review: no holding back (Dodge Cove #2) by Kate evangelista

A romantic European vacation is the perfect excuse to let go in this highly anticipated sequel to No Love Allowed by Kate Evangelista.

Everyone knows that Nathan is in love with his best friend, Preston…Everyone except Preston. Nathan has always accepted that Preston was too focused on his swim training to worry about love. But Preston is heading off to train for the Olympics soon, so if Nathan wants his chance at love, he has to speak up now. But saying “I love you” is surprisingly difficult, even for someone as confident as Nathan. Maybe a whirlwind vacation in Europe could help? But… what if it doesn’t work out and he loses the best friend he’s ever had? ~  Goodreads

Source: arc provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review



Review:

BFF’s to more – European vacation…No holding Back checks all the cute romance boxes and yet I was totally let down by this one.

Nathan is in love with his best friend Preston but is too afraid to admit it, in fear of losing their friendship. Preston is completely absorbed with swimming and his dreams of going to the Olympics. While Preston is anxiously waiting to find out if he’s made it into an elite swim camp, Nathan whisks him away on a European vacation so he can’t obsess about it.

For the most part, I never felt Nathan and Preston’s chemistry – as either best friends or more. There are cute moments between the two and they obviously have relied on each other throughout life but they’re both so caught up in other drama – Nathan’s big break as a party planner and Preston’s obsession over his swimming – that they’re mostly in their own heads throughout the book. We don't get to see it. When they do communicate it’s mostly fighting.

Nathan hopes this trip is just the thing to push him to declare his love while Preston is completely clueless and keeps inadvertently hurting Nathan’s feelings. When Preston finally gets a clue the story rushes to a quick, sappy end. I’m not totally against sappy endings or grand gestures but it was all fluff and little substance.

I probably could have dealt with most of that if it wasn’t for one other thing. This is book #2 in the Dodge Cove series. I haven’t read book one, No Love Allowed, and there is so much carry over from that book that I was lost. I got that there was the previous couple but it was also setting up the next couple and apparently there was some drama in book #1 and tensions are still running high between several characters and I didn’t get it at all.

If you read and enjoyed the first book then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this one but I felt pretty detached to everyone. And apparently they’re all rich 18 year old's that can snap their fingers and get a private jet at a moments notice? I seriously had no clue what was going on here and I can’t say that I care enough to go back and read book #1 to find out.

Sorry to say this was a dud for me.