Hold the Door

An Open Doors Novel

By: Vinni George

Narrated by: Danny Holt

One hidden crush. One bunch of plastic mistletoe. One alcohol-fueled kiss. One set of taillights as Max Martino left town. Sixteen years later…

Sam Addison hates change, and his company's new merger is stretching him to his limit. When Sam finds out an older, hotter, and amazingly talented Max Martino is part of the acquisition, he knows the only way to keep his sanity is to avoid Max—and their history—at any cost.

Max never planned to settle down, but recently he's been pining for roots. A new job, a new city, and a second chance with Sam makes the thought of staying in one place exciting for the first time ever. But the harder Max pushes, the farther Sam runs, sometimes literally, and Max begins to wonder if Sam can ever let go of the biggest mistake Max ever made—leaving.

But maybe a second chance at forever is as simple as holding the door open for love.

Hold the Door is an 80,000-word contemporary romance that features friends to lovers and a second chance at love, a sassy work husband, and surfing lessons that often lead to more. Hold the Door is the first book in the Open Doors series and can be listened to as a standalone.

©2021 Vinni George (P)2026 Vinni George

Second Chance Angst

3/5 Spice A few smexy scenes and mostly toward the end of the book. Max and Sam have all the angst trying to navigate a chaste moment in the past while being thrown together in a shared workplace. I loved the idea and plot but found Sam a little immature. His character slowed the book for me and making it feel like it was dragging at times. Max was a better character and seemed more developed. Other characters such as Anthony and Brody, added some comic relief for all the angst.

"He lit up my life, stretching my joy until it was as endless as the sea and as bright as the sunrise."

This is book 1 in An Open Doors series by Vinni George. I've had this book, and all the books in this series, on my Kindle forever and I haven't gotten around to starting it yet. I've been on a PNR kick and I own all the rest of Vinni's PNR audiobooks as well. I love this author so when I saw this on Audible I decided now was the perfect time to start this series. New-to-me narrator Danny Holt did a fantastic job with the narration of this book and brought the characters to life.

The only book I've read in this series was the novella, Door Number Two. I read it back in September of 2021, and can't remember Corbin and Fletcher's story so a reread is in my immediate future. Lol

A one-sided college crush (or maybe not?), hurt feelings, alcohol and mistletoe were to blame, after 16 years many things have changed, second chances

2nd chance!

Hold The Door is a sweet second chance story with endearing characters and good audio.

2nd chance friends to lovers

I was so happy to hear that the first story of the Open Doors series was out on audio and I enjoyed listening from start to finish. I remembered enjoying reading the series so was beyond excited to be able to listen to Danny Holt bring this wonderful cast of characters to life. I look forward to listening to the rest of the series!

*pansexual awakening *2nd chance *friends to lovers

4.5 Stars-Really good book!

This was a really good book and my first from Vinni George. Danny Holt did a wonderful job at narrating!! I enjoyed this audiobook. Sam and Max were wonderful together. This book is kind of a second chance, the one that got away kind of book. Sam and Max were friends in college but Max had to leave to help his family out and on the eve of his departure, Sam had a bit much to drink and kissed him. Max was struggling to his feeling at the time and pushed Sam away. These two meet again via work after 16 years. Sam and Max need to navigate with working relationship, old feelings, and new feelings. I was able to figure out what was going to happen before it did but that was ok with me. I can’t wait to read more of this series and I am looking forward to more of Danny Holt’s work as well.

I received an audiobook copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.