Courtney Cole

The first book in the Beautifully Broken series. Twenty-four-year-old Pax Tate is not always a nice guy. 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. As Pax grew up, he tried to be the perfect golden boy but his dad couldn't overcome his grief long enough to notice. 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 ugly, black void in his heart. Until he meets sweet, beautiful Mila Hill. Mila is a carefree smile to his hardened frown, the beauty to his beast. When memories of his mother's death resurface, Mila is there to help him mend his broken heart . . . but only if he can stop being a jerk long enough to allow it. Pax says he's working on it. But is that enough to make her stay?

If You Stay

Cole, Courtney (Novelist)

"For fans of Jessica Sorensen, J.A. Redmerski, and Abbi Glines... Twenty-four-year-old Pax Tate is an asshole. Seriously. He's a tattooed, rock-hard bad boy with a tough attitude to match. His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with an intense guilt that he doesn't understand. What he does know is that he and his dad were left alone, and they have never been close. Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the black void in his soul. He pretends that the emptiness isn't there and this has always worked. until he meets Mila. Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air that Pax has never known in his life. He doesn't know how to not hurt her-but he quickly realizes that he'd better figure it out because he needs her to breathe. When the memories of his mother's death resurface to haunt Pax, Mila is there to save him from his overwhelming guilt. Mila restores his broken heart, even as she evokes his powerful, sexual desires. Now for Pax to keep Mila, he needs to work on his issues-and stop being an asshole. But is that enough to make her stay?"--

If you stay

Miranda Danielson

Great light hearted romance. Very quick read with the focus being on the characters more than the plot. Characters were loveable but I felt like the story line was very rushed and not thought out very well. It is definitely a pallet cleanser that is nice to read when you don’t want anything too serious or heart wrenching!

cris 🫀

Moraleja:

nunca en la vida releer un libro que te gustó en tus inicios de lectora, siempre terminan siendo una mierda la segunda vez que los lees.

Chelsea Bates

From the first page I knew I was going to love this book. 

Pax and Mila meet in the worst circumstances. Mila finds Pax passed out, almost dead. She calls for help and saves his life, but that is only the first save she has. 


   "'But there is something that bothers me, something that puts me at a disadvantage. And I really don't like feeling disadvantaged.' 
'What is it?' she asks, her eyes not leaving mine.
'You've seen me at my worst. Maybe you should see me at my best.'
My words hang between us, heavy and charged, and I don't know what the fuck I am doing.
'When are you at your best?' she asks hesitantly. And I can see from the determined look on her face that she is trying hard no to feel intimidated. I'm impressed. She's like a kitten standing up to a lion. 
'In bed.'" 


From this point on, they get to know one another and immediately the attraction is undeniable. They both have their issues (Pax's a little bit more troubling), but they build a relationship based off of the truth. 

  "I feel like he is baiting me, challenging me. But challenging me to what? It almost feels like I've been invited to play a game, but the rules aren't going to be explained.

They have a passionate relationship. Hot and steamy sex along with heated arguments and issues to work through together but also alone. 


  "But then again, sometimes love has to put boxing gloves on and be tough in order to survive. Sometimes, you have to do the harder thing - the thing where you let someone grow on their own."


After all, 
   Love Never Fails.

Ariella

Se que debería decirle que corra lejos, que corra lejos de mi, pero por supuesto que no lo hago. ella es como un rayo de sol y yo la absorbo. Tiene energia buena y saludable y me gusta como se siente hablar con ella. Es como respirar aire puro.

YO PODRE SER EL LOBO MALO, PERO INCLUSO LOS LOBOS DEBEN RESPIRAR.

Pax tate simplemente ha ingresado a mi lista de protas que AMO

Cindy Lee

More of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: B+

Warning: Crude language

If You Stay was a contemporary romance that I really enjoyed. It's about this "asshole" (who I didn't think was much of one, just really fucked up) and Mila who are attracted to each other. 

What I really liked was the characters. I liked Pax for trying to get over his emotional unstable-ness. And Mila for shining a light into his apparent fucked up life. Their romance was so sweet and I was really emotional during the whole book :3 JUST AH... ALL THE FEELZ. And the swearing made moments comical haha. Like those moments when I'm supposed to be serious I just laugh 'cause they swore and I'm just like, haha lol.

I really liked everything but I think this book could've turned out better. I would make some changes to the plot. It wasn't as interesting as other contemporaries I've read. The plot was really focused on his apparent fuck-up but I think it's just emotional issues. And I didn't like it when Mila just kept pushing him away after he did something wrong. I mean, he told her before that he would mess up. He's not going to be perfect! He even told her that. He was begging for forgiveness but she wouldn't take him back! And I'm like, BITCH.. JUST BE THE GOOD IN HIS LIFE AND TAKE HIM BACK.

Whew.. Rant over. Besides that small issue I have, I really enjoyed the book and I give B+ for effort.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

If You Stay alternates between Mila's and Pax's point of view. Pax, the bad boy who indulged himself with drugs and women to cover up his issues, and Mila, the sweet, reserved artist who played it safe. Pax doesn't believe he deserves anything good in life. His mother passed away, and something about that event has left him torn and broken... yet he can't recollect what it is. Mila, who also lost her parents, is dealing with this loss in her own ways... yet they are quite different than Pax.

