Review: "Stay for Me" by Megan Smith


Note: This ebook was provided by Patchwork Press Cooperative via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Eli Sabatino interviews Layla del Luca for one of the positions of bartender in Fierce, the club he co-owns with his friend Cooper Cahill, there's no denying that there's an initial attraction between the two of them. But Eli knows that Layla has a boyfriend and Eli isn't the type to go after another guy's girl, plus he's busy with the new club and making time to be with his mom, sister, and niece. The more time he spends around Layla, however, the more he doesn't understand why she would be in a relationship with someone like her boyfriend, who treats Layla more like his property than a woman he should be caring for.

Layla is keeping her home life a secret from those closest to her. She doesn't want anyone's pity or charity, two things she knows she'll get if people find out that she's barely scraping by trying to provide a bearable life for herself and her young sister Fallon. Their mother is too busy getting drunk or high and hopping from one man's bed to another. Her boyfriend pays some of their bills and rent and that's the only reason she's still with him. Working at Fierce is part of her plan to become more independent and to finally break free from the sad life she and her sister are leading and from the man she no longer wants to be with.

Both Eli and Layla try to keep their distance from each other even as they become friends but Eli can't help but be protective of her when he sees how Layla's boyfriend treats her. Layla may want to save herself but she'll need to accept the kindness and assistance of others if she truly believes she and Fallon deserve better. With Eli and her best friend Jaylinn McCormick by her side, Layla is as close as she ever dreamed possible to achieving what she wants. Just when life for her, Eli, and Fallon are beginning to fall into place and she begins to feel complacent, her past is about to force her start looking over her shoulder.

Stay for Me is a spin-off of the popular Love series by bestselling author Megan Smith. I have yet to read said series so I have no familiarity whatsoever regarding any of the characters in this particular book. While I did wonder about Cooper Cahill and Jaylinn McCormick, simply because their relationship was so up in the air and it was surprisingly featured prominently in this story, by the time I finished reading Eli Sabatino and Layla del Luca's story, I felt it did well as a standalone, especially when the Cooper and Jaylinn tension dissipated in the second half, allowing the spotlight to truly be on Eli and Layla.

The overall story was a good one and I enjoyed reading how Layla was trying to juggle so many things at the same time: being a college student, taking care of her sister, working at Fierce, etc. Eli wasn't some knight in shining armor but I liked that he wasn't perfect yet was a nice guy who simply took care of the people closest to him. I know some reviews mentioned they were unhappy with how the book ended, but if we're being realistic here, life doesn't have any guarantees and the same goes for fictional stories. I, for one, am able to appreciate that the book took a different but still emotional route than expected.

There are a few editing issues going and the timeline did feel choppy at times, both of which will affect my rating, but this was still a gripping story that held my attention. I do wonder, though, what will happen after this book. Is this a spin-off standalone or the first book in a spin-off series? If it's the first one, I certainly would like some sort of sequel because I think, with the ending, it deserves to have some sort of conclusion to the tale. I'm also going to add the Love series to my TBR list because, obviously, Cooper and Jaylinn and other characters who appeared have made me curious. Stay for Me gets four stars. ♥

Date Read: 17 April 2015

Learn more about Megan Smith here.

Purchase Stay for Me on Amazon.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Release Blitz: Saved by Hazel James

Book Spotlight: Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane

Review: The Wrong Kind of Angel by Ruby Moone