Synopsis:
If you’re lucky, you’ll fall in love – truly, madly and
deeply in love. But what happens when
that honest and pure love isn’t enough to erase your fears? What happens when your past rears its ugly
head and threatens your future?
Maddy and Reid had that kind of love – the all-encompassing,
Earth shattering, once in a lifetime kind of love. Then life happened. Old wounds that were thought to be long healed
and scabbed over are ripped opened and they are forced to face the possibility
that, maybe, they are not strong enough to fight their demons and embrace the
light.
Together, they found out what love is, but now they will
each need to heal on their own before they can ever be together again. They must face their fears and beat down
their pasts in order to find their way through this crazy uphill battle called
love.
They’ve let love in, but now, they need to find out how to
Let Love Stay.
Becky S's 4 1/2 Star Review
I love a good book that when I am done I am speechless and let out a long and breathy sigh. I am also a fan of a series- more then one book that tell a continuing story. Let Love Stay was the ending to the Love Series that I was looking for.
Let Love Stay starts off where Let Love In left off (DING DING DING IF YOU HAVE NOT READ LET LOVE IN DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW- GO AND GET A COPY AND COME BACK WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THE SERIES). Reid is walking out of the hospital after whooping from Maddy after she finds out that she is pregnant. She tells him to go deal with his past and come back when he is ready to love her and the baby completely. Since you get both sides of the story, you see how both of them are dealing with the separation. Reid and Maddy are so lost without each other and you can actually feel the pain that they are going through. Reid thinks that it is his fault because he can't deal with his parents and his brothers death and their roll in it. Maddy feels that it is her fault because she was so shocked and emotional that she pushed his to do things that are not in his comfort zone and really none of her business.
As you can guess, they do get back together and that is the basic backbone of the story. How are they going to deal with the strong emotions that they feel at such a young age, as well as graduating college, internships, new jobs, and on top of that a baby on the way.
Let Love Stay tugs at your emotions like no other book I have read in the past 6 months. I love how it didn't try to sugar coat the tough times in life and make light of them. Melissa gets down deep and let you feel what Reid and Mady are feeling. It is a book that you will not soon forget and will want to recommend to all of your friends.
Excerpt:
I get out of the truck and walk over
towards the two of them. Maddy’s back is
to me as I approach her and her date, so she doesn’t see me right away. But once the guy sees me, she spins around to
look at what has caught his eye.
Her face is shocked and when our eyes
lock, my heart skips a beat. There’s a
pull between us. As much as I hate to
admit it, she owns me. Her eyes are
magical. They dance with light and
passion and when she looks at me, they are filled with love.
The love and passion that are sparkling
in her emerald green eyes evaporate when she realizes the scene that I’ve just
stumbled upon. I can only imagine what’s
going through her mind, but I’m sure the images of me kicking Logan’s ass are
flashing vividly through her mind.
I’m no more than a few feet from them
when the guy pushes Maddy behind him to protect her from what he perceives as a
threat. He’s not very far from the
truth, but she’s not the one who needs protecting.
Menacingly close now, he pipes up. “Who the fuck are you? What do you want?” Okay, I’ll give the prick a little bit of
credit for trying to stand up to me, but he has no clue what he’s competing
against here.
The caveman in me wants to deck this guy
and drag Maddy into a bed – any bed – and claim her, repeatedly, until she
understands that she’s mine and no one else’s.
I’m going to do that anyway, but hopefully I can refrain from knocking
this guy on his ass. I’d like to have
the use of my hands tonight.
My eyes never leave Maddy’s, but my
words are directed at him. “Me? I’m the boyfriend, asshole.” Maddy’s eyes widen slightly as I say “boyfriend.” Did she really think we ever broke up?
I avert my gaze from Maddy for a minute
to stare this douchebag down. “And who
the fuck do you think you are?” He
falters, not enough that most people would notice, but I’m in predator
mode. I see his throat work hard to
swallow past the newly formed fear. His
pupils dilate slightly and the pulse beating in his neck picks up as adrenaline
surges through him. If he thinks he’s
going to win this battle, he is wrong – so fucking wrong.
He puffs out his chest as he says, “I’m
Maddy’s date for tonight.” He snickers
lightly as he says, “You know? She never
mentioned a boyfriend when I asked her out.
Must not be much of a boyfriend if she doesn’t even mention you.” He swells with pride at his snarky little
quip. In the split second he looks away
from me to gauge Maddy’s approval, I lay him flat on the ground as I drop my
shoulder into his gut and take his legs out from underneath him with one of my
own. I freaking love my takedown skills. I didn’t even have to bust up my hands. I’m definitely going to need them in a little
bit.
I straddle over him and pull him up by
the collar. “Whether she mentioned me or
not, she’s mine, so lay the fuck off.
Got it?”
Maddy still hasn’t said a word and I
haven’t actually spoken directly to her.
I’m pretty sure she understands my actions though. Wordlessly, I reach my hand out to her. This is her chance. If she still wants me, then she’ll come with
me. This is who I am, who I’ve always
been. If she can’t understand that I
love her, that I want her more than anything, then it’s not because I haven’t
tried as hard as I possibly could to prove it to her.
Hand still outstretched, I look her
directly in the eyes, as I try to convey everything that I’m thinking, that I’m
feeling. In what feels like an act of
God, she understands me and laces her hand in mine.
Author Bio:
I’ve always been an avid reader. Majoring in English Literature was a no
brainer. Becoming a teacher and
instilling my love for reading into my students was also a no brainer. I’ve spent the last ten years teaching and
I’ve loved (mostly) every minute of it.
When I was home on maternity leave for my third son, I discovered a new
genre that sparked my creativity. My
passion for writing sprang from my love of reading and once I knew I had a
story to tell, I couldn’t wait to get it out there. I only hope that my readers enjoy reading my
story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Links:
Twitter - @mcollinsauthor
