THE FIRST BOOK IN A HEART-CONSUMING TRILOGY “And the saint fell in love with the sociopath … but it’s anyone’s guess who is who in this story.” From Amazon’s #1 bestselling author in Gothic Romance comes a breathtaking and unforgettable love story that will keep you guessing who the real villains are. In a desperate final attempt to save nineteen-year-old Mia from herself, she gets transferred …
In a desperate final attempt to save nineteen-year-old Mia from herself, she gets transferred to Dolor University, a reformatory college in the UK that housed deranged and dangerous young adults who viewed the private institution as their own personal playground. Mia didn’t care. She needed feelings to care. She’d keep her head down, ignore everyone, and make it through the next two years effortlessly.
Though Mia never anticipated Ollie Masters.
With green eyes, tattoos, and the voice of a poet, she is quickly drawn to him. But because of her sociopath tendencies, she knows it could only end in one of two ways. Either he will be the one to free her from her past, or she will be the one to destroy him.
WARNING: Mature content, adult language, graphic sexual content, and disturbing matters may trigger an emotional response. Read at your own risk.
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Emotionally gutting, heart wrenching, and you totally won’t want to put it down once you start it. Those are the first three things that come to mind when I think of this book. So you want to make good and sure that you have ZERO plans before you pick it up, because I promise you won’t want to leave your couch!
Nicole Fiorina shattered every little piece of my soul with this masterpiece – and it’s her debut novel! You know what that means? She has more coming our way after this one! Which makes me jump up and down with glee!
I am completely shredded. I was hanging off the side of a roller coaster of emotions from the start. I fell in love with Mia and Ollie. I loved their interactions with each other and Nicole made you feel like you were literally in the room with them every. single. time. I loved everything about the characters. I’m talking like LOVED them.
I have never before read a story jam packed with so much everything. Seriously, ALL THE FREAKING FEELS!!!! I cried. I got angry. I swooned over Ollie so hard. My heart hurt for Mia. So many powerful stories within one. It is beautiful, dark, twisted, and will leave you in the best of book hangovers.
I’ve decided that Nicole Fiorina is a story genius. She’s brought two completely (polar opposite) souls together and woven such a tale of love. Two people totally wrong for each other that all the wrongs make up a right.
I cannot wait to see what comes next, honestly. Waiting with baited breath over here, Nicole!
If you want a book that’s going to drown you in it’s depths then you’re going to want to read this one. Highly recommend to anyone who likes things a little twisted. Who wants a love story that’s not like all the rest. Who wants to just read a pretty great freaking story. READ THE DANG BOOK!
That is all 🙂
This is Nicole Fiorina’s first book and her writing is beautiful. Has a certain poetic feel to it. The way she describes the characters emotions was my favorite part. Also that each chapter start with a beautiful quote. They feel like love notes from the main character Oliver to Mia.
The story behind Stay with Me it’s one that deals with young adults mental and emotional problems. This trouble youngsters are sent away to this College/ mental institution call Dolor ( which means pain in Spanish). There’s either be there and deal with their issues or be sent to jail after all the trouble each and everyone of them got into it on their respective homes.
It’s in Dolor’s where our leading couple meets. The secondary characters were funny but others did seriously got on my nerve. Mia and Oliver develops a relationship that in the beginning I felt it was one sided. Been that Oliver problem is he feel TOO MUCH. He is too emotional while Mia is disconnected from any type of emotion. She doesn’t know how to express herself. This made a good balance for the couple. Soon after Oliver will get inside of Mia heart to the point of becoming the antidote to make her deal with her past and open up her heart to feel again. To start living and wanting to recuperate the life she has lost so long ago. There is mystery and suspense in trying to decipher that awful past that Mia’s subconscious is hiding so hard from herself.
The part I wasn’t to excited about in the story was the fact that their relationship became too sexual. I also couldn’t get into the whole college/ mental institution setting. It didn’t make too much sense to me. There’s a villain in the story that you aren’t expecting and still now I’m not sure how he got into Dolor as easy as he did. Once you read the story you will understand what I mean. The ending is a cliffhanger. Leaving you on edge and wanting to know what will happen to this couple. Stay with Me is book one of a series of 3 books. Release date is August 3.
