• Hard to Hold On To

  • A Hard Ink Novella
  • By: Laura Kaye
  • Narrated by: Seraphine Valentine
  • Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (261 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Hard to Hold On To  By  cover art

Hard to Hold On To

By: Laura Kaye
Narrated by: Seraphine Valentine
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.79

Buy for $19.79

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Five dishonored soldiers.

Former Special Forces.

One last mission.

These are the men of Hard Ink.

Edward "Easy" Cantrell knows better than most the pain of not being able to save those he loves - which is why he is not going to let Jenna Dean out of his sight. He may have just met her, but Jenna's the first person to make him feel alive since that devastating day in the desert more than a year ago.

Jenna has never met anyone like Easy. She can't describe how he makes her feel - and not just because he saved her life. No, the stirrings inside her stretch far beyond gratitude.

When the pair is thrust together and chaos reigns around them, they both know one thing: The things in life most worth having are the hardest to hold on to.

©2014 Laura Kaye (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Hard to Hold On To

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    175
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    24
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    180
  • 4 Stars
    48
  • 3 Stars
    17
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    172
  • 4 Stars
    52
  • 3 Stars
    19
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A Vet Reading About a Vet

I have fallen in love with this Series.... but Easy so far is one of my favorites.... his story made me cry... read this book... read the series... fallen love with five American Heroes...they're a little tarnished but not broken...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Easy Listening

What made the experience of listening to Hard to Hold On To the most enjoyable?

Hard to Hold On To was a great listen all around. I enjoyed the story and the narration brought the characters to life. Seraphine differentiates between the voices of the characters extremely well, so I don't have to rewind every few minutes to figure out who's talking. Despite the brevity of the book (wish it had been full length instead of a novella!), the characters were well developed, and I liked that there wasn't insta-love between the leads. There was strong attraction, a bond, but the L-word wasn't tossed out after 35 minutes of knowing each other.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Definitely Easy. He was very easy to empathize with, he was well performed by the narrator, and I found myself very invested in the outcome of his story.

Which character – as performed by Seraphine Valentine – was your favorite?

It's a toss up for me between Jeremy and Marz. She brings so much personality to her performance of them, and I really enjoy whenever they come into the story. Too bad they were only in HtHOT for a few scenes!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did laugh a bit, and I was very choked up during some of Easy's scenes, especially the one he shared with Shane.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for the next book in the series! I enjoyed this novella quite a bit, but I find I'm just as excited to get to the bottom of the mystery of the series as I am to get to know the rest of the guys better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Narrator ruined it for me

It's been a while since the last Hard Ink book was released in audio format, so I was a bit lost in the beginning of this story. I had a hard time remembering the details of what went before. Probably should have re-read the last book before I started this one.

Anyway, then we're told it's only been a week since Sara and Shane met. The story just didn't seem to flow very well. The writing is very uneven. Grammar and sentence structure were awful.

Combine the bad writing with the terrible narration by Seraphine Valentine and it makes you want to scream. Her voice and inflection are just all wrong. It was just a very painful experience to listen to this story.

It seems like there are fewer and fewer good narrators these days. And it's hard to tell by the audio samples provided sometimes. I hope the audiobook industry does a better job comes up with some better narrators soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Short but powerful ...wow!!

How people are drawn to each other is amazing and beautiful. This series can be actual lives. That's why I love this series. It can be real in every way...not a dream book or a dream life but actual people. Can't say enough about this story. TRY IT!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Too Short!

Would you consider the audio edition of Hard to Hold On To to be better than the print version?

I have enjoyed this series and hope there will be more books, but this one was way too short! I started to invest in the characters and then suddenly....over!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hard to Hold On To A Hard Ink Novella.

Hard to Hold on To is the first novella in Laura Kaye's Hard Ink series, but it's still an incredibly satisfying story. I'd probably classify this more as contemporary romance than romantic suspense because the focus is definitely on the relationship between the two main characters and there is much less action than before but I think that it was a much more heartfelt read because of that and I absolutely loved this couple. Easy's story absolutely broke my heart, he is going through such a difficult time and I felt that Laura Kaye did a fantastic job of showing the effects of PTSD. There is no magical fix for Easy but he slowly opens up and asks for help from his team and from Jenna. There are some really emotional scenes with him and the other guys that really tore at my heartstrings but there is also a lot of love, laughter and unconditional support. I was pleased that Easy's problems didn't immediately vanish when he met Jenna but things are definitely going in the right direction for him and I couldn't be happier about that. As much as I've enjoyed the previous books, I have to say I think this was my favorite, I loved Easy and Jenna and I'm so glad we got to read their full story. I'm also excited to continue the series and see the rest of the team find their own happy endings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fave but wish it was longer

This book was my favorite of the series. I wish it had been like an hour longer with an epilogue of some sort but I get the next book in the series picks up at the stopping point so that’d give something away. I hope there will be a book of epilogues per say in the POV of each couple once the series ends :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book

This story made me cry. Thank you for writing a story about our Vets and what a lot go through.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully written topics of LOVE, PTSD,Survivors guilt, suicide ideation, and veterans

It’s not every day I come across a book which is so beautifully written involving a veteran suffering from PTSD, survivors guilt, and suicidal ideation. As a person and a veteran who has dealt with all of the above and more, I was empowered by the author and will forever be a fan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Series

I just started this series a couple of days ago and I am enjoying it very much.. This is the 2.5 book in the series (actually a novella) and it picks up right where the second book lets off. There is no lag time in the story at all and if I have it right everything in the first two books and one novella happens in a weeks time.. This is a very fast paced series and has an interesting plot line..I have enjoyed the whole concept of the series and am having a great time trying to figure out what the clues are leading to and who the bad guys are..Totally recommend this series to anyone who has any interest in the military, mysterys, and angst ridden strong guys.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!