Dogs always have a way of finding people. When a tumultuous past causes Alice Gray, the only woman Lou Pearson has ever loved, to leave her for good, she shrinks away from the world, trying to make amends. Dedicating years of her life to training service dogs and saving rescues. Little did she know, a rescued dog would save her, too. Caspian shows up in Lou’s life and the dog guides her to a young girl who desperately needs him, and to the girl’s mother, Alice. Propelling Lou into a past she believed she’d never have to face again. To a woman who she assumed she’d lost forever. As an old romance and deep emotions resurface themselves, Lou’s worst fears come crashing back and she can’t help but wonder… This time, if it all falls apart, will Alice stay?
3.75 Stars for Stay by Magnolia Robbins. I picked up this book because I loved the cover and it reminded me of a favorite book (Wish Me Home by Kay Bratt).
This is the story of Lou Pearson and Alice Gray. Girlfriends since High School, they thought they would be together forever. They lived together while in college with plans to marry, but they broke up in grad school. Lou had become addicted to pills, initially prescribed for anxiety, but later with self-medicating she became worse. Alice, tired of fighting with Lou, who wouldn’t get any help, threw Lou out and didn’t want to see her again.
Lou eventually did get help and through Narcotics Anonymous and her sponsor, she has been able to stay clean for the past 8 years. Always an animal lover (before dropping out, she was in grad school for veterinary medicine), Lou was volunteering at an animal shelter, when she met Tammy who hired her to work at her Guide Dog training facility. Lou did everything from training dogs, teaching owners how to work with their new dogs, to cleaning the kennels. It was during a rescue of dogs at a puppy mill that she met a white shepherd, which she named Caspian. She trained him for two years to be a service dog, now he was ready to meet with his new master.
Alice Gray became a High School English teacher. She is divorced and has a five yr. old daughter, Anna who was born blind. I think you can figure out where this is going. Yup, Anna has been given Caspian as her new guide dog.
A slow burn, second chance romance. I did “like” the ups and downs of Lou and Anna’s journey to get back together. I think Robbins wrote Lou’s continual struggle with anxiety very well. I loved Anna and Caspian lived up to his name (a hero from Chronicles of Narnia books).
If I have learnt something from this book, it is how much our furry friends can do for us. Caspian is the special friend who provides comfort to Lou who suffers from anxiety and depression and has a history of substance abuse. He is the service dog that protects Alice’s five year old visually impaired daughter, Anna. And as fate has it, he is also the one that reconnects Lou and Alice. These parts with Caspian are what I loved most.
But I had mixed feelings about everything else. The chemistry between Alice and Lou were average at best and it was difficult to listen to them rekindle their relationship and declaring that they are each other’s “love of their lives” when the problem was clearly a lack of communication.
And while anxiety, depression and substance abuse are not difficult topics for me to read, I did not like the way they were handled. Alice did not understand enough and was not equipped to handle her partner’s anxiety and depression. More importantly, I could barely feel Alice’s effort to try. They were young the first time around, so I can understand why Alice wanted to call it quits after Lou repeatedly ended up stoned from depression medication. But to abruptly kick Lou out of the house without discussion or warning unsettled me a little bit.
I wanted it to work better the second time around when the story proper begins – that is when they reconnect 8 years later. But I felt it still wasn’t handled well. While Lou no longer has an addiction problem, she continues to have moments of anxiety and depression. Sadly, Alice still has no clue what to do and this time, she has priorities that are more important than Lou that divides her attention. Of course, this time they don't break up, which makes the difference, I suppose. But Alice only supports her from a distance and Lou was basically left to snap out of her depression on her own.
This one is an audiobook narrated by Dukore. It wasn't that memorable and her mimicking a 5 year old wasn't the best.
This audiobook was given to me for free at my request and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
This book was an okay read. Though it was a sweet story, I didn’t love it as some of the other reviewers. For one thing it was too slow and really nothing much happened not even in the way of the build up of the connection between the main characters who split up 8 years before. There was virtually no communication between the mains about those 8 years apart either. Basically they reconnected because they still loved each other. And why Lou suffered so much from anxiety and what started that was unexplained. The same goes for the pressure that Alice parents apparently put on her to marry a man and have a family while at the same time they seemed to have been good with Alice dating Lou for years. That doesn’t add up for me. That said, the book was well written, the main characters were nice and the love story sweet. So all in all a 3 star rating for me.
