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Stay
I simply climbed into the car - and into the life - of perfect strangers.
When nineteen-year-old Caitlin leaves her boyfriend in Europe and hitches back home, she accepts a lift from a young family who convince her to break the journey for the night at their remote country house. Then lockdown happens.
Caitlin agrees to tutor their daughters, but this is no ordinary place: they have no internet and her phone mysteriously disappears. The charming Marcus seduces her, seemingly with the consent of his calm and beautiful wife, Mimi, but when their sinister motives slowly unravel, Caitlin is truly trapped.
Can she escape with the children before it is too late?
When nineteen-year-old Caitlin leaves her boyfriend in Europe and hitches back home, she accepts a lift from a young family who convince her to break the journey for the night at their remote country house. Then lockdown happens.
Caitlin agrees to tutor their daughters, but this is no ordinary place: they have no internet and her phone mysteriously disappears. The charming Marcus seduces her, seemingly with the consent of his calm and beautiful wife, Mimi, but when their sinister motives slowly unravel, Caitlin is truly trapped.
Can she escape with the children before it is too late?
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2023
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991 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
January 6, 2024
And the award for the first 1* review of 2024 goes to……….. this book!
It was slow in the beginning, it was slow in the middle and it was slow at the end. Weird book!
It was slow in the beginning, it was slow in the middle and it was slow at the end. Weird book!
August 31, 2023
I received a gifted copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Random Things Tours.
Stay is a slow burn psychological thriller set during the covid 19 pandemic. We follow Caitlin, who's returned to the UK from Italy after discovering her boyfriends betrayals. Due to having very little money left, Caitlin accepts a lift from a couple with two young girls. After being persuaded to accompany them to their house and home school, their children. But somethings abit off with the couple and their seemingly innocent arrangement, and before Caitlin knows it, she's not only in too deep, but she's isolated and unsure who she can trust. Caitlins character was rather naive and annoying at times, but this just added to the story, and she could get away with it in part due to her age. This had a great ending and I couldn't put it down.
Stay is a slow burn psychological thriller set during the covid 19 pandemic. We follow Caitlin, who's returned to the UK from Italy after discovering her boyfriends betrayals. Due to having very little money left, Caitlin accepts a lift from a couple with two young girls. After being persuaded to accompany them to their house and home school, their children. But somethings abit off with the couple and their seemingly innocent arrangement, and before Caitlin knows it, she's not only in too deep, but she's isolated and unsure who she can trust. Caitlins character was rather naive and annoying at times, but this just added to the story, and she could get away with it in part due to her age. This had a great ending and I couldn't put it down.
August 20, 2023
Caitlin returns from Europe, feeling hurt and furious by the betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend. She wants to be far away from them, but she also doesn’t want to be home. So when a car pulls up with a smiling and welcoming family inside who encourage her to relax for a few days in their peaceful countryside home, she doesn’t hesitate. Then a few days becomes a week and before Caitlin realises it she’s ensconced in the world of Marcus and Mimi and their young children. But something is not quite right about this perfect family. However, by the time Caitlin realises this, it may be too late…
Fact. I love Jane Bailey. Sorry Isn’t Good Enough was one of my favourite books of 2023. This one is very different; a creepy psychological thriller which is filled with foreboding and unease. Told in the first person, entirely from Caitlin’s perspective, this gave me the opportunity to really get to know and like the character - and share in her dawning realisation that something is very wrong in this isolated countryside home and that Marcus and Mimi couldn’t be any further removed from her first impressions. I felt fearful for her safety and apprehensive for her escape and as a result, couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough.
With the covid lockdown lurking in the background, this is a superbly creepy and sinister story which will slowly draw you in, quickly grab you and then make you stay.
Just like what happened to Caitlin.
Be careful!
Fact. I love Jane Bailey. Sorry Isn’t Good Enough was one of my favourite books of 2023. This one is very different; a creepy psychological thriller which is filled with foreboding and unease. Told in the first person, entirely from Caitlin’s perspective, this gave me the opportunity to really get to know and like the character - and share in her dawning realisation that something is very wrong in this isolated countryside home and that Marcus and Mimi couldn’t be any further removed from her first impressions. I felt fearful for her safety and apprehensive for her escape and as a result, couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough.
