Adult Review: The Holdout by Laurel Osterkamp

The Holdout by Laurel Osterkamp

ebook, 236 pages

Published: Sept. 9th, 2013 by Preventive Measures

Source: Author

Robin wanted to win The Holdout, a cutthroat reality TV show, so she gave it her all, challenge after challenge. Then she fell for Grant, with his irresistible eyes and heartbreaking life story. But Grant was only using Robin as they competed for a million dollars. Once home, Robin wants to hide from the humiliation as episodes of The Holdout are aired, and she worries her family was right all along; she's not a survivor. Or maybe she'll have the last laugh Besides, Robin now has jury duty. And as she forges ahead, confronting her demons about bravery, justice, and romance, Robin will come to decide which is more important: the courage to stand alone, or the strength to love again. Laurel Osterkamp's award winning novels have been hailed as funny, intelligent, snarky and poignant. She is the author of four novels and two novellas, including the November Surprise series, which, like The Holdout, features the Bricker family. Laurel was recently on a federal jury, and she loves watching Survivor.

This was my first Laurel Osterkamp book, but it is certainly not going to be my last!  I wasn't even planning to read this one when I did.  I just was loading them onto my kindle and had tapped it to load.  But then it opened and then I decided to bring it to the first page and then I somehow accidentally got totally sucked into the story!  I could have easily read this one sitting.  Every time I had to put it down I was thinking about it, wanting to read it.  Even after I finished it I found I wanted to read it.  Which was silly, it was done, the story was finished.  But still, I wasn't ready to leave yet.

Robin is a character that was more well balanced then many adult females I read about in contemporary books.  She has her shy timid side and her low self esteem, but she has her tough side, where she pushes those feelings aside and reaches inside for her strength.  Where she's able to stand up for herself and push her way forward.  She's also kind, and is careful of peoples feelings, particularly after being on The Holdout.  Occasionally we also see her flip out side, where she has no control and totally loses her marbles, which is entertaining, of course.  Through the book we just want Robin to find her happiness.

This book is about Robin going on the reality show, The Holdout which is quite similar to Survivor.  The beginning of the book (or near the beginning) we are with her as she informs her family and then starts out on this journey/adventure.  We are there with her through the first bit and then we are back in her home town after it is over and for the remainder of The Holdout we 'see' as she does when she watches the episodes on TV or through her memories.  She's on a jury during this time and the author was very creative in using the parallels to shape the story.  Initially I wouldn't have thought this would work.  I would want to be with her during her Holdout experience, but I would have been wrong.  This technique she used was definitely brilliant.  I liked getting pieces of it and knowing her emotions and trying to see what would be happening next on the show.  We know a lot, but there's still so much more to know. 

Romance does play a part, but it's not a romantic story.  At least, not really.  I found myself really hoping for her happy ending, but the question was always, what would be the happy ending?  Luckily, I was really happy with how it ended.

The reality TV aspect as well as her jury duty, is very prominent.  But Robin also has a big family and they play important roles.  I initially had a hard time remembering who everyone in her family was, but when it came to the point where we needed to know, I found that I did.  So while the beginning part of the book may seem confusing or overwhelming, just let it go, through the book it becomes easy to tell them apart.
I found myself getting really frustrated with the way some of her family treated her.  They treat her like she's a child who is doing this ridiculous thing. Even after it's over they are still giving her a hard time.  I just wanted to reach in and smack them!  Luckily she does have some supportive family and in the end she gets her revenge and I believe everyone learns a lesson.  This family aspect ended up being a strong positive for the book.

This is an adult book and Robin is in her early 30's, but I feel it could easily be NA.  She feels younger than 30 and if it wasn't mentioned I would have guessed maybe 24.  (I'm 32, I think I feel I'm still 24 too. At least sometimes.)  I would say even mature YA readers may enjoy it (if they read NA, then they would be fine). There's not a lot of mature content, maybe a bit of language and talk of sex and that's it.  No explicit content.

I highly recommend this book.  It's perfect for switching things up and trying something new.  It's fun and impossible to put down!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.