I’m on the fence about Holding Grace. First and foremost, this is a spinoff series, which I had absolutely no clue about; I spent a good amount of time confused about relationships and the pub Michael worked in. I thought Michael owned the pub until I started to work it out. I feel like that should have been mentioned somewhere, regardless of whether the book is a standalone or not. Had I known that, I would’ve realized that there were details I might miss and not think the author had left giant plot holes. I did really enjoy the story, though I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Grace and Michael. There didn’t seem to be much buildup between them. We knew Michael was totally into Grace from the start, but she really waffled back and forth. When they did finally get together, it felt a little anticlimactic to me. Finally, I’m firmly in the please-physically-describe-the-MCs camp. Vague descriptions like dark hair, tall, broad, etc. don’t do it for me. I know that’s personal preference, but I feel like it takes me out of the flow of reading when I’m wondering what someone looks like. I did love the suspense and the Baron family, and I’m looking forward to the next book.

I received an ARC of Holding Grace from BookSirens. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

ETA: Sorry, I thought of this after - there was a HUGE plot hole for me. If Michael was so worried about Grace’s disappearance, why didn’t he go to the police? He called and texted and was worried she was kidnapped, but dropped it after she didn’t answer him? Weird. Same goes for when Grace found out about the plot against her. Obviously we wouldn’t have had this story, but, I mean, the police would’ve been a good option there as well 🤷‍♀️