With the covid lockdown lurking in the background, this is a superbly creepy and sinister story which will slowly draw you in, quickly grab you and then make you stay.
Just like what happened to Caitlin.
Be careful!
July 7, 2023
Caitlin has decided to leave her boyfriend in Italy where they have been staying and travel home to England at the start of the Covid Pandemic.
Short of cash when she arrives in England she accepts a lift from a family with two young girls, on the journey they persuade her to come home with them to help look after their daughters.
Caitlin was an annoying and unlikeable character but her story was worth reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Short of cash when she arrives in England she accepts a lift from a family with two young girls, on the journey they persuade her to come home with them to help look after their daughters.
Caitlin was an annoying and unlikeable character but her story was worth reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 4, 2023
Although I had a hard time fully empathizing with the main character and hated most of his decisions, to the point where I thought about abandoning the book, at the end she was just a teenager and a good person, with a good heart. But it definitely negatively influenced my opinion about this book.
The main story in general is very entertaining and captivating, but I think the part about the family and friends of the protagonist was a bit unnecessary and disturbing. I did liked that COVID was part of the theme of the book.
In general, good book, but it could have been told in a more enjoyable way, without so much unnecessary detail that did not contribute to the story.
The main story in general is very entertaining and captivating, but I think the part about the family and friends of the protagonist was a bit unnecessary and disturbing. I did liked that COVID was part of the theme of the book.
In general, good book, but it could have been told in a more enjoyable way, without so much unnecessary detail that did not contribute to the story.
August 11, 2023
‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord’ (Romans 12:15)
I think that, as a writer, you are getting yourself into quite a lot of (trouble) if you want to write a novel based on the Anna Karenina principle. After all, the opening line of the novel does not lie. 'Every weird family is weird in its own way.'
I have read Karenina many times, in various languages and in various translations - so I had high expectations when the book opened with this sentence.
As the basis for this novel, the author has chosen the young and immature Caitlin as the narrator and observer of both the families she is/becomes a part of. Through her inner monologue, we also get to know the family dynamics of her own family in Cornwall.
Cailtin is hitchhiking home when she is picked up by a family with two daughters, who offer her a lift to Gloucester. As it is already late, they offer her to stay the night so that she can continue her journey the next day. She may stay overnight with a hippy, happy, touchy-feely, eco-warrior family living on a remote 'working farm', where they have gone all the way back to a natural lifestyle, so no internet, no phones, and no wifi.
When much of the world goes into lockdown because of the Covid pandemic, Caitlin is asked to stay on as a nanny-tutor for the two girls.
The book is peppered with sexual fantasies, and expectations, and we regularly share Caitlins desires of threesomes, and other sex-orientated fantasies, some rather explicit.
Caitlin ends up having a passionate relationship with Marcus, and for the first time in her life she feels she is truly loved.
The reader is deliberately kept in the dark about the family relationships between Marcus and Mimi and their children, because later Marcus confesses to Cailtin that they are not married and that he would like to marry her.
This 'simple' story about a young woman who spends a lockdown on a family's farm is not a psychological thriller, nor a love story, but rather a tale of fate, chance, powerlessness and the extreme consequences of love on a deeper level.
Via Cailtin we get a peek into the tragedies each character suffers, their misery and joy and ultimately, their infidelity. This is a story about (sexual) desires, about family relations, marriage (-bonds), and what life is all about, namely living well, love & death.
In this story, love and its consequences are rather sad and cruel. (home deliveries that go wrong). You loathe and condemn certain characters, while holding others in your heart..
I think it's quite a risk to narrate Tolstoy's masterpiece by a 19-year-old. And you may wonder whether the form in which this novel is cast lends itself to that. (psychological thriller).
In the beginning, I had my doubts, and given the high number of low ratings, there are many readers who missed this reference.
So read and shudder and judge for yourself, as said before, the author has taken quite a risk by taking a young, immature woman as protagonist; however, she cannot be blamed entirely for the silly mistakes she makes, as to understand life’s hardship, love and tragedy and the driving forces behind peoples’ actions one must have one’s adolescent years behind them.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this arc. I leave this review voluntarily.