5 Stars
Review by Sasha
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
Holy Crap! I can’t believe that Stay with Me is Nicole Fiorina’s debut novel. Her writing comes off as if she’s been publishing books for years.
This emotionally charged story will have you captivated from the second you pick it up and make it nearly impossible to put down. The spectrum of emotions that you feel going through the story will have you questioning your own sanity for a minute, and feeling as if you need to take a breather before moving on to something else. It’s a dark, twisty novel that is filled with secrets that you wouldn’t dream of working within the pages of this novel, but in that magical way seem to line up perfectly.
It opens with Mia Rosa, a not so typical troubled teen, as she is sent away to a reformer school, Dolor University, that is meant to straighten out kids with problems. She’s lost to the world, simply numbed to her feelings and the world around her. Her actions have lost their value and her parents can’t handle the antics anymore. The school seems like the best option, and if she can keep her head down, study hard, then maybe her time here will fly by.
Enter Ollie, the cute boy who is going to make it virtually impossible for Mia to fly under the radar. While Mia feels nothing, Ollie is her mirror and feels everything around him. The spark is instant and try as she might, Mia can’t get Ollie to leave her alone. He demands that she feels her emotions and come back to reality. Both burdened with secrets, it’s unclear if Mia and Ollie are destined to help each other or burn each other down.
I haven’t read a book that had me full-on sobbing while reading in a long time. I don’t mean like a couple tears running down my cheeks. I mean it was actually a full-on sob fest with me clutching my phone to my chest and simply trying to breathe a little. The writing is so beautiful that I found myself taken aback by some of the lines. They hit you in such a powerful way and it was so refreshing to have to stop and let a line or two sink in completely. I believe that by bringing out these emotions in her writing, it allows the themes she is writing about to come across in a stronger way.
Many psychological and mental health issues are touched on and by creating such a strong emotional connection with the reader, the issues become more poignant. I’m so happy that this is the first book in a series and that I get to come back to these characters because I need more of them and Fiorina left us all dangling from a truly horrible cliffhanger.
Book 1 of 3 blew me away. I loved the foreshadowing in the beginning and it pulled me in deep and wouldn’t let go. I loved the characters and the way the book was written, it was like I was sitting in the room listening to them talk.
Great book and can’t wait for the next.
I am gutted. Stay With Me is an unforgettable experience. The pages bleed with emotion, the words will rip out your soul while simultaneously holding it together. Nicole, I will forever be one of your lovelies. If I could give a higher rating I would. Five well earned stars. I can’t recommend this book enough. Trigger warning for those sensitive to abuse. What a journey. I can’t wait for the next book!!!
I have NO WORDS!! Ughhh this book broke me!
I got this as an ARC and this is Nicole’s debut book.
The prologue got me RIGHTAWAY!!
I needed to know all the things about Mia! Why was she so broken? What happened in her past to make her have no emotions towards anyone or anything?! I felt for her, she was so broken and thought she was past the point of getting fixed. So she did what she only knew how to do and that was take from others and not feel a thing. It got to the point where her father and step mother sent her to the only place that they thought would fix her, thousands of miles away in the UK.
Ollie oh my sweet, bad boy looking Ollie! I just loved him. He made me think of myself, someone who has way too much emotions that they can’t handle at times (I cry over commercials people! Lol).
As soon as he saw Mia for the first time, he SAW HER! Like her soul and knew she needed saving. He didn’t know what from or how he was going to do, but he knew it would be him to save her. Little did he know she would be saving him too.
Again I have no words for how much I loved this story! It was so different from anything I have read and I LOVED that.
I will warn that it ends in a cliffhanger or more like pushing someone off a cliff (that’s for you Nicole!)
I 10000000% recommend this book!
