What they say:
Their love survived the 80s. She wished she hadn’t. A funny, bitter-sweet romantic dramedy set to an 80’s soundtrack that proves first love never truly dies.
Libby London fell in love with the 80s, came of age in the 90s, and in the 21st Century is coming completely apart. Her New York fashion sensibility is more ‘vintage tragedy’
than ‘retro babe’ and might just be what’s holding her back in all matters of life and love…
At least that’s what her well-meaning friends think. They’ve staged an #80sIntervention determined to bring Libby bang up-to-date, but how do you move forward when the one you love holds you in the past? Between her dreaded birthday party, friend’s madcap ambush, and being forced to relocate her Pretty in Pink resale thrift shop, Libby’s at the end of her rope. If her therapist isn’t quick, it could be a literal one.
Excerpt
Prologue
My birthday hangs over my head like a noose.
I’d rather just skip it and take the day off. I’m like Cameron in Ferris Bueller: overwhelmed, wound up and seriously pessimistic about the whole idea. Ollie, my best friend’s older brother and I used to debate this movie non-stop when we were teenagers. He swore the entire day was a delusion created by the very sick and depressed Cameron.
‘It’s a crazy theory that’s been floating around, but I stand behind it,’ he’d say with absolute certainty. Oliver liked nothing better than to argue.
I liked nothing better than to wind him up. ‘Sure, he was miserable and the timeline of events impossible, but it doesn’t prove Ferris was a figment of Cameron’s imagination. Was everyone fake? And why would he do that?’
I could hear him pacing, and imagined him at the other end of the line, wide-eyed and gesturing. I loved it when he got that way. I loved everything about him.
‘They’re real, Libby, just not in the context of Cameron’s fantasy. He created Ferris, or at least that version of him, because he had to. He needed a hero.’
Right now, I need a hero. Seriously: where’s my white knight upon a fiery steed? He doesn’t need to be strong, fast, or fresh from the fight, he just needs to be larger than life and capable of saving mine. It’s a mess. But there’s no way I could’ve predicted the position I find myself in right now.
No one could.
And The Review …
First off thanks so much to Chick Lit Plus and Victoria Van Tiem for the chance to participate in the Holding Out For A Hero Blog Tour, and also for the book in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed ‘Holding Out For A Hero.’ From the second I heard about it I was thrilled to hear that music was an intricate part of it. As you can see from the blurb, the book was all about Libby London, who runs ‘Pretty in Pink,’ a thrift shop, which allows her to dress as she wants, in 80’s gear, complete with the hair of the era. Her friends decide to intervene and give her a modern day makeover while organising dates for her. I loved Libby’s race to save ‘Pretty in Pink,’ and her friend Dora’s ‘interfering,’ although at times I did feel they were too tough on her. I will say that humour wise, it wasn’t always in the same vein as my own, but that’s a subjective thing, and there is a wealth of people out there who loved it for the comedy.
We soon learn that the reason she’s ‘stuck in the eighties’ isn’t solely due to her love of the movies (with 80’s playlists and movie references such as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink dropped regularly, the attention to detail is amazing), fashion and music, there is also something that happened that kept her tied to that time and never allowed her to move on. This is examined and explored with the help of her psychologist, Dr Papadopoulos, who is helping her figure out her issues with depression. I felt that this was dealt with very well and is a commendable topic to team with a book that would appear to be lighter than that.
Actually, I really enjoyed Dr Papadopoulos’ character and in general the characters in Holding Out For A Hero, and while I enjoyed Libby’s journey, and in particular her realisations as to how she really felt about certain people (no spoilers!), I would be very interested to find out more about her best friend, Dora’s life (sequel maybe?!) All in all, I really liked this book, the musical and cinematic references were flawless, and although I didn’t ‘get’ all of them, I enjoyed them. The romance was well done, as were the flashbacks and the ending that was a different outcome to the one I would have predicted. If you’re a die hard 80’s fan you’re in for a treat, and I’d advise you to get to it!
Rating: 4/5
WIN!!!
Click HERE To be in with a chance to win a copy of Holding Out For A Hero!!
About the Author:
Victoria Van Tiem (pronounced ‘team’) is an international author of romantic comedy and dramedy novels, a former gallery owner and creative director with a background in brand development. She lives just outside of Indianapolis on a small hobby farm with her husband and two teenage boys.
Find her here:
http://www.victoriavantiem.com/
To follow the tour on from here, or to look back over some other ‘Holding Out For A Hero’ posts:
March 7th
Literary Chanteuse – www.literarychanteuse.blogspot.ca – Review
Ali -The Dragon Slayer – http://cancersuckscouk.ipage.com/ – Review
Judging More Than Just The Cover – www.ambergreggbooks.com – Excerpt/Review
Grass monster – https://twitter.com/Lost815_Oceanic – Review
March 8th 2016
A Thousand Lives – http://athousandlivesbook.wix.com/bookblog – Review
Boundless Minds – www.boundlessminds.org – Excerpt
Emma’s Book Reviews – www.bookreviewsem.blogspot.com – Excerpt/Review
March 9th 2016
Pretty Little Book Reviews – http://www.prettylittlebookreviews.com/ – Review
ItaPixie’s Book Corner – http://itapixie.blogspot.it – Review/Excerpt
Bookish Escapes – http://bookishescapes.weebly.com – Review
March 10th 2016
Hello…Chick Lit – http://hellochicklit.com – Review
Steamy book momma – http://steamybookmomma0.blogspot.com – Promo Post
BRMaycock’s book blog – http://Brmaycock.wordpress.com – Excerpt/Review
March 11th 2016
Around the World in Books – http://www.aroundtheworldinbooks.ca/ – Excerpt
Book Groupies – http://bookgroupies2.blogspot.com/ – Excerpt
One Book at a Time – http://booksandwinearelovely.blogspot.com/ – Excerpt/Review
This tour was scheduled and arranged by HCL Book Tours
^click here to check it out^
BRMaycock's Book Blog 
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this post. I will have to add Holding Out for a Hero to my TBR.
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🙂
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