Review – Say You’ll Stay by Corinne Michaels

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” ~ Corinthians 13:4-13

Sometimes you read a book that is so beautiful that you’re left in a haze, floating in the air where life is more precious from above. You wonder how mere words….WORDS…can render you so full of FEELS where your emotions are still dangling on clouds long after the story has stopped. Emotional ecstasy. Corinne Michaels’ latest second-chance romance, Say You’ll Stay, is THAT FEEL-GOOD BOOK that renders you breathless and blissful from all of the heart that is poured into this piece of penned perfection.

Say You’ll Stay consumed me from the very first page; immersing me deeply into this devastatingly beautiful book. Chills ran through me. My breaths were bated. My pulse raced. My heart quickly broke as tragedy strikes hard. Presley and her two young boys are forced to flee back home to Presley’s family in Tennessee after their lives are turned upside down. Tears are starting to trickle as waves of despair crash into Presley, crashing into me.

“Black. That’s how I feel—void of any light or color.”

My tears are falling fast and hard, soaking my face. I’m nearly gasping for air, drowning to breathe, as I can’t help but become immersed in the devastation.

This poor mother, Presley, is still reeling from heartbreak yet she has to rebuild her life and muster up strength for her two boys. As a mama, I am devastated right with Presley. Now she is forced to face Zach Hennington, who broke her heart seventeen years ago when they were teens.

“He’s the same boy I fell in love with at twelve. He’s the boy who taught me to love. He’s the boy I saw myself growing old with, having children with, and yet he destroyed me.”

Presley left to forget Zach; now that she is back in her hometown and can only remember.

“That’s the thing about young love in a small town—it never dies.”

Presley is running from the past as she tries to overcome the tragedy of the present; Zach is running towards her.

“She’s the reason I haven’t been able to move forward in my life.”

Where there is darkness, there is light. Where there is heartbreak, there is hope. Where there is hope, there is healing. A misunderstanding tore them apart, leaving Presley bitter and broken, but she and Zach are reunited. Their love, despite tragedy and time, has never died.

“Love doesn’t let go. It grows stronger.”

Presley and Zach are a ball of fire. Their passion pours through the flames. They are turbulent yet so tender. As Zach pounds his way into Presley’s head and heart, he uncovers feelings that Presley tried her hardest to bury.

“My heart skips a beat. As much as I will try to fight the draw—it’s still there. Zach holds a string that’s tied inside of me. If he pulls, I’ll unravel.”

A boy and girl then; now a man and woman. Zach is the match that lights Presley’s body in flames. The sparks that resonated years ago are now reignited, burning brighter and scorching stronger than ever. Their love has survived heaven and hell.

“It’s not because of you, Presley. It’s because it’s always been you.”

I SWOONED HARD as these soul-wielding words clamped down on my heart, squeezing so many emotions out as I fell even more deeply in love with this story and this beautiful couple.

Presley can’t fight her feelings for Zach any longer. Zach took a part of her heart when they were teens and never gave it back. She owns his heart and always has. Their love is the kind that happens once in a lifetime. Soul mates who have lost their way and have finally come home.

“You were my first kiss, my first love, the first man to touch me. I want you to kiss me, and I need to kiss you.”

These words are so real, raw and romantic…gah! I’m awe-struck in the beauty bleeding off of the pages that carve out a part of my heart with each line.I cry. I smile. I hope with everything I have that Presley and Zach get the happy ending that they have fought long and hard for and deserve so desperately.

“I’ve always closed my eyes and seen you beside me. It was never over.”

My heart is still reeling and racing. These characters won’t stop dancing in my head. Corinne Michaels has written one of MY TOP ROMANCE READS OF ALL TIME, touching me so deeply in Say You’ll Stay. This author writes with heart and steals readers’ hearts along the way. Corrine Michaels’ intense and intoxicating words in Say You’ll Stay have wrapped themselves around my heart and won’t leave.

Say You’ll Stay is a powerful and poignant, an epic and everlasting love story that dances in dreams and soars inside the soul. A romance that radiates passion and promise, Say You’ll Stay is so raw and real that I felt each word I read. My heart shattered and soared so many times. This book broke me yet breathed love, luster, and life into my body where I was left in utter book bliss. I fell in LOVE with Say You’ll Stay so HARD. Say You’ll Stay will stay with me like that special and sweet first love, owning a piece of my heart forever.

5 ‘but worth way more’ beautiful and broken stars

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One word.

Stay.

It was all he had to do. Instead, he got on that bus and took my heart with him.

That was seventeen years ago.

I moved on. Marriage. Kids. White picket fence. Everything I ever wanted, but my husband betrayed me and I was left once again.

Alone, penniless, and with two boys, I had no choice but to return to Tennessee. He wasn’t supposed to be there. I should’ve been safe. However, fate has a way of stepping in.

This time around, the tables are turned. It’s my decision. Second chances do exist, but I don’t know if we can repair what’s already been broken . . .

** This is a STANDALONE **