Eeekkkkk so i read a small snippet eons ago it feels like and she answered our prayers and gave us a book for Blair the sister from her Gibson family books and im here for it. It kicks off her new family series, the Mason family. And i can't wait!! Im not sure how she does it but i cant wait for all the rest of the men's books. Like i needs. I loveeeeee Holt. Gah. And we got to see Sienna and Walker which made me so happy i lovedddd that. But seriously cant get enough of this family already! Now go read it whatcha waiting for hahaha. Adriana Locke One chapter with Holt Mason and I was smitten! By chapter 4 I was consumed and couldn’t put this book down till I consumed every last word!
Finally getting Balire’s story has me on cloud nine! I have wanted the Gibson sisters story since Walkers book and my goodness it was everything I wanted and more! Blaire and Mason are the perfect balance! Not complete opposites but also not too much alike! They challenge and help the other be the best version of themselves!
Holt is straight forward and no nonsense! He doesn’t let Blaire speak in circles and he allows her to be who she is but also reminds her about the beauty and fun of life!
The mason family is amazing and I loved getting to see some old familiar faces! I will leave this review by saying that the Mason brothers are going to be an exciting adventure and I’m here for all of it! Adriana Locke LIVE NOW on Amazon and in KU: https://amzn.to/2PhRQ6b
Adriana Locke 4 stars
Blaire Gibson is a workaholic on her first vacation in forever. She meets Holt Mason and sparks fly from their first meet. Though Blaire thinks it can never go anywhere, the more time she spends with Holt, the more she realizes she might want it to… as impossible as it may seem.
Holt is smitten with Blaire from the start and only wants to spend more and more time with her. You can tell from the beginning, he has it bad. I loved this couples chemistry and their banter. They both are hard workers with great families and made a fantastic pair.
If you’ve read some of Adriana’s other books, you’ll recognize the Gibson and Landry names. It was so fun to see some of our favorite characters make appearances in this book. I also liked the Mason’s a lot. I’m looking forward to reading about Holt’s brothers.
I listened to the audiobook of Restraint and it was narrated by Wen Ross and Kelsey Navarro. Wen Ross did an amazing job (like always) voicing Holt. It was my first time listening to a book narrated by Navarro, and I liked her narration as well. I would recommend listening to this audiobook.
I enjoyed this book lots. It was fun, sexy, and even a bit angsty at times. I loved the crossover to her other series (but it can be read as a complete stand alone) and I’m looking forward to more Masons!
Adriana Locke UPDATE 2: They are getting their own book!!!! And their book kicks off a new series! Woho!
UPDATE: They don't have their own book and I'm so sad now. :(((((
I loved this! It felt like a sneak peek though so I hope we're getting more of Blaire and Holt. I mean, it kind of ended with a cliffhanger so they have to have their own book. I need to go through Adriana's books and look for their book. I'm gonna be so sad if there's no book for them Adriana Locke
Blaire Gibson knows better than to have one-night stands.
She prides herself on her decision-making skills. It’s the one asset that has never let her down. But even the best thinkers have weaknesses.
Hers is a delicious business mogul with a quick tongue.
Unfortunately for her, that tongue is good for more than just talking.
Holt Mason doesn’t need to justify anything to anyone.
He wants Blaire. He pursues Blaire. And he gets Blaire because that’s how his life works.
Until it doesn’t.
What begins as a single night in a hotel room spirals into an unusual agreement. As late nights provide the space to trade secrets and walls come tumbling down, more is shared than just pillow talk.
They both should’ve known better. They should’ve shown restraint. Because when guards are dropped, hearts get shattered.
A one-night stand turns into something more in this heart-filled, steamy romance from USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke. Restraint (Mason Family, #1)
R A T I N G: 3 stars to Restraint ★ ★ ★
'But love is more than an emotion that makes you feel like your head is spinning. It’s respect. It’s support. It’s wanting both of you to be victorious in all you do. All of those things are why I didn’t fall into an abyss like I did with Jack. Because you can’t be in love without loving yourself first. And Holt helped me love me before I loved him.'
We talk like friends and kiss like lovers,” I say wistfully. “It’s usually one or the other.”
“I understand.”
