Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781633755260 |
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| Publisher: | Entangled Publishing, LLC |
| Publication date: | 01/04/2016 |
| Series: | Grayson Brothers , #3 |
| Sold by: | Macmillan |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Pages: | 229 |
| Sales rank: | 210,869 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Hold Me Until Forever
4.3 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
18 reviews.
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Hold Me Until Forever is Book 3 Grayson Brothers series by Christina Phillips. Hold Me Until Forever is about Alex Grayson, the oldest brother, who has always done what ever needed to be done to take care of his brothers even if broke him. Ella Clark has always been in Alex’s life, after all she is his youngest brother Cooper’s best friend and unknown to her; the love of Alex’s life since she was sixteen. They both have issues they have never shared with anyone. Now that his younger brothers have found their loves, Ella decides she needs to try to do the same and leaving Grayson’s and Alex is the first step. I was given Hold Me Until Forever for an honest review. I read this as a standalone and it was a wonderful read, but if you have been following the series it will be a must read.
Alex is a partner in a private club called Excalibur and decides since Ella is leaving him he will take he to the Club were rules and control are what he has lived with for years. “She might’ve let him believe she was used to all this, but he’d known from the second he has asked her here none of the usual rules applied.”
Ella was surprised with being ask to Excalibur by Alex but she wanted him even if it is to be just for one visit. Once there Ella realized that “Alex looked her way and even from across the room he managed t take her breath away. And the he smiled. A slow, sexy smile that told her all she needed to know. You’re Mine.”
Christina Phillips tells the reader in her Author profile that, “…the romance will be sizzling and the heroine will bring her hero to his knees.” And man does she deliver in Hold Me Until Forever. Christina Phillips gives us moments that- sizzle, surprises, are tender and funny. I think you will be happy spending time with Alex & Ella, I was. If you have not read the first two books, like me, it is fine; but I bet it would be even more fun if you had been following the Grayson Brothers.
Alex has to work out what he discovers with Ella. “Sex was always great. But it was never this much fun. He pushed that wired thought aside.” You will be glad you get to see how Alex works this out.
Thanks Christina Phillips & Good Writing
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I am a big fan of Christina Phillips and a HUGE fan of anything that comes from Entangled's Brazen line so I was thrilled to see this one pop up on Netgalley. I had read the two previous brothers stories and knew that Alex was going to be the darker, harder to get to know brother and Christina Phillips did not hold back in telling his story.
*No Spoilers*
Alex and Ella have known each other since they were children. Alex had a very rough late teenage years and spent time in the corrections system. His overall view of himself is flawed because of this and he holds people at a distance, even those like Ella who he has known his entire life.
Ella works for the brothers but she is quitting soon and has found herself a new job where she doesnt have to work side by side daily with Alex because shes really not sure how much more her heart can take. At a wedding of one of Alex's brothers, she has too much to drink and the proverbial gauntlet is thrown down... will Alex pick it up??
This is where the story (and the sexy times) really take off. And believe me.. Christina Phillips can write some hot, albeit mild.. SEXY, SEXY BDSM scenes. I definitely enjoyed this book. I loved Ella. She had so much character under pressure, she stuck by her man and wasnt about to give up even when it looked like he was throwing in the towel. Alex on the other hand... I didnt love as much as I did his brothers from the previous books. Alex comes with a lot of emotional baggage but I pretty well knew that coming into the story. He was a little harder to get to know and slower to open up. But in the end, it was definitely very, very sweet and I fell in love with Alex and Ella as a couple. I will definitely continue to seek out books from Christina Phillips and anything from the Entangled Brazen line. I give Hold Me Until Forever 4**** WickedGoodStars and thank you for the opportunity to read/review this book!
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Once again Phillips has created an intricate and at times hard hitting novel. The seamless plot was full of chemistry while also making me think. The subtexts throughout the story added to connection between the characters. The differing aspects of the plot all meld together to create a complete whole.
