For What It's Worth


Thursday, October 9, 2014

Review: Stay with Me (Wait for You #3) by J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)


19501672At 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.

Goodreads | Source: ARC provided by the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review

Review:

Although I’m not a huge fan of the hot guys/innocent girl trope in NA, I did LOVE Wait for Me, the first book in J. Lynn’s Wait for You series. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as Wait for Me – because I’m sorry – but no one can’t top Cam in my eyes – but it was good. Here’s the break down…

What I liked:

~ Despite this being the overused 21 year old virgin meets former man-whore trope it was done really well. There’s a good reason for Calla’s trepidation about getting close to men and she’s not one of those “omg –*innocent puppy eyes*  is that a magical penis? What do I do with it??” kind of girls. lol She’s reserved but still pretty confident when she decides to go for it. Her backstory was handled very well.

~ Jax realizes that Calla is a virgin and is careful with her but not in love with her because she’s a virgin, thinking that makes her a special virginal snowflake that he now possesses. She’s special to him and he’s honored that she trusts him but just likes Calla for being Calla.

~ So…I complain a lot about how sex overtakes so many stories. There’s quite a bit of sex in Stay with Me but dang! Armentrout writes good sex scenes! She could write a whole book of nothing but sex and would probably still read it. lol She writes sexy scenes that aren’t overly explicit and feel intimate rather than raunchy.

~ Both Calla and Jax have issues. Nothing new there, but I thought their pasts made them uniquely right for each other. I could see why they would fall in love.

~ Calla deals with her issues head on. She’s confused and hurt by her drug addicted mom’s actions (running off with all her college money) but she brushes herself off and takes action to resolve her problems.

~ Few can pull off alpha guys that are genuinely nice and not bossy like Jennifer Armentrout. Especially in YA/NA where a bossy overbearing guy seems dangerous to me – not romantic.

~ Could Calla’s friend Katie please have a book?! She’s Calla's childhood friend and currently a stripper. She’s hilarious and fine with her job. I think it would be really refreshing to read about a girl like that who finds a guy who loves her just how she is and doesn’t try to fix the damaged stripper. I think Armentrout could do it. But I digress….

What I didn’t love so much:

~ I loved the set up for why Calla went home and how she met Jax. Her mom is a real piece of work but I wish it just stuck to the core problem of her mom stealing her money and that relationship. By the time the book ended there were kidnappings, health scares, shootings, betrayals, ex’s. Every chapter brought a new interruption. One or two for drama –ok – but that was too much.

~ There’s a bit of a twist at the end that felt rushed, out of place and unnecessary. Again – there’s already enough going on without one more thing tacked on at the end to add  conflict for an already tested couple.

~ The Hot Guy Brigade and sequel bait. Every single guy in this series is uber hot and we hear about the “Hot Guy Brigade” almost non stop. I figure all these guys she kept introducing will have books at some point but I got sick of hearing about them.

~ Calla uses cutesy phrases a lot. Like yeppers peppers, holy poo, oh my golly God. I’m not sure if she was going for innocence or not but it didn’t fit with Calla’s personality to me. Most of the time she talked completely normal, she’s seen a lot – been through a lot - so she’s not exactly innocent in the traditional sense. It just felt…odd and inconsistent.

Overall, another cracktastic book by J. Lynn/Jennifer Armentrout. I just wish there were fewer things going on, especially near the end but I liked it.

30 comments:

  1. OH I still need to try her. That's awesome she won you over to a troupe you don't usually enjoy.

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  2. OMG I want to co sign with this review. I think that Katie should have a book too. I also don't even remember the next couple coming up. I think my only issue with the book was the bad language. It could have been less. I think that she is a amazing writer and I love how she changes up things in the NA.

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    1. I wish she would. But stay a stripper - not get "fixed"

      I don't even remember bad language lol I just remember the stupid yeppers peppers hehe

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  3. Am I just forgetful?..Oh well, awesome halloween theme D

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  4. I do love her characters and I so need to pick up this series. Your last point reminded me of a book I just dnf'd but her "innocence" was more profound that just limited to her language so I think I can deal with it here. :D Brilly review!

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    1. it's not really a big deal in this one. The first book is REALLY good.

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  5. Ugh, ugh! No more innocent girl, I'm so tired of that!! And the cutesy phrases *gag* I'm not sure I'd like this one.

