thecaffeinatedbookaddict's review
4.0
This was a cute and fun read. I initially started this series years ago but never finished for whatever reason and I’m so glad that I didn’t because this is exactly what my brain needed In this super long slump I’ve been in.
“Oh my God, guys that read were like unicorns. They only existed in fairy tales.”
I loved the previous books in this series and I really enjoyed Jax and Calla’s story as well. Though this is a college age story this particular story takes place back in Calla’s hometown. There were a lot of things in this one that were so relatable and real but the story still had humor and was enjoyable to read despite the serious topics. I really like the dynamic between Jackson and Calla in their relationship. There were moments of miscommunication but I feel like they were thankfully pretty short and the two of them handled them pretty well all things considered and communicated pretty well other than that.
I’m so happy this is single pov. I find I have to dive back in time to find books with single first person pov now a days. I think that Stay With Me was a really relatable, fun, and enjoyable read.
Reasons to read:
-Hot Bartender
-Family Drama
-Found Family
-Great Humor
“Oh my God, guys that read were like unicorns. They only existed in fairy tales.”
I loved the previous books in this series and I really enjoyed Jax and Calla’s story as well. Though this is a college age story this particular story takes place back in Calla’s hometown. There were a lot of things in this one that were so relatable and real but the story still had humor and was enjoyable to read despite the serious topics. I really like the dynamic between Jackson and Calla in their relationship. There were moments of miscommunication but I feel like they were thankfully pretty short and the two of them handled them pretty well all things considered and communicated pretty well other than that.
I’m so happy this is single pov. I find I have to dive back in time to find books with single first person pov now a days. I think that Stay With Me was a really relatable, fun, and enjoyable read.
Reasons to read:
-Hot Bartender
-Family Drama
-Found Family
-Great Humor
reginarix's review against another edition
3.0
Bella coppia, finalmente qualche difetto fisico! Peccato per la storia pericolosa che si conclude in modo inverosimile... Libro che tiene compagnia ma non memorabile
christinasanabia's review
3.0
3 ⭐️
I mean... it was good but very predictable and I saw the whole bar situation from the beginning. This felt the most different in the series from the other books.
I mean... it was good but very predictable and I saw the whole bar situation from the beginning. This felt the most different in the series from the other books.
sunnydee's review against another edition
5.0
Der Inhalt ist wieder sehr dramatisch. Calla hat in ihrer Vergangenheit etwas schlimmes erlebt, an dem ihre ganze Familie zerbrochen ist. Ihr Mutter ist alkohol- und drogenabhängig und hat die nette kleine Familienkneipe völlig heruntergewirtschaftet. Ihr Vater hat die Familie verlassen und Calla versucht weit weg auf dem College ein neues Leben aufzubauen. Leider stellt sie fest, dass ihre Mutter nicht nur ihr Konto geplündert hat, sondern in ihrem Namen etliche Kredite aufgenommen hat. Nun weiß sie nicht womit sie das College zahlen soll und ob sie jemals irgendwo angestellt wird, bei diesen Schulden. Also fährt sie nach Hause, um ihre Mutter zur Rede zu stellen. Dort angekommen findet sie ihre Mutter weder in dem heruntergekommenen Haus noch in der Kneipe. Dagegen trifft sie ihren 'Onkel' und einen super, sexy Barkeeper, der sie gleich unter seine Fittiche nimmt. Schnell stellt sich heraus, dass Callas Mutter in großen Schwierigkeiten steckt, die mit Drogen und Drogenbaronen zu tun haben. So gerät auch Calla in Gefahr, doch Jax (der Barkeeper) beschützt sie wo er nur kann. So beginnt eine fieberhafte Suche nach Callas Mutter, die Calla mehr als einmal in Lebensgefahr bringt. Die Autorin schafft es einfach die Charaktere so lebendig wirken zu lassen, mit ihrem Schreibstil Emotionen zu vermitteln und genau die richtige Dosis an Humor einzubauen, dass das Buch etwas ganz besonderes wird.