** Publication date: August 17, 2023 **
I think that, as a writer, you are getting yourself into quite a lot of (trouble) if you want to write a novel based on the Anna Karenina principle. After all, the opening line of the novel does not lie. 'Every weird family is weird in its own way.'
I have read Karenina many times, in various languages and in various translations - so I had high expectations when the book opened with this sentence.
As the basis for this novel, the author has chosen the young and immature Caitlin as the narrator and observer of both the families she is/becomes a part of. Through her inner monologue, we also get to know the family dynamics of her own family in Cornwall.
Cailtin is hitchhiking home when she is picked up by a family with two daughters, who offer her a lift to Gloucester. As it is already late, they offer her to stay the night so that she can continue her journey the next day. She may stay overnight with a hippy, happy, touchy-feely, eco-warrior family living on a remote 'working farm', where they have gone all the way back to a natural lifestyle, so no internet, no phones, and no wifi.
When much of the world goes into lockdown because of the Covid pandemic, Caitlin is asked to stay on as a nanny-tutor for the two girls.
The book is peppered with sexual fantasies, and expectations, and we regularly share Caitlins desires of threesomes, and other sex-orientated fantasies, some rather explicit.
Caitlin ends up having a passionate relationship with Marcus, and for the first time in her life she feels she is truly loved.
The reader is deliberately kept in the dark about the family relationships between Marcus and Mimi and their children, because later Marcus confesses to Cailtin that they are not married and that he would like to marry her.
This 'simple' story about a young woman who spends a lockdown on a family's farm is not a psychological thriller, nor a love story, but rather a tale of fate, chance, powerlessness and the extreme consequences of love on a deeper level.
Via Cailtin we get a peek into the tragedies each character suffers, their misery and joy and ultimately, their infidelity. This is a story about (sexual) desires, about family relations, marriage (-bonds), and what life is all about, namely living well, love & death.
In this story, love and its consequences are rather sad and cruel. (home deliveries that go wrong). You loathe and condemn certain characters, while holding others in your heart..
I think it's quite a risk to narrate Tolstoy's masterpiece by a 19-year-old. And you may wonder whether the form in which this novel is cast lends itself to that. (psychological thriller).
In the beginning, I had my doubts, and given the high number of low ratings, there are many readers who missed this reference.
So read and shudder and judge for yourself, as said before, the author has taken quite a risk by taking a young, immature woman as protagonist; however, she cannot be blamed entirely for the silly mistakes she makes, as to understand life’s hardship, love and tragedy and the driving forces behind peoples’ actions one must have one’s adolescent years behind them.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for this arc. I leave this review voluntarily.
** Publication date: August 17, 2023 **
July 29, 2023
Jane Bailey is a new author to me, and I really enjoyed this story about nineteen-year-old Caitlin, who, running away from her boyfriend and some painful betrayals, takes refuge, on the eve of the first lockdown, with a seemingly lovely family in rural Gloucestershire.
Marcus, Mimi and their two daughters seem nice, if a little odd from the outset, and Caitlin agrees to stay for a while to home-school the girls now the schools are closed. (Remember when it was going to be for three weeks?) But there's a lot going on under the surface in and around this house, and she's soon in deeper than she ever expected, unsure who she can trust.
Yes, it's a slow burn, but none the worse for that - and the final denouement is very tense.
I liked the pandemic being a backdrop for the plot - it happened, we can't ignore it. There's a fair bit of talk about not breaking lockdown rules and this being a hindrance to certain courses of action - but it was always permissible to do so in a genuine emergency. (Downing Street leaving do's don't count.)
Caitlin's actions are certainly foolish at times - she seems to know it herself, even while she's in the throes of doing them - but she's only nineteen. I don't know about you, but I was an idiot when I was nineteen. I liked her character regardless, and the bond she develops with the girls.
Jane Bailey writes very well, with some lovely turns of phrase, and I found this a really enjoyable read.
Marcus, Mimi and their two daughters seem nice, if a little odd from the outset, and Caitlin agrees to stay for a while to home-school the girls now the schools are closed. (Remember when it was going to be for three weeks?) But there's a lot going on under the surface in and around this house, and she's soon in deeper than she ever expected, unsure who she can trust.
