Stay With Me. Alexandria House. 2017. 194 pages. Pink Cashmere Publishing. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.]
As the first book in the “Strickland Sisters” series, Stay With Me introduces the lively bunch while focusing in on Angela’s most recent foray into romance. She’s a naturalista turned Youtube starlet, but can’t seem to get it right in her love life. When the ever-so-gorgeous Ryan Boye rents the vacant half of her duplex for a 6-month business stay, she’s put to the test. Ryan, admittedly, “ain’t shit.” He’s a playboy who has no intentions of settling down, let alone with his short-term landlord. Alas, fate has a funny way of challenging you.
Angie and Ryan had an undeniable attraction from the start and their chemistry only grows over time. They do a song-and-dance about not complicating their relationship as landlord-tenant, but that obviously wasn’t going to last. It didn’t come as a shock that they hooked up, but the question remained about whether they could actually have a functional relationship despite Angie’s insecurities in love and Ryan’s resistance to commitment. It doesn’t help things that Ryan is only in town on a short-term assignment for work. Even if they want to pursue a relationship, they’ll have to figure out how to address the elephant in the room when he needs to leave for his next job.
This book is high drama! Much of this comes from Angie and Ryan’s struggle to navigate a healthy relationship. Between bumping into exes at nearly every turn, baggage from previous hurts, and poor examples for long-term relationships, there is a lot more fighting against the two than fighting for them. Along the way, the two provide more than enough comedic moments to keep you interested beyond their passion. Their banter is playful and sexy, but they deal with real issues. Angie’s issues with infidelity and Ryan’s resistance to settling down make for constant drama but in a relatable way.
I generally found the characters well developed, though Angie had more depth than Ryan. House spends a lot of time giving context for Angie’s views on love and relationships, particularly infidelity. Much of it comes from her own parents’ relationship, which had lasting impacts on how she and her sisters approach their love lives. Ryan’s issues are present, too, but didn’t have as much airtime as Angie. I was still able to understand him and his motivations, however, so he wasn’t lacking.
Angie’s family factors into this book in ways that had me ready to read about them in subsequent books. The complicated nature of the relationships between Angie and her sisters Renee and Nicky is laid out in the first few pages, with them being brutally honest with each other while still maintaining a family-over-everything vibe. Her parents’ relationship seems to be in shambles and adds not only background for the Strickland sisters’ issues, but also a hint of drama as a subplot. I appreciated getting to know them a bit better throughout this book, but am definitely ready to read about Nicky and Renee’s stories separately.
Stay with Me is a standalone novel that is a solid start to a series that I recommend with no reservations. I appreciated House’s style of writing, which kept me reading non-stop. It’s also not a long read, and I thought House did a good job of balancing detail and keeping the plot moving forward.
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