Der Schreibstil von J. Lynn (aka Jennifer L. Armentrout) ist toll, aber das wusste ich bereits von ihrer LUX-Reihe (1. Band „Obsidian“), die ich im Original lese. Sie schreibt locker leicht und alles wirkt sehr real. Man hat direkt Bilder vor Augen, vor allem davon wie jemand guckt oder sich verhält. Sie schafft es einfach genau Mimik und Gestik zu beschreiben. Dafür braucht sie nicht einmal viele Worte. Auch Stimmungen und Emotionen vermittelt sie sehr gut.
Das Buch ist nicht wirklich spannend, aber das erwarte ich bei einem New Adult Buch auch nicht. Es ist unterhaltsam und der Leser wird durch kleine und große Geheimnisse, sowie das Dorgen-Mafia-Thema am Ball gehalten. Vieles war relativ leicht zu erahnen, aber es war trotzdem unglaublich unterhaltend.
Emotionen wurden, wie oben schon erwähnt, sehr gut vermittelt. Zum einen erreicht die Autorin dies durch ihre sehr realistisch wirkenden Charaktere. Zum anderen spielt auch der Sympathiefaktor der Charaktere eine große Rolle. Calla ist durch ihre Narben stark gehemmt und es war toll zu lesen, wie Jax ganz langsam ihren Schutzwall einriss und ihr Vertrauen erlangte.
Bei den Charakteren war ich wirklich wieder sehr positiv überrascht. Gerade Jax war wirklich toll. Er wirkte schon sehr erwachsen, gab Calla genug Freiraum und Zeit, um ihre eigenen Entscheidungen zu treffen und war immer für sie da. Calla ist ebenfalls eine sehr sympathischer Charakter. Man merkt dass sie viel durchgemacht hat und ihre Verunsicherung kann man förmlich spüren. Sie wirkt oft ziemlich naiv, aber das passte an den Stellen. Die Nebencharaktere waren ebenfalls interessant. Am besten gefiel mir Callas 'Onkel' und allgemein die Angestellten in der Kneipe. Da waren wirklich ein paar ausgefallene Typen dabei. Die Hauptcharaktere aus Band 1 und 2 bekamen ebenfalls ein paar kleine Szenen, was sehr nett war.
Die Liebesgeschichte entwickelt sich langsam und ist gespickt von Missverständnissen, Schamgefühl, Unsicherheiten und Geheimnissen. Ich finde das ganze wurde wirklich interessant geschildert und in genau dem richtigen Tempo entwickelt. Die beiden passten super zusammen. Jax ist ein echter Traummann, so geduldig und liebenswert. Das lässt Frauenherzen höher schlagen. Vor allem wie er mit Callas Unsicherheiten und ihren Narben umging fand ich super. An manchen Stellen wurde vielleicht ein wenig zu dick aufgetragen, aber das war okay.
*Fazit:*
4,6 von 5 Sternen
Eine herrliche New Adult Liebesgeschichte mit vielen Emotionen, einer Prise Humor und interessanten, sympathischen Charakteren. Ich kann das Buch voll und ganz empfehlen.
Reihe:
Wait for you
Trust in Me
Be with Me
Fall with me
Forever with you
Fire in you (erscheint am 01.08.2016 )
Der Schreibstil von J. Lynn (aka Jennifer L. Armentrout) ist toll, aber das wusste ich bereits von ihrer LUX-Reihe (1. Band „Obsidian“), die ich im Original lese. Sie schreibt locker leicht und alles wirkt sehr real. Man hat direkt Bilder vor Augen, vor allem davon wie jemand guckt oder sich verhält. Sie schafft es einfach genau Mimik und Gestik zu beschreiben. Dafür braucht sie nicht einmal viele Worte. Auch Stimmungen und Emotionen vermittelt sie sehr gut.
Das Buch ist nicht wirklich spannend, aber das erwarte ich bei einem New Adult Buch auch nicht. Es ist unterhaltsam und der Leser wird durch kleine und große Geheimnisse, sowie das Dorgen-Mafia-Thema am Ball gehalten. Vieles war relativ leicht zu erahnen, aber es war trotzdem unglaublich unterhaltend.
