*ON SALE FOR 99 CENTS DURING RELEASE WEEK! THIS BOOK IS ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME AND WILL RETURN TO ITS REGULAR PRICE OF 3.99 AFTER SALE ENDS!*
**Book links:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Goodreads ~ Kobo ~
**THIS IS THE STANDALONE EDITION OF KEEP ME STILL AND INCLUDES THE PREQUEL AND SEQUEL NOVELLAS Let You Leave and Hold Us Close
Synopsis:
Scarred by loss, Layla leaves her hometown of Hope Springs, Georgia, hoping to put her painful past behind her and start over in college in California. When she runs into Landen at freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel walls she’s built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep her still a second chance.
Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls, but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her
* This special edition of Keep Me Still includes the novella, Let You Leave & Hold Us Close:
Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him. He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that will either bind them together or tear them apart.
My review:
Quick note: the edition that I just read included the novellas Let You Leave and Hold Us Close which in essence are the events leading up to and following the main novel, Keep Me Still. I do recommend this edition, if for no other reason than you get more Landen!
Keep Me Still is a novel by author Caisey Quinn and the first of her works that I have read. Well, after this, I will be adding all of her other works to me to-read list (oh, goodie! She’s got a bunch of books out!). This book was a crazy, intense emotional trip that I absolutely loved.
Among the many things Layla Flaherty has wished for in her life, being normal and happy are the two that mean the most. She has been through more in her life than anyone should have to endure. She lost her parents in a horrible act of violence that left her scarred emotionally and physically. Even though you couldn’t actually see her physical scars, they have ruined her reputation at school in the form of a seizure disorder and threaten to ruin her chance at a normal life. Things change, however, the minute new student and star soccer player Landen O’Brien moves to their school. She thought things had changed for the good when they became fast and close friends that slowly grew to more. Soon she realized that things actually changed for the worse when he broke her heart and ended up moving again…away from her. Even a year later, freshly tucked into freshman year at college far away from her hometown and all those memories, she couldn’t forget him. He was it for her and no one will ever live up. Imagine her surprise when she finds out he’s on her college’s soccer team. Is fate giving them another chance? Would she be able to get over her broken heart now, with him here?
As an army brat, Landen O’Brien was used to moving around. He was also used to a crap home life with a less than warm and fuzzy father, to put it nicely. The only good thing in his life was soccer….until he met Layla. For once, he was thanking his lucky stars that they had to move again and that he ended up here, with Layla, in this small town in Georgia. After spending time together, he knows he’s fallen hard and fast, but like all things in his life, nothing good lasts and he soon finds out he has to leave her. He broke her heart the day he left and he knew enrolling at the same college she was going to may not be the best choice, but he has to try to get her back. She was everything to him and he is going to do all he can to make her realize that. Since he left her a year ago, he’s been planning this. Even with his unanswered emails, texts, phone calls, he was determined. Now, with a little undercover help from Layla’s aunt, he’s here and there’s no way is he going to let her slip away again.
Layla and Landen embark on an emotional, moving, touching journey that will test their commitment to each other as well as to themselves. Individually they carry their own heavy burdens and things will get hard along the way, but with love and trust in the bond they’ve found, they have the power to make it all work out in the end. It may not be easy, but some things are worth fighting for.
This book kicked my arse and I absolutely loved it. Layla broke my heart at the beginning. She was so damaged and lost and just plain sad. To have gone through what she did and still be willing to try to get to some kind of normal life was so very admirable. Then to see her grow with Landen’s help, and to gain some confidence was fantastic. It was that confidence that had me loving her through the book. After coming out of her shell, so to speak, she really learned that she could take charge of her future and that her scars and her past didn’t define her. It was beautiful to see that change in her. On the flip side, Landen ended up breaking my heart at the end. He is a book boyfriend that I know tons of gals will be swooning over. An adorable, all-American jock with a damaged side that slayed me. Reading some of his scenes had me bawling my eyes out. Of course, that made me love him even more. His determination to be with Layla and his love for her was so real and intense. The dynamic between Layla and Landen is amazing. He helped her when she needed it most and pulled her from her darkness and eventually she has to do the same for him. Their trip to a happy ending is a really, really, REALLY rough one but so damn well deserved. Gut wrenching, sob inducing, heart breaking, emotional charged scenes put this book on my list of favorites. I absolutely adore Layla and Landen and reading the last few pages of this book made me so very happy for them.
Oh, and Layla’s roomie? Corin…. KICKED ASS! That girl is a friend we all would be lucky to have. She’s there for Layla when the chips are down and it honest even when the truth hurts. Loved her!
Yes, this is clearly one of my long and rambling reviews, because I just LOVED this book. Again, I recommend getting the edition with the two novellas because, well, more is always better! Thank you, Caisey, for Layla and Landen and for this amazing story.
Four-and-a-Half Loves
About the author:
Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com .
Website: http://www.caiseyquinnwrites.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7041163.Caisey_Quinn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCaiseyQuinn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaiseyQuinn