I bought Allie Larkin’s debut novel, Stay, because of the review I read over at Free and Flawed. I’m currently in the middle of reading about a hundred bazillion different books (seriously, the stack next to my bed is such a hazard that I’m starting to worry that it’s going to fall over and crush one of the cats), but I felt the need to read something fun and uplifting. I bumped Stay to the top of my pile and I’m so glad that I did.
From all appearances, I shouldn’t have liked this book very much. It’s not really the type of book that I usually read and I’m not always so into books that heavily feature romance. There were also a few plot devices that I found to be a little too far-fetched. Larkin has created such wonderful, believable characters that she could have locked them all up in an empty storage unit and I would have enjoyed the story. She’s succeeded at what so many modern authors fail to even attempt – she’s allowed for nuance, shades of grey and flaws that don’t necessarily mean bad people. Everybody in this book has at least something wrong with them, but all of us have something wrong with us. It’s what makes us human. Larkin sets up conflicts and makes it clear that there is no one bad guy. Just like in real life, it’s a rare argument indeed that is 100% the fault of one person.
I loved this cast of characters and I found myself hoping that Larkin will write a sequel, just so I can check in on them and see how they’re doing. This is a book about so many different kinds of love. Romantic love, friendship, even the love between dog owners and their animals all play a part in the story. This book made me happy without also giving me diabetes. I would definitely recommend it.
I’m SO glad you took a risk on Stay! I’m happy you liked it. I hope she writes a sequel too. In the mean time, I’ll be browsing dog shelters 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation! 🙂
If we didn’t have a dog already, I’d be on petfinder.com right now. 😉