Today I’m sharing with you my book recommendation for Stay with Me by Becky Wade. A few weeks ago Stay with Me won The Christy Award® in the Contemporary Romance category – congratulations Becky!
Book Description:
Loving her is a risk he can’t afford . . . and can’t resist.
When acclaimed Bible study author Genevieve Woodward receives an anonymous letter referencing her parents’ past, she returns to her hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains to chase down her family’s secret. However, it’s Genevieve’s own secret that catches up to her when Sam Turner, owner of a historic farm, uncovers the source of shame she’s worked so hard to hide.
Sam has embraced his sorrow, his isolation, and his identity as an outsider. He’s spent years carving out both career success and peace of mind. The last thing he wants is to rent the cottage on his property to a woman whose struggles stir his worst failure back to life. Yet can he bear to turn her away right when she needs him most?
Narelle’s Thoughts:
I usually recommend books that I enjoyed reading. Stay with Me is a compelling read that I couldn’t put down, and the characters in the story challenged me to go places with them that I wouldn’t necessarily describe as fun or enjoyable.
Every reader who opens a book will bring with them their emotional baggage, life experiences, and values and beliefs that influence how they connect with the characters and the story. The reader’s unique lens will impact how they experience the story. The best stories will engage our emotions, both positive and negative, and bring the characters and events in the story to life in our hearts and minds.
Stay with Me opens with Sam finding a late model Volvo SUV parked outside his guest house cottage on his farm near the small town of Misty River in the north Georgia mountains. He discovers a beautiful woman asleep on a bare mattress on the bed inside his guest house. She’s sleeping on her own pillow and has covered herself with a mismatch of clothes as a makeshift quilt.
When Sam fails to gently wake her, he needs to find out who she is and why she’s trespassing on his property. He discovers the prescription drug, OxyContin, and his stress levels spike. Sam has experienced firsthand in Melbourne, Australia, the pain of losing a loved one addicted to opioids, and old feelings of grief from that time in his life on the other side of the world resurface.
Genevieve is a hot mess and she feels like a fraud. At the age of twelve she miraculously survived being killed by an earthquake during a mission trip in El Salvador, and she became known as one of the the miracle five. Genevieve believes she owes God, and she also believes God must have saved her in El Salvador because he has big plans for her life. Her celebrity status from the earthquake, combined with a failed romance when she was only twenty, inspired her to study the Bible. This set the foundation for her to traditionally publish her best selling Bible studies and nurture her celebrity women’s ministry speaking career.
A year earlier Genevieve was prescribed pain killers for an ankle injury, and it kicked off her shameful and out-of-control hidden struggle with OxyContin. Her perfect and wholesome good girl Christian public persona hides the painful truth of her real life. She has returned to Misty River to find answers to the mystery fan mail she has received concerning her parents’ past, and to detox at her parents’ home. Her mother’s suffocating love and Genevieve’s refusal to share her addiction problems with her parents derail the detox plan, and Genevieve asks Sam if she can detox in his cottage.
Fiction can be a safe place to explore the “what if…” that’s too scary to contemplate in real life. At this early stage in the story, I wanted to tell Sam to run and never look back. It was Albert Einstein who said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. After Sam’s experience in Australia that resulted in him avoiding romantic relationships, why would he take on Genevieve and her problems? And the whole idea of detoxing outside a medical setting without professional support in place is frankly terrifying.
Since this is a fiction story and not real life, and is a romance story where the main characters definitely won’t die, I could put aside my thoughts on these issues and keep reading. And I’m glad I did!
The friends-to-more slow burn romance was complicated, the family mystery intriguing, and the faith element satisfying. I calmed down and settled more into the story when Genevieve starting seeing a counsellor and receiving the professional medical care she desperately needed.
Both Genevieve and Sam grew as people during the story despite the temptation for Genevieve to switch her co-dependency from the pills to Sam. I recommend Stay with Me to contemporary romance readers who are prepared for a wild ride that may challenge their thoughts and ideas on a range of issues.
Learn more about Becky Wade and her books at her website.
Questions for you: Have you read Stay with Me? Do you like reading CCR books that address difficult issues? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
A fun loving Aussie girl at heart, Narelle Atkins was born and raised on the beautiful northern beaches in Sydney, Australia. She has settled in Canberra with her husband and children. A lifelong romance reader, she found the perfect genre to write when she discovered inspirational romance. Narelle's contemporary stories of faith and romance are set in Australia and international locations.
