NA review: Stay With Me by J. Lynn

Title: Stay With Me
Author: J. Lynn
Series: Wait For You #3
Acquired: Bought
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Harper
Release date: 4th December 2014

Calla Fritz has been hiding from something for most of her life whether it be the scar on her face, the burns on her body or the life she once knew from all of her college friends. 

When her mother clears out her bank account leaving Calla unable to pay for school she is forced to go back home to face her past and figure out who her mother is running from. She didn't bargain for Jax though, the one person who seems able to see past every one of her defenses. 

Review
Although Stay With Me is the third book in a New Adult series it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. There are characters from previous books who pop up in this one but you don't need to have read the other books in order to understand what is going on. 

We first meet protagonist Calla in book two, 'Be With Me' but never really get to know much about her apart from that she has a scar on her face. I wanted to know more about her then so I was glad to see her get her own story. It's clear that Calla has been through a lot. She has a scar covering a lot of her face, she has burns covering a lot of her body and no real parents to speak of. Her mother is a complete flake and a massive screw up. Calla knows she's better off being away from her. 

The plot follows Calla as she is forced to go back to her home town. She doesn't want to go back but her mother has stolen all of her savings for college and she needs to find out what is going on. Calla's home town is a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business. Her mother is very well known in town but not for very good reasons at all. I really enjoyed learning about Calla's past and why certain things have helped her to become who she is in this book. 

As Calla begins to settle back in to a place she never wanted to go back to, fun and interesting characters make themselves known. There were so many people willing to help Calla even though they barely knew her. She quickly forms strong friendships with some people around her and what fantastic, colourful people they were. These characters lightened up the story which was idea because the main plot is quite heavy going and the subject matter is pretty serious. 

Then there is Jax. He knows more about Calla when she arrives than he should be he is always there for her when she needs someone. Jax comes with his own set of problems and a past but when it comes down to it, he pushes that aside to be there for Calla. He was such a sweetheart but also hard as hell when he needed to be. Jax had that soft side to him that made my heart melt but he's also intense and smoldering at the same time. What's not to love about that?

Although J. Lynn writes amazing characters, the best thing about this book was the plot. It was so different from anything else I've read recently and it was exciting as hell. Just when you think things have calmed down a bit and are better for Calla something else happens to mix things up again. The pacing was great because I never knew what to expect or when to expect things to happen. 

I honestly couldn't put this book down!