2.8 star rating Two sweet aspects to this story is the saying "what will be will be" which applies to the human relationship here and the other aspect is how animals (dogs and cats commonly) are often unsung helpers/support in our lives. But placing these sweet aspects aside, I didn't enjoy the style of writing by this author. I mean the flow was off for me. One chapter ends with one character/scene then the other starts with a new one....I fell momentarily lost on starting a new chapter then as soon as I am invested by the end of that chapter, the whole lost and found commences again in the next chapter. Perhaps I am not describing this well but this was off for me.
“Stay” caught my attention because of the great cover: a woman and a dog sitting together looking at the horizon. Beautiful!
Unfortunately, the cover is really the most interesting part of this book. The narrator did a decent job, I liked her voice in the role of narrator, but I didn’t really enjoy her voices for either of the MCs.
It wasn’t just the voices of the MCs, I didn’t really warm up to either of them. MC Alice left her high school and college girlfriend MC Lou because Lou was a substance abuse addict who continually lied and didn’t want to work to stop being an addict. Lou has some sort of OCD/anxiety disorder but if it was explained in more detail, or explained how the disorder tied into being an addict I don’t really remember it.
Alice had a boyfriend (Jeremy) in high school her freshman year before falling in love with Lou, and after breaking up she ends up marrying him, mostly to make her mother happy. Eight years after the breakup, she’s now divorced from Jeremy (why lesbians marry men to make a parent happy is always a mystery to me!), though they remain friends. They also help each other parent their young vision impaired daughter Anna.
Anna and Alice go to pick up Caspian, a service dog, and it turns out that long lost love Lou is Caspian’s trainer. Yup….another second chance romance. As you know, not really my favorite Trope, but with the right MCs it can be an enjoyable story. This story just didn’t work for me that much. Lou and Alice have, after 8 years, uncontrollable lust for each other, and you can guess the ending.
I usually love Robbins's books but this one just didn't work for me. I couldn't seem to connect with the characters although I really did loke Anna and Caspian. Also felt though writtrn well enough it didn't flow as well as some of her other writings and things needed to be flushed out more. Overall, it just wasn't for me but it is a kU book so nothing really wasted on my end. 2.7stars
A fairly light contemporary romance. Not particularly outstanding but entertaining and fluffy.
Though I bought this as an audiobook and I'm sad to say the narrator wasn't very good. I was going to rate the book two stars but I think the narration may have made a good book feel not so good.
With a storyline like this, how could it not reduce me to tears? Blind child, dog rescue and return of first Love? Superb, really enjoyed it. Recommended.
I like when authors do homework when they write their books and from having to watch friends and loved ones going through addiction, the pain of it and that last thread of hope before walking away, it was pretty spot on.
I wish there was more on Caspian and Anna though, oh and another rescue dog. Dogs are cool.
Lou has been struggling with her life when the woman she loves leaves her as she close herself off she decide to train dogs for a living.
When she rescuse a dog name him Caspian it leaves her to a young girl name Anna who turns out to be the daughter of the woman she lost Alice.
I like that it wasn't to much drama that it's really about two people getting a second at love and learning that you can overcome yours struggles if you learn work through them and ask for help.
I receive ARC from the author and leaving voluntarily review.
A break up due to drugs. A reconciliation years later. With plenty of dogs in need of rescuing throughout. If that doesn’t sound very cheerful to you, you’re right.
Lou Pearson, a dog trainer, is an ex-addict. She’d set out to become a vet but drugs derailed that goal. Drugs were also the cause of the end of her relationship with Alice Cameron who was a supportive, loving and kind partner till Lou just pushing her too far, too often. Alice walked away from the toxicity of an addict not willing to reform. The loss of Alice is a wake-up call for Lou and she starts attending NA meeting and even finds a sponsor. Years later, Alice re-enters as the mother of a partially blind daughter, Cameron, acquiring a dog for her daughter. The love between the two still exists and gets a second chance.
What a romance. The very real dramas, anxieties, highs and lows of the book are excellently executed. If I could have asked for anything more, it would have been more flashbacks or insights into Lou and Alice’s past, but that’s because I’m a big sucker for flashbacks. I can not recommend this enough. A recovering addict heroine, her first love being her only/one-true love, guide dogs and adorable children. This book spans it all.
Plot: The plot for this book dragged. The main characters don’t meet till about 20% of the way through the book and don’t have a real interaction till a little after 40% of the way through the book. So the first almost half of the book is a lot of descriptions of buildings that no one cares about and Lou internally freaking out and then acting as cool as a cucumber towards others.
Once they start interacting they snap into an insta relationship. They start as friends but they both seem very aware that they both want a relationship. They start dating without ever really catching up on the past 8 years of their lives. It just wasn’t very believable and the emotions felt scripted.
