Small-town Haven, Georgia, is home to generations of families, plenty of Southern charm, and an airport that’s seen better days. But as three friends are about to discover, love gives everything wings . . . At eighteen, Olivia Daniels left Haven behind and never looked back. Doggedly climbing the corporate ladder, she’s finally nearing the top when her father dies—leaving her part-owner of the … father dies—leaving her part-owner of the run-down airport that was his first love. It’s a complication Olivia intends to wrap up quickly—buying out her co-owner and selling the land. Good thing her childhood best friends are with her for moral support. Because one look at her new partner is proof that her tidy plan has hit turbulence . . .
Jackson Morgan practically grew up in Haven’s airport, and no one could have been a better mentor than Olivia’s dad. Flight is in Jackson’s blood, but his roots are firmly planted, and there’s no way he’s giving up the airport—not even for sassy, headstrong Olivia, his childhood crush. Coming to an agreement won’t be easy, especially when the attraction between them soars to new heights every day. Love definitely wasn’t on the itinerary, but is it enough to keep them together for a lifetime trip? . . .
Praise for Jules Bennett and The Monroes series
“Another page turner—I couldn’t put it down!”
–Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author
“A fantastic tale of starting over and learning to trust again . . . an intriguing storyline makes for a riveting, page turner.” –RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars
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Soaring right back into Haven after all these years…
Jules Bennett takes you right back to Haven, Georgia in the first book of her new series, Return to Haven with book #1 Stay With Me. Olivia Daniels left Haven 18 years ago and never looked back. Until she found out she is now the owner of an airport in Haven she once loved. She now holds ill feelings about it because her father spent more time there than with her and her mother. She returns to Haven to unload the airport. Jackson “Jax” has other plans. He intends to bring her love back for Haven. Jax, was attracted to Olivia many years ago. There is still an attraction between them as they try to figure out what to do with the airport. This book is filled with heartfelt moments you won’t want to miss. Jules Bennett did an amazing at making me feel like I was right there in Haven with them and I can’t wait for the next book in this series.
I loved being in Haven in this new series. Jules did a great job of having people from different walks of life & personalities find love. Olivia left Haven when she was 18 & only went back when her father passed away & left her half of his airport. She plans & hopes to sell but her co-owner is Jackson who pretty much grew up in the airport & wants to fix it up & keep it. Olivia’s father was a mentor to Jackson & meant a lot to him. It truly was a battle of the wills but it was fun to watch them learn to communicate with each other.
Very good book with a nice mix of deep emotion and humor. Olivia has reluctantly returned to Haven after the death of her father. She had left at the age of eighteen, along with her mother, when her parents divorced. She hasn’t been back since then. Instead, she’s made a good life for herself in Atlanta, and is up for the promotion she’s been working her butt off for. Now she’s discovered that she is half-owner of her father’s airport – what she sees as the cause of all her family’s heartache. She plans to buy out her partner, then sell the land as quickly as she can – “Get in. Get out. Get the job done.” Olivia soon discovers that it isn’t going to be that simple.
The last time Jax saw Olivia, he was a thirteen-year-old boy spending every free minute at the airport. Her dad was like a second father to him, and responsible for Jax’s love of flying. After leaving Haven for the Air Force, he came home when he became the sole parent of his daughter, Piper. He has no intention of giving up his share of the airport. It isn’t just his livelihood; it’s part of who he is.
The sparks flew between Olivia and Jax from the moment she appeared at the airport. I have to admit that Olivia did not make a good first impression on me. Her condescending attitude toward the town and Jax grated on my nerves, and I hated her attitude that all it would take was to offer Jax enough money. I loved seeing Jax stand up to her cynical attitude and refuse to even consider her offers. And, yes, I got a teeny bit of satisfaction out of his stunt with the greasy handprint. But underneath the antagonism is an attraction that neither one can deny – though Olivia certainly tries to.
