*Trigger Warning: This book is dark and is not suitable for readers easily offended by realistic tellings of human trafficking, those that do not wish to read about hard topics, or readers under the age of 18. If you want a feel-good, sexy read, this is NOT the book for you. Stay does not fit neatly into one genre. It’s part erotica, part dark romance, and part suspense thriller. It is a dark, … dark, gritty, and harrowing tale about finding love in the darkest of places. Read at your own risk. *
“I felt like I was walking to the end of a plank precariously hanging over shark-infested water. When I jumped, sharp teeth would rip into me and the cold water would steal my breath away. The monsters would take everything from me, leaving me shivering and naked in the water. The only difference was that tonight I would be pulled from the icy darkness and forced to do it again. There would be no release from death, only pain.”
Home after her first year of college, Adeline Miller is looking forward to a stress free summer filled with reading, working on her blog, and spending time with friends. But all that changes in an instant when she is witness to something terrible, something she wasn’t supposed to see.
Beaten, drugged, kidnapped.
Adeline Miller is ripped from her innocent and carefree life and thrust into darkness, into a world full of pain and horror. As a sex slave, she is forced to do horrible things, and have horrible things done to her. One of her captors has a past as dark as the world she is now living in. Will getting close to him mean freedom? Or will he pull her deeper into the shadows?
STAY is a full length novel at 100,000+ words
It does NOT end with a cliffhanger
*There are 4766 locations on your kindle. Stay ends at location 4541 and a 5,000 word sample of ALL I NEED, a companion novel to STAY begins
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I’ve had this book on my kindle for six years and never realized it until I was perusing through my older books in an attempt to make a dent in my inventory … I don’t think that’ll ever happen!
Human Trafficking is one of the most dispicable crimes there is IMO. This story is about Adeline Miller, a sweet girl who has just finished her freshman year at college. Adeline gets kidnapped when helping someone in distress while at a Gay Pride parade somewhere in Iowa.
What she encounters thereafter is straight out of a horror movie. Her captors, Nate and Zane, treat Addie as well as three other girls … well, there are no words. The verbal, mental, and physical abuse they suffer is processed differently by each girl.
Being held captive in a basement of a farmhouse, these girls know nothing more other than when they are called upstairs, they are sent to a client for him to do as he pleases.
Addie is the toughest of them all, and she pays for it, over and over. As much as her life is a living hell, she doesn’t break.
Jackson has been a house slave for over a decade and lives with Nate and Zane. Slowly, he and Addie become friends. If the girls think they have it bad, Jackson’s story is beyond unbearable. I’m not sure how he has survived all those years of physical, mental, and in his child years—yes, CHILD years—sexual abuse.
The two realize just how much they need each other in order to make it through another day.
Stay is a disturbing read. The only reason I read the whole book is … a) the writing is intelligent and captivating and b) I had to flip to the end to make sure there was some kind of light at the end of the tunnel.
This book can set off all kinds of triggers to some readers. With that said, I won’t hesitate to recommend Stay because Emily Goodwin is a fantastic author.
I’ve heard about human trafficking, but didn’t really think about it happening too much in my midwest community. This story takes place in Iowa – a case of wrong place/wrong time-that lands Adeline in a life as a sex slave. The manipulation and control that kept her in this lifestyle, after a futile escape attempt, made me think of my own daughter. I could see her as a 17-year-old, giving up hope, believing she couldn’t change her situation, until finally, there is a chance to break free. But freedom didn’t mean the past was forgotten. Adeline’s life as well as her sister’s and parent’s and friend’s lives were forever scarred and tormented by the year lost. When I finished reading, I immediately looked for opportunities to volunteer with organizations that work to prevent trafficking. I can’t think of another novel that made me react like this.
This has major triggers!!! Its a raw no holds barred look into the life of a girl kidnapped and forced into the sex trade. Terrible things happen. It is not for the faint of heart. It is written extemely well and will haunt you long after you put it down!