Retro Review: Stay With Me

This review of Stay With Me by Beverly Long was first posted at The Romance Reader in 2005.  Back then, I rated this 3-Hearts (C Grade) with an MPAA sensuality content rating of PG-13.

+++++

Here’s something you don’t see everyday – a new time travel western. While not flawless, Stay With Me will certainly be of interest to time travel and western romances fans alike.

Sarah Jane Tremont is a burnt-out social worker living in Los Angeles. She’s just plain tired. For every child she helps, there are a dozen more waiting in line. She made it through her last day of work and is walking along the beach when a storm kicks up. The next thing Sarah knows she’s in John Beckett’s cabin in 1888 Wyoming Territory.

John is flabbergasted to see Sarah on his doorstep. After his brother was killed in a silver mine collapse, the grieving widow hightailed it out of town with the family’s savings. He wants to slam the door in her face, but she’s bleeding and obviously confused. Plus there’s the ultimate question – what the heck is she doing back in town?

Sarah is a bright girl and soon realizes that 1) she’s traveled back in time and 2) she’s the spitting image of John’s witchy sister-in-law. She also realizes that crazy people who go spouting off about time travel in 1888 might not be well received. So lacking options she assumes the role of Sarah Beckett until she can figure out how to get back to present day L.A.

Our Sarah is obviously nothing like Sarah One, so her shift in personality has John confused. Sarah is soon helping his widowed best friend, Fred, by babysitting his three children. She also takes to playing piano in church and even rescues a local saloon girl when a customer attacks her. The Sarah that was married to his brother would certainly never behave in such a fashion.

Stay With Me is one of those books where the secondary romance works better than the primary one. John spends so much time avoiding Sarah and thinking ill of her that it’s hard to believe it when he realizes he’s in love. It’s his animosity towards Sarah One that leads our Sarah to move to town, hence triggering off the more interesting aspects of the story – Sarah’s interaction with the townspeople who knew Sarah One and the secondary romance.

Original Berkley Cover

That secondary romance features John’s widowed friend, Fred, and a local saloon girl, Suzanne. There are obvious complications however. Respectable men don’t marry saloon girls – especially when that respectable man has three children and a preacher father-in-law to worry about. Also, Fred was in love with his dead wife, he doesn’t want to be disrespectful to her memory by falling in love again.

While the primary romance is a little lackluster things roll along pretty well until the end when some unpleasantness appears. Sarah has an unfortunate too-stupid-to-live moment and the sex scene finally happens. The too-stupid-to-live moment was likely the author’s way to get John to finally admit that he loves Sarah, so while annoying, it can be understood. The sex scene though was hard to overlook since it landed firmly in Purple Prose Territory. Gems like “you taste rich and sweet and I am a greedy man,” and “your womanly scent fills my bed making me want with an urgency I cannot describe” only reinforce the opinion that heroes should never talk during love scenes.

All that said I found Stay With Me a largely entertaining read. The author writes nice characters, and I especially enjoyed the interaction Sarah had with the wide cast of secondary players. While the road isn’t always entirely smooth, it’s still a nice journey.

+++++

Wendy Looks Back: I'm admittedly not much for time travel but, yes you guessed it, the historical western angle is what reeled me in here.  Long is still writing, although these days it's romantic suspense for both Harlequin Intrigue and Harlequin Romantic Suspense.  I actually read one of her Harlequin Intrigues for the 2016 TBR Challenge and didn't make the connection.  For those of you curious about this book - at the time of this posting, it was a very reasonably priced 99 cents over at Amazon.

#TBRChallenge 2016: Agent Bride

The Book: Agent Bride by Beverly Long

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue #1608, 2015, Book #2 in Return to Ravesville series (stands alone well)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: It is a truth universally acknowledged that when Wendy is at conferences she will grab any Harlequin not tied down.  I picked up this one at RT 2016 mostly because of the striking female cover model (Her make-up is flawless and that veil? Swoon).

The Review: Cal Hollister is a former Navy SEAL (because of course he is) now honorably discharged, with no job, and at loose ends.  As much as he's loathe to return to the tiny Missouri town where he grew up, he knows he can no longer avoid it.  His older brother shouldn't have to carry the entire burden of fixing up their stepfather's house to sell.  Complicating matters is that a freak snowstorm has blown through Missouri and travel conditions are not ideal.  So it's really amazing that Cal happens to notice what looks like a white flag flapping along the side of the road.  When he stops to investigate he discovers it's an unconscious woman, wearing no shoes, and in a bridal gown.  That white flag was actually her wedding veil.

"Stormy" has no idea what has happened.  She wakes up half frozen to death looking into the eyes of a stranger.  And when he asks her what her name is?  She has no idea.  She has no idea about anything.  Who she is, how she got on the side of the road, and why she's wearing a wedding dress.  What she does know is that something is not right and it becomes apparent to both her and Cal that whoever she is?  She's in deep doo-doo.  Because some very bad men are out looking for her.

I read this book while traveling and it truly was perfect airplane reading.  The suspense hooked me right away and the amnesiac bride angle?  I mean, how can you not LOVE that?!  Stormy's memory comes back in drips and drabs, and as resourceful as Cal is (hey, the guy was a SEAL), our heroine isn't entirely helpless, faulty memory aside.  Once Cal realizes that she's in some type of danger, his hero instincts kick in and they work to solve the mystery of her identity together.  I loved reading about them fitting the puzzle pieces back together.

What doesn't work so well?  The romance.  As compelling as the suspense and the amnesia storyline is, the romance felt like an afterthought.  I bought into these two as "a team" but as far as sexual tension?  Not so much.  Also this story takes place on a very abbreviated timeline - Cal finds Stormy on a Wednesday and she "knows" that Saturday is somehow super important.  She's not sure why, she just knows it is.  So to have them solve the mystery, have sex, save the day, and fall deeply in love to the point where Cal is talking "let's get married" at the end?  Yeah, no.  Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.  Why oh WHY could this not have been a Happy-For-Now (HFN)?  This is the 21st century - we don't need all our romances to end with a marriage proposal (no, really - we don't).  Especially in books where the couple hasn't even known each other for a week and one of those characters is SUFFERING FROM AMNESIA!

Which leaves the suspense.  Remember how I said the suspense was really good?  Well it is, until it isn't.  It kind of falls apart at the end.  Namely, why Stormy was wearing the wedding dress.  Long explains it, but dang if it isn't weak-sauce. As in, super weak.  Look, I know villains don't always think in a logical manner, but this strains the seams considerably.  It just doesn't hold up to any kind of scrutiny.

What we have here, ladies and gents, is the very definition of a meh read.  The suspense starts out great, the romance is ho-hum, but then it all kind of falls apart at the end.  But you know what?  It kept me entertained while I was traveling to the point where I didn't want to put it down and I inhaled it in a matter of hours.  So hey....it wasn't all bad.

Final Grade = C