Whilst taking part in the elite forces training programme Conner is being hunted down and he needs to evade capture by some very ruthless paratroopers.
For several days he is stuck in the wilderness of the Bodmin moor.
When he comes across a remote farmhouse and the welcoming Ellidh, he knows that he's breaking the rules of training but tired, hungry and exhausted he accepts her offer of help.
But to what has Ellidh have in store for him?

This is a Creepy psychological thriller that doesn't disappoint.

A taut thriller. An insidious female character who dominates the story, an evil woman who appears kindly at first, willing to help until her true self emerges.
I read this in almost one sitting. Engrossing read

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

think misery and that will give you a hint of what to expect in this book

to become part of the special forces connor has to survive and evade capture, with his home life in tatters he has a clear view of what he wants

but he didnt count on eilidh

an uncomfortable read at times and at times a bit bizarre

but each to their own...

This is one of those books that you will either enjoy or not ... I thought it was quite good, not fantastic but not bad either.

There is a nod to Stephen King's Misery to this story, which is acknowledged by the author, as it's got some similar themes and has that creepy and growing sense of tension feel to it.

I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable but they are well developed and although I don't think it mattered too much whether Eilidh was 'nice' or not, I did feel it was important for Connor to have some redeemable qualities alas I didn't think he did and therefore wasn't bothered what befell him which resulted in me not investing as much into the story as I could have.

The pace started off a little slow but grew as things moved on; the ending was quite satisfying if a little quick and although you have to suspend belief as to how Connor came to be in his position in the first place, it's a pretty good read.

Many thanks to Headline, Wildfire and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of You Can Stay.

I’m afraid this one just wasn’t for me, I like my thrillers to at least have a possibility of happening in real life but I didn’t find this one plausible.

You Can Stay is the first book I’ve read by Elle Connel. I was intrigued by the description and couldn't wait to pick it up.

The story is told from the perspective of Connor, who is taking part in the elite Special Forces training forces on Bodmin Moor.  As part of the final stage of training, Connor must survive on limited resources as well as evade a squad of paratroopers who are hunting him down. Everything seems to be going ok until he meets Eilidh who lives in an isolated cottage on the moor. She offers him food and a place to rest knowing this is against the rules he accepts the offers, and that's when things start going wrong for Connor as Eilidh holds him hostage. 

You Can Stay is well written but I did almost give up on it at the beginning as I found the start really slow, but glad I didn't give up as the pace picked up and I flew through the rest of the book.

I thought the characters were well drawn and although I couldn't relate to them and found them unlikeable I still ended up rooting for them, especially Conner.

Overall a good read and I look forward to giving some of Connel's other books a go soon.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher's Headline for my eARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

My Rating:
3.5 stars

This is an exciting thriller that is based around Connor who is being hunted on Bodmin Moor but why is a mystery to us.
He is an ex Special Forces soldier we learn about his family and the mistakes he has made in his private life. This is violent in parts but the story is believable and is a really well told story. We don’t know who the villain in this story is until the frightening conclusion to this novel.

This book didn't really work for me. I found it hard to get into and I didn't like Connors character at all.

A surprisingly tense and twisty tale of a woman- Eilidh- who takes in Connor- a soldier in training. Connor is exhausted, hungry, cold, and stressed so the offer to stay with Eilidh for the night seems like a good one. But it's not. Those who have read Misery might recognize some of the themes here but this is different and there's a very good twist. It's atmospheric (a moor) and the Connel maintains the tension throughout. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This is definitely a slow burner to begin with. If you stick with it you are rewarded with creepy chapters & a whole unlikable but so well drawn character.

I thought the ending was a bit abrupt but over a good read.

Inspired by Stephen King's Misery, this tells the story of soldier taking part in exercises to qualify for the SAS who is offered help and shelter by a sheep farmer on the Bodmin moors. But it soon becomes clear she has ulterior motives, as he becomes a prisoner to a woman with serious mental health issues and a propensity for killing as keen as any soldier's! This was a rivetting read - disturbing and violent but brilliantly paced and plotted with multi-layered characters in soldier Connor, farmer Eilidh and her "sister" Julie, silent witness to all the goings-on. There's no guessing the outcome as the story twists and turns, building up to a climatic ending that will leave you gasping! If you like your thrillers raw and edgy, this one is for you!

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher & Elle for the ARC.

A fast paced thriller, difficult to tear yourself away from. Well written and expertly crafted.

Astonishing! I am new to this author and was not sure what to expect but this book had me gripped from the start and did not let me go!

What could be more horrifying then undertaking SAS selection? Knowing you will be hauled in and terrorised? Connor is about to find out!

A dark and twisted tale of a desire for family, for control and for love. Who can Connor trust and will he make it out alive?

A brilliant tale that gets more twisted at every step!

This book is hugely underrated.

I've read close to a thousand thrillers and You Can Stay is up there with the best of them.
The prose, pacing, plot, worldbuilding and characterisation are all outstanding. There is a great plot reversal at the end which made it even more satisfying a read and I loved every second of it.

Amazing book, highly recommended.

5*

I generally steer clear of any gruesome, psychological Stephen King type books as I am not a fan of this genre - just call me squeamish! However, this story line sounded interesting so I thought I would try it.
The positives for me were the fast pace, gripping story and compelling characters.
The downside for me was the gruesome descriptions which led to nightmare inducing tension.
If you like this genre you will enjoy this book.

