A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents’ past brings Genevieve Woodward back to her Blue Ridge Mountains hometown, but she’s also in need of a break from a high-profile career that has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own. When she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find the confused owner staring down at her, she can no longer ignore the … the fact that she needs help.
Sam Turner has embraced his sorrow and his identity as an outsider. The solitary, disciplined life he lives on his historic farm is the life he’s chosen for himself. The last thing he wants is to rent his cottage to a woman as troubled as she is talkative. Yet, he can’t force himself to turn her away right when she needs him most.
As Genevieve researches her family’s history and her and Sam’s emotions deepen, they will have to let go of the facades and loneliness they’ve clung to and allow light to illuminate every hidden truth.
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I loved this compelling story that hooked me from the beginning. It deals with people who need to be honest with themselves and with others. Genevieve is hiding an opioid addiction which started as the result of pain but has now spiraled out of control. She is an author of Bible studies and doesn’t want to admit to her fans that she has an addiction. She moves into a cottage on Sam’s property. He has been deeply hurt by someone in his past with a drug addiction and does not trust Genevieve at all.
There is a mystery about Genevieve’s parents that somebody in their past wants to bring to light in order to hurt them. Genevieve and her sister try to figure out what has happened in their past. This is a really good story of being honest, learning to trust and learning to forgive ourselves and others. I felt this was a very relevant story in today’s world.
Not your mother’s Christian fiction!
This story has so many strengths: Genevieve’s secret struggle with addiction which links with Sam’s backstory, their romance, the tragedy that nearly cost her life years ago, and the letters threatening her family. Seeing other believers stumble then learn and recover is such an inspiration. An excellent novel in every way!
I am a huge Becky Wade fan. Her latest, Stay With Me, is a wonderful contemporary Christian romance featuring a heroine who writes Christian Bible studies (the workbook and video kind) and does speaking engagements. From the outside, she looks like the perfect Christian. Inside, she’s got a problem. And, of course, it’s the worst possible problem she could have if she wants a future with the new guy she’s met.
Want romance at it’s finest? Then pick up a Becky Wade book ASAP. Time after time she delivers wonderful characters and swoon-worthy romance. Stay with Me is no exception.
When I’m in the mood for faith-filled romance that gets me in all the swoony feels, Becky Wade never disappoints! This one was especially touching!
Wow. I’ve loved Becky Wade’s books for years but this one easily made its way to the top of my favorites list. It’s funny, sweet and romantic, but also raw, deep and vulnerable. It left me not only entertained but truly challenged at a heart level about the picture I show the world and who I really am inside. An incredible book and one I think every woman (especially those in any form of ministry) should read. Absolutely beautiful.
Get this book NOW. Fair warning, you are going to buy everything Becky Wade puts out!
I love this book. It was so REAL and vulnerable. I know you’ll love it to!
This is well written story dealing with the sensitive issue of prescription drug addition. The author did a good job telling the story of the addicted heroine and the hero dealing with guilt of introducing a past love to drugs and not being able to save her not being able to save her. The story highlights grace, forgiveness, and the work necessary to be an overcomer. The love story is woven seamlessly with the rest of the story . There are two other back stories interwoven and add to the excellence of the storytelling.
LOVED this novel. In my opinion, it’s Becky’s strongest novel to date. She tackles a tough topic that’s often not addressed in Christian circles. All with tact and a fantastic story. Stay with Me
This is one of those stories that’s so difficult to review because I don’t want to give a single thing away, but at the same token, want to portray how powerfully impactful it is! It’s deeply emotional, thought provoking, and resonates with so much spiritual truths that they slammed into my heart. The end sucker-punched me, stole my breath, and left tears trickling down my face…but wow, some seriously good stuff. I won’t walk away from this unaffected and reminded in such a powerful way just how much God loves me; in spite of my mistakes, in spite of times where I’ve turned away from God, in spite of my doubts and fears, in spite of how stupidly human I can be sometimes.
Okay, whew, I still can’t catch my breath, but I’ll try to finish my review on this beautifully written story. There were times where I felt so entrenched in this that it became real, the characters felt real, and everything around me dissipated except the world in the pages. Becky Wade has a way to weave her words so that the reader can connect to the story practically right away. At least it does for me with every book I’ve read by her. I’m a fairly new fan, having just discovered Wade’s writing through her recent Bradford Sisters series. So when this new one came out, I was almost desperate to read it! I knew I was in for a real treat and Wade did not disappoint. I was fully invested in the lives of Genevieve & Sam as soon as he found her passed out in his guesthouse. These two are deeply layered characters and Wade had a way of peeling back those layers to lay bare the deep-seated struggles and issues they’ve hidden for years. Also, the family secrets that Genevieve & her sister Natasha have come to investigate after threatening letters arrived at their parents house kept me on tenterhooks. I could not believe what was revealed at the end! Emotions ran high for me throughout the book and I had such a hard time putting it down. Wade also introduces other members of what’s called “the miracle five”; five teens on a missionary trip who survived an earthquake 18 years ago. What they went through is sprinkled throughout the book. I can’t wait to learn more about Luke, Sebastian, and Ben!
In conclusion, Wade consistently delivers spiritual truth, emotions so real you can feel them, flawed characters redeemed by God’s mercy, a love story that’s deep & abiding, and an overall satisfied feeling that leaves you smiling at the end. If this first book in the Misty River Romance series is any indication of what’s to come, I cannot wait for the rest!