Yes, it's a slow burn, but none the worse for that - and the final denouement is very tense.
I liked the pandemic being a backdrop for the plot - it happened, we can't ignore it. There's a fair bit of talk about not breaking lockdown rules and this being a hindrance to certain courses of action - but it was always permissible to do so in a genuine emergency. (Downing Street leaving do's don't count.)
Caitlin's actions are certainly foolish at times - she seems to know it herself, even while she's in the throes of doing them - but she's only nineteen. I don't know about you, but I was an idiot when I was nineteen. I liked her character regardless, and the bond she develops with the girls.
Jane Bailey writes very well, with some lovely turns of phrase, and I found this a really enjoyable read.
August 3, 2023
I made it! Stay is one of those books for me where the synopsis tells you it will be an amazing book, the kind you really like reading and then disappoints you completely. The story about Caitlin coming back to England after a relationship went wrong, without money or much else, getting a lift from a nice looking family and even stays at their house for a night... ending up staying longer, but feeling something is wrong. Well it does sound intriguing! But seriously Caitlin's character is so bland, annoying, selfish and the story is weak. Too many revelations are showing up to make it believable. The book has just over sixty chapters and I dragged myself through the first forty. The last twenty chapters of the book were okay to good, but by then I had suffered. Without those twenty last chapters, this book would have become one of the few books I ever gave one star.
May 12, 2024
This book is a tense, fast paced thriller. I literally could not put it down and read it in one sitting.
Without spoilers, it explores some very sensitive subjects and the complex way in which real people would react. The characters are imperfect and believable, making it very easy to get emotionally invested in the story.
Without spoilers, it explores some very sensitive subjects and the complex way in which real people would react. The characters are imperfect and believable, making it very easy to get emotionally invested in the story.
May 1, 2024
I had the pleasure of meeting Jane at our local book club and few weeks back. I was really intrigued straight away by her life story and love listening to hear talk about this book (and others), so it made me really excited to read this one and it didn't disappoint! This book follows a girl named Caitlin who has returned from Italy after being betrayed by her boyfriend and her best friend. Whilst hitchhiking back to her home in Cornwall, she is offered a bed for the night from a friendly family who live in Gloucestershire, however when she arrives all isn't as it seems and before she knows it, she's in to deep and has to try and find a way to escape! This book had me hooked from the start, although it was a 'slow burn', the writing style really reeled me in! I found it so easy to read and follow along and loved the storyline. Sometimes I was a little frustrated with Caitlin's naivety, but it felt intentional to the build up of the story. Would recommend and I will definitely be picking up another Jane Bailey book!
June 14, 2023
This is my first book by Jane Bailey and was chosen as a buddy read along with 12 other TBC members last month.
Stay is narrated by 19 year old Caitlin, who has just left her boyfriend in Europe to return home with literally the clothes on her back arriving as the Covid-19 pandemic starts. Stuck in the UK with no phone or money, a young family offer to take her home for the night which Caitlin accepts. However, when the UK goes into Lockdown the following day and Caitlin is reluctant to go home to face her family, she agrees to stay with the family on their isolated farm to home-school their 2 girls.
However, it quickly turns into a living nightmare when she finds herself cut off from everyone with no phone, internet or escape. Slowly realising what she’s got herself involved in, she begins to plan her escape and more importantly save the two young girls she has grown to care for.
I really enjoyed the way Caitlin narrated her story, it becomes obvious from the start that something terrible has happened and despite her naivity it’s easy to see why she was fooled by this seemingly normal couple Marcus and Mimi.
Without giving anything away, this story does have some uncomfortable themes running throughout it and those who are triggered by child abuse or cults should be aware that these topics are covered in detail.
An enjoyable page-turner.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stay is narrated by 19 year old Caitlin, who has just left her boyfriend in Europe to return home with literally the clothes on her back arriving as the Covid-19 pandemic starts. Stuck in the UK with no phone or money, a young family offer to take her home for the night which Caitlin accepts. However, when the UK goes into Lockdown the following day and Caitlin is reluctant to go home to face her family, she agrees to stay with the family on their isolated farm to home-school their 2 girls.
