Saving Stella: A dark love story

by Ashley St. Clare

Kindle Edition

Published May 12, 2021

About the author

A budding novelist of forbidden love stories, Ashley St. Clare lives for the illicit, the forbidden, the clandestine...

She is currently working on a literary experiment, a novel of forbidden love between one teenaged writer and an accomplished author four scandalous decades older. Their passion, set against the backdrop of the South Carolina salt marshes, will resonate with the reader even after the story is over.

The Novelist by Ashley St. Clare~ coming soon

Reviews

[Mindy Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some spoilers throughout review......





Not sure how I feel about this one. There was a lot of build up and tension.........the climax ended up being disappointing. Stella was married to an evil SOB that had abused her for years. Bran moved next door and was instantly attracted to her. He was sweetly protective and even a bit obsessed when it came to her. There was great potential there but too many holes/inconsistencies left the story incomplete.

Bram was supposedly this big hot shot that worked in security yet some of his actions made no sense. Did he not think her husband would retaliate after he bid on her? Did he not think something was obviously wrong when an abuse victim abruptly stops coming outside? It made it seem like he was going to have a friend look into her or the husband yet nothing else was ever said about it. With all the ways he was gathering information about Stella, he seemed a bit clueless.

The sex thing was such a disappointment. It was hinted at that he enjoyed some aspects of bdsm. I thought it would be interesting to see how he worked that in with a woman who had endured what Stella had. We don’t get any of that. We literally get one vanilla sex scene. He tries to sound a little dominant but it comes off as more of an act. Also, the “I love you” literally came out of NOWHERE. There was no build up to it at all.

I would have liked to see her family play a bigger part in the story considering her reasons for staying with the evil bastard. I would have liked to see how her and Bram’s relationship progressed. I would have liked to see her gradually be introduced to a healthy/consensual dominance/submission lifestyle.

I get that this is more of a short story but too much was left out for it to feel complete.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with the past books I've read from Ashley, I completely devoured this in one day.

Stella is married to an absolutely horrible man who mentally and physically abuses her, yet she can't leave him. Stella is so strong throughout this book, she stays with him for a reason and when you find out why, you can't help but love her more. She's selfless, broken but so strong.
Then you have Drac, the next door neighbour. He's tall, handsome, and the complete opposite of her husband. He's wonderful. This book has a lot of drama, intense moments and two main characters that will steal your heart.

There are possible triggers for people as this does have descriptions of domestic violence but you do get a well deserved HEA for Stella. I would of loved for this to have been longer to really get to know more of Stella and Drac.

[Ingrid Melendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope in Unexpected Places

Even though the story felt short it was a good seamless read that took us through Stella's hardship, her deliverance and finding love from whom she least expected. Bram was the hero that any woman would love to have by their side. It was a good read.