Review: Stay With Me by Kelly Elliott
Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.
Stay With Me is an adult contemporary romance standalone from bestselling author Kelly Elliott and reminds me of one of my favorite movie romantic comedies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was written by and starred Nia Vardalos (and which released a sequel a month and a half ago), except here we've got the male main character from the Greek family and the female main character and orphaned lass of Irish heritage. At twenty-eight, Athanasios Drivas was supposed to be married with a family by now, but four years ago, the woman he loved suffered a heart attack as she was walking down the aisle. Thano continues to mourn her loss, and while he's been with other women since Savannah Thompson died, no one's ever even tempted him to pursue something more meaningful...that is, until he meets Kilyn O'Kelly.
Kilyn doesn't want to run the risk of getting hurt again, not after she trusted someone who took advantage of her feelings for him. She doesn't do relationships and has only been with two men at the age of twenty-eight. Thano draws her in, not just with his gorgeous Greek looks, but with the man beneath the veneer. But even as their feelings for one another grow quickly, Thano doesn't want to admit he's fallen in love with her. He says his heart has only ever belonged to one woman and he doesn't want to disrespect her memory, guilt riding him harder ever since Kilyn came into his life. Kilyn knows she deserves better than being nothing more than second choice and when she walks away, Thano is hit with the loss more than he thought it would. With a meddlesome family and conflicting emotions, will Thano convince Kilyn to stay?
There were definitely good things about the story, what with its infusion of Greek culture, which is the primary source of humor, and a male lead who genuinely doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings or mar his late fiancée's memory. The not-so-great stuff had to do with this repetitiveness in terms of inner monologue, especially on Kilyn's end. Speaking of Kilyn, I wasn't too much of a fan of hers. Her moods would shift at the drop of a hat and her behavior at times bordered on an immature girl and her handling of her working relationship with Thano left a lot to be desired. Talk about a lack of professionalism. My greatest affection, though, resides with Thano's parents, Katerina and Dimitris, and Claire Paige, who cared deeply for Thano's and Kilyn's happiness, respectively. Overall, Stay With Me was a four-star read. ♥
Date Read: 15 May 2016
Learn more about Kelly Elliott.
Purchase Stay With Me on Amazon.
Kilyn doesn't want to run the risk of getting hurt again, not after she trusted someone who took advantage of her feelings for him. She doesn't do relationships and has only been with two men at the age of twenty-eight. Thano draws her in, not just with his gorgeous Greek looks, but with the man beneath the veneer. But even as their feelings for one another grow quickly, Thano doesn't want to admit he's fallen in love with her. He says his heart has only ever belonged to one woman and he doesn't want to disrespect her memory, guilt riding him harder ever since Kilyn came into his life. Kilyn knows she deserves better than being nothing more than second choice and when she walks away, Thano is hit with the loss more than he thought it would. With a meddlesome family and conflicting emotions, will Thano convince Kilyn to stay?
There were definitely good things about the story, what with its infusion of Greek culture, which is the primary source of humor, and a male lead who genuinely doesn't want to hurt anyone's feelings or mar his late fiancée's memory. The not-so-great stuff had to do with this repetitiveness in terms of inner monologue, especially on Kilyn's end. Speaking of Kilyn, I wasn't too much of a fan of hers. Her moods would shift at the drop of a hat and her behavior at times bordered on an immature girl and her handling of her working relationship with Thano left a lot to be desired. Talk about a lack of professionalism. My greatest affection, though, resides with Thano's parents, Katerina and Dimitris, and Claire Paige, who cared deeply for Thano's and Kilyn's happiness, respectively. Overall, Stay With Me was a four-star read. ♥
Date Read: 15 May 2016
Learn more about Kelly Elliott.
Purchase Stay With Me on Amazon.
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