I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Jax and Olivia. Both of them have issues that keep them from wanting a relationship. Olivia has no intention of staying in Haven. She has a job in Atlanta she wants to get back to, and memories from Haven that are painful. Jax has been burned by a woman before, and opening up to that kind of hurt again is not what he wants. But they are bound together by the airport and have to find a way to make it work. Their chances to do so improve when Olivia’s friends, Jade and Melanie, come up with an idea to improve and expand the airport, giving Jax a more secure future and Olivia the ability to go back to Atlanta and forget about it. However, first Olivia has to pin Jax down long enough to convince him of the feasibility. As they were forced to spend more time together, the attraction between them continued to build. I also enjoyed seeing the way that they were constantly being nudged together by Olivia’s friends and Jax’s daughter. I loved how they gave in to the passion, even though they knew that Olivia still planned to leave. She was willing to give Jax a chance, and he was determined to remind her that there were just as many good memories for her in Haven, if she would let herself remember them. With 20/20 hindsight, Olivia realizes that there were things about her parents’ relationship that she had been unaware of, and that now have her reassessing what she believes about her relationship with her father. This is reinforced by a few things that Jax lets drop. As Olivia’s time in Haven comes closer to its end, both she and Jax realize that their feelings are stronger than they want to admit, but neither one is willing to risk rejection by talking about them. I was so frustrated with them both at the end because they allowed their fears to push them apart. I also ached for them because they were hurting so much, both for themselves and because they knew the other was hurting, too. The ending was very emotional, as Olivia’s friends found a way to force them to face each other. I loved that Jax, even though he wanted Olivia to stay, supported her need for her career. I ached for him and how much it hurt to see her leaving, and cheered when he finally opened up about his feelings. I ached for Olivia, too, because she was so conflicted over what to do. She had worked so hard for her promotion, but she also didn’t want to leave. I loved how her feelings burst out of her, how she confessed her fears and admitted her love.
The secondary characters were great. I loved Olivia’s friends Jade and Melanie. Both of them had come to Haven with Olivia, to support her as she dealt with her father’s estate. Each also has her reasons for wanting to leave Atlanta for a while, though we don’t get too much of their backstories yet. As they are the stars of the next books, I’m sure we’ll get them then. I loved the way that they teased Olivia about Jax but were also there for her when she needed them. They also had no trouble telling her when she was being an idiot. It was neat to see that they were the ones who came up with the plan for the airport and that they were just as invested in making it work. I laughed out loud at some of their conversations with Olivia, especially when it came to Jax. It was also easy to see that both Jade and Melanie were striking sparks with Jax’s cousins, Cash and Tanner. I loved the close relationship that Jax had with both Cash and Tanner. They had been there for him through all his marriage troubles and really stepped up when Jax took on being a single parent to Piper. They teased Jax a lot about what was going on with Olivia, but they also had no trouble showing him that he couldn’t deny his feelings for her. I also enjoyed their interactions with Jade and Melanie, especially what was going on between Tanner and Melanie. I laughed at the whole ticket issue.
My favorite secondary character was Jax’s daughter, Piper. I’m not sure that I bought that she was only four years old, but overall she was a great character. I loved the close relationship she had with Jax. The love they had for each other was obvious. It was sweet to see some of the things he did with/for her – I laughed out loud at the reason he didn’t take his boots off around his cousins. I loved how quickly she connected with Olivia, and the effect she had on Olivia and her views of her future. It was especially sweet to see the parallels that Olivia saw between her relationship with her father and Piper’s relationship with Jax. The birthday party scene with Piper, Olivia, Jade, and Mel was sweet and fun.
My only disappointment was a lack of attention to what happened between Olivia and her father. There were a few nuggets of information, such as the few things that Jax told her. Olivia also began to see that maybe she hadn’t had the full picture of the relationship between her parents. A fairly big deal was made about Olivia finding her dad’s journal, but we got practically no information about what was in it. A few excerpts would have been a nice touch. I did like the way that being back in Haven helped Olivia remember the good times with her dad.
Livie Daniels left Haven Georgia at eighteen and didn’t look back. She is now back in town to deal with her father’s estate, which includes the local airport. Jackson Morgan was thirteen and working for Livie’s dad, when his crush Livie left town. He joined the Air Force, but quit to take care of his infant daughter. His daughter Piper is now four and ends up playing matchmaker for Livie and her father. I like the general setup of the story, Livie’s friends and Jackson’s cousins (who will be in future stories), and Jackson. What I wasn’t thrilled with was Livie. I couldn’t warm up to her. She was pretty awful to her father when he was alive, she comes back and is generally snotty to Jackson. I wasn’t really sure why he liked Livie, other than his crush on her when he was thirteen and she was eighteen.
In book 1 of Jules Bennett’s new Return to Haven series, we go back to Haven Georgia for Jackson Morgan and Olivia Daniels’ story.