*I received a complimentary digital copy through Netgalley and was not obligated to leave a favorable review. All opinions expressed here are my own. *
I had heard good things about Becky Wade for a while, so I was excited to win this book in a giveaway on Instagram. I really enjoyed it. There were some things the author did that really made this one work. She had a unique story.
I liked the characters in this one first of all. Genevieve in particular was really well done. She has an addiction to oxycontin. And that makes her do things that are a little crazy. Like sleep in a strangers cottage. But she works through this and gets herself clean, with the help of Sam. I really liked that she had the mystery of what her parents had done to work on. It gave her a focus and kept the story moving.
Sam was a good guy. He really didn’t want to let Genevieve stay in his cottage. But he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if she had died from her addiction, like a previous love. What was great about him was watching him heal and move on. He had to forgive himself and realize that what had happened was not his fault.
I really liked the little flashbacks to the earthquake in Genevieve’s youth. I liked the way those kind of showed why some of the characters were the way they were.
This is a great book. I’m going to have to read the rest of the series soon!
This is one of my favorite authors. I really enjoyed this book.
I love everything this author has written. And this book was no exception. This was a great read and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Just finished reading this book this morning, and I loved it! Genevieve Woodward is found by Sam Taylor in his empty guesthouse sound asleep! She has no idea how she got there, and Sam is determined NOT to get involved with this woman. Gen has a secret–she has an opioid addiction. Sam has already lost someone he cared about to the same addiction, so he decides to help Genevieve fight this monster. The story revolves around their relationship, which is definitely up and down, and also brings in Gen’s sister Natasha, and her parents, who are also harboring a secret that could tear the family apart. This book is very well written and kept my attention from page one!
I loved this book and the story was so powerful! Becky Wade is one of my favorite authors and this book is one of my favorites of hers! Sam and Genevieve’s story is all about hiding and trying to pretend and realizing that God meets us in our dark places with His love and truth, I loved how the author interwove a past important event throughout the book as both characters struggle with their present difficulties. This book dealt well with some difficult realities in a way that was thoughtful and I ended the book feeling more aware and thankful for Who God is and His love. I would highly recommend this book!
M Wow!! I’m still reeling from the emotions of this story!
Becky Wade writes such emotional, realistic, yet charming stories, that my heart comes out changed at the end because I always live the characters struggles in an intense way! That’s what happens to me in her books, I always feel part of the story, related to the characters in some way. They are always flawed, but the author shows me that even if we can break sometimes, God is the absolute Healer, and He doesn’t mind our brokenness as long as we put our trust in Him and let Him bring good out of every -even bad- situation. It’s not easy to render God the control of our lives, and Becky Wade portrays this human trait to perfection, but the outcome when we surrender to God is a sight to behold!
Genevieve has lived a high profile perfect life, a perfect example for so many years, being a Bible Study author and speaker, but her facade is about to fall, when her addiction to Oxycontin becomes difficult to overcome and the exhaustion of keeping appearances just takes its toll on her. Sam Turner finds her asleep, deeply asleep in his cottage, and knows from the beginning this woman means trouble. He wants a quiet life for himself, even if loveless, but peaceful, to overcome a past that still haunts him. Is Genevieve a person sent from God to redeem himself or is God wanting him to be his instrument in Gen’s overcoming her med addiction and remaking of herself?
This is a very realistic and relatable story that will tug at your heartstrings. It will make you -at least it made me- cry -no sob- and laugh out loud at the same time. It will make you reflect upon your own life and make you want to be a better person after reading it. There’s also a mystery related to Gen’s parents that keeps you intrigued…
I have a family member that struggles with another type of addiction, and I felt related, and felt it was very realistically portrayed. A hard struggle to be sure, but I love that her stories are full of hope and redemption.
I loved Gen’s sister, Natasha, and hope to read her story in a future book in the series.
A heartfelt novel that will leave you satisfied and inspired! One of Becky’s best stories! Next to True to You, my favorite!
I definitely recommend this story and the beginning of what promises to be a wonderful series!
Beautifully addresses addiction and its impact on others and does so in such a gentle but clear way. There’s a lot of tough love in this book. Very impressed with how Becky Wade handled difficult issues and put some twists in there that kept me wanting to listen to the audiobook version. Highly recommend!
The characters in Stay with Me are very real with struggles many can relate to. I appreciated the honesty and truthfulness in the book. And I wanted some of those recipes. I look forward to the next in the series.
“Time does not heal all wounds. Some things burrow into you like a splinter, and no amount of ignoring the splinter will help.”
I was expecting a romance that would make me swoon and I certainly got that. I was NOT expecting everything else this book had to offer, though, and I was completely blown away. The storytelling is magnificent. The characters are real. The spiritual thread is deep and convicting.
Stay with Me is much more than a romance, and I applaud Becky Wade for masterfully handling the content while entertaining readers. This book is so well done.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. All expressed opinions belong to me.
This is book one in A Misty River Romance series. What a great place to start. I love the writing style of Becky Wade. Her characters are well developed with real life problems. She always has sparks, romance and lots of laughter.
I enjoyed getting to know the people of Misty River and look forward to hearing more from them. Genevieve Woodward has much to overcome. Sam Turner can not believe what he is feeling again. Sam and Gen have a lot to learn, give and experience.