Lydia Thomas just wants to put off her cheating ex- boyfriend from approaching her. So she approaches the hot nerdy guy she had been eyeing since she entered the bar and asks him to kiss her. The kiss is mind-blowing and before she knows it, she wants to be bad with this stranger who looks vaguely familiar to her. She instantly recognizes when he introduces himself but is too far gone to tell him the truth; she is his best friend's baby sister.

The only thing keeping Holt Cunningham from wallowing in misery and escaping the constant nightmares are drinking and one-night stands. Except this cute little strawberry blonde refuses to leave his thoughts despite making a run the morning after. He gets the shock of his life when he finds out Lydia, the woman he cannot get out of his mind, is none other than Steven's sister. Yet what more can he expect from his miserable life. The attraction is sizzling, friendship is on the line, and Lydia is willing but how far will Holt go when he feels she deserves way better than a broken man?

TAKING WHAT'S HIS had a sizzling beginning. Unfortunately, it began to fizzle off soon after. Initially I loved both the characters of Holt and Lydia. I understood Holt was in a bad place hence his overuse of the F-word and swearing. Lydia is a young, smart woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. Both are strong leads with sizzling attraction between them. What did not work was how Lydia is considered to be someone who falls in love easily (I did not see the evidence of that... The opposite in fact) and is immature. The cursing by Holt also became old and tiresome after some time. I mean I get it occasionally while frustrated or angry but constantly was too much.

I loved the heartbreaking scene towards the end of TAKING WHAT'S HIS. What would have made this book a winner for me is if Holt's PTSD is further delved into and the use of F-word is reduced. Otherwise TAKING WHAT'S HIS is one heck of sizzling hot wild ride between a damaged veteran and the woman who finally breaks through his insecurities to capture his heart.

Book Summary

Some lines are meant to be crossed...

One explosive device was all it took to turn Holt Cunningham from ass-kicking Marine to IT technician. Hell, he's still not over it. So when the cute little strawberry blonde at the bar asks him to kiss her, Holt can't resist the temptation of a sexy distraction. Before he knows it, she's blown his mind...and then skipped out the next morning.

Lydia Thomas never expected things with Holt to go quite that far, but oh, it was worth it. After being far too good for way too long, she was ready to be bad. Except that there's that tiny detail that Lydia kept to herself-Holt just spent the night doing naughty things...with his best friend's little sister.

One night isn't nearly enough. But with his friendship on the line, how far will Holt go in order to claim what's his?