Phillips creates some winning characters to lead this story. I liked how she combines a complexity of character with an ease of getting to know them. The way that they stepped out of their comfort zones with each other was quite intriguing. I enjoyed the way that the characters go from friends to lovers without losing that spark that makes them friends. The fact that the main characters are an atypical couple as well as people that I can really see fitting together was fantastic.
This was an intriguing and chemistry filled novel that was both thought inducing and drool worthy.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.
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***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***
Hold Me Until Forever by Christina Phillips
Book Three of the Grayson Brothers series
Publisher: Entangled Brazen
Publication Date: January 4, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley
***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***
Summary (from Goodreads):
She's the only one he wants...and the one he can never have.
Ella Clark has been in love with Alex Grayson forever. She’s tired of being invisible—or worse, being treated like his kid sister. If she can just get him to drop his iron-fisted control for two seconds, she’ll prove she knows exactly how to blow his mind.
Alex has been fighting his attraction to Ella since her should-have-been-innocent sweet sixteen kiss burned down his world. He's damaged, and there's no way he'll ever drag her into his screwed up life. Until she offers him something he's always craved—steamy, no-strings sex inside his exclusive BDSM club. Where she'll be safe from the darkness that haunts him.
Except there's nothing safe about being with Ella, and the more she gives, the harder it is to let her go. If he stays, he risks everything, but how can he walk away from the only woman he's ever needed?
What I Liked:
I've not read the other two books in this series! They don't sound particularly special and I'm not sure I would have enjoyed them since the heroine in each book is rich and/or famous (I'm not a huge fan of books that have a famous hero or heroine). This book, however, dealt with two close friends. I really enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope in romance, and I'm glad I chose this Brazen novel!
Ella is sure that her friend and boss Alex Grayson will never notice her. She's been in love with him since she was sixteen, but he treats her like a sister. Ella is ready for some change in her life - so she resigns from the company and is going to start at a new job. Little does she know that Grayson has wanted her for years, but he knows he isn't good enough for her. Juvie past? Too damaged for this kind, good woman. But Ella surprises him when she comes with him to his BDSM club for an exclusive night with him - and another, and another, until they've become friends with benefits. But Ella wants more - can Alex let himself trust again?
This book was a lot more dense than I thought, in terms of the issues that the author went into. Usually Brazen novels have steamy romances and *some* angst, but not too much. In this book, Alex has a really, really bad past (not your cliche type either), and it has been eating him for years. Going to juvie is definitely a reason for guarding oneself from others emotionally, especially for why he went. I felt so bad for him! But I loved seeing this aspect explored so well, especially emotionally. Alex shut down emotionally after juvie, in terms of relationships.
I liked Alex. He's not your typical alpha Brazen hero, though he is definitely still domineering and manly in other ways. He's the silent type, but he isn't arrogant and doesn't play hard to get - he just doesn't want people to bother him. He loves his brothers and would do anything for them. He's been love with Ella for years, but can't let himself be that close to her. Alex has been shouldering guilt for years, and it makes him somewhat of a hard man. He's swoony and broken, if that makes sense.
Read the rest of my review on my blog, The Eater of Books! - eaterofbooks DOT blogspot DOT com :)
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Although I am not a huge fan of romances with a sex club as a major feature, I am a fan of the Grayson Brothers series. So reading about Alex Grayson was a no-brainer. Hold Me Until Forever by Christina Phillips is a real scorcher, and the plot is replete with sacrifice, guilt and love. This book contains some very tasteful and hot BDSM.
Office Manager Ella Clark has been in love with Alex Grayson since she was in grade school. She has worked for Alex for years, while giving him subtle hints about her true feelings. She has no idea that Alex harbors the same affection for her. They begin to make some progress in the romance department when Alex invites Ella to be his guest at Excalibur, a BDSM club that he co-owns.
