If You Stayed (Deluxe Edition): A Haunting Second Chance Romance

4.5/5 ⭐️'s First I must say...this was a good book, the first book I've read by this author. I commend her because this was well written...I was desperate to learn more about what had occurred in the past to get these characters to where they were when we start the book. I was grateful that we were able to move forward both in the past, and in the present, bringing us to a pivotal inflection point as these characters are forced to make life-altering decisions. Kierra’s world is thrown off its axis when the first man she ever loved, Gabriel, suddenly appears in her life again due to a project he's working on. The only twist is that Gabriel is unable to remember his past and the fateful event that changed their lives forever. Kierra has been successful at keeping Gabriel at a distance, but when her controlling husband hires Gabriel’s architecture firm to build their new home, close proximity leads both Kierra and Gabriel to question newfound feelings. I found myself talking to the book at times... While it was an overall good read, I didn't like how everything wrapped up so neat and tidy in the end...when everything leading up to that was anything but!! Given the complex, emotional nature of the story, I would have thought there would've been at least a little messiness to end the story! I was glad for the HEA ending BUT I definitely expected a different ending because of how everything else went. With that said, I still appreciate the story as a whole! Trigger Warning: Abuse - both emotional and physical

It was a tough story content wise but liked the characters and a good message to so many