Review: "Stay" by B.A. Wolfe (Keaton #2)


It's been nearly a year since Cassandra Pierce lost the first person she ever truly loved, someone who loved her unconditionally and who opened her eyes to the possibilities the world has and to embrace each moment with arms wide open. When she meets Aidan, it's the first time since falling for and losing Jason Bradley that she feels something more for another man. He's caring, protective, and could be the right guy for her and her baby. But Aidan's keeping something from her, a secret that has the potential to end what's happening between them and leaving Cassandra with another broken heart she may never recover from.

Stay is the sequel to Away, both written by B.A. Wolfe, and picks up close to the first year anniversary of Jason Bradley's passing. Make sure that you read the first book before heading into this one so that you know Cassandra "Cassie" Pierce and Jason "Jase" Bradley's love story and have a better understanding of the role Jase gives his older brother Dan in the lives of Cassie and her son Jase. I don't think I'm spoiling the story for anyone if I state that Aidan and Dan are one and the same person because that's pretty much put out there in close to the beginning of the story. And really, the nickname "Dan" goes with "Aidan" so you can pretty much figure that out. Jase asked Dan to look after Cassie and Dan's been doing exactly that for close to a year since Jase passed and it takes a good long while for Cassie to finally learn the truth.

This isn't the first book I've read that involved a girl falling for her late boyfriend's brother, though this is the first one that I can remember in which the girl and the late boyfriend were truly in love and not the kind that was having problems prior to his passing. I don't know what it is about Cassie but my feelings for her are pretty much the same--I still don't like her and I still feel as if she hasn't matured, even after losing Jase and being a mother to the baby that shares his name. And once again, she has a good guy who has fallen head over heels in love with her, this time in the person of Aidan "Dan" Bradley. He's like an older, even more mature version of Jase and though he's been keeping an eye on Cassie since Jase died, he only truly falls for her when they accidentally meet in a bar but he does feel guilty because she was Jase's girl. 

One thing that I found strange in the story was the Bradley family's farm, which technically isn't theirs anymore since Jase made it clear in the first book that they had sold it due to bills. They seem to still be very invested in the farm, to the point that Dan makes a life changing choice in the story that involves it but why make that choice if the farm is no longer something that belongs to your family? It was just strange, almost as if it was forgotten that the farm had been sold. I also didn't think it was necessary to have both Jase's and Dan's ex-girlfriends, who, surprise, surprise, just happened to be sisters, be in the story. Yes, they added to the tension and conflict, but they were both such minor players that they could have been completely removed and the story would have still been able to stand on established merits.

I loved the letters that both Jase and Dan wrote to each other and the ones they wrote to Cassie. These guys are simply as ideal as you can get when it comes to book boyfriends and they were more than enough for me to enjoy my reading experiences with both books. I did feel bad for Dan because the poor guy was living in the shadow that Jase had left behind and the treatment he was getting from his parents was hurtful and made my heart break for him. I am curious though about Moose (aka TJ) and Jase's best friend because he appeared to be a perfect book boyfriend in the making. I would definitely look into reading his story if and when it's told, but pairing him up with Cassie's best friend Melanie would be an obvious route to take. Stay tied up Cassie and the Bradley brothers' stories pretty nicely. Four stars! ♥

Date Read: 15 May 2015

Learn more about B.A. Wolfe here.

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