Gigi's Company discussion

Please post comments and discussion here for the January '10 Book of the Month:


Hard to Hold (Hold Trilogy, Book 1) by Stephanie Tyler

This was a good book. I couldn't put it down. Easy story and a quick read. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I'm unable to find as copy of this book, so I'll have to pass on this book.

I can't find one either and I'm not sure enough about it to order it from Chapters -- I'll have to pass as well.

I had to order it through the Chapters kiosk myself, Tammy, and I'm getting Frustrated with a capital 'F'! I ordered it on the 15th, and it should have been in on the 22nd. Here it is, the 27th, and I still don't have it. "Ships within one week" my freaking foot!

Gina wrote: "I had to order it through the Chapters kiosk myself, Tammy, and I'm getting Frustrated with a capital 'F'! I ordered it on the 15th, and it should have been in on the 22nd. Here it is, the 27th, an..."

I've given up on our local Coles (I live in a small city of about 15,000) so wasn't surprised when I couldn't find it. That is a long time for Chapters though - was the shipping at least free?

The shipping is free when I order it at the kiosk and have it shipped to the store.

And I'm not a happy camper right now. I got an email from Chapters. I can only assume that, even though they said they had the book in stock when I ordered it, they're now telling me it's going to take longer and I should see it in two weeks. Dammit! It's not often when that happens, but it's a PITA when it does!

Gina, If you are anything like me, the "wouldn't mind reading this" becomes "really want to read this", becomes "gotta read this NOW", becomes "how many places do I have to go to to get this, D@*MIT!" and I become consumed with obtaining a copy.

Of course, life being what it is, the book rarely lives up to all the effort :)

I'm exactly like that, Tammy, LOL! I'm getting very impatient! What bugs me is, when I ordered it, the damn thing said it was In Stock, ship within 1 week. Well, I ordered it on Jan 15th. So where's my freaking book?!!!!

I quit this book on page 65 and I do not intend to revisit it. I am not giving it a rating because I don't intend to complete this turkey. I should mention that my husband and I are both former active duty military and that heavily influenced my view of this book. I should also mention that I am currently a special education resource teacher at a midwestern suburban high school (which is why I finally said, "I quit with this book").

Plot points:

Jake Hansen joined the military with a forged ID at age fifteen but was allowed to complete basic training because "he would never make it through the first day, never mind the first week, and then there'd be no harm, no foul." Maybe in WWII, but very unlikely in today's military.

Also, rumor had it that it was the ". . . best fake ID they'd ever seen, so they let him stay." The military strives on rumors, but no one would believe that one.

The same admiral at his basic training base is his current commanding officer, and a close family friend of the heroine, Dr. Isabelle Markham. Too many coincidences. You would need all your fingers and toes and a few more to count the generals and admirals in the military.

Jake's medical records are hidden (physically hidden) because he is a SEAL. Huh? In the 21st century there are these electronic devices called computers. Really!! Also, if he was injured on a mission, and unconscious, wouldn't you want the doctor to be able to access his medical records? Can you say over the top?

Jake and his two buddies from his youth are in the same unit. It is possible all three joined the U.S. Navy (those fake IDs were awesome), were all selected for SEAL training, and all ended up in the same unit. Let's practice saying, "SSSTTTRRREEETTTCCCHHH."

The heroine in this book is a senator’s daughter, and is being threatened. The close family friend, Admiral “Uncle” Cal, decides not to inform the FBI, but to ask Jake to protect her. Major huh?

I read parts of this out loud to my husband who speculated that perhaps Jake was in the military on the planet Zenon. It would have explained a lot. I kept reading anyway, because I found it amusing. How bad could it get? Then I hit page 65.

Jake is thinking about one of his buddies, Nick. The passage reads, “He’d (Nick) been labeled slow and stuck in a Special Education class . . . cages for . . . children who weren’t considered perfect.” Yes, that’s what we do in special education. We don’t support students to succeed no matter what their challenges. Don’t push them to excel. Don’t practice inclusion. Yes, I work long hours every day to insure my kids stay in cages.

That’s when I tossed the book out.