Blog Tour ~ Review + Playlist + Giveaway: Stay With Me by Elyssa Patrick

I am excited to have the tour for Stay With Me by Elyssa Patrick, hosted by Book Crush Book Reviews, on the blog today. I have the pleasure of sharing a review and the book playlist, along with a giveaway.

Stay With Me

With Me #1

Author: Elyssa Patrick

Publication Date: August 30, 2013

Genre: New Adult/Contemporary

~Synopsis~

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.

New Adult/Contemporary Romance - recommended for ages 17 and up.

~Review~

Stay With Me was a new adult novel that I really thought was going to follow the norm and even be a little cliché as I began reading it. However, it really surprised me and I ended up really liking it. The plot was sweet, romantic and steamy. The characters were all likable and easy to connect and relate to. Well, maybe I can’t relate to Hailey but I could definitely connect with her.

Hailey is 18 and finally able to make her own decisions and do what’s best for her. She has been and actress/singer/dancer for as long as she can remember and she is tired of it. She has no real passion for it and she has been miserable for so long. Her mom started her into and pushed her to continue despite her desires to do something different and be more normal. She breaks free and decides to attend Green College in Burlington, VT. While there she meets Caleb Fox, a normal guy who sees beyond who she used to be and wants to know the real Hailey. As they fall for each other, Hailey struggles to open herself to love and trust someone else but Caleb is determined to break down her walls and show her that she can rely on someone else and have people that truly care about her.

I think Hailey is really brave and strong. She was forced to almost grow up really young as she was thrown into the spotlight and had to live a life that many adults can’t even handle. Standing up to her mom was always really hard but she breaks free and I am proud of her for standing her ground and not letting her mother influence her anymore. I’m sure cutting ties with the only family she had was really hard for her but she knew that being happy and finding herself was more important. Based on the betrayal she receives from her mother, it is easy to see why trusting people is hard for her. On top of that, every guy she has ever dated has been using her for one thing or another so I understand why she is weary of Caleb’s attention at first. I’m really glad she gave him a chance and let him break through her barriers.

“His love is like a beacon to me, a lilght in these dark, tumbled waves I was lost in. The shipwreck that was my life is sinking behind me, and I’ve been fighting toward something else, something different… something more.”

I was a fan of Caleb from the beginning and he never gave me a reason to doubt him. Of course, I couldn’t help doubting his motives at first just like Hailey did. However, I loved that the author didn’t take it there and that Caleb never once indicated that he couldn’t be trusted or that he would betray Hailey. He was sweet, sexy, smart and supportive. When he found out Hailey’s darkest and most shameful secret, he didn’t run or let her down. Instead he was right there helping her through a difficult situation and showing her that he loved her.

The supporting characters in this book were great too and I really liked Caleb’s sister, Daphne. She is smart, funny and tough as shit. She doesn’t take any crap from anyone and she throws it out just as much. She becomes a really good friend to Hailey and she helps her adjust to school and the changes she is going through to become “normal.” Caleb’s roommates, Nick, Jamie and Griff were really fun too and I loved how welcoming and cool they were with Hailey and how protective and brotherly they are with Daphne. However, it is obvious that there is something brewing between Nick and Daphne and I can’t wait for that to be explored in Go With Me.

The greatest thing about this book was that it really focused on building the romance between Hailey and Caleb and the way that Caleb opened Hailey and helped her grow as a character. While the story alluded to a secret Hailey was keeping that could threaten to ruin their relationship, this was not a huge part of the story and when it was revealed, it didn’t come between them. Caleb accepted her past mistake and he helped her recover from it. I loved that it was a huge thing within the story and more of a sub-plot that was briefly discussed and overcome. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Hailey and Caleb and they had some steamy love scenes. The passion between the 2 of them emanated from the pages and I could feel the electricity that sparked and the intense feelings they had for each other. If I had one complaint, it would be that their relationship had a little bit of an insta-love feeling. While they didn’t say “I love you” on the first date, I still felt like the fell a little too fast for each other. Of course, I read a ton of NA and lately, it seems every book I read is insta-love and I’m not a fan of it so I may have been a little jaded on that with this one and my perspective may have been colored a bit. Regardless, that was not a huge issue for me anyways because all of the things I liked about this book heavily outweighed that anyways.

“It almost feels like there’s this thread, this oh so delicate thread connecting us. That with each moment, with each shared heartbeat, with each barrier we break down, this thread will only grow stronger, firmer, and never break.”

Overall, Stay With Me was a quick and very enjoyable read. I was easily able to get into the story and connect with the characters. Once I was drawn in, I had no problem reading to the very end as the plot flowed well and there was no lull or slow period in between. The writing was great and I loved the way the author made the characters feel genuine threw her writing. The dialogue and interactions was very realistic and the conversational tone between the characters was excellent. I am super excited that there will be companion novels coming out for Jamie, Griff and Nick and I can’t wait to read their stories.

PURCHASE LINKS:
AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | SMASHWORDS | iTUNES | KOBE | ARE

~Playlist~

Someone Like You - Adele
Gravity – Sara Bareilles
Starry, Starry Night – Don McLean
Dancing Queen - ABBA

Catch My Breath - Kelly Clarkson 
Make You Feel My Love - Kris Allen
Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
Everything I Do I Do It For You – Bryan Adams
Falling Softly – from the Broadway musical, Once
My Life Would Suck Without You – Kelly Clarkson
Something – George Harrison

To Show Me Your Love – Mike Schmid (this is the song that plays in the book trailer)

Author bio:

Elyssa Patrick writes sexy, emotional contemporary romances and New Adult. She is currently working on her next novel. 

website: www.elyssapatrick.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElyssaPatrick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Elyssa-Patrick/354635801277736

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6469665.Elyssa_Patrick

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*An eARC was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and unbiased.*