However, it quickly turns into a living nightmare when she finds herself cut off from everyone with no phone, internet or escape. Slowly realising what she’s got herself involved in, she begins to plan her escape and more importantly save the two young girls she has grown to care for.
I really enjoyed the way Caitlin narrated her story, it becomes obvious from the start that something terrible has happened and despite her naivity it’s easy to see why she was fooled by this seemingly normal couple Marcus and Mimi.
Without giving anything away, this story does have some uncomfortable themes running throughout it and those who are triggered by child abuse or cults should be aware that these topics are covered in detail.
An enjoyable page-turner.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
August 3, 2024
i can sum this up in one word....
NO
NO
July 25, 2023
After a betrayal from her boyfriend, Caitlin hurriedly leaves France before COVID lockdowns kick in. Hitchhiking on the side of the road she's picked up by Marcus and Mimi and their 2 daughters. And when they offer her a job tutoring the girls, with no hurry to go home, Caitlin accepts. But it soon becomes apparent to her that not everything or everyone in the house is as they seem, and she worries about the safety of her and the 2 sisters. But is she trapped because if lockdown or something more sinister
I enjoyed the storyline of this book and thought it was very clever to incorporate Covid restrictions to cover up what was happening in the story, I found Caitlin to be quite naive and easily pleased at the beginning, however her character did grow on me by the end of the novel and she showed more strength and was very protective of the girls
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for this advanced copy, I'm under no obligation to leave my review
3.5 rounded up to 4
I enjoyed the storyline of this book and thought it was very clever to incorporate Covid restrictions to cover up what was happening in the story, I found Caitlin to be quite naive and easily pleased at the beginning, however her character did grow on me by the end of the novel and she showed more strength and was very protective of the girls
Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for this advanced copy, I'm under no obligation to leave my review
3.5 rounded up to 4
August 18, 2023
Stay is my first book by Jane Bailey. It is a fast-paced and fairly engrossing read. Nineteen year old Caitlin Polglaze abruptly leaves her ex- boyfriend and two traveling friends
to return home. News of the pandemic is getting serious and warnings against travel are already starting to appear. Caitlin is not anxious to face her family as she is embarrassed and disappointed that her trip and relationship did not go as planned. She is offered a ride by a friendly couple with two daughters, and she eagerly accepts. After spending the night, they encourage Caitlin to stay on and tutor their daughters, Daisy, age 5 and Henna, 13.
As is often the case, things are not what they seem. The friendly couple seem to have many secrets, and soon Caitlyn wishes she never accepted the ride and plans to leave- also not as easy as she anticipated.
I was constantly amazed at how naive and trusting Caitlin was; she seemed so immature and gullible. It negatively impacted my enjoyment of the book. All in all though, Stay is a timely and satisfying novel. 3.5 Stars.
I received an ARC through NetGalley, although appreciative, it no way impacted my review.
to return home. News of the pandemic is getting serious and warnings against travel are already starting to appear. Caitlin is not anxious to face her family as she is embarrassed and disappointed that her trip and relationship did not go as planned. She is offered a ride by a friendly couple with two daughters, and she eagerly accepts. After spending the night, they encourage Caitlin to stay on and tutor their daughters, Daisy, age 5 and Henna, 13.
As is often the case, things are not what they seem. The friendly couple seem to have many secrets, and soon Caitlyn wishes she never accepted the ride and plans to leave- also not as easy as she anticipated.
I was constantly amazed at how naive and trusting Caitlin was; she seemed so immature and gullible. It negatively impacted my enjoyment of the book. All in all though, Stay is a timely and satisfying novel. 3.5 Stars.
I received an ARC through NetGalley, although appreciative, it no way impacted my review.
October 29, 2025
This book is horrible... The story seems ok at first but did someone get paid for editing this book!!!? Please get a refund. Incorrect character names are used multiple times. The newest breeder's name is used for the one that is already buried in the backyard.... At one point Kal asks to "follow" the mum but in the same sentence says Mum was relieved she no longer had to worry about navigating home and was following Kal.... 😬 The ending was sugar coated, boring and unrealistic. It is set in 2020 and yes, out of the US, but come on you cannot just take a couple of kids and keep them as your own no matter what the circumstances are. If this book was free, I paid too much.... but I'm pretty sure I bought it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2024
3.5 stars ⭐️
July 16, 2023
Stay by Jane Bailey
Release Date August 17, 2023
Publisher Orion Publishing Group
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5
Jane Bailey has written a psychological thriller that is guaranteed to keep you entertained and enthralled from the first to the last page. I had to keep reading to see what happened at the end. You won’t be disappointed.
