Stay With Me by J. Lynn

Paperback, 448 pages
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Published by: William Morrow
Wait for You, #3
Source: Own (Pre-ordered)
For fans of: Romance, New Adult, Chick-lit, Companion, Contemporary Romance, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction

     At 21, Calla hasn’t done a lot of things. She’s never been kissed, never seen the ocean, never gone to an amusement park. But growing up, she witnessed some things no child ever should. She still carries the physical and emotional scars of living with a strung-out mother, Mona—secrets she keeps from everyone, including her close circle of college friends.
     But the safe cocoon Calla has carefully built is shattered when she discovers her mom has stolen her college money and run up a huge credit card debt in her name. Now, Calla has to go back to the small town she thought she'd left behind and clean up her mom’s mess again. Of course, when she arrives at her mother’s bar, Mona is nowhere to be found. Instead, six feet of hotness named Jackson James is pouring drinks and keeping the place humming.
     Sexy and intense, Jax is in Calla’s business from the moment they meet, giving her a job and helping her search for Mona. And the way he looks at her makes it clear he wants to get horizontal . . . and maybe something more. Before Calla can let him get close, though, she’s got to deal with the pain of the past—and some very bad guys out to mess her up if she doesn’t give them her mom.
 BETWEEN THE COVERS!

*This book is part of the new adult contemporary romance genre! It is more mature than both MG & YA. I have featured it in Between the Covers as a way to feature the few Adult and New Adult titles I am beginning to read!"

*MY THOUGHTS*

     So, we all know how much of a fan of JLA I am. Especially this series. Cam *ahem* Wait for You  and Trust in Me were good, but then I read Jase um well Be With Me and I fell so hard for him. So hard I was a little skeptical about Jax in this book. But he turned out to be amazing all the same. (Not as good as Jase, but still....)
"...most really smart people are insane."
pg. 6
     This was actually my favorite book of the series, because everything just felt so real. I loved this book because Calla felt so real. Her insecurities were real and they felt real. Although those things mattered so much to her, everyone that loved and cared about her hardly thought of them. I'm not gonna lie, it kind of hurt my own heart to see her feel that way about herself. Especially since bing described in other books she was described as gorgeous. And her personality really stood out. I liked how she called herself a realist, but she was really insecure. So much so, she never gave anyone a chance.
"Tequila was the wild juice of the devil and I'd never partake in it again."
pg. 159
     And then there's the mess that her family has created for her. Well her mother at least. She had spent her entire adult life trying to convince herself that the "home" she had left behind while at college didn't exist, but a rude awakening caused all those memories to come rushing back. As she maes her way back to her past, she sees what all she has been missing. On the surface it doesn't look like much, but as things get brought into focus, she understands that she was missing more than she thought.
"There's a world out there that doesn't operate by right and wrong and all we can do is try and minimalize the collateral damage."
pg. 188
     Enter Jax or Jackson. He was the tale-tale New Adult man whore and lives back home where Calla is from. At first she thought he was hot and bossy. But as she got to know him, she learned so much more about him. About how caring and strong he was. Jax is a great man with many secrets that unraveled as he began to open up. I really liked seeing the vulnerable part of him. It made him to seem more real. And Good Lord the man reads! HOLY. HOTNESS. (Btw, the book he was reading was actually about a dude that went to my alma mater Sam Houston!!!) But the best thing about Jax was the way he treated Calla. He made her feel beautiful although she had never met anyone like that before. He made her finally feel like she belonged with someone and that she could be loved. I can't respect him enough for that.
"So many people out there think they can handle shit aloine, when in reality a first grader knows when they need help."
pg. 190
     Jax and Calla together are dynamite. Cute together, but explosive when they're angry. These two definitely had some serious arguments through out this one, but when they were together, it was beautiful. Their romance was real and as I said, I loved that Jax made Calla feel as if nothing was wrong with her or her body. But although I liked him, he wasn't my favorite boy from this series. The winner is still Jase.
"The best things in life are rarely good ideas."
pg. 192
     After reading this, I can see so many more stories opening up. I'm hoping we get Reece's and Roxy's next. That or at least a novella like Ollie and Brittany's.  No matter where it goes, I want to see *spoiler* Avery and Cam's wedding *end spoiler*, what happens with Jase and Tessa, and Calla and Jax along with Mona's.
Overall, I give this 

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