Alex's past still haunts him, and the club is one of the places he is able to let go of the tight control he has on his life. Sharing this part of himself with Ella is a huge step, but he wants to love her with a safety net in place. Ella's acceptance into the lifestyle is surprising to them both. Overtime, their sex with benefits relationship evolves into much more.
I enjoyed this book and Ms. Phillips's uncomplicated method of storytelling. Ella and Alex are wonderful together and I loved the way the author developed them both individually and as a couple. Their sexual encounters are steamy and the emotion they share is tangible. This is a well-written book with some twists and turns that kept me hooked from beginning to end.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
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This is the 3rd book in the Grayson Brothers series. I always recommend reading the series books in order, for full understanding and enjoyment. While this book can be read as a standalone novel, I found it fits with the series really well!
Alex and Ella have known each other since they were kids. Ella has been in love with him almost as long. She is sick of waiting for him to get a clue, so she gives notice to quit the company he owns.
Alex is shocked she would want to leave but understands if she wants to chase her life's dream of working with exotic and large animals. He also finds himself attracted to her more than usual at the prospect of her not working with him.
This book was just so good from start to finish! The characters banter was seamless. The sexy times were HOT! The book just all over gave me the feels!
***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley.com and its publisher for review only.
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haven't read book 1 & 2 in the series, but that didn't detract anything from Hold me until forever.
So it seems that the two younger Grayson brothers found their forever women and the oldest, Alex Grayson is left.
Alex' younger brothers best friend Ella is were his attractions resides. Alex tries to ignore it and keep his distance. It's hard since Ella is his secretary. But Ella changes things up and turns in her resignation letter to keep her own distance from the hot man.
She ventures into Alex' BDSM Club, that he has part ownership in. Alex makes sure she knows he will be the only one teaching her to submit.
But, can Alex submit to his own feeling for Ella or will his tightly wound control hold him back?
I really enjoyed this read from Christina phillips! It was hot and steamy in all the right places.
****I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.****
Laura Redmon
Cutting Muse Blog Review
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So what happens when you have a guy that had lived next door to you that you had a crush on and you wanted him to be the guy that gave you’re your “sweet sixteen” birthday kiss to but after that kiss that everything ends right there? That’s what happened to Ella. She had her eyes on Alex forever which was easy since he lived next door with his gram and two other brothers. Everyone thought that it should be Cooper and Ella not Alex and Ella. Cooper and Ella did have a special relationship; there were best friends but even Ella’s best friend didn’t know that she had been crushing on Alex this whole time. How hard can it be when your boss is also Alex so you are around him every day? This is all the things that Ella had to deal with and when she thought the Ella/Alex thing was going nowhere she quit her job to get some distance from him hoping that would bring him around. And boy did it.
Alex also was part owner in a sex club which he frequented himself because he did not feel that he could have a relationship with anyway because he felt he was too damaged. He lived through something pretty horrendous when he was a kid and it was up to him to make sure that his little brothers chose the right path in life since they did not have a mother or father around. Now his little brothers were either married or getting married so his excuse for no relationships was getting thinner. Ella had no idea that Alex couldn’t get that kiss off from his mind either after all of these years. So when the time came and Ella was going to be leaving him at work this was a chance that they both finally took and Alex took Ella to his sex club since she lead him to believe that she had done this kind of thing before. It didn’t take long for Alex to realize she didn’t and Ella finally admitted to this being her first time to one. Alex and Ella frequented the sex club often for the next little bit but there relationship did not expand past that. Alex still would not commit to a relationship so Ella finally had to break away since Alex seemed ashamed to recognize Ella as anyone special to him.
You have to read this to find out what that thing was that happened to Alex that could damage him so badly and would he ever be able to lay claim to Ella the way she had always hoped? Was the sex club the only place that these two could hook up without anyone getting hurt in the process? Even though I haven’t read any other books in this series I had no problem following along. This book is not for the faint of heart because there are some pretty heavy sex scenes between these two and yes, your heart will break right along with Ella’s time to time.
