Stay With Me
18y.o. popular actress-singer wants a different life & starts college full-time in Vermont. She meets 21y.o. Hero at one of the college parties and is very attracted to him. 
But she doesn’t trust men as easily as before & wants to focus on figuring her new life direction. Hero isn’t easily put off by her rejection and lets her know he can be there for her. As their social sphere crosses more and more, they spend more time together. Heroine finds it harder to resist him and soon does not. Even though Hero shows his devotion to her, she is afraid that when he finds out her past secret he’ll want nothing to do with her. It’s not too soon when her attention-hungry mother publicizes her secret. Do heroine’s fears come to pass?
Sweet & sexy romance. Good sexual chemistry & passionate sex scenes. Engaging characters. Hero’s friends and family members were good supportive characters, who helped Hero & heroine in their romance decisions. Hero pursued heroine enough that she knew he wanted her in his life but not in a pushy way. He respected her need for space to figure out herself and didn’t demand her time or made her feel guilty for wanting space from him. He made it clear, however, that he was there for her. Hero was not only sexy physically but sexy romantically. He didn’t mind being emotionally vulnerable with her and told her how he felt. He was an alpha Hero who was also a sweetheart. He was close to his family (with 4 younger sisters) and his guy friends. He held a secret from heroine for a bit but disclosed it during their first date. I really liked this Hero.
Heroine was also likeable. She had more emotional baggage & uncertainties. She just transitioned from her Hollywood life to a more ordinary life in a Vermont college. She’s figuring out who she is aside from being an actress and singer and to live without her mother’s interference. I liked that she knew herself enough to need the time and space to figure out herself before adding a boyfriend to the mix. She didn’t jump into a relationship with Hero, despite their strong mutual attraction. She used her negative life experiences to live more wisely. She, however, had to choose whether she would trust Hero with herself or not. Her secret was pulling for caution while her feelings for Hero were pushing her to trust him. The tension between the 2 built up the anticipation about her secret. The big reveal ended up being anti-climactic though.**
Recommended.
*ARC courtesy of the author in exchange for an honest review.
**A more detailed review is on my blog. Click here.
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