Review: Stay - Deb Caletti

I received Stay by Deb Caletti from the Simon & Schuster Galley Grab Program.

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is--and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

This is my first Deb Caletti book and it won't be my last, I own two of her other books and I will for sure be digging them out and giving them a go soon.

Stay, although it contained a very brutal subject was very beautifully written. There are a lot of books that involve physical abuse in relationships so it was very interesting to read one about emotional abuse and see that it can be just as damaging.

Clara was a very interesting character she felt so guilty believing that she had caused this situation she found herself in. On one hand I knew this not to be the case she was not responsible for Christian's actions but on the other I wondered how she could not see what was happening and not do something about it. But I suppose this it what emotional abuse is all about, manipulation and seeing it for what it is.

I really liked the parallel stories of Clara's past and present which all came together towards the end of the book. It didn't overload me with too much all at once but eased you into it and let the tension build up throughout the book. If it had just been about the relationship between Clara and Christian it could have become overwhelming but instead we get a range of other stories. The changing relationship between Clara and her Dad, revelations about Clara and her Mum, Clara and her new love interest and her Dad and his new love interest. For me this helped to balance the story out.

I loved how the book ended, happy but not unrealistically so. You get the sense that no matter what happened in the future Clara was going to be OK.

That's all for now.