Got a Hold on You
Grade : B-

Are you looking for a powerful, gut-wrenching read, the kind of story that's destined to stick with you for a long time?

This is not the book for you.

Like your romances to be really dramatic and emotional?

Keep moving; there's nothing to see here.

Want to read about strong, really deep characters who change and grow over the course of their story to emerge as better people in the end?

Nope.

Got a Hold on You is pretty much the exact opposite of that kind of book, probably not too surprising for a story set in the flashy, high octane world of professional wrestling. It's very silly, lightweight to the extreme with an almost complete lack of substance. That should make it one to avoid for anyone looking for any of the above. Everyone else can expect to find a cute, fresh, giddily over-the-top funhouse ride.

Frankie McGee would do anything to help her Uncle Joe, so when she learns his professional wrestling business is in trouble, she takes a leave of absence from work to help him out. She expects to put her financial expertise to good use. She does not expect to find herself in the ring. But when the woman hired to play new character Tatiana the Tigress bails just before showtime, Frankie finds herself thrust into the role, and into the arms of wrestling star Black Jack Hudson.

All Jack wants is to retire with a championship, something that becomes more difficult when he finds himself saddled with a partner in the form of one masked vixen named Tatiana. The woman may look good in her skin-tight wardrobe, but she knows nothing about wrestling, as he learns when he's dragged unconscious from the ring following their first match. Jack doesn't know who's causing him more fits, the mysterious Tatiana who he's never seen without her mask on, or the boss's uptight niece, Frankie, who's determined to get him to resign a contract he has no desire to renew.

My experience reading Got a Hold on You can best be compared to being caught up in a madly spinning whirlwind as it careens out of control. White (who debuts this summer with this book and a series title for Silhouette) wastes no time getting into her story, dropping the reader right into the thick of this madcap world and plunging full speed ahead into the plot. From page one, it moves at such a deliriously fast pace the reader has to hold on tight so the book doesn't fly out of her hands. This very story-driven tale darts from one incident to the next, never slowing for an moment as it follows Frankie and Jack through a series of comedic misadventures and one mishap after another. White's frequently inventive tale keeps the curveballs coming, seldom letting the characters, or the reader, get a moment's rest.

The biggest casualty to this approach is character development. Jack is a likable hero, although his character is pretty straightforward and not too deep. White did manage to make me care what happened to him. This was especially clear in one scene where something horrifying happens in the ring and it's easy to feel the heroine's terror for him. I liked him a lot.

Frankie is more problematic. She's all over the place emotionally at different points in the story: tough, weak, determined, shrieky, admirably strong and disappointingly wimpy. I really had no idea what to expect from her or who she really was. She also has the usual prissy fiancé (or would-be fiancé - he hasn't even proposed yet) to whom she clings for far too long. Her reasons for sticking with him might be more understandable had she been a deeper character whose need to marry someone respectable and live a boring life felt more real. She wasn't, it didn't, and this whole storyline and the way she strings Jack along are exasperating. I also absolutely hated Uncle Joe. It seems like he was supposed to be a lovable rogue or something, but his manipulation of Jack and Frankie, the manner in which he constantly jerks them around for his own gain grated.

I'm probably giving this story way more thought than it needs. Got a Hold on You is to be enjoyed more for its high energy and nonstop action than for anything else. In that respect, it more than delivers. I have to admit, after a while, as the plot contrivances piled up and the story kept racing along, the book started to wear me out. It's kind of like eating candy. It tastes great and it's easy to get caught up in the pleasure of eating it, but after a while you're left craving some real food. It's a blast to read, but I was left hungry for a little more substance than I got. At the same time, we can all use a break from eating nothing but healthy food. This fun, sometimes funny, certainly unique and refreshing book might be just the right treat to break up a steady diet of more serious books. Enjoy.

Reviewed by Leigh Thomas
Grade : B-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 20, 2003

Publication Date: 2003

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Leigh Thomas

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x