Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid

Dr. Victoria Reese is all about planning. And she plans to bring more diversity and inclusion to the elite Pembroke University by creating an internship with the local Farmingdale Library. What Dr. Reese did not plan on working with the sexy Viking librarian John Donovan and the sordid affair he offered her. However, much to her surprise, Victoria takes him up on his offer but you can’t plan fun times or falling in love. Now Victoria must decide if John is not only worth altering her but also her life. 

I liked the chemistry between Victoria and John. It felt real and authentic. I even fanned myself a couple of times while reading it. (Yes it was that good). 

But it was more than just the sex scenes, John’s easygoing nature eased the reader into his character and made him likable and a joy to get to know. And although Victoria was more tightly-wound, as a woman of color in a marginally Caucasian world/setting, I understood where she was coming from. Victoria was relatable because we’ve all been under that pressure to perform and be others want us to be but have never been given the space to be ourselves. 

What didn’t quite do it for me was the miscommunication. It just felt a little unrealistic for the characters to struggle so much with having tough conversations with one another. This lack of communication seemed to drag the story and made the reader frustrated with the characters.

But I will say, I like that Victoria and John don’t just wrap everything up in a neat bow. Without spoiling too much, the love interests do contract this lack of communication and work towards being better about their feelings in the future. There’s a realistic happily ever after that I think readers will appreciate from this story. A 4.5 out of 5 stars.