Reviewed by Rosie Malezer for Readers' Favorite

Holding Fast is the third book in the Love and Order series written by Jeanine Binder. Whilst receiving a harsh dressing down by his captain, Detective Elijah Walker of NYPD’s Major Case Squad is unable to offer an apology for beating up the perp he had just brought in. When he’d arrived on the scene, Detective Walker had forcibly restrained the man who had continued to beat Ainsley Barnett, the victim of the assault. Tall, Black and built like an army tank, Elijah feels an inexplicable attraction towards the insanely beautiful blonde he had rescued, a feeling he finds confusing as he has a strict policy not to date white women. Elijah’s partner, Detective Leon Threatt, warns him of the implications of dating an assault victim, regardless of her skin color, but against all of Elijah’s instincts, his heart soon belongs to Ainsley. After months of exclusively dating, ignoring the sidelong glances and snide remarks about their inter-racial relationship, Elijah proposes to Ainsley. His fear of losing her is overwhelming due to the fact that not only was her ex-boyfriend, Andy Denton, a sociopath and stalker who had physically hurt her too many times when they had been together, but also that there was a killer out there who was slicing and dicing women, leaving nothing but shredded remains in his wake.

As a proud Black woman and a survivor of domestic abuse, the blood drained from my fingers (holding the book tight) as I turned each page of Jeanine Binder’s suspenseful romance about a cop with a temper and a woman with a crazy ex. Although not extremely graphic, Holding Fast is an extremely realistic view of many different complicated aspects of two people’s lives – people who are opposites, yet fit together so perfectly. My heart was pounding and tears filled my eyes as Elijah searched for Ainsley, while knowing exactly what Ainsley was going through, due to how the book is designed. Holding Fast is written from two different points of view, with Ainsley’s thoughts being portrayed in one chapter, and Elijah’s in the next. I was emotionally spent by the time I reached the last page, feeling both sadness that the story had come to an end and still reeling at the events that had taken place in order to get to that point. I am impressed by Jeanine Binder’s ability to encompass so many sensitive social issues which take place in our everyday lives, producing such an epic tale. I look forward to reading more from this author, and recommend Holding Fast to readers who do not shy away from confronting issues and who love action, drama and suspense in a super-charged romantic thriller.