Emotionen wurden, wie oben schon erwähnt, sehr gut vermittelt. Zum einen erreicht die Autorin dies durch ihre sehr realistisch wirkenden Charaktere. Zum anderen spielt auch der Sympathiefaktor der Charaktere eine große Rolle. Calla ist durch ihre Narben stark gehemmt und es war toll zu lesen, wie Jax ganz langsam ihren Schutzwall einriss und ihr Vertrauen erlangte.
Bei den Charakteren war ich wirklich wieder sehr positiv überrascht. Gerade Jax war wirklich toll. Er wirkte schon sehr erwachsen, gab Calla genug Freiraum und Zeit, um ihre eigenen Entscheidungen zu treffen und war immer für sie da. Calla ist ebenfalls eine sehr sympathischer Charakter. Man merkt dass sie viel durchgemacht hat und ihre Verunsicherung kann man förmlich spüren. Sie wirkt oft ziemlich naiv, aber das passte an den Stellen. Die Nebencharaktere waren ebenfalls interessant. Am besten gefiel mir Callas 'Onkel' und allgemein die Angestellten in der Kneipe. Da waren wirklich ein paar ausgefallene Typen dabei. Die Hauptcharaktere aus Band 1 und 2 bekamen ebenfalls ein paar kleine Szenen, was sehr nett war.
Die Liebesgeschichte entwickelt sich langsam und ist gespickt von Missverständnissen, Schamgefühl, Unsicherheiten und Geheimnissen. Ich finde das ganze wurde wirklich interessant geschildert und in genau dem richtigen Tempo entwickelt. Die beiden passten super zusammen. Jax ist ein echter Traummann, so geduldig und liebenswert. Das lässt Frauenherzen höher schlagen. Vor allem wie er mit Callas Unsicherheiten und ihren Narben umging fand ich super. An manchen Stellen wurde vielleicht ein wenig zu dick aufgetragen, aber das war okay.
*Fazit:*
4,6 von 5 Sternen
Eine herrliche New Adult Liebesgeschichte mit vielen Emotionen, einer Prise Humor und interessanten, sympathischen Charakteren. Ich kann das Buch voll und ganz empfehlen.
Reihe:
Wait for you
Trust in Me
Be with Me
Fall with me
Forever with you
Fire in you (erscheint am 01.08.2016 )
hyebitshines's review
3.0
~3.5 stars~
I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS BOOK!!! I think a lot of it was most likely unintentional bits but especially in the latter part of the book, I was chortling and ho-hoing like a madwoman (and prolly making my poor parents uneasy at 1AM)
... In most romance books, there's an unwritten law that dictates that the main characters- okay, let's be honest, the whole CAST of characters-must be gorgeous. Like Abercrombie airbrushed model status with killer eyes and all that (Because I'm nice, I'll provide this totally unnecessary but necessary example):
And thus, there is that eye roll moment as the main character usually describes herself with features that perfectly adhere to the traditional beauty standard, then proceeds to say something along the lines of "I'm so ugly." But Calla is a mix of that dreamy stereotype and life-sucks-balls reality. It's painful because her own body and face are a taunting "what could have been" with the remnants of the former child beauty pageant queen she used to be and the grisly scars of the fire that changed everything.
Despite all the laughs I had (and there were many), consent was a really iffy thing in this book at part and that really bothered me no matter how much I tried to shake it off. When it came to actual sex, Jax did do all the proper consent business but during a lot of the moments before, there was so much hesitation on Calla's part where she would eventually just... give in to Jax:
"Taking my dumbstruck silence as acceptance..."
Be it main love interest or not, that wasn't okay in my book.
That discomfort aside though, this was really a touching read about trying to deal with trauma and the many, complicated faces to love, none the more evident than in having a druggie mother who brought a few tears to my eyes as she is shown to have truly struggled to be bit of the mom Calla has yearned for and hasn't seen since the fire.
My favorite part in the book by far is when Calla tells her other friends, Avery and Teresa, the truth about her home life and they too share their own messed up stories (which were by the way, total spoilers for me, the bad reader who picked up book 3 in this not-really-but-sorta series). During this v touching heart-to-heart, Teresa tells Calla, "The whole point of this Calla, is all of us have things we've lied about and things we're ashamed of, and things we wished we talked to someone a long time before we did."
