Grace Walker doesn't do relationships. She spent her childhood in and out of foster homes, she and her siblings looking after each other when their drug-addicted mother couldn't. With such a dysfunctional family, Grace just doesn't think she's relationship material. She'd rather play the field and otherwise keep to herself. But then she runs into someone from her childhood: Eva Carrington, an orphaned heiress who did a brief stint in a children's home alongside Grace. The two felt a strong connection as children, and now that they're adults, it's even stronger. But Grace sticks to her guns: she doesn't do relationships, and she's certain kind, intelligent Eva deserves better than her anyway. But then someone else from the past hurts Eva badly to get revenge on Grace for some perceived slight, and Eva ends up pregnant. When she makes the difficult decision to have the baby, Grace promises to be there for mother and child no matter what. But with this makeshift family on her hands, can Grace keep pretending she doesn't love Eva? 

This was a fantastic new story from Michelle Arnold.

Grace and Eva’s emotional tale will take you on a ride as they fight for the happiness that they both deserve. After a difficult start in life for both characters, with very different experiences of life, it was amazing to see that no matter where you come from your past won’t define you or your life. Grace and Eva share similar vulnerabilities that as a reader we are lucky enough to see in this beautiful romance.

I was gripped by the whole story and the delicate balance between drama and romance. Laced with cute moments, and a little humour just made the whole reading experience realistic. As with any romance there has to be drama and Michelle has given us her own unique spin on this in Stay, which I absolutely love. I also adored the background story interwoven into the plot that explained Grace and Eva’s past, how they knew each other, and how their relationship formed.

They overcome so much in this story that I am a little in awe of Grace and Eva’s strength and determination. The characters really convey this strongly making them easy to connect with, and from the very beginning I was completely invested in them. Grace is cute and a little rough around the edges, a contrast to Eva completely and that is what really makes their dynamic work so well.

I highly recommend this story for any romance lover, it really was very sweet and filled with excitement that made it very difficult to put down. As much as I love Michelle Arnold’s Amy Sadler Detective Mysteries, and love that there are a few traits of those stories in Stay, I really think this is Michelle’s best story yet! 

Five years after the events of Stay, Eva and Grace are happily married and raising their two small daughters, Tori and Nora. Tori, a lively, precocious four-year-old, has no idea she was fathered by a rapist, and her parents plan to keep it that way as long as practical. But when the parents of the deceased offender find out they have a biological grandchild, they sue for custody, sending Eva and Grace into a nightmarish legal battle that brings up terrible memories for Eva. As the two women fight to keep this potentially dangerous couple away from their child, a new threat emerges: Eva is being harassed online by an obsessive stranger.

In the midst of the chaos, Eva and Grace work hard to keep their little family functioning and happy, but they are left wondering: is it possible to live out your dreams without the past haunting you?