Caitlin was supposed to have a great summer in Italy but all of the changed after she was betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend. She decides to hitchhike back home with little to nothing with her. A family pulls over to help her and since they look normal and Caitlin feels safe, she hops in their car. She stays the night at their house and really just wants to stay away from her family as long a possible. So when the family wants her to stay longer, she thinks nothing of it. That is until someone tells her she needs to get away. Things start really getting strange when she is asked to homeschool the children with no internet access and then the coupe de gras was when her phone went missing. Now she has no way to call for help if needed. She has also become very fond of the girls and decides to try to make an escape with them. But can she pull it off? What will happen to Caitlin if they catch her? The ending will bring everything together and will blow your mind. I love, love, love Bailey’s writing style and how she developed her characters. Flawed, yet bad ass.
5+++ stars
Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
Release Date August 17, 2023
Publisher Orion Publishing Group
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5
Jane Bailey has written a psychological thriller that is guaranteed to keep you entertained and enthralled from the first to the last page. I had to keep reading to see what happened at the end. You won’t be disappointed.
Caitlin was supposed to have a great summer in Italy but all of the changed after she was betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend. She decides to hitchhike back home with little to nothing with her. A family pulls over to help her and since they look normal and Caitlin feels safe, she hops in their car. She stays the night at their house and really just wants to stay away from her family as long a possible. So when the family wants her to stay longer, she thinks nothing of it. That is until someone tells her she needs to get away. Things start really getting strange when she is asked to homeschool the children with no internet access and then the coupe de gras was when her phone went missing. Now she has no way to call for help if needed. She has also become very fond of the girls and decides to try to make an escape with them. But can she pull it off? What will happen to Caitlin if they catch her? The ending will bring everything together and will blow your mind. I love, love, love Bailey’s writing style and how she developed her characters. Flawed, yet bad ass.
5+++ stars
Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
June 6, 2023
I did really enjoy it but I did find it hard to get into at first. I found Caitlin annoying but then reminded myself she was only 19! I kept thinking she sounded a lot older so some things didn't really gel for me.
The story itself, I thought was really interesting and I haven't really read anything like that before. The lockdown references gave it a 'real' element too.
4 ⭐️ from me as it was mainly well-written, the setting was described well and the characters were interesting and believable, in the main.
The story itself, I thought was really interesting and I haven't really read anything like that before. The lockdown references gave it a 'real' element too.
4 ⭐️ from me as it was mainly well-written, the setting was described well and the characters were interesting and believable, in the main.
February 2, 2024
This book really dragged on for me. I found it really boring and very predicable from early on. There are books where I guess correctly the twists and reveals but still immensely enjoy the journey of reaching the end. This book I didn't. For so much of the story nothing really happens. And though this wasn't exactly a story about a 'cult', it was similar enough to be derivative. The gullible 'member' who falls for the charismatic 'leader' yadda yadda. And boy was Caitlin gullible bordering on stupid, or as Mimi would prefer 'daft'. Pretty much a snoozefest for me.
November 2, 2024
Struggling with how I feel about this one. While it was Intense & twisty, there were too many poor & unrealistic decisions made by the main character. There needed to be more twists or intense events.
Also some editorial mistakes made it hard to follow a few times ( like using the wrong character name)
It’s a shame because it really could have been great.
Also some editorial mistakes made it hard to follow a few times ( like using the wrong character name)
It’s a shame because it really could have been great.
September 17, 2023
I am in two minds about this book. For me the main character Caitlin was so naive and living with one dysfunctional family was bad enough but moving from bad to murderous was just too much. It was a good read but could have been so much more.
Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc.
Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc.
April 9, 2024
Too darn long with too many sub plots.
July 30, 2024
Slow, wrong names used sometimes so made me confused - not impressed
October 15, 2023
3.5 - I'm torn about my review for this one.