This book was provided as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
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A really good story. It's the third book in the series. Alex is troubled by his past and it affects how he deals with relationships, he doesn't do them. He keeps iron clad control. He may come off as kind of a jerk in the beginning, but as we see his and Ella's story unfold we see there is more to Alex than meets the eye. The scene with him and the kitten. That right there made my heart melt. Things get very hot between Alex and Ella. Alex likes to frequent the adult club he part owns. This book is a little on adventurous side of sex. Just be forewarned that things get quite steamy and handcuffs come into play. Alex put a lot pressure and guilt on himself regarding his family. He believes he doesn't deserve what Ella is offering. Will come to his sense too late and lose the best thing to ever happen to him?
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I haven't read the others in the series--yet--but Hold Me Until Forever worked just fine as a standalone. You see enough of the younger two brothers, Jackson and Cooper, to whet your interest in their stories but don't feel at all lost if you haven't had a chance to read them.
Hold Me Until Forever is both a friends-to-lovers and an unrequited love (or so poor Ella thinks for 8 long years) story. Alex has tried to resist her charms since forever for so many reasons, but the main one is he believes he's far too damaged to ever have a forever kind of relationship, especially with someone as special as she is.
When both of her childhood friends have managed to find love in the past year and she's no closer to making their brother Alex see her in "that" way, Ella knows it's time for a change. She gives her two week notice--she'd been a part of the Grayson brothers' business from the beginning, keeping them all organized and making herself indispensable--taking a job that will mean a cut in pay but that is closer to what she really wants to do with her life, working in an animal sanctuary. The change has the desired effect--sort of--when Alex starts to take her to his exclusive club, Excalibur. Though the scenes they have there are amazing, she's confused about what they mean for them as a couple, because Alex doesn't seem to want to have anything extra with her outside the club's walls. She's not sure she can do friends even with awesome benefits with him, because her heart has always wanted so much more.
To an extent Alex and Ella's relationship woes could have been resolved with an in-depth conversation or two, but it's not outside the realm of believability that it takes them so long to actually sit down and listen to each other. I really liked the way Ms. Phillips brings them back together--so adorable, and just perfect for these two. Reading Hold Me Until Forever has definitely raised my interest in the rest of the series.
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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A great, sexy, romance. I loved this one.
The time will come when he will crack and he notices her, Ella knows it, he must. She has loved Alex ever since she was sixteen and they had kissed, surely she wasn't the only one to feel the intense explosion that she had felt when their lips had touched.
Ella isn't sweet sixteen anymore that's for sure, she's a beautiful young woman now, not that makes any difference to Alex, he's been fighting his attraction to her for years, ever since they shared that hot, all consuming kiss when she was sixteen and he should have known better and not touched her. He's no good for her, he would never dream of exposing her to his messed up life and his secret cravings.
Will they ever have a future together?
This is a very hot book. Alex was a great character and a great teacher and Ella was a quick learner. Very steamy story.
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Ella and Alex have been friends since they were children, and although they’ve always had a thing for each other neither was ever really aware of the other’s desire for more. I’m a big fan of ‘friends to lovers’ romances but this one was a little different in that Ella is incredibly close with Alex’s whole family and best friends with his brother. It also had the added interest of a boss / employee relationship.
There’s a great BDSM dynamic without it being anything too intense and taking away from the romantic emotions brewing between these two. I loved that Ella asserted her need for distance from her crush in the very beginning by giving her notice, which is what really got the romance rolling. Alex was a broody good guy who sees darkness in himself and thinks he’s not worthy of love. That whole ‘I don’t deserve the heroine so I’m going to push her away until I’m a total jerk-face’ thing can get pretty old for me in romances but luckily Christina Phillips took it to just the perfect level before Alex opened up about his feelings. The sex scenes were hot and dirty but with an extra level of emotion and yearning that took them beyond the BDSM club they were initially limited to. I adored the moments where Alex really shares what it was like for him growing up and when we get to see the inner-workings of his desire for Ella.