5⃣plus plus plusssss
5 gut wrenching stars for Stay with Me by Nicole Fiorina. This is book 1 in the Stay with Me Series. I am going to start by saying I do not know if I have ever had a book touch me as much as this one. I actually had to stop part of the way thru and step away from it for a day or so because it made me extremely emotional. I have had books make me cry, I have had them touch my heart and I have had them make me laugh out loud. Never have I had a book wrap around my soul the way this one did for me. It touched my soul, ripped it apart and provided a few stiches afterwards. I am waiting on the next book to see if it will stich it the rest away.
Mia has been sent to Dolor by her stepmother and father. Dolor is a mental health facility / college. The difference is that if the fail they go prison or mental institution. The place has lots of rules to follow. Mia thinks she is a sociopath, she has no feelings what so ever. She meets Ollie while she is there. Ollie has his own issues. Both of these two are afraid of emotions, whether it be their own or people’s emotions towards them. These two slowly start to build a relationship but how do two people with so many issues come together and have a healthy relationship. Can they? This book dives into the mental health of people, and how they are treated. It shows us the reality of what they are dealing with or even how they are not dealing with their issues. How the families are being affected, or how the people around them are affected. Mia deals with figuring out her recovery and if she can actually recover.
I am not sure what I could classify this book as. I know it is a contemporary romance, but what else would it be considered I am not sure. I know it is an emotional read, maybe friends to lovers, I am just not really sure what I would consider it. I love the cover it pulled me in from the start. It was simple and made me want to read this story. Then I read the blurb and I could not wait to dive into this story. Little did I know what I was getting into. I am telling if you want a book that is going to stick with you, and tear you into pieces then this book is one for you. I would recommend if you have mental issues to dive into it with caution. This book gets down into the nitty gritty.
Mia feels nothing. No emotions, just nothing. When she is sent to a Dolor University, a reformatory college it’s her last chance to pull herself and her life together. If she doesn’t make things work at Dolor, she’ll be sent to jail. While at Dolor, she meets a boy named Ollie. Where Mia feels nothing, Ollie feels everything. From their first encounter it’s clear there is something between them. Ollie makes Mia feel whether she wants to or not. When the past comes knocking for both Ollie and Mia are they strong enough to get past it?
This may be Nicole Fiorina’s first book but trust me when I say, she writes like a seasoned vet. From the first page to the last I was enthralled with everything that was happening with this story. I don’t think an emotional rollercoaster is enough to describe the type of journey this book takes you on. Every emotion you can imagine is an emotion that you will feel while reading this book. Parts were so heartbreaking I wasn’t sure how the characters, let alone myself, could carry on. I need to know what happens next for Ollie and Mia because they’ve been through so much, they need their happily ever after.
My heart… it hurts. Mia’s story is one of heartache and unthinkable pain, but she’s able to find a light in Ollie; together they find the love of a lifetime but it isn’t easy. I need more, I need to know how their story ends! Stay With Me is a beautiful debut novel!
I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily give my review.
This story was dark, raw, and intense and sucked me in. This story was full on angst and at times difficult to read. I stayed up late reading because I needed to know what was happening and my heart and mine were completely invested. The emotions and interactions were so passionate and intense that there were a couple of times where I needed to put the book down and walk away. Some of the side characters were a little grating to me, the catty cliquey behavior is never my favorite, but the affection between Ollie and Mia kept me hooked on this story as they navigated their relationship and their own personal demons.
This was an amazing debut novel by Nicole Fiorina I will definitely follow this author and look forward to reading her future work.
WOW i am in awe right now and it’s her debut novel, this is UNIQUE and PHENOMENAL.
Nicole has written an extremely incredible story that deals with many difficult topics, she takes you in to a world that many people are scared to even acknowledge is there.
The mind is very complex and varys from one person to the next and this remarkable story gives us a glimpse of the mind, it’s diversity and daunting ways.
I was enthralled with Mia from the start, she’s so intense. Mia and Ollie have a unique connection instantly, i was entranced by their relationship and loved every minute of it. The secondary characters are fascinating and cant wait to read more about them.
