Stay with Me by Elyssa Patrick

Stay with Me by Elyssa Patrick 3.5 STARS

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.

*I received ARC copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley


Overall 
 I liked this novel. It was my first Elyssa Patrick book and I would certainly continue with the series and the author. What I loved about this book was the characters. I fell in love with each of them. I think the author did a great job of creating characters that were easily relatable, with a personality of their own. In fact the author flawlessly created characters through a first person narrative without even trying (so it felt). I was disappointed that I didnt get more of Nick and Daphne! But I was really happy with Caleb and Hailey.

Cover: Sexy
Rating: PG-13 with sexual content
Overall: Pretty good 
Characters:  Hailey, Caleb, Nick, Daphne
Page Turner: No
Series Cont.? Yes- Characters 
Recommend if You Like...Wanted
Book Boyfriend:
Genre: New Adult 
Sex Scenes: Yes
Setting Vermont College

Caleb - Jared Padalecki

The plot point of this particular novel is what drew me in. Its different than other rock star or famous person books. There is no Hollywood glam and instead its just the opposite. Its the reverse of all things Hollywood and I LOVED that idea. Its intriguing and interesting, so very different than anything Ive heard of lately. Lately its all about rock star guys who are man-whores, and the innocent girl getting him to settle down. Instead, this was about a girl leaving behind the high life to find something more meaningful. Hailey is my kind of girl. I liked that she was confident on the outside but insecure on the inside. I liked that Caleb wasnt some big shot on campus and wasnt a "manwhore" but in fact a genuinely nice guy. I loved that he was devoted and loyal, he was confident and sexy, yet a sweet and kind soul.

Hailey 

I loved Hailey too. She was very interesting and her inner turmoil that as the reader we hear, I was able to connect and understand her, her reasons, her thought process, everything. Her secret wasnt too hard to figure out, and I knew it would obviously come out, but I was sincerely pleased with the way the author handled the situation/secret and the reactions of the other characters felt genuine and normal.  Daphne was quite interesting and dynamic, I loved her sarcasm and spunk!

The pacing of the novel was also good. I didnt think anything moved too slowly or too quickly. Time seemed to move at a normal pace. Attraction and lust are things that come quickly and can fade quickly, but love takes time to build and the author did just that. She took the time to build the love story, allowing the characters to get to know each other, to learn and grow from one another. It was interesting to see how the characters are interacted with one another and grew into their own relationships.


What I didnt like:
Some scenes were overly descriptive to a point where I didnt really care or need to know the intricate details.
I felt like I didnt really get to know Caleb until halfway through the book. I didnt understand what the pull of Caleb was to Hailey.
I felt that it was a little dull at times. While I cant say I was "bored" per se, since the book was fairly short, I didnt really think there was much story line throughout the book. It was essentially, a famous girl finding herself when she went to college after getting away from Hollywood and her mother, falling in love and figuring out what she wants to do with her life. But in between all that....theres not much going on...
I didnt like that the Nick/Daphne thing was left so unmentioned, but look forward to reading Nicks book!
I also didnt care for the focus on the art. I just didnt like it.