Definitely opposites by every sense of the word, these two seemed completely wrong for each other from the start. Literally, from the start. Mila meets Pax for the first time when he's passed out in his car, covered in vomit, not responding. Pax instantly is drawn to her. She makes him want to be a better person. He doesn't know why, but he can't deny it. And she can't either. Their chemistry is strong, unable to be ignored.

Since I'm not a huge fan of sappy romance novels, I wasn't too sure if I would enjoy this one or not. After debating it for a while, I decided to give it a go. It turned out to be a much more angst-ridden romance with a lot of issues... which actually made it a lot more enjoyable to me. Though parts were a bit slow at times, it would pick right back up a few pages later. I ended up really enjoying the story, and was quite satisfied at the end. 

Having the story conveyed through Pax's point of view really helped me feel for him. I think he would have been hated if this story was told through Mila only. It was easy to trust him, believe him when he said that he really did want to better himself and his life. And Mila earned my respect completely, especially when she didn't let him walk all over her. She made him prove himself, especially when he messed up. And he did mess up... he messed up BIG time! 

Fans of romance will really enjoy this story. Though it was heartbreaking and raw at times, it also felt sweet and hopeful. It definitely brought out a wide range of emotions in me. I'm really happy I decided to give it a chance.

Pamela Alvarado

It surprised me how deep and well-written this book is. It totally surpassed my expectations, which weren't that high to begin with. When I started reading, being in Pax's weird, and horny mind, I thought this would be your typical attempt of a deep story with more sex than anything. 

And... Yup, not short of sex at all, but it's the other part, how Pax specially evolves throughout the book without coming across as crazy or dangerously violent, that made this an awesome read.

Lacey

Also posted at Booklovers For Life

I’m feeling pretty ambivalent about this book. I should have loved it, but I didn’t. I still really liked reading it, but I didn’t connect very much with it. If You Stay was the perfect setup for me–a bad boy with a tragic past who changes for the girl he loves, but it just didn’t click, and I’m not very sure why.

Pax is a bad boy. He’s a jerk and he knows it. He doesn’t care much for life, and he drinks and whores his way through it. And then one day he takes it too far, and overdoses on drugs. Mila finds him like this, dying, and calls the ambulance, saving his life. And even though the two of them should never come across each other again–the rich, spoiled bad boy, and the sweet, innocent artist–Pax and Mila do. They connect with one another in a way they’ve never felt before, and while their romance is sweet and a little heart-wrenching, I felt very apart from the story. I wasn’t as immersed in it as much as I wanted to be, and although it got better later on as I kept reading, it still wasn’t enough to make me love this book.

Pax is the quintessential redeeming bad boy who does a 180 once he falls in love. I wasn’t too much of a fan of his in the beginning of the book (like, wow, if you’ve read If You Stay–what a way to start a book), but he grew on me. He shows his sweet, warm, loving side once Mila gets under his skin and into his heart. He truly has a good heart, but life dealt him a shitty hand. If You Stay is mostly his story, though the book is told in both his and Mila’s POVs. We learn about Pax’s tragic, heart-wrenching past, and how he deals with it with Mila by his side.

Mila is the perfect girl for Pax. She’s got a touch of innocence in her, but she’s strong for Pax when he needs her to be. She tries to keep Pax at a distance because of his reputation as a bad boy, but slowly, she gets to know the real Pax and falls in love with him. And although their journey towards their happily ever after isn’t without its bumps, they try their hardest to make is work.

I love that besides the romance, there’s deeper meaning to the story. That no matter how broken you are, you can always find it in yourself to be happy. You can get help and fix yourself, but only if you allow yourself to be fixed. I really loved the way Courtney Cole integrated this into If You Stay, and her writing is phenomenal. I’d definitely recommend this book for the writing, and Courtney Cole’s perfect bad boy hero.

3 stars! Although there were some parts that were 3.5-4, but I’m going to go with a 3 because I was expecting to love it more.

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For fans of Jessica Sorensen, J.A. Redmerski, and Abbi Glines... Twenty-four-year-old Pax Tate is an asshole. Seriously. He's a tattooed, rock-hard bad boy with a tough attitude to match. His mother died when Pax was seven, leaving a hole in his heart filled with an intense guilt that he doesn't understand. What he does know is that he and his dad were left alone, and they have never been close. Now, he uses drugs and women to cope with the black void in his soul. He pretends that the emptiness isn't there and this has always worked . . . until he meets Mila. Sweet, beautiful Mila Hill is the fresh air that Pax has never known in his life. He doesn't know how to not hurt her-but he quickly realizes that he'd better figure it out because he needs her to breathe. When the memories of his mother's death resurface to haunt Pax, Mila is there to save him from his overwhelming guilt. Mila restores his broken heart, even as she evokes his powerful, sexual desires. Now for Pax to keep Mila, he needs to work on his issues-and stop being an asshole. But is that enough to make her stay?

If You Stay

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