This is truly griping, raw, inspiring and an emotional book.
Can’t wait to read the next book, Nicole is now one of my favourite authors.
A must read.
Five hot stars for Mia and Ollie !!!
Nicole Fiorina is the new author to me and I’m so glad that she found me and asked me to read her debut book because she impressed me with her book and writing style.
And that why I love so much to be an ARCs reader.
It’s not because of free books or to get the new book from a famous author before anyone else.
It’s because of the new authors like Nicole Fiorina who wreck your world (on a good way) with their debut books and you’re so glad that you’re the lucky one to be one of the first readers who discovered them.
“Stay With Me” is one of my favorite books this year, but I have to warn you, that this book is not for everyone’s taste!
When I’ve started reading this book, I really didn’t know what to expect from it .
But then something happened…
I was so addicted to book that I couldn’t put it down. It was so intense, interesting and hot (a really hot ) that I wanted to know what will happen next.
Mia and Ollie are two characters with emotional problems and their own demons.
They totally opposite from each other but when they’re together they become an amazing couple because everyone knows that opposites attract and when you put that together you can get only something explosive and big to remember.
And that what Mia and Ollie are…
Two characters you won’t forget soon…
P. S. Pretty please …
Can I get a book two?!
First off, when you start this book, go ahead and plan on being uninterrupted. Take the kids somewhere, get a drink, put your feet up, and enjoy this ride that is Stay With Me. It is a heart-wrenching, unconventional romance story that has it ALL!!
I’m not even sure how to start this review!! I am blown away, completely in awe of this author. She has created a MASTERPIECE – and it’s her debut novel – that has taken any emotions I have left.
This emotional, gut wrenching story has broken me. I was on a roller-coaster of emotions the whole time. I loved the characters, their problems, their circumstances, their connection. This author is a freaking genius.
She has created a story based on something I haven’t read before. I was sobbing crying in parts of this story, in awe of all that this story encompasses. It is beautiful, sweet, twisted, and will leave you begging for more. Her attention to detail and the character development were out of this world.
Mia has quite the troubled past. She is forced to go somewhere she doesn’t want to. Her story comes out piece by piece as your devour the pages of this book. She is an amazing, your woman who has endured more than any person should in their short life.
Oliver is a person I would love to know. He is supportive, and oh so kind to those around him. He has his own demons he has to overcome, and those demons might be his downfall. My heart broke for him throughout the whole entire book. His words and actions spoke volumes to someone as broken as Mia.
Together, Mia and Ollie are this magical couple that are total polar opposites (literally!). They are perfect and wrong for each other at the same time. I can’t wait to see what comes of them in the next book!!
This book truly will drag you in and not let you go. It is a must one-click for romance readers. All romance readers.
I don’t even know where to begin with this review. This book took me one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. First off, thank you to Nicole for the opportunity to read this book. This is a fantastic debut novel! The blurb is what really drew me into this story. I knew I needed to read it and find out more about thee characters and their stories.
Mia believes she can’t feel any emotions, after a traumatic event she has completely shut down. She has acted out. Her father and stepmother have had enough and send her to Dolor in the UK in hopes that she will get better. Ollie is the opposite of Mia. He feels too much emotion. These two could not be any more different from each other, yet somehow, they are perfect for each other.
Mia and Ollie’s relationship was so much more than a romance. They needed each other to heal, to feel, to recover. It was emotional and beautiful. I loved every aspect of their relationship. They are both so afraid for different reasons and they don’t want to hurt each other, but they also couldn’t stay away from one another.
Stay With Me was so different than I expected. It was an emotional romance, it was deep on so many different levels. This is book one in a series and I can not wait to see where this story goes after the cliffhanger of an ending.
This book was intense! You know that feeling when you are watching a scary movie, where you just know something is about to happen so you sit there and hold your breath and wait for the inevitable. That is how I felt reading this book from beginning to end. I sat there holding my breath, on the edge of my seat; just waiting for it and man I was not disappointed. There were so many twists and turns I felt like I was going to get whiplash.
