Stay With Me
Series: She's With Me #2
Author: Jessica Cunsolo
Published December 1st 2020 by Wattpad Books

Goodreads Synopsis
Love has never been more dangerous.

In the sequel to her riveting debut, She’s With Me, Wattpad superstar Jessica Cunsolo brings us the dramatic continuation of a romance that always defies the odds...

Amelia Collins finally finds happiness in the arms of Aiden Parker, who accepts her for who she is―even when their pasts become hopelessly entangled in their present and threaten to completely unravel their futures. As Aiden’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit and struggles to keep his family together, Amelia fights a battle of her own: how to tell Aiden she needs to leave.

Determined to put real life on hold for just a little bit longer, Amelia and her friends leave the chaos of King City behind for a beach house and holiday celebrations. Still, it’s only a matter of time before close quarters reveal their secrets and Aiden fully understands the awful truth about the man pursuing Amelia.

Amelia knows she can’t outrun the painful memories of the past and killer’s obsession with her. Her beloved friends are in danger, and she will not let them be harmed. Overwhelmed by love but haunted by fear, Amelia must decide if staying with the person she loves is worth risking his life.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Following the explosive climax of She's With Me, we see how Amelia and the rest of the gang deal with the fallout. Aiden has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his abusive step-father, and he knows the truth about Amelia's name, and history. When Aiden gets released on bail, the whole friendship group, and his two younger brothers, decide to leave King City for a while, and spend the winter holidays in a beach house a few hours away. They all need an escape, and Amelia hopes to have a final hurrah before her and her mam are moved again and given new identities by the witness protection programme. But the past comes to haunt them, and when tensions within the group come to a head, will they be able to stay together, or will the truth come out?

Honestly, I don't know why I haven't read this book sooner. I loved She's With Me, and was approved for the sequel as soon as it was available, but I must've forgotten about it on my kindle to-read shelf. It was only when I was auto-approved for the final book in the trilogy, Still With Me, that I remembered I hadn't read this one yet either. Stay With Me was as good as the first book, if not better. Now that we as the audience, and Aiden, know the truth about why Amelia has been hiding things, and doesn't want to be in any photos or social media, we learn so much more about them all. I love the dynamic within the friendship group, and though I could've done without the potential love triangle happening, I was gripped with everything that happened in the book. It was clearly setting up for a big showdown in book 3 with Tony, but the events surrounding the murder of the step dad, and Aiden meeting his real father, kept me hooked. Aiden and Amelia's relationship went leaps and bounds too, and I love how open and honest they are with each other, though they both can be stubborn at times, and extremely protective.

Dates Read:
August 21, 2021

Rating
4 Stars