Olivia’s father Paul, was the owner of a small local airport. When he was alive, he spent a lot of his time and energy at the airport, causing Olivia to feel that she wasn’t his priority. This rift in their relationship was a reason for her to leave Haven never planning to return. Jackson (Jax), spent a lot of his life in and around the same airport, viewing Olivia’s father like his mentor and surrogate father. The airport is his livelihood and he needs it as he is raising his precocious daughter Piper alone.
When Paul dies, he leaves the airport to both Olivia and Jax. Olivia is forced to return to Haven with her 2 friends, with a plan to sell the airport. The two clash immediately, while Jax quickly discovers his love for Olivia he had as a 13 year old boy has resurfaced for the woman she has become.
If I have a complaint about this story, it’s the repetition of how Paul was like Jax’s father, and the fact that Olivia is a few years older than Jax. I would have preferred it to be said, but glossed over by the fact that he acts more mature, while she seems whiny and indecisive. I did enjoy the interactions with all the characters, particularly Piper. I am looking forward to the next book in this series!
Stay With Me by Jules Bennett
Return to Haven #1
Olivia Daniels has gone home to liquidate her deceased father’s home and business then brush the dust of town off her shoes and head back to the big city. Little does she know that her plans will be thwarted by Jackson “Jax” Morgan. The two, as expected, eventually develop a romance BUT with her desire to return to the big city and his desire to stay right where he is there is not much chance of them having a HEA together…not in real life…but perhaps in a romance like this.
I have to say that I did not think much of Olivia. She seemed cold and more into herself and her career than much of anything else. I had trouble believing that an 18 year old girl would so totally believe what her mother told her and turn her back on her father as she did. In her mid-thirties she came across more like a spoiled teenager than a career woman but eventually she did warm up a bit…I guess I just had trouble seeing her with Jackson and still am not sure how their happily ever after would work long term.
I am curious to find out what will happen with her friends and who might be in the rest of the series but hope the characters will have more in common than Olivia and Jackson.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Zebra for the ARC – This is my honest review.
2-3 Stars
Stay with Me is about Olivia Daniels & Jackson Morgan. Olivia’s parents divorced & after the divorce, she moved out of town with her mother, rarely coming back to visit her dad. Now, her father has died & left his airport split between Olivia & Jackson. Olivia wants to sell it quick & get out of town. She doesn’t count on Jackson being stubborn!
Jackson does not want to sell.He likes the airport the way it is. It supports him & allows him to spend time with his daughter. He’s determined to make Olivia slow down & remember how much she used to enjoy the airport & flying. He knows there’s no way she’ll stay but he can continue running the airport like he has.
I enjoyed this story. It reminds us that the story we are spoon feed isn’t always the entire story & we need to find the truth before it cost us. In this case, it cost Olivia time with her dad. The similarities between Olivia & Jackson’s daughter make the reader realize how she grew up & makes the character reflect on her childhood. The support from Olivia’s friends gives an added dimension to the story. Overall, this was a pleasant romance that I enjoyed reading.
Stay With Me by Jules Bennett is an excellent contemporary romance. Ms. Bennett has delivered a well-written book and furnished it with fantastic, lovable characters. Olivia returns to her hometown to ready her father’s house for sale and talk the co-owner of her airport into selling. Jax, the other owner of the airport has no intention of selling. His plans are to keep the airport in operation and raise his daughter. Jax and Olivia’s story is packed with drama, humor and sizzle. I enjoyed reading Stay With Me and look forward to reading more from Jules Bennett in the future. Stay With Me is book 1 of the Return to Haven Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
“Stay with Me” by Jules Bennett is book one of her Return to Haven series and features Jackson Morgan and Olivia Daniels.
When Olivia returns to her childhood home of Haven Georgia, she comes armed with a plan and a purpose. Jackson is not part of her plan. He is annoying as much as he is sexy.
Olivia’s father owns the small airport and, after his death, left half to Olivia and half to Jax. Her plan is to talk Jax into selling while getting her father’s house ready to put on the market. But being back home memories take over and Olivia begins to doubt her life’s plan.
All Jax has ever wanted to do is fly. Olivia’s father took him under his wing when Jax was a teen and the last thing he wants is to sell the airport. It’s his livelihood and allows him to spend time with his daughter. Just like Olivia’s Dad had spent time with her.
With the airport between them, Olivia and Jax are forced to spend time together, and as hard as they try to resist each other their attempts fail. Add in an adorable four-year-old and neither stand a chance.
“Stay with Me” is sweet and thoughtful and shows that while you make plans for your future, it doesn’t mean that is what the future holds for you.