Stay With Me #Review

Stay With Me (With Me, book #1) by Elyssa Patrick gave me warm fuzzies and made me smile as I read.

BLURB
With one look, I’m his . . .

With one touch, he’s mine . . .

With one kiss, it changes everything between us . . .

I’ve been famous since I can remember. Singing, acting, dancing—I’ve done it all. The tabloids cover my every move, but I don’t want that anymore. I want to be normal, whatever that is.

When I leave Hollywood for college in Vermont, I’m on my own for the first time in my life. This is my chance to figure out who I am and what I want in life.

But it’s a lot harder than I expected. I can’t escape my image. Classes are difficult, and I’m struggling. And then there’s Caleb Fox.

Sexy, intriguing Caleb Fox.

Caleb is the one man who doesn’t want to use me. He breaks down my walls. He challenges me. He wants me. And I just don’t know if I can give him the same—or if he’ll stick around when he finds out my shameful secret that the tabloids haven’t managed to uncover.

Dating him is risky enough, but loving him could break me.

REVIEW
Stay With Me gave me warm fuzzies. Caleb & Hailey were wonderful and incredibly sweet together. Their relationship happened quickly but that's often the case in romance novels. The secondary characters were charming - all those roommates of Caleb were intriguing and his sisters were great. The backstory could've been fleshed out a bit more - seemed like Hailey adjusted a smidgen too easily with her only struggle being her grades. Wouldn't there be more distinction between this new life and the one she'd previously led?

Here's where the book fell apart for me... the editing/ proofreading. Or what about a beta reader for general feedback? There were info dumps and useless information randomly splattered throughout the story, slowing it down and seeming awkward. For example -and this is just one- why would we need so much description on what dress she brought to wear for Thanksgiving? Cut, cut, cut.

This was a sweet love story with very little tension. There was a secret revealed but it wasn't entirely unexpected and actually felt anti-climatic. Bringing in more depth with this issue *trying to be spoiler-free* would've created a deeper level of intimacy between Caleb & Hailey, along with providing readings with more substance. And, it might just be me, but I would've loved to see her kick her mother's ass with an exclusive interview of her own.

Anyway, for what it was -a sweet love story- Stay With Me made me smile. If you enjoy the New Adult genre, this is a nice read.

RATING
3 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
This book was provided by NetGalley. Many thanks.