Hi everyone! Today's review is on If I Stay by Jenny Anastan! This is Anastan's first novel and was actually translated from Italian by Elena Mancini.
The story is told from the perspective of Zoe. For a whole year, she had a fling with a man named Andrew. For him, it was just sex with no strings attached. For her, it was way more. She fell in love with him, but he treated her like she was nothing, After a year, he returned back to New York from San Francisco, where Zoe lives.
She was heartbroken, as he left like nothing mattered. Fast forward four years later, and she meets him again, but in the most unexpected and probably unpleasant way. What do you know, he is engaged to get married to her arch nemesis, Ashley! Ashley is the daughter of a very close family friend who became like a mother to Zoe.
Zoe of course, is in shock and disbelief. She spends the majority of the book whining and complaining of how heartbroken she is and how she can never get over Andrew. She has tried once before, but her heart belongs to him. Honestly, I was planning on giving this book another 2 star rating, but I held out until the end and boy, am I glad I did.
The very last few chapters (this is a very short book, keep in mind) is what saved this book. I like how one chapter was told from the perspective of Andrew, and I like how he actually gave a reason (and a good one!) for his leaving and treating Zoe as if she meant nothing to him. Not to mention, she also had a bombshell secret that he found out about quite early in the book. That's another thing that I appreciated; how fast-moving the book was. It was well-paced and did not drag. I also really enjoyed the epilogue and even got a little teary-eyed!
How does Zoe handle Andrew's return? What is her secret that she has been hiding from him? What is his reason for leaving and treating her like yesterday's garbage? Does she ever get over him? Does he actually get married to the sworn enemy Ashley, or do Zoe and Andrew stand a chance to have a real relationship together? So many questions... you'll just have to read this book if you want to find out! ;)
This is not a book that I will be whole-heartedly recommending, but give it a shot. My final rating is 3/5 stars!
Until next time bookworms,
xoxococonutlatte
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