Sometimes, we get caught up in our own pain so much that we forget that the people we see every day, smiling and seemingly functioning without hijinks- some even seeming to live that dream life- that they also might be carrying scars of suffering in a way unknown to us. The realization that this kind of overwhelming, all-consuming pain is a universal sentiment, felt among friends and family and the happiest of smiles, is comforting because it is no longer a lonely path. And yes, even though Calla getting her happily-romance-ever-after with Jax is fabulous, I think her stepping out of the bubble of loneliness that she built for herself in her pain was the most beautiful thing about this story ; v ;
Fin.
I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS BOOK!!! I think a lot of it was most likely unintentional bits but especially in the latter part of the book, I was chortling and ho-hoing like a madwoman (and prolly making my poor parents uneasy at 1AM)
... In most romance books, there's an unwritten law that dictates that the main characters- okay, let's be honest, the whole CAST of characters-must be gorgeous. Like Abercrombie airbrushed model status with killer eyes and all that (Because I'm nice, I'll provide this totally unnecessary but necessary example):
And thus, there is that eye roll moment as the main character usually describes herself with features that perfectly adhere to the traditional beauty standard, then proceeds to say something along the lines of "I'm so ugly." But Calla is a mix of that dreamy stereotype and life-sucks-balls reality. It's painful because her own body and face are a taunting "what could have been" with the remnants of the former child beauty pageant queen she used to be and the grisly scars of the fire that changed everything.
Despite all the laughs I had (and there were many), consent was a really iffy thing in this book at part and that really bothered me no matter how much I tried to shake it off. When it came to actual sex, Jax did do all the proper consent business but during a lot of the moments before, there was so much hesitation on Calla's part where she would eventually just... give in to Jax:
"Taking my dumbstruck silence as acceptance..."
Be it main love interest or not, that wasn't okay in my book.
That discomfort aside though, this was really a touching read about trying to deal with trauma and the many, complicated faces to love, none the more evident than in having a druggie mother who brought a few tears to my eyes as she is shown to have truly struggled to be bit of the mom Calla has yearned for and hasn't seen since the fire.
My favorite part in the book by far is when Calla tells her other friends, Avery and Teresa, the truth about her home life and they too share their own messed up stories (which were by the way, total spoilers for me, the bad reader who picked up book 3 in this not-really-but-sorta series). During this v touching heart-to-heart, Teresa tells Calla, "The whole point of this Calla, is all of us have things we've lied about and things we're ashamed of, and things we wished we talked to someone a long time before we did."
Sometimes, we get caught up in our own pain so much that we forget that the people we see every day, smiling and seemingly functioning without hijinks- some even seeming to live that dream life- that they also might be carrying scars of suffering in a way unknown to us. The realization that this kind of overwhelming, all-consuming pain is a universal sentiment, felt among friends and family and the happiest of smiles, is comforting because it is no longer a lonely path. And yes, even though Calla getting her happily-romance-ever-after with Jax is fabulous, I think her stepping out of the bubble of loneliness that she built for herself in her pain was the most beautiful thing about this story ; v ;
Fin.
marleer's review
3.0
3.75 stars
I didn't have high expectations for this book, because the last one was so cliché, but it actually managed to surprise me. In the beginning I again thought that everything was represented so idealistically and I thought Calla and Jax's relationship developed in a kind of unrealistic way. But eventually along the way I started to like Jax and I really enjoyed this book. Calla did really think and say some stupid things sometimes, but you just have to look past that and not think too much while reading this book. It's just one of those guilty-pleasure reads that is a lot of fun to read!
I didn't have high expectations for this book, because the last one was so cliché, but it actually managed to surprise me. In the beginning I again thought that everything was represented so idealistically and I thought Calla and Jax's relationship developed in a kind of unrealistic way. But eventually along the way I started to like Jax and I really enjoyed this book. Calla did really think and say some stupid things sometimes, but you just have to look past that and not think too much while reading this book. It's just one of those guilty-pleasure reads that is a lot of fun to read!
susasss's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
MAGNIFICO