Craves The Angst: REVIEW TOUR with TEASER IMAGES

TITLE: Just Stay
AUTHOR: Michelle Abbott
AGE GROUP: New Adult
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
PUB. DATE: May 17, 2014
PUBLISHER: Author
FORMAT: eBook and Paperback
PAGES: Approx. 202

TOUR COORDINATED BY:
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COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 3.5 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No
HEA: Yes
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BOOK BLURB:
The last place Pia wants to be is on a family vacation in a sleepy Cornish village. She's anticipating two weeks of mind-numbing boredom. Then she meets Trey, a local boy. He's absolutely gorgeous. The trouble is — he knows it. He's arrogant and egotistical, and Pia intends to avoid him at all costs.

But Trey is not the kind of guy who gives up easily. When he sets his sights on Pia, her resistance is futile.

It's just a holiday romance, some light-hearted fun, right? But one of them is about to discover that still waters do, indeed, run deep. When what lurks beneath the surface finally erupts, the consequences may prove to be catastrophic.

For age 17+ due to sexual content and strong language.

REVIEWERS NOTE: Just Stay is a New Adult, Contemporary Romance written by Michelle Abbott. I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review through Drue’s Random Chatter.

3.5 “Just Stay” Stars!

Angsty, Emotional and Also Fun! A Sweet Romance with Heart and Substance!

The Review:

I really enjoyed this fun, new adult romance, which touched on some very real and heavy topics while also giving you a sweet romance. Though, in my opinion, there were some flaws with it, I still found it touching, realistic and heartfelt. The characters were interesting and connectable and the story itself was consuming enough, I found myself reading it in one sitting.

Story/Characters...

Pia is vacationing with her family, a vacation in which she doesn’t want to be on. She has a life back home and a guy she’s interested in and she wants nothing more than to get a chance at one date with him before she heads off to college. Her parents want one final family getaway and have dragged her along for the ride.

While sitting on the beach, trying to get cell reception to find out from her best friend if that date she so desperately wants, is a go, she meets a handsome stranger who she instantly trades snark with. I loved Pia’s character in the beginning. She could sling verbal sparring with everyone and still come out sweet and likable.

And I LOVED Trey and Pia’s initial meet! Sparks were flying!

Trey’s whole life has been in the small Cornish village most come to vacation at for a short while before leaving to go back to their lives. He’s often taken advantage of the short term relationships those vacationers afford him because his life isn’t set up for more than one night stands. Tragedy struck his family a few years before and daily life for Trey is stifling as he tries to hold together what’s left of his family.

When he meets Pia, he quickly sees what “could be” if he wasn’t tied to an unstable mother who needs constant monitoring. Trey’s character was so heartbreaking. He can’t leave. He can’t work. He’s lost so much and the one person who should have been there to see him through, left when things got rough. Trey’s future is bleak and he has no prospects and no solid path.

His life is spiraling out of control and there’s no help in sight. But when he meets Pia, it’s like a breath of fresh air and he wants so desperately to breath deep.

Pia and Trey have many obstacles to overcome before they can find their happily-ever-after.

Thoughts...

This book got to me on an emotional level. It deals with sever depression, suicide and the toll death takes on a family. My heart broke for Trey’s situation and everything he and his family had gone through. His mother was so disconnected, she couldn’t see what was right in front of her... a loving son who was literally giving up his own life to take care of her. Trey’s father was a jackhole of epic proportions. He ran when things got tough and though I can understand that’s how he decided to cope with what happened, I didn’t understand his actions towards Trey at all. This family was broken and completely shattered. The angsts were very real and enjoyable to read.

But...

At first, I really enjoyed Pia’s snark. She was tough and strong-headed but about halfway through the book, she turns her snark to judgment, always accusing Trey of stuff from his past. She listened to people she didn’t even know and gave him the cold shoulder without talking to him first. She threw snide comments and didn’t handle it with any maturity at all.

Also, I know it couldn’t be helped because Trey was stuck in his home, never really able to leave, but having graphic sex with his mom in the next room was kind of creepy. Don’t get me wrong, Trey and Pia’s chemistry was hot and sultry and they were fun together but knowing his mom was in the next room, drugged or not, was distracting. And she even comments at one point about his “whores” so she knew what was going on behind closed doors. I kept expecting her to bust in on them! lol. It was hard for me to concentrate on the yummies. I also think given the characters were having such hot sex, drinking and acting like grown-ups, their maturity level needed adjusting. They did some very immature things throughout the story.

And lastly, sometimes the story got bogged down with mundane things like a play by play of Pia’s family outings while on vacation, Trey’s cooking techniques or his cleaning of the house, which seemed to have no relevance to the story itself. I kept expecting something to happen during those scenes, for their to be a reason they were given so much detail, but it never really lead anywhere.

The Wrap Up:

This was a quick, fun and angsty read and regardless of the “buts”, I still completely enjoyed this story. The parts that had substance were really good and though tragic, Trey’s situation added a lot of conflict. I enjoyed the friendships and the connection between the characters. I loved the ending and how Trey’s situation was handled. I also loved that Pia found what she really wanted and life was going to get better for everyone. This was a great afternoon read!