward, the more she wonders: is letting go an act of betrayal... or the bravest kind of love?

A deeply moving novel about grief, second chances, and the stories that shape us, The Next Breath will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to love again without forgetting where they started.

Book Number: Two

Genre: Adult | Contemporary | Romance

Review: ? 

Back of Book: 

First Robin gets the email with its simple demand: dump your fiancé or else. Then someone puts up the slanderous Rotten Robin Website that threatens to crush her chances to win The Standout, a ballet-themed, fashion reality show.

Surrounded by backstabbing co-contestants and haunted by mysterious ghosts from her past, Robin can't trust anyone, including herself. Her only allies are Zelda, a ballerina and model, and her older brother Ted, both of whom have ghosts and secrets of their own.

The Standout is a psychological thriller about love and betrayal, life and death, tall buildings, and finding the courage to jump.

Book Number: Three

Genre: Adult | Contemporary | Romance

Review: ?