Kris Ripper - Hold Fast

Zack Scherzo likes his notebooks. And his pens. And, okay, he really loves to organize stuff. He’s organized his whole life into the ideal trajectory for his ten year plan, at which point his career will be solid and he’ll be ready for a husband and family. Everything makes perfect sense.
Until he meets Isaiah.
Driven entrepreneur Isaiah Carlin generally doesn’t get involved with lost causes, like the climbing gym Zack’s trying to keep afloat. But there’s something about the gym—and there’s definitely something about Zack—that intrigues him. He wants to help. He also wants to see what happens when Zack shakes loose some of his rules and allows himself to feel.
When passion collides with Zack’s regimented life path, something’s gotta give. And it looks like that thing is going to be Isaiah, unless he can convince Zack that sometimes real life is even better than the best laid plans.

Comment: This won't be a long comment considering I don't have much to say about it. I can't even remember why I had this book in the pile but probably the promise of romance convinced me.

In this book we meet Zach and Isaiah, who meet at the Crux gym and they will work together to find some way to create ways to publicize the gym and bring more people, even though the conditions and the finances aren't as stellar as one would imagine. Nevertheless, at the same time they work on this, they start to get to know one another better and it seems as if they can also have something together. However, demands of the job and their own personalities will be obstacles enough and they will have to wonder if it will be worth it in the end...

This book focuses on Zach, someone who we learn is very anal retentive and likes to organize everything in his life. Isaiah is a little more laid back but he is a professional and when involved with something work related he is usually quite demanding too. Their connection seemed OK at first, and right after they meet over a slight misunderstanding and I was looking for to see them fall in love but as the chapters went on, I just could not see the chemistry between them nor was I captivated by their characterization.

This is also the first book I try by the author, and I now that I have read this story and reviews of other books by zir (author uses pronouns ze/zir but I will have to confess this is so different even from other pronouns that I won't go into it in fear of saying something offensive) I can see the idea might be to show the inclusion of as many inclusive character types as possible in the several books the author has published. This is fine and obviously necessary, often is through fiction people get used to change and different things, but I feel there might have been a sort of goal with all this.

I will rephrase: I felt the idea of the story was not exactly only about an entertaining romance but mainly a fictional way for a message to be conveyed through their relationship. Ok, I can accept that. However, for a romance reader this felt a bit weakly done to me. I wanted more about Zach and Isaiah as a couple and all the elements which would make me root for them as individuals and as a couple, but the story wasn't focused on that, nor on other secondary issues. From a certain point on, I was pushing myself to read and I've finished because the book isn't long. I liked that they got their HEA but I will have to say I don't miss having left these characters. I also don't think, even considering the validity of messages intended, that the writing style is for me.

Grade: 3/10