*Review* If You Stay - Courtney Cole

If You Stay - Courtney Cole 

Series : Yes (#1 Beautifully Broken)

Released : 5th February 2013

Publisher: Grand Central Forever

Format : E Book

Source : Author's Representative (Thank you) 

Buy : Amazon (UK/USA)/Book Depository

Overall rating

 .................................... The Blurb  ....................................

24-year old Pax Tate is an asshole.
Seriously.

He’s a tattooed, rock-hard bad-boy with a bad attitude to match.
But he’s got his reasons.
His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with guilt although he doesn’t understand why. What he does know is that he and his dad are left alone and with more issues than they can count.
As Pax grew up, he tried to be the kid his father always wanted; the perfect golden boy, but it didn’t work. His dad couldn’t overcome his grief long enough to notice and Pax couldn’t keep up the impossible perfect façade.
So he slipped far, far from it.
Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the ugliness, the black void that he doesn’t want to deal with. If he pretends that the emptiness isn’t there, then it isn’t, right?
Wrong.

And it’s never more apparent than when he meets Mila.
Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air to his hardened frown, the beauty to his ugly heart. He doesn’t know how to not hurt her, but he quickly realizes that he’s got to figure it out because he needs her to breathe.
When memories of his mother’s death resurface from where he’s repressed them for so long, Mila is there to catch him when the guilt starts making sense. Mila is the one…the one who can save him from his broken troubled heart; from his issues, from the emptiness.
But only if he can stop being an asshole long enough to allow it.
He knows that. And he’s working on it.
But is that enough to make her stay?

 .................................... My Thoughts   ....................................

In Short

- If You Stay has well developed, interesting characters.

- My feelings for the story line changed throughout the book.

- Although Pax is a bad boy you can't help but like him. 

- I felt the story went off track a little in the middle of the book. 

In Long

I have to say I was really drawn in by the blurb of If You Stay, I do love a good bad boy! I was quickly drawn into the story. Pax definitely lives up to the bad boy label which he has been given by the author and is definitely an ar*ehole! Still, as I said I loved, I love a good bad boy and still found myself liking him despite his actions.

As I got more into the book I admit I sadly found my interest slipping from the storyline. At the beginning there was a lot going on and I liked both Pax and Mila. But then I started to find Mila a bit irritating, she constantly changed her mind on things and I couldn't help but be a bit annoyed by her. I found that when it came to their actual relationship my feelings on it changed as quickly and often as their relationship did. One moment I found it all a bit boring but then it got interesting and very addictive again.

The storyline itself was really addictive to begin with and I couldn't put it down, I really enjoyed getting to know both Pax and Mila. As the story line progressed I sadly felt like there were too many different little storyline’s going on and the book lost focused. I am glad I stuck with If You Stay though as towards the end I became gripped again, the part where his mother’s memories resurfaced was a page turner and seeing how it all affected the different relationships in the book.

Final Thoughts

If You Stay is a book with deep meaningful characters who I really enjoyed getting to know and go on a journey with. I found that although I lost interest in the story line through the middle of the book I was able to get back into the story and the characters towards the end and really enjoyed the ending.