I really enjoyed HOLD ME UNTIL FOREVER. This was the first novel I’ve ever read by Christina Phillips and it has such a great balance between the hot and heavy and the warm and fuzzy. It’s a great contemporary romance and I’d love to go back and read the earlier books in the series and see how they compare.
Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions shared are my own.
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Forever is misleading. . .
I was disappointed that the read was not what I was anticipating. This was my first read by author Christina Phillips. It was not awful but not the high hopes that I had going for it. I believe if there were better transitions and lead into the next step things would have felt more cohesive. I felt confused and lost in a few place and the need to go and read the first two books was overwhelming.
Further information: http://mileythebookjunkie.blogspot.com/2016/01/release-blast-hold-me-until-forever-by.html
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Ella Clark was in love with Alex Grayson for a very long time. But she couldn’t wait forever, Alex seemed to see her as his kid sister and it was time to move on, starting with her quitting the agency.
Alex, on the other hand, had been fighting his attraction to Ella since their first kiss when she was sixteen years old. He had a bad past, and there’s no way he’d taint her. But when the sweet, innocent Ella offered him a no-string attach sex he’d always fantasized about in his exclusive BDSM club – he just couldn’t resist the temptation. It was better that they do it in the club where she can be safe, than doing it outside.
But will it be enough for Ella? Will Alex be brave enough to crack his walls and let her in?
Ella has a big, generous heart and you can’t help love her and hoping that she’d get the love that she deserve. She was about to give up but wanted to try one more time with Alex, and I was just glad when the time came, she didn’t settle for less. She might love Alex, but she knew what she was worth. As for Alex, my heart goes out to him as well. He had a rough childhood, and he think he doesn’t deserve any good in his life. It took a while before he finally made peace with everything, good thing it wasn’t long enough that he’d lose the best thing he had.
It’s a short, sweet and sexy read. Perfect novel to curl up with to warm your cold nights.
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A wounded soul finally succumbing to his one true love.
Ella Clark has known the Grayson brothers practically since she was born. Best friends with Cooper since she was 4 years old, great friends with Jackson, and crushing on Alex since she was 12 and noticed boys.
Alex has resisted his attraction to Ella for years by avoiding her as much as possible. Ever since she laid a kiss on him when she turned 16, he's been envisioning doing nasty things to her.
Now that Ella is leaving her job at Graysons, she makes one last effort to get Alex to notice she's alive. She flirts and propositions him into agreeing to a no-strings affair with her at his adult club, Excalibur.
Will their fun stay just that, or will Ella get Alex to see that his crazy past doesn't have to sway the future they can have?
** Received free in exchange for an honest review **
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Fantastic story. I love these Grayson Brothers and Alex is the most intriguing of all! He's known and loved Ella his whole life. He has always keep her firmly in the friend zone for her own good. He thinks his past proves he's no good for anyone, especially someone as special as Ella. Ella completely disagrees and tries one last time to change his mind. Now that she's leaving his family's business, she makes him an offer he finds hard to decline.
This one is sizzling hot and a fantastic story. You don't want to miss it, I highly recommend it.
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The Grayson Brothers are diamonds in the rough. Each has their own baggage to work through but their capacity to love is endless. I have had the pleasure to read the first two books in Christina Phillips intensely passionate and dramatic Grayson series. Every book appeals to the heart. I received an ARC of Hold Me Until Forever in exchange for an honest review. Ella and Alex are like night and day. Ella has experienced upsets within her life but has held tight to two constants. Her beloved furry friends (cats) and her unrequited love for Alex Grayson. Alex has seen his share of dark days. Life experience has taught him to protect the people you love and keep them close. When Ella decides to put distance between herself and Alex that is when he starts to realize how important an impact she has made in his life. Hold Me Until Forever was the most heartbreaking of the series for me but that is what made it a story that proved hard to forget.
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(I hate it!)
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