Pros: This story, the twists, the dangers she faces, and how everything pans out were incredibly interesting to the point where I would definitely recommend this book to others, so long as they can deal with the main character making many illogical and silly decisions real life people would probably never make. I'll say probably though, because who knows. However, I absolutely loved the story line!
Cons (SPOILER ALERT): I know first hand how easy it is to leave an abusive or just toxic relationship just to end up in another one. Not every woman in these situations can break this trend. However, she hardly knows this man at all (only two short weeks), and after confirming that he was lying to her, stealing from her, restricting her access to the outside world, harboring a ton of abusive tendencies, and many other more revelations she finds out, she still stays. Well, I guess that's why the book is called "Stay,"? Haha But it's not just that she stays, she even begins to sleep with him. After all of those red flags? I could understand if she had been very invested in this relationship for more than a few months, but two weeks? I don't see this ever happening.
Even after realizing they were illegally burying bodies, she had enough ammunition to flee and have officials take them down and sort everything out. Yet, she doesn't go. Covid never prevented people from fleeing criminals, so I just don't buy the premise on which this all happened. I understand it's because she later decides to take the girls with her and she doesn't want them to end up in a home. However, her delay in taking action essentially led to even more nights of the daughter being sexually abused.
I really just didn't believe the reactions of the main character for even a minute. However, the story line and all the fear elements of the books were interesting enough to make up for it.
Pros: This story, the twists, the dangers she faces, and how everything pans out were incredibly interesting to the point where I would definitely recommend this book to others, so long as they can deal with the main character making many illogical and silly decisions real life people would probably never make. I'll say probably though, because who knows. However, I absolutely loved the story line!
Cons (SPOILER ALERT): I know first hand how easy it is to leave an abusive or just toxic relationship just to end up in another one. Not every woman in these situations can break this trend. However, she hardly knows this man at all (only two short weeks), and after confirming that he was lying to her, stealing from her, restricting her access to the outside world, harboring a ton of abusive tendencies, and many other more revelations she finds out, she still stays. Well, I guess that's why the book is called "Stay,"? Haha But it's not just that she stays, she even begins to sleep with him. After all of those red flags? I could understand if she had been very invested in this relationship for more than a few months, but two weeks? I don't see this ever happening.
Even after realizing they were illegally burying bodies, she had enough ammunition to flee and have officials take them down and sort everything out. Yet, she doesn't go. Covid never prevented people from fleeing criminals, so I just don't buy the premise on which this all happened. I understand it's because she later decides to take the girls with her and she doesn't want them to end up in a home. However, her delay in taking action essentially led to even more nights of the daughter being sexually abused.
I really just didn't believe the reactions of the main character for even a minute. However, the story line and all the fear elements of the books were interesting enough to make up for it.
December 27, 2023
The final rating is a 3.5 stars!
I read this book as a buddy read with Dan & we quickly became hooked. It was an easy to get into psychological thriller. I enjoyed the isolated setting and it does touch on dark themes (check TWs) which I enjoyed and found it made it unique. However, I did find there were parts where it dragged & not much was going on? I also would’ve preferred the escape to have occurred differently and found the ending to brush off quickly? I feel the ending could’ve been executed better but the overall idea & storyline was good! A fun buddy read!
I read this book as a buddy read with Dan & we quickly became hooked. It was an easy to get into psychological thriller. I enjoyed the isolated setting and it does touch on dark themes (check TWs) which I enjoyed and found it made it unique. However, I did find there were parts where it dragged & not much was going on? I also would’ve preferred the escape to have occurred differently and found the ending to brush off quickly? I feel the ending could’ve been executed better but the overall idea & storyline was good! A fun buddy read!
March 12, 2024
Great description of the characters and area they live in throughout the book but the ending did feel rushed. Not a believable story in this day and age but when it is a story you have to try and put those thoughts to one side.
May 20, 2024
Totally loved this intense thriller!
February 17, 2025
Wow!
Thanks to the author for my digital copy.
Thanks to the author for my digital copy.
October 19, 2024
This book had a very slow start and the writing style wasn't my favorite but once the book picked up I had to know what was gonna happen. Not a 5 for me but not terrible!
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