Secret identities, second chances, drama, desire: It’s all going down in Miami Beach in this tantalizing novel from the bestselling author of Pull Me Close, which was hailed by Aurora Rose Reynolds as “a heart-gripping story about . . . the power of love.” April: Walking away from Matt Moreno was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Lying to him was a close second, but for his safety, I had no … to him was a close second, but for his safety, I had no other choice. I was undercover, working to put some nasty people behind bars. But when Matt nearly recognizes me on Lincoln Road a year later, all those very real feelings come rushing back. Now that my assignment’s almost over, will he understand why I lied? Why I had to leave? Most important, can he ever forgive me?
Matt: I was madly in love with June Simpson . . . or, at least, with the woman I thought was June. Then she just disappeared while my family’s nightclub went through hell. And after months of searching, when I think I’ve finally found that sexy, raspy voice and those exquisite blue eyes, she slips away once more. Turns out, “June” is actually Detective April White. She’s been playing me the whole time. And she’s about to rock my world all over again.
No cheating. No cliffhangers. And no dress code.
Don’t miss Sidney Halston’s Panic series:
PULL ME CLOSE | MAKE ME STAY | KISS ME BACK | WHAT ABOUT US
And look for all of her hard-hitting MMA romances:
AGAINST THE CAGE | FULL CONTACT | BELOW THE BELT | LAID OUT | FIGHTING DIRTY | STACKED UP
Praise for Sidney Halston’s first Panic novel, Pull Me Close
“A magnificent story full of deep emotion that will get you straight in the ‘feels.’ . . . Sidney Halston nailed it with this one.”—New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett
“Pull Me Close is a heart-gripping story about one of the most beautiful things in the world: the power of love.”—New York Times bestselling author Aurora Rose Reynolds
“An intriguing tale of anxiety and depression so authentic that readers will feel as if they are in the story with the characters. The plot is fresh and tackles a fascinating topic. The relationship between the main characters is very intense and consuming. . . . A great read!”—RT Book Reviews
Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
more
Make Me Stay is another amazing entry in the Panic series! This time it’s Nico’s (Pull Me Close) twin brother, Matt (Mateo) and June’s story. Matt and June spent 5 months happily engaging in an intense affair and falling in love. Then she ghosted him and broke his heart into tiny little pieces. Now in the present he’s at a coffee shop and he hears her voice, the raspy, sensual voice of the woman he’s still in love with. Only she calls herself something different, has a different hair color, and insists that he has her confused with the wrong woman. Cue the intrigue and the drama. And damn is there drama, lots of drama. And suspense and so many things going on that it made my head spin, but in a really good way.
I absolutely fell in love with Matt. He is such a strong character, equal to his twin, Nico, in his patience and love for June. Even though she ripped his heart into shreds, he’s still there for her when she needs him most. And that my friends, is the sign of a true man, a good man. Someone who will give you what you need even though you broke his heart. Sigh and swoon…
I wasn’t sure if I would end up even liking June, but in the end, I did. I understood why she broke Matt’s heart. I felt for him, of course, but I even felt for her, because she was only doing what she had to do, not because she wanted to hurt him. She was just as strong as Matt, a truly equal partner for him.
Make Me Stay is sexy, and emotional and a little angsty, but not in an OTT way. Matt and June are a sexy, exciting, sweet couple with chemistry in spades. I absolutely love the Panic world that Sidney has created, and am anxiously awaiting the next one in this series, Kiss Me Back.
4.5 Stars
I loved the thrill of the unknown from the first half of the book because I didn’t know June’s secret. I should have read the blurb first as it gives this away but I think I liked it even better that I didn’t know this because it was a lot more suspenseful and mysterious this way.
This book was about Matt, Nick’s brother from Pull Me Close (a must-read book!!), who we know as a fun, partying womanizer, who’s also kind of reckless compared to his serious and responsible brother Nick.
But as usual, with the right woman, Matt yearns for things he didn’t knew he ever wanted and everything that seemed important to him so far turned insignificant.
Matt was put through a lot in this book because of April. And after everything was discovered he had a hard time telling right from wrong and sorting through his feelings.
But when I got to know everything about April, I couldn’t be mad at her and started hoping that she and Matt would sort everything out between them.
The Story:
Although the different hair and clothes, he just knows that she’s his June. He knew the second he heard her voice and saw her blue eyes. But why does she look so different? Why did she run away and even the hired PI’s couldn’t find her?
Matt was always the partying guy and there were always women offering themselves to him but the second he sets eyes on the fiery dark haired beauty, he’s a goner. It’s like a magnet pulling him to her and he knows that he needs to have her close. This had never happened to him before and although she is as sexy dressed as all the other women in Panic, she stands out.
Matt would have never thought to settle down but June does something to him. She makes him yearn for things he didn’t even think of wanting.
He never missed anything in his life but when June made him feel all this emotions and then suddenly disappears, he realizes that he is now missing out on an amazing future with her.
When she suddenly reappears in his life with a different name and looks the anger of her deceiving and betrayal mixes with his love for her. But then something unexpected happens and he’s torn between turning his back on her or giving in and helping her.
Thoughts:
Like I mentioned above, as I haven’t read the blurb before reading the book, there was always something mysterious about June, and Matt felt this too. So it was for me the same as it was for Matt since we both were in the dark for a long time about what June/April did.
My thoughts were running wild about what it could’ve been which made it much more interesting.
On the other hand, since I didn’t know she was working undercover, something always felt off with her, although I really liked her. I had a feeling that she was on to something not good.
I really liked Matt. I’ve always liked him actually. I never really thought that he was a bad guy or anything despite him taking drugs occasionally at first; maybe because nothing bad had ever happened. I was glad that he stopped taking though.
I liked the story a lot. It had a good flow, great pace and I liked Matt’s witty comments and retorts. He’s such a great, caring and fun character. You wouldn’t have believed this probably in the first book.
The author found a great way in the second half of the book for the characters to slowly approach each other again emotionally without making it feel unreal. It was a slow and painful process for them which made it much more interesting and believable. I really loved how everything turned out and where the story led them even though it was a rough path.
Even before I read the acknowledgement I knew there was a hint to another story. I’m excited for Kiss Me Back and to find out more about mysterious Lola.
Pull Me Close was one of my favorite reads of 2016 so I could barely contain my excitement for Matt’s story. If you haven’t read Pull Me Close, Make Me Stay can be read as a standalone but both are so amazing, you’ll want to pick up both.
Matt has been pulling double duty as a lawyer during the week and helping run Panic on the weekends with his twin brother, Nick, and his father. When June walks into the club and proceeds to pour her drink over some guy’s head, he’s captivated and determined to spend time with her. They have an amazing five months together and then the Moreno family is arrested and June disappears. When Matt sees June again and discovers that she is a cop, he feels played and is ready to never see her again. But the love between them was strong and the connection was real. Can they move past the past and rebuild?
I didn’t think I would love a character as much as I loved Nick but then I was introduced to Matt. He’s romantic, passionate, patient, and hands down a great guy. I felt the entire spectrum of emotions during this story. I was pulling for April and Matt every second. I’ll be looking forward to meeting more characters from Panic!