[Book Review] Hold You Close - Melanie Harlow and Corrine Michaels

Judul: Hold You Close

Penulis: Melanie Harlow & Corrine Michaels

Genre: Adult Romance (21+)

Tebal: 270 halaman

Rilis: 20 Agustus 2018

Penerbit: Love & Olives Ink, LLC

Bahasa: Inggris

ISBN: 9781732371804

Harga: $14.99 (Paperback), Kindle Audiobook Free

Rate: ★★½

B l u r b :

Ian Chase broke my heart at seventeen, and I’ve spent the last eighteen years hating him for it.

He makes it easy, with his smart mouth and playboy lifestyle—which I unfortunately have to observe since he lives behind me. Every time I see him climbing out of his pool, practically naked and unreasonably sexy, my blood boils.

I’ve always loved to loathe him.

I never planned to need him.

*** 

London Parish is my little sister’s best friend, not that it stopped me from falling for her.

Our history is complicated. The only thing we have in common is being godparents to my sister’s three adorable kids—until our lives are changed in one tragic moment. 

Now we’re trying to raise the children we love, mourn an unthinkable loss, and fight an undeniable attraction.

My life is already upside-down, and the last thing I need is for old feelings to resurface. 

Because I’ll never be able to keep her, no matter how hard I try to hold her close.

P. S. Blurb copas dari Goodreads, sori nggak aku terjemahin.

♥

Tbh, I'm disappointed. This book is not like was I expected.
Yeah, I went here after I read Imperfect Match. And because I love the colab, I search for another book. Viola, I found this, but. . . .

Awal aku baca blurb, terus awal cerita, aku suka. Aku kan bisa dibilang bad boy slave. Yang ngebuat aku ilfil itu malah dua tokoh utamanya. It's not because they don't have feelings, I just ... feel weird.

*ambil napas*

Buku ini menceritakan tentang London yang suka sama Ian, kakak sahabatnya (Sabrina) sejak mereka masih sekolah. Nah, waktu London umur 17 tahun, Ian took her virginity and act. like a bastard. Lately I know he has a reason.

Setelah dewasa, mereka ketemu lagi, tetanggaan malah. Ditambah lagi Sabrina dan David (suaminya) meninggal karena kecelakaan pesawat. Mereka punya tiga orang anak; Chris, Morgan, dan Ruby. Dalam wasiatnya, Sabrina minta anak-anaknya diasuh oleh sang kakak alias Ian dan sahabatnya alias London.

Mulanya sulit bagi Ian dan London buat bekerja sama. Ian egois. Okelah dia punya bar yang selalu ramai, tapi London kan juga kerja. Cuma lama-lama mereka saling melunak meski itu Ian duluan yang nyosor. Sementara London yang masih cinta sama Ian otomatis termehek-mehek.

Sampai di sini aku udah muterin mata aja sumpah. Bagiku Ian itu semaunya sendiri dan London itu bego. Entah gimana hubungan seperti ini di mata orang lain, yang pasti di mataku WTF aja.

Lucunya, Ian kan punya alasan kenapa dia bersikap brengsek setelah bobok bareng London. Jadi Ian itu nggak mau karena dia, London mengorbankan mimpi-mimpinya. Fyi London ini pintar dan diterima di universitas yang oke, tapi mau dibatalkan karena dia pengin sama-sama Ian. Ini yang bikin Ian bersikap brengsek, biar London mau pergi dan nggak kehilangan mimpinya.

Di mana lucunya?

Well, katanya Ian nunggu London lulus baru mau ungkapin alasan sebenarnya. Tapi berhubung London udah marah, dia nggak mau ngomong sama Ian. Nah, ini dia lucunya (menurutku), masak butuh waktu sampai tujuh belas tahun kemudian buat Ian sadar kalau dia masih cinta sama London. Bahkan si Ian udah sampai nikah dan cerai lho. Weird aja sih bagiku. Cewek nggak gitu-gitu amat kali. Benci luarnya doang. Dan ... karakter London memang seperti itu, benci tapi termehek-mehek.

Kesimpulannya, ceritanya okelah, cara mendekatkan dua karakter utamanya agak unik, yaitu lewat kerja sama mengasuh anak-anaknya Sabrina. Aku cuma nggak klik aja sama dua karakter mereka—bagiku mereka enggak banget. Terus, mungkin ini juga karena aku berekspetasi terlalu tinggi aja, jatuhnya aku malah kecewa. Haha.

Q u o t e s :

Because hate is easier than love. If I hate him and he lets me down, I’m not left disappointed.

The thing about love is that it’s irrational and stupid.

"No matter where we live, this is hard."

"You know, a princess doesn’t need a prince to be happy."

"In fact, some of the greatest women we know don’t have a prince."

"Problems don’t go away just because you refuse to think about them. I shouldn’t have to tell you that."

I don’t want to. Because I know that the moment I take my hand off her is the moment I lose her forever. I’ll be more alone than I’ve ever been. And more miserable, because now I know how good we can be together.

[Book Review] Imperfect Match - Corrine Michaels and Melanie Harlow

Judul: Imperfect Match

Penulis: Corrine Michaels & Melanie Harlow

Genre: Adult Romance (21+)

Tebal: 253 halaman

Rilis: 26 April 2019

Penerbit: Love & Olives Ink.

Bahasa: Inggris

ISBN: 9781095783627

Harga: $14.99 (Paperback), Kindle Free Unlimited

Rate: ★★★½

B l u r b :

Rule number one for a professional matchmaker?

Don't fall in love with your client.