Lou suffers a loss, that was telegraphed from the beginning of the book. She starts to spiral again. It really becomes clear in this section that the book is about Lou’s sobriety not about her relationship with Alice. Eventually she recovers. The book then flashes forward to a completely unearned HEA.
Characterization: Lou is a recovering drug addict who is 8 years sober. Her addiction is what broke up her only serious relationship. She has gotten some help at the start of the book but she is still constantly on the verge of having a panic attack and barely seems to be holding it together. She also seems to have a split personality. Her inner monologue makes it seem like she is gonna freak out or run away from Alice but then from Alice’s perspective Lou just calmly approaches and starts an easy conversation.
Alice isn’t much of a developed character in this book. She is attracted to Lou and has a daughter she loves… that’s pretty much it. This book is less about a romance story and more about Lou as a recovering addict.
Writing: This was bad. It was written in third person perspective and the writing style was so boring it was hard to get through this book. Any time something remotely interesting was happening the author would cut to a detailed description of a house.
This book also broke two of my personal rules: “Never describe kissing as mouths crashing together”, and “Never describe eyes as orbs”. Kissing and a car wreck shouldn’t share adjectives, and an orb is a three dimensional shape. Unless someone’s eye pops out of there head, you can’t see the back half of it.
Both of these are fairly common mistakes but in my opinion they are the mark of a writer who needs more time editing and less time spouting the same meaningless phrases that people tend to repeat without actually thinking about the meaning of their words.
I thoroughly liked the ups and downs of this story. The relationship between Lou and Alicia and the lives they were living kept this story moving to its right conclusion. Anna and Caspian added a human touch and kept the story real. New writer for me and now a fan. This a must read!
Wonderful story about how our lives can become defined by our past mishaps. Stay moves 2 wonderful women from a past that can can still be included in their present and leave them dreaming of a bright future together. Great Romance.
Ok, I do like this writer. Looking for Hemingway, Bronte, Harris, Koontz, or Sparks but what she is a a great Lesbian fiction writer. Give this book a try, you’ll like it!!
Lou and Alice had a lot of chemistry, it took me a while to like Alice, but I liked her after halfway through the book. Lou was so sweet, kind, and kind. I spent the whole book rooting for her. Fighting anxiety and depression is not easy. I liked the end!
A sweet second chance romance. I really enjoyed reading about Lou, anxious animal trainer and recovering addict, reconnecting with her first love Alice, a single parent to a young visually impaired daughter. I'm a sucker for complicated and nuanced characters and the author writes them with depth and believability.
The only slight niggle I have is that the elephant in the room wasn't addressed in the way that I felt it should have been. There was no big heart to heart about the reasons they separated years ago, and given that it was explicitly unresolved it felt to me like there will always be a tiny hairline crack in the foundation of the relationship. Despite this it was a hugely enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a real life romance with bumps and challenges along the way.
*Spoilers*.....I love Magnolia Robbins writing style, she always keeps you captivated. I could truly relate to this book. It talks about addiction and what was lost through addiction. Lou has struggles to forgive herself. Her addiction has caused her to lose the one thing that was the most important to her, Love! Fate has given her a chance to right the wrongs of her past. Lou and Alice meet again after there relationship ended abrutply, they get another chance to feel that love again.Fate has a funny way of popping up, and this book is about redemption, Love and finding your true self again. I gave it 5 stars because Magnolia was spot on, with her writing about addiction and the problems addicts and former addicts have faced.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Awersome story about a dog found following a rescue of a puppy farm.It's trained as a help dog for he martial sighted and blind. The woman Lou is also a recovering drug addict. Who helps to train them. The dog is the one she has been training for two years. This is a heartfelt story and well worth reading. Magnoia Robbins author did a wonderful job writing this,lol forward to reading more by her.
This has been the a interesting read, it. Was real with the use of depression and anxiety causing problems between two people so in love, I really enjoy a happy ending.
Lou and Alice had history. Lou was an addict. Alice was the one who walked away. Lou had a sponsor. Alice had an ex and a daughter. Their story looped around a bit but it was quite enjoyable. Read it for yourself. I think you'll enjoy it. I did. I read an Advanced Reader copy of this book and leaving a voluntary review.
This is an excellent story. Real people trying to have a good life while dealing with life and everything that it can throw at you. I loved all the characters,I love when you want to know them it means they are real to you and for me that is what makes a good story great. Then to top it all you are in dogs. Rescue dogs no less. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
Loved the story. Made me cry when the Shepard got hit by the car doing what dogs do best. Love books with dogs in then and the author defiantly nail Caspian, very obedient, loyal to a fault until distracted by something he can't resist, in this case a skunk. Very believable. Loved the read. Thank you.