I have not read STAY WITH ME. I think it’s important to highlight certain issues.
Becky Wade wrote some great contemporary fiction. I’m not sure that I’ve read a book before about a character with a prescription drug problem. But I read this book and the one following it and enjoyed them both!
Hi Mary, yes, fiction provides wonderful opportunities to address issues. I appreciated the issues being raised in the opening chapter which means readers know what to expect in the story. Thanks for commenting. 😊
Hi Patty, I can’t remember reading a CCR book that highlights the prescription drugs issue like Becky’s book with a main character struggling with addiction. The next one in the series is near the top of my tbr pile. Thanks for commenting. 😊
I haven’t read Stay With Me, but I’m hearing about it everywhere. I’m sure I’ll read it at some point! Yes, I do enjoy Christian fiction that grapples with difficult issues. I love stories that show how God is bigger than any situation, no matter how complex and painful it is.
I haven’t read Stay With Me, but I do like books that deal with real life issues. God is here with us through life, so hearing of someone else’s struggles and how God got them through (even in a work of fiction) helps me to remember God is faithful and will see me through, too.
I agree, this was a difficult read in many ways. Definitely not light and fluffy and escapist! But, yes, it turned out to be a lovely, hope-fulled story as well.
Hi, Narelle! I think I have read the sample to this book several times and then decided not to buy because of the price. I do appreciate CCR books that deal with real life challenges. It is often love that gets us through those challenges (or shelters us in the midst of the ones that cannot be changed).
Thanks for sharing the recommendation.
No I have not read it but I want to read it it looks like a great book
Hi, I have not read Stay With Me, it really sounds like a great read and like a Must read. I love it when stories are about real life issues because they can be of help for alot of people that are going through this or maybe they know of someone who is. Thank you so much for sharing about it . I will be adding it to my TBR list. Have a great weekend and stay safe.
I haven’t read Stay with Me yet.
I love complex CCR stories that address difficult issues.
Great review! And maybe that’s the reason I haven’t picked it up, though I’ve read and enjoyed other Christian authors who deal with similar/hard topics… Oh, well. I’m just glad there are options.
I like books that deal with difficult subjects! Sometimes secular romance books focus too much on the dark (like a new genre called Dark Romance that focuses almost exclusively on troubled relationships in troubled settings) and contemporary Christian fiction sometimes seems too ‘sane and fluffy’ to me. cute and I like it, but sometimes I need to know that everything can be wrong in our lives, be messy and God will be there anyway.
The stories that move me the most are a curious mix between comedy / joy and difficult situations. Maybe because life is like that.
No, I have not read this book. Yes, I do read books that cover difficult situations. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Hi Milla, I hope you’ll have a chance to read Stay with Me. You’ll appreciate the spiritual thread that underpins the story. :)
Hi Trudy, yes, I love those reminders in stories about God’s love and faithfulness. I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Stay with Me. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Valerie, yes. the brilliance in this story is how Becky was able to draw out the hope for both Genevieve and Sam to forgive, emotionally heal, and develop healthy relationships. :)
Hi Lincoln, I understand your hesitation concerning the price. Yes, for me it’s God’s love, and how His love plays out in the lives of the characters, that makes CCR stories unique and satisfying reads. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Kendra, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Stay with Me. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Alicia, yes, the stories that sensitively address real life issues can provide insights that help people navigate difficult situations. I hope you’ll have a chance to read Stay with Me soon. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Natalya, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Stay with Me. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Priscila, Interestingly, I put this book aside until I was ready to tackle the challenging-for-me content. I appreciated the opening chapter highlighting the issues that will be addressed in the story. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Lilly, I definitely think there’s a place for cute and light stories, and also darker stories. Without Jesus, those darker stories can be depressing. I love how CCR stories can tackle darker issues with light and hope. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Debra, You’re very welcome. I hope you’ll have a chance to read Stay with Me. Blessings and thanks for commenting. :)
I have not read Stay With Me but I’d love to read it & love different difficulties.
I’ve not read it yet. I’d love to get it & read it.
I haven’t read Stay With Me but I will definitely add it to my TBR list. I do enjoy reading books that deal with tough issues. It’s interesting to watch the characters work through the issue and grow.
Hi Amy, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Stay with Me. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Sylvain, I hope you’ll have a chance to read Stay with Me. Thanks for commenting. :)
Hi Jessica, I hope you’ll have an opportunity to read Becky’s book soon. There’s lots of character growth in the story. Thanks for commenting. :)