“I can see myself differently around him. I see my strengths but also my weaknesses without feeling judged. I’m a better version of me.” I smile to myself. “He walked into my life as if he belonged here. Imagining him not being here hurts.”
It's the case for us all to never know how a story will unfold until we make the decision to let it, and reading Adriana Locke's Restraint (which also happens to be my first Locke sampler) re-rooted the impression that taken though we might not be when we crack open a book for the first time, lingers does the odd that appreciation can still be found along the way. Restraint isn't a mountain among pebbles nor does it welcome a gross shift in originality but it's bright and realistic and on the ball without sketching an overblown ceremony. It's character-centred (if not as romance-expansive as I was hoping) and introductions to the Mason family certainly help to stir up an atmosphere. It is what it is, and that's a small town picture of growth and possibility rather than boasting a swish and swanky show-stopping scene.
While I wasn't engaged off the bat, that's not say that I wasn't interested in my first Locke romance, even if it took time to ease into the mood. Holt and Blaire's very immediate meet cute felt more like a casual happening rather than the scene itself initiating a pull, and I'm a reader that has every devilish desire to gush over a face to face that makes me anticipate every second that's sure to follow. That lent itself to a bit of a gauging moment; I took my lack of interest as an omen that the romance might look and feel as tepid as it appeared to me on the surface. I took a closer look. I let the story do its dance and realised that there's a very understated strength and sincerity to Restraint. The pull of possibility perceptible from the offset is actually very suggestive throughout the entire read. The dangerous seedling that of course doesn't know which way to grow, begins with a casual proposition and builds a life of its own, dressing the undercurrent of warmth and wonder in the garb of glib pleasure.
Even if neither Holt or Blaire were remotely close to facing it just yet, the thread held (and even though I personally felt that the romance didn't have the biggest chance to explore itself) the chemistry held, and brick by brick do things take shape. As with most romances 'To feel or not to feel' is the underswell as well as the overtone of this romance. We've got two headstrong protagonists who, professionally speaking, are aggressive successors. They've disciplined themselves to believe they don't require romantic companionship in another person. Restraint isn't without those sweet and spicy flavours. In places it's vulnerable, it's warm, it's conversational, it's soft and tense and teasing with mild flakes of angst that accompany the conflict. Even though this romance has a sexual presence (as most romances do), the author outmanoeuvres the sexual attraction with a companionable 'I want to get to know you more'. The steam isn't an overwhelming third party, the romance is more compact and the relationship isn't quite a relationship, but truth be told, I wanted more of both.
Locke's hero does hit the ground running though. Some could even call him persistently adamant for every attempt he makes at bringing Blaire and himself closer together. He's also persistently afflicted by that very same thing, always determined to keep her in his life by some means despite embracing a short-term relationship with open arms. We know the fictional sort. We also know precisely where it's heading (reader sixth sense is a truly reliable compass). Both he and Blaire are bound by some strong similarities in character. They aren't carbon copy cut-outs of each other but they are similarly characterised and there's definitely more to them than meets the eye. Eldest of their siblings, they're nose-to-grindstone career-centric sort of people. They're also similarly flawed and even openly admit to having little space for more than their professional lives, though this is more true of Blaire than Holt (enter the Mason crew).
Where this genre births a supreme male race of CEOs and high flying magnates who can do it all, be it all and have ample time to wine, dine and languish in the company of their love interest, here's what I liked about Locke's representation: it's much more realistic. Of two overworked workhorses who struggle with the idea of practically sharing a life, the author engages how time-sparse their lifestyles are, how working commitments might suffer when Blaire becomes another piece to the puzzle, even as far as Holt almost losing her because of his fear of professional collapse. Even if the romancer in me was thirsting for a suspension of reality in the ways that make me frothy and featherbrained for this genre, I did appreciate the realism while the heroine isn’t made to fall into the role of sacrificing her entire career. But the realism was slightly flawed because the suggestion of Blaire's conservatism in her own life led me to believe that Holt would be the one to give her a Savannah adventure, and bar the carriage ride there's no particular discovery of the southern setting besides a few descriptions.