I was hooked from the first page, which is interesting because I’m not usually a fan of the way this book started. It was just another indication that this book was going to be different. I was drawn in by the lives of Ollie and Mia. I quickly found myself attached to these characters, thinking about them long after I put the book down. There were so many different subjects brought up as the story went along that need to be spoken about. I won’t lie, there are definitely triggers throughout the book. You get a glimpse into how differently people view and interact in the world after they have suffered trauma, regardless of what that trauma is.
This is book one of the #staywithmeseries and I’m hoping that Ollie and Mia’s story isn’t over yet. The only question is how am I going to survive while I wait for the next book???
WOW!
SPEECHLESS!!
This book is intense, enticing, powerful, and all consuming..
…this book will play with your mind, heart, and soul!
Definitely need the next book ASAP!!!!
OMG what did I just read. This book was gripping, full of emotions and beautifully written.
“I wondered if I would have appreciated his light if I hadn’t been through the dark.”
This story takes place at Dolor. It’s a alternative college for the troubled. This is where Mia and Ollie Meet. Mia is fighting demons of her past that have left her unable to feel. During this story we get to watch Mia grow and become stronger. Where Ollie is the complete opposite he feel to much. You can’t help but fall in love with Ollie from the beginning. The way his emotions jump of the page and the care he has for others.
I felt all the emotions as Nicole Fiorina told the stories of Mia and Ollie. There love story is like nothing I have read. The way Nicole wrote this story you feel like you are right in the room with them. You can feel every aspect of there pain and love as it grows. This gripping page turner will have you understand its spell in no time and you will love the emotion ride from page one to the end.
Stay With Me is the debut novel for Nicole Fiorina and believe me her writing shows experience and amazing ability. Ollie and Mia are characters that will crawl under your skin and hold your heart hostage. This young adult dark romance is gripping, heartbreaking and one of the most emotional books I have read. At times I felt like I was pulled into the darkness and then I was running towards the light. Their story is full of twists, turns and the outcome is unforeseeable. A story that will take you on a roller coaster of emotions from sadness, heartache, love, friendship, anger, frustration and at times it will blow your mind. This story is hard on the heart and soul but all good things are worth the sacrifice. Bring on book two because the journey with these two is far from finished and I need more and for them to find their happiness.
Holy, WOW!
Talk about a knockout debut!
This is the kind of book you expect from a seasoned author, one who has been in the game for years.
What an absolutely captivating read. Sexy, disturbing, dark (there will be triggers for some readers) but also light and hopeful.
It was not at all what I expected, but in the best possible way.
This is a must read book, an absolutely exquisite piece of mindfuckery.
I need the next book like, yesterday!
I fucking loved it.
So much love for this book.
It gets all the heart eyes
So does Nicole Fiorina
This is the first one from Nicole and she hit it right out of the park right off the bat. This was not at all what I was expecting. It was so much better. I was floored when I was done reading this one. 5 days later and I am now writing this review because I am still feeling the effects of this one. Just so many different emotions with this one. Mia where do I start with Mia. She is quite the character indeed. She ends up getting into trouble to where her step mother and father send her away to a reform school across the country. But is she really as bad as they think? You learn while reading this one that there is a lot going on with Mia that explains what is going on with her and explains why she is the way she is. Once she gets to this school facility she wants to stay to herself but the other people there will not let her. She ends up making contact with Ollie and things between these two heat up. But is it going to end well? This storyline was amazingly written. You will easily feel everything that Mia goes through and has gone through. You will understand why she is closed off and acts the way that she does. Her relationship with Ollie is something so special and you will want to cheer these two on. But I will warn you this is a huge cliff hanger. Nicole does leave you hanging wondering what is going to happen with Mia and Ollie. I don’t know if I am going to survive until August wondering what is going to happen between these two. Just such an amazing book. I cant wait to see what the next one is like. A huge it from chapter one until the end. Highly recommend.