Hooked by Christine Manzari

Graphic Designer Cat is a hoot and a half and she alone was worth reading the book, throw in the other characters and you have a story that is not only very funny but will most definitely have you hooked.

A chance encounter, a friendly nudge (or is that a rather ungentlemanly push from a very pushy gay best friend) and you are face to face with someone that just might change your life.

Cat loves nothing more than to hang out – it is when she is happiest just being free and spending time with her friends, especially her bestie Jay. But when the eagle eyed Jay catches her being ogled from a distance by a sexy guy on the beach he cheekily dares her to make the first move.

Well there is one thing for sure, Cat does not back down from a challenge – she fronts it out and makes her introductions… good girl!

But as you may have already guessed, that is the mere precursor to the book, because what they   get from that initial hello, is so much more than either of them could have ever imagined.

Playing her cards very close to her chest Cat follows her usual path, divulge as little personal information as possible but make what you have count. They really try and the attraction between them could never be denied but is it a onetime thing or could this possibly have both of them rethinking their plans.

Things gather along at a fairly swift pace after that initial meeting and very soon they are spending a very hot and steamy night together.  

But is this the perfect one night stand or is there more fuel left in the tank?

At this point in the book I couldn’t help but get the feeling that there was more to this pair than maybe even they could handle. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was but there was something that almost unnerved me, it was an itch that was forming telling me that they were about to be dealt a hammer blow and I hated it because  I wanted them to be Ok, whether they would or not was yet to be seen.

Cat’s mystery man is Huck and sweeping aside his stalkerish tendencies, I have to say I really liked him, not that I didn’t like Cat – I did, but of the two I just preferred Huck.

To be honest if I look at the book as a whole my favourite character was Jay – read it and you will know why!

Cat was what I had expected I think, she was clever, independent and strong – get past the initial introductions etc. and you get a really great indication of just how strong she is when the situation with her mother unfolds, I was blown away by the depth of feeling that the author managed to pack into that whole scenario.

My hankering that their journey was not going to be smooth was right but I would never have guessed why.

The author took a subject that is not only intensely private and very, very sensitive but for far too many families, it is emotionally crippling. Life with and life as someone dealing with Cancer is not something that can be easily handled within the realms of fiction but Christine Manzari – I applaud you because you were respectful when others many have been less so, you handled this with kid gloves in some respects but yet you allowed them and at times their situation to shine.

You gave Cat the grace to express her emotions, to show the world that no matter who you appear to be, being in this situation will level you, it will cut you to the core and make you confront pain you could have never begun to imagine.

If I thought Cat was strong before – I damn well knew she was after reading about the time she spent with her mother.

I’m not neglecting Huck’s story – far from it – he had his own issues to deal with – trying to rebuild his life after the disaster that was his failed relationship to a woman that he adored only to discover that she was far less invested in what they had than he was. Feeling like a fresh start was in order he upped sticks and moved to California.

But his family, his career and his ex, just will not let it go – he is a man of two halves so to speak – suited and booted he is formidable and not to be taken lightly but with Cat in his arms, this man is a everything she could ever need and now he has her he is never going to give her up!, I loved his dedication, his determination and the fact that he had enough consideration and empathy to know when to take a step back and give her time to just be, she had so much on her plate it was beautiful the way he was almost her safety net, just waiting beneath her to catch the pieces when she fell because she was going to fall, no matter how hard she fought it.

I loved the changes that they both made, the evolution that their lives undertook and I also loved the fact that by telling the book from both points of view, I was able to get that excitement and understanding first hand.

A well written and carefully constructed book. It covered topics sensitively and allowed the Huck to be a true hero for his woman, to support her discretely when required but to never leave her unguarded, her heart was always his to protect and he did so willingly.