    .........yeppers peppers..........WTF? No, just no.

    P.S: Your dogs look hilarious!!! hahahaha Fighting crime huh? They even have the pose!

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    1. Seriously - the innocent girl thing wasn't bad. She just was - but it wasn't this whole OMG you're a virgin thing. it was done well. The yeppers peppers however….no - just no. lol

      They LOVE their costumes. They ran all around the yard that year lol

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    2. I believe you. I think my sudden disgust with that subject is...I just finished a book (check GR lol) and ugh, it was the innocent thing and virtue this and virgin that aaarrgh...and she was all goody- two shoes...annoying!
      But this author intrigues me to tell you the truth lol I have only read one of her books and really enjoyed it (Obsidian).

      Hahaha I'm sure that was fun to watch.

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    3. I hate that whole thing too but it isn't really an issue in this book which made me happy. it did have other more annoying things though so maybe not the book for you.

      I would recommend the first book - Wait for You. Loved that one!

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  6. heh, cracktastic. Love that phrase and does summarize the book

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    1. She's a good author for those kinds of books.

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  7. I just finished this one and enjoyed it more than I expected, especially 'cause of that whole innocent virgin thing. Plus, I have such a hard time reading books where a parent is just SO USELESS. I kind of wish she'd called the police and reporter her mom's theft.

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    1. The innocent thing wasn't as big a deal or as cliche as I thought it would be.

      I agree - maybe check it out at first but then come on! Call the cops. It turned into this huge convoluted thing for no reason. lol

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  8. ahh I don't know if I want to read this one! for the most part, I enjoyed the other books in this series but some of the reviews for this book make me re-consider? like THE DIALOGUE THING. it already grates me just from reading your review! i haaate inauthentic dialogue. but there does seem to be more positive than negatives so hm maybe...

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    1. It was good but definitely not the best of the series. Maybe if you can get it front he library or borrow?

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  9. Ooh, look, another virgin heroine. Shocker! ;) At least the author handles it well in this particular instance. JLA does indeed write amazing steam scenes; I for one would be on board with reading a book that was JUST that from her. The Hot Guy Brigade angle is kinda annoying though. Nerds are sexy too... just saying. Nice review!

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    1. The virgin heroine is the least important thing about the story thankfully.

      I do wish she had some variety with her guys. The girls all look different & come from different backgrounds (yay!) but the guys are all these uber hot dudes & the girls are shocked that they like plain little old them. Bleh.

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  10. So I could use a laugh today and this review cracked me up!

    I'm definitely a JLA fan but I tried one of her NA books -- I can't remember if it was Wait For You or Frigid -- and I was not feeling it. I'm looking forward to this more suspenseful sounding one that comes out in March - Fall for Me? That might be more my speed. Is that part of this series? All the "you" and "me" in the titles is: Confusing to Me..

    Yeah, not sure I could handle "yeppers peppers"

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    1. I really liked the first one in this series. You do have to keep reading though - it starts off as the hot guy/innocent girl crap but it's done really well. It's one of my favorite books by her. The guy is SO nice.

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  11. Eh, I'll pass on this even if you liked it a lot. The trope doesn't appeal much to me, I feel like I've read this before. I do want to read her alien series.

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    1. I don't think you would like this one but really the innocent virgin trope isn't even an issue which was a nice change of pace.

      I liked it but it wasn't great.

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  12. I adore this series, although this one wasn't as pitch perfect as the first two, because I agree, I thought Calla had just too much too much on her plate. But, I love that Armentrout brings the heat to the romance without going full on porn, or making the story just about that. Calla had other things to deal with, besides surrendering her v card to Jax. I did get a bit weary of the Hot Guy Brigade... but in the end, I want this series to continue forever and ever and ever, so I guess that means that Hot Guy Brigade needs to keep on marching.

    I adored Katie, and yes, her own book would be awesome.

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    1. She writes fun romance and sexy scenes - this one got a little too much by the end though. I don't mind hot guys but I think I get it the first dozen times you mention it lol

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  13. I love JLA so I definitely need to check her NA books! Great review!
    -Jon from Bookish Antics!

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  14. LOL Hot guy brigade!! so true!! i may have to read this one, though :)

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  15. there needs to be a book in Jax's perspective

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