While the romance wasn't particularly accomplished, and I developed a commitment for the story/chemistry further in, Blaire's character was perhaps the most surprising to me. She's demanding, straight-talking, matter-of-fact and work-obsessed. But she becomes brave and open in a way I didn’t anticipate someone with her disposition would be. When the mandatory separation looms over the non-couple, her character growth really showed in the way she accepted the leverage of being vulnerable. She learned a lot about herself, was open to changing the status quo and reflected on what might make her life better despite having had a life without true companionship. Blaire is someone who hadn't really had a steadfast female presence in her (friends included) so I loved the growing friendship between her and Sienna. Blaire thoughtfully embodies a fear of vulnerability. She's very capable of saving herself but this is more about letting people who matter become a part of her life.
In addition, the protagonists acted as people in their professions would, and even though the author decides to leave their ages out of the equation, I'm taking an educated guess that Holt and Blaire are on the maturer side of thirty. I did want more backstory, I did want a richer chemistry and Restraint didn’t have the broader style of storytelling that I love, but all that in mind, the story does own some good bones. A Savannah man in a suit and tie who lives in a lush house off-limits to all but a sensible alpha male-averse attorney. Restraint is what happens when it’s hard to let go of what happened to you. It’s also what happens when a career is built upon the premise that to be successful is to be unattached. Two grossly independent, self-standing people learn that love can be more than a practical impossibility in this small-town romance.
Content Warning: Mentions the past death of two parents, grief, thoughts of suicide/self harm. Bedroom scenes. Profanity.
E X T R A_T H O U G H T S:
1) The ending does feel a bit HFN-ish to me…
2) There were some misspellings and missing words from sentences that puncture the flow of the dialogue at times.
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----------------------------------------------- Adriana Locke Review 2018:
Damn. This was too intriguing to be this short. There’s got to be more to this story... right? Can’t just have stopped like that.... right?
This is short story about the sister from the Gibson brothers series. No HEA dammit! Please Ms Author, give me more!!
Update 2020:
3.5 stars. So when I heard the author wrote a full length story to complete the short story that I reviewed above in 2018, I jumped on it straight away. This was sweet and nice and gave me the follow up I asked for.
No need to read short story as it’s all combined into this book. Dual POV and an ok HFN epilogue due to other books in the series coming up. Adriana Locke A meet cute for the record books and one that will keep you smiling throughout the story. I loved the journey that I felt I was on with these two as they learned so much about themselves and each other. The way Holt lusted after Blaire’s mind over anything else was so refreshing and made him even hotter to me. But if Holt is hot then Blaire is MAGMA! In and out of the bedroom!
From her brain to the way she’s navigating, and for once living life outside of the courtroom. She did it in a way all her own that was BOLD and endearing. We caught little glimpses of her in her brothers’ books, but to see her in her own element was really amazing. I think she learned more about herself in this book than any other character I’ve read lately. It was little things like that she likes to work poolside and that having a girlfriend is not as bad as she thought to bigger things like having a one-night stand with a man like Holt isn’t for the faint of heart! I loved every second of it. Every single second! And like true Adriana fashion the story was full of charm and wit, sweet and steamy and had a bromantical relationship between Holt and Oliver to absolutely adore! Only she can make a high powered romance feel small town and heartfelt. I can’t wait to see what comes next for the Masons and I look forward to the peeks we’ll get at Holt and Blaire in the books to follow!
Adriana Locke OMG, I am the worst! So of course, it’s my day to be part of the Blog Tour and I come to get my review and guess what? ...
Okay, so let me review *shakes head*
I haven’t read a whole lot of this author’s work in the past, so I was pretty much going in blind and I mean I had the greeeeatest time reading this story! I was captivated from the beginning. I wasn’t even done with the first chapter before I craved to read how it would all end. It was sexy and emotional with an overall flirtfest vibe to it. These two burn up not just the sheets, they had all kinds of different chemistry. What a great writer this author is! I can’t believe I haven’t read her past books. GAH! Adriana Locke 2.5
This story isn’t terrible, and Blaire and Holt sort of have a sweet story. Two closed off workaholics falling in love after what is meant to be a ONS. So yeah, it has good bones. There was just a ton of phone discussions and emotional baggage discussions with other people, so it just got a little tedious to read in my opinion. I wish it focused a little more on the couple, and a little less on them discussing what they did or didn’t feel for each other with others. Adriana Locke
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