Make Me Stay is book 2 in the series but you can read it first if you wish. The story starts before the events in book 1 and end after the events in book 1. Make me Stay is divided into 2 parts.
I'm on the fence about this book really. Part one is how "June" and Matt meet and start dating. Now, it was pretty obvious to me what she was doing, but in case its not obvious to others or to people who haven't read it yet She is an undercover cop working to expose club Panic, owned by Matt, Nick, and their father. Again, book 1 starts after this has happened, so it was interesting to see a bit of how it all went down! But seriously, she was so bad at being undercover!!! Matt and June have a bit of an unconventional relationship because she travels a great deal for work, and he is in Ft. Lauderdale during the week working as an attorney. But, they try to spend their weekends together in Miami. June and Matt grow close and then she is gone.
Part 2 starts long after she disappeared. Matt spent months searching for her with a PI. He is now working at Panic full time. Then, one day, out of the blue, he sees her on the street in Miami. But she is going by Zara. Then he sees her on the news and puts it all together. She tried to talk to him and explain but he was, rightfully so, pissed.
Then the book got strange for me. June is attacked and ends up with amnesia. Not my favorite trope to be honest, but I think what bothered me most about June in this case was what she did and didn't remember. Like she remembers everything up to about 10 years ago but forgot she has Crohn's? Matt has to tell the doctors about her disease; if she remembered everything up to 10 years ago, she would have known that. It was just little things like that about her memory that were irritating.
Matt's struggle was very believable. This is a woman he loved, then found out about her betrayal, and now is torn. He knows he still has feelings for her, but he is still so hurt by her actions. But, now she is beaten and suffering and he feels obligated to help. Its very easy to empathize with Matt-caught between wanting to be a good person and wanting to still lick your wounds and save yourself.
Make Me Stay was up and down for me. I would like it, then not like it. It was hot and cold, yes and no, in and out, up and down (you know, basically a Katy Perry song!). Overall, the book is a lot of things and the plot is not what I expected. For better or worse, I finished it. I would put it down, but then pick it back up to see if it got better. I really enjoyed book one, Pull Me Close, so I might have been tougher on this installment because of the amazing characters in book 1.
- POV: dual 1st
- Tears: no
- Trope: amnesia, second chance
- Triggers: none
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
...then you will probably like Make Me Stay!
See full review on The Book Disciple