I screwed that up when I fell for my best friend, Reid Fortino. He's gorgeous, successful, and sexy as hell. I figured it would be easy to find him a match—and save the family business at the same time.

But the more time I spend attempting to find the perfect girl, the more I realize how much I want him for my own. What's the harm if we give in for just one night?

I shoud have known that would never be enough.

Now I'm on the verge of losing my job and my heart.

We were an imperfect match from the start, but I don't know how to let him go.

P. S. Blurb aku copas dari Goodreads ya. Maap nggak aku terjemahin.

K a r a k t e r : 

Willow Hayes → Seorang wanita yang lahir dalam keluarga yang bahagia. Orangtuanya memiliki sebuah biro jodoh, My Heart's Desire. Impiannya adalah memiliki keluarga dan anak.

Reid Fortino → Pria yang lahir dari keluarga amburadul. Ayah tukang selingkuh, ibunya pecandu alkohol. Kebalikan dengan Willow, Reid ini nggak pengin punya keluarga, apalagi punya anak.

Aspen → Adik Willow. Punya kemampuan bisa melihat aura orang seperti sang ibu.

Leo → Adik Reid. Numpang di apartemen Reid dan cenderung malas.

Jadi buku ini tentang apa?

Cerita dibuka dengan Mrs. Hayes (ibunya Willow) yang ingin menikmati liburan panjang bersama Mr. Hayes, suaminya. Berhubung Willow nggak punya kemampuan buat masang-masangin orang, jadi Mrs. Hayes memutuskan untuk menutup biro jodohnya. Sebenernya Aspen punya kemampuan itu, tapi yah ... nggak bisa diandalkan anaknya. Nah, Willow nggak terima biro jodoh itu ditutup, dia tetap ingin meneruskannya. Akhirnya Mrs. Hayes ngasih Willow kesempatan sekali lagi untuk menjodohkan seseorang. Dan orang itu adalah Reid, sahabat Willow sendiri yang notabene nggak mau pusing cari jodoh. Bisa dipastikan Reid keberatan, tapi okelah demi menolong sahabat sendiri. Di sisi lain Willow juga ngerasa nggak rela melepas Reid dengan cewek lain.

Singkat kata mereka akhirnya menyadari perasaan masing-masing. Tapi nggak berhenti sampai di sini, hubungan mereka sejak awal memang nggak match alias bertolak belakang. Willow ingin punya keluarga dan anak, sementara Reid kebalikannya karena dia merasa kalau dia akan jadi seperti ayahnya yang super duper asshole.

♥

Wah, udah berapa lama ya aku nggak baca cerita macam gini? Belakangan ini cenderung ke fantasi sama teenlit. Btw aku juga baru pertama kali baca karya dari author ini. Untuk ceritanya sebetulnya sudah umum sih, cewek yang pengin punya keluarga vs cowok yang takut berkeluarga, udah sangat umum banget temanya. Cuma karena ada unsur fall in love with best friend, aku jadi lebih tertarik. Terus kovernya juga ... ea, cwiiit banget. Tahu kan kalau aku kover slave? Haha!

Dari segi penulisan aku cukup suka, enak aja dibaca. Antara show dan tell-nya pas, nggak melulu narasi galau dan pedih yang menggambarkan perasaan tokohnya. Buku ini pakai dual POV, bergantian dari Willow dan Reid, yang  mana ini juga udah sangat umum dipakai di novel-novel luar. Masing-masing karakternya juga ordinary menurutku, novel romance banget lah pokoknya. 

Cuma aku agak-agak gimana gitu dengan karakter Reid ini di akhir cerita, like flip a hand. Aku agak kurang suka aja dengan perubahan yang tiba-tiba tanpa proses yang masuk akal. Haha—it's just my opinion, don't judge me.

Kesimpulannya, buku ini punya cerita yang simpel dan tema yang umum, tapi di beberapa part berasa deep banget. Bagiku cocoklah buat kangen-kangenan sama novel romance.

Q u o t e s :

There’s nothing in this world I treasure more than our friendship.

"We force people to open their horizons to ideas they don’t think they believe in. Most of my clients couldn’t find the right person not because they didn’t want love, but because they weren’t willing to truly open their eyes."

"He’s ready for love, he’s just afraid to take the risk."

"I have us. I know. You’re my best friend, and I love you. Always will. And I want you by my side through everything."

They say guys and girls can’t be just friends, but we were—until we weren’t.

We aren’t a couple. We aren’t in love. We’re just two best friends who got a little carried away and gave in to an itch that has needed to be scratched for a while now.

Sex can make you believe you feel things for another person, when really it’s just the chemicals in your body. The oxytocin and whatnot. It isn’t real.

"Fear does not stop death. It stops life."

"You said you wanted things to change. It was me who wanted them to stay the same."

"Relationships are scary. But lucky for us, we know each other really well. There won’t be too many surprises."

Because I don’t want to fall to a place where I can never get back up again.

Don’t rush things, let them happen.

You can’t love too hard, there’s no such thing.

Stop trying to control the heart, it doesn’t listen.

Fight for what you want because it won’t be yours if you don’t.

Don’t fall in love with the potential.

Just because a person is right or perfect for you, you may not be the right one for them.

Speak the truth and it shall become real.

Patience, I can do. It’s the time part that worries me.

I’m not asking for anything from him, other than to love me enough to understand this.

"You can’t give me what I want. I can’t give you what you want, and staying for a year or two, or even a few days, is going to lead to the same result."

"Don’t let your dreams die over a broken heart."

"There’s no such thing as perfect. We were imperfect from the start."

"I’m only perfect because I have you."