WOW! What an astounding read this is!
Talk about creepy and totally captivating!
Connor and his colleague are out on Bodmin Moor, on selection training. It’s cold and wet. They’re freezing, hungry, and exhausted. When a local woman offers Connor warm refuge at her cottage, he decides it’s worth the risk for a few hours of comfort. Eilidh seems nice enough and assures him she won’t give up his location for the £50 reward. Connor soon wishes she had!
Eilidh is an intriguing character who put me on edge from the very beginning. She is fascinating from a psychological point of view. You never call tell what goes on in someone else’s head and what might go on behind closed doors!
This story is as gripping as they get. I was glued to my kindle at every opportunity. It’s one of those books I was thinking about whenever I rudely had to do other stuff which prevented me from reading it. I couldn’t wait to find out how it was all going to turn out.
OH. MY. GOODNESS! That ending!!! It made my blood run cold. Very, very clever writing!
I highly recommend!
This book reminded me so much of a very well-known book which I won’t mention as I don’t want to give anything away. I wasn’t surprised to see it mentioned in the acknowledgements at the end of the book!
I’ve added this author’s other books to my reading list.
**Many thanks to the author and publisher for my review copy via NetGalley**

This review will go live on my blog on 12 September:

Hi and welcome to my review of You Can Stay!

I decided to pick up You Can Stay because of the blurb, which made me think I was in for a tense thriller. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling rather unsatisfied. Note that this review may contain mild spoilers as I try to explain why it didn’t work for me.

You Can Stay is told from the perspectives of Connor, who is partaking in an elite Special Forces training programme on Bodmin Moor, and Eilidh, who lives in a farmhouse there.

I have to admit, You Can Stay and I got off on the wrong foot when Connor was forced to kill a lamb he had first befriended. All part of the training and people gotta eat, yada yada, I get all that, but first of all, the whole befriending thing seemed a tad weird and rather implausible and secondly, the killing did not need to be so detailed. Did it need to be included at all, for that matter? I personally don’t see the added value of this rather repulsive scene. If we were meant to learn something about Connor, I missed it in my righteous indignation about what was happening to the lamb. It does have some significance later on, but Connor’s a military man and he’s killed people in the line of duty, so I feel there was no need for the lamb.

I contemplated throwing in the towel there and then but I decided to give it a second chance. As I read, You Can Stay started to give me Misery vibes. However, where I felt compassion for Stephen King’s abused protagonist, I felt nothing of the sort for Connor. I kinda felt like he brought it on himself. Seriously, if this man were Special Forces, the country would be screwed. Moreover, where I absolutely loved King’s obsessed and batshit crazy antagonist, Eilidh is just… meh. She’s obviously mad as a hatter, no doubt about it, but not in a way that drew me in. If that makes any sense at all. I need to either love or love to hate my characters, but both Connor and Eilidh just annoyed me.

While I’m at it, I had another issue with the story and the characters, namely the frequent mentions of sex and the fact that Eilidh is quite clearly rather obsessed, while also using her body to get what she wants. This is by no means erotica, that’s not what I mean, and I’m fine with a few sex scenes, but all the mentions got real old real soon. Eilidh can hardly see (or hear, or smell) a man without thinking about what he might do to her, or she to him. One soldier looks to her like he needs some oats and a spanking 🤨🤔 I do wonder what that looks like. And I personally wouldn’t even think of comparing blood and the fact that it gets everywhere to sand after sex on the beach, but that’s the comparison Eilidh chooses to make. Also, she steams her vagina? “To maintain her edge against any competition, past or present.” What the what now? Firstly, is that an actual thing? Secondly, even if it is, I don’t want to read about it. Thirdly, it’s things like this that kept yanking me out of the story. I presume it’s supposed to attest to Eilidh’s character? But we readers aren’t stupid, we get it, we got it 150 pages ago, move on already.

Despite me actively disliking the main characters and most of their thoughts and actions, I did push through because a part of me did want to know how it would all end. I was also hoping for a very dramatic finish that might redeem what came before. And I’m just very stubborn when it comes to finishing books. Anyway, I don’t think I would have missed much had I just thrown in the towel after the lamb 😬

I really did think I would enjoy this book and I’m really sorry that I didn’t, not just for me, but for the author as well. I don’t like to dislike books, which is why I’m rather picky about what I read, but we all know you can’t love them all, and this one just didn’t work for me.

Thanks to Wildfire and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

The story follows Connnor a British Marine on the final phase of selection for the SBS on Bodmin moor, Connor has a few issues, he has just split up with his wife and has been drinking too much to forget the horrors that he has seen while being a Marine but he is hoping that selection and a fresh start will save his marriage and him. During the final phase the four remaining candidates are left on Bodmin Moor to fend for themselves, two of the group have been captured leaving Connor and Dele to continue in to the RV, they find a bothy to sleep in but when Connor wakes Dele has gone and a strange woman is waking him up, Eilidh offers Connor a shower and a comfortable bed to rest in, knowing this is against the rules but temptation being too much Connor takes up the offer only to find his nightmare is about to begin. A good book with a good ending.

Addictive and suspenseful reading with a vital element of horror contrasts brilliantly with the rugged beauty of the surroundings. The characterisation is detailed and invests the reader in the characters even though many are unlikeable. Parts of this are disturbing reading, but nothing is gratuitous. Every incident helps the reader understand the characters' motivations and reactions.

Original and impactful, it keeps you reading. The ending has a chilling final twist.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Totally different to anything I’ve read before & really quite disturbing - but excellent. The reader is grabbed right from the beginning & has to read to the end holding their breath at most of the chapters. A psychological thriller with a twist & well written.