Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid: Where Can I Get Me One of Them Librarians?

Hearts on Hold by Charish Reid


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What happens in the stacks stays in the stacks… 

Professor Victoria Reese knows an uphill battle when she sees one. Convincing her narrow-minded colleagues at the elite Pembroke University to back a partnership with the local library is a fight she saw coming and already has a plan for. What she didn’t see coming? The wildly hot librarian who makes it clear books aren’t the only thing he’d like to handle.

When a tightly wound, sexy-as-hell professor proposes a partnership between his library and her university, children’s department head John Donovan is all for it. He knows his tattoos and easygoing attitude aren’t quite what she expected, but the unmistakable heat between them is difficult to resist.

And then there’s the intriguing late fee on her record. For the Duke’s Convenience… A late fee and a sexy romance novel? There’s more to Dr. Reese than she’s letting on.

John might like to tease her about her late fee, but when he teases her in other ways, Victoria is helpless to resist. Mixing business with pleasure—and oh, it is pleasure—always comes with risks, but maybe a little casual fun between the sheets is just what Victoria needs.

*A special thanks to the author for this review copy. This freely supplied copy does not affect my opinion.*Also, please ignore any typos, I don't have the patience to grammar check myself on this here day.*

This book was so effortlessly good. I want to' sign up for a class for the key to the spell of this writing sorcery. 

Victoria is tightly wound, but her knack for planning even the smallest of details has served her well. She wants to implement an internship with the local library, but the patriarchal white powers that be are giving her a hard time. Fortunately, her lists are orderly, and her plans are even neater. Meeting with the Children's librarian, John Donovan is just a part of implementing the beginning stages of her plans for approval of the program. She doesn't prepare to fall into a "situationship" with the librarian or to find love in the stacks.

This is my second book by Charish, and they both maintained a solid, well-written exploration of interracial romances in a way I've not seen done this excellently before. 

Wholly maintaining the blackness of her heroine, while having her date outside of her race, is difficult. I often see authors fumble in this subgenre, there's always (most times) a forced, unrealistic racist chasm put between the characters that hinder the book.

Reid is an expert in not doing this. She never ostracizes her heroines and maintains the relationships (see: Black girlfriends) that are lacking in most IR novels. She expertly weaves aspects of the characters' careers into the books without weighing the book down with strenuous details.

Not only that, the books are hot without even trying (boffum). She maintains the heat of the sex; without being vulgar or chaste. This is difficult to do. Her books are clever and captivating. I didn't want to put the book down and I didn't. 

The writing is superb and effortless in its delivery. The conflicts are mature and fitting to the character's journeys. I honestly can't say anything bad about this book.

Reid is now an auto-buy author, and I am thrilled to see what she comes up with next.