You Can Stay is the first book I’ve read by Elle Connell and was intrigued by the description of the story.
While Connor is on a training course for selection into special forces on Bodmin moor he accepts an offer of a warm meal and rest by Eilidh who lives in an isolated cottage on the moor, while there she manages to seduce him and keep him hostage.
I found the story a little far fetched and very hard to believe that someone with Connors training and discipline would get in this situation in the first place. I know its fiction but it made it difficult for me to like the characters or even sympathise with Connors situation. I did enjoy the twist at the end.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This thriller follows Connor as he is in the middle of completing his SAS training, he is a marine who has recently separated from his partner. He is determined that if he completes his training, he could get his family back on track.

When offered some food and shelter by the mysterious Eilidh he can’t resist, but when he suffers an unexpected injury, he realises his stay may be extended.

It isn’t long before he believes that Eilidh may have a darker side, and that he has made a mistake.

Will Connor escape? What is Eilidh’s plan for Connor?

This is a very dark thriller and kept me enthralled throughout. I don’t usually like stories with soldiers in, but even the training part kept me reading.

I wouldn’t say that Connor is an especially lovable character as he does make some mistakes, but I still found myself routing for him to get home to his family.

It was like a horror film and is creepy and eerie even though it is a thriller.

Overall, a creepy and dark thriller where accepting help from strangers may be a mistake.

Not really for me,maybe more horror than mystery??? As many have said very similar to ‘Misery’,just wasn’t for me,aplogies

Someone is hunting Connor, While taking part in Selection, the elite Special Forces training programme, he must evade capture by a squad of paratroopers for several days in the wilderness of Bodmin Moor. When he's offered proper rest and recuperation by the owner of a local farmhouse, he knows he's breaking the rules. But what's the harm of accepting the kindness of strangers? Especially as his training partner Dele appears to have deserted him in the dead of night. Ellidh is an impeccable host. Connor can barely bring himself to leave. her charming farmhouse, though he's running out of time to make it to his next rendezvous and rejoin his partner. But he doesn't realise what he's walked into - because the choice isn't his to make.

Some of the chapters are creepy and the pace is slow to begin with. The storyline reminded me far too much of Stephen King's Misery. It was a little far fetched in places. This is a dark and gruesome psychological thriller. Ellidh was an unlikeable but a perfectly written character. The ending came a little abruptly. It was as if everything came together at once, but ther was not enough time to tweak it.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Headline and the author #ElleConnel for my ARC of #YouCanStay in exchange for an honest review.

This this book wasn’t for me as storyline was too similar to Misery .The place was too slow. Unlikeable characters and found parts of the plot unrealistic. Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and the author for the chance to review.

You Can Stay was a book I didn’t know what to expect as it has quite mixed reviews but I did enjoy this dark and tense read even though the ending could have been much better.
Connor is out on Bodmin moor on an exercise for the elite special forces, he mustn’t be caught or he fails but the paratroopers and their dogs are getting closer until he bumps into a local woman, Eilidh, she offers him shelter and food for a few hours until night falls and he can get to the checkpoint. He knows he should not accept the offer, it’s been drilled into him that you never involve the locals but he’s in desperate need of food and warmth so he accepts her offer only to find it’s the worst thing he could have done.
This was a dark read that was tense at times, it covers everything from sex to murder with all types of horror in between. Julie the woman Eilidh is helping at the farmhouse was the only person I rooted for the other two characters Eilidh and Connor were both extremely unlikeable and twisted.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline, Wildfire for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this one was definitely not for me.

I'm sorry to say that if you're going to get your inspiration from a classic by one of the best authors of our time, you're really just setting yourself up to fail. It's impossible as a reader and fan of said bestselling author not to draw comparisons and to watch Connel fall short every single time. The similarities are too in-your-face to ignore.

The pace was way too slow and the characters immensely unlikeable. That doesn't always have to be a problem but in a story like this it seems important to have someone to root for and I didn't. I couldn't possibly have cared any less about any of them. It requires a massive amount of suspension of belief to think that this character in the last stages of qualifying for the Special Forces would take up an offer that would possibly make him fail. Zero sense, utterly unbelievable and apparently I quite like my fiction to retain a modicum of realism.

The author does create tension really well and her descriptions are quite vivid but I'm afraid that wasn't enough for me. I often contemplated putting this one aside but I persevered because I'm stubborn. Unfortunately for me, I can't say it was worth it. Not for me.

I’ve not read anything by Elle Connel before but was drawn to the description here. I’m not sure what I was expecting but I found this book quite a challenging read as I really didn’t care for any of the main characters. I felt guilty for not siding with the ‘victim’ Connor but he just didn’t warrant it. I note that the author took inspiration from Misery and there was definitely a nod to it here. I stuck with it to the end, curious to see how the author would resolve things and to put it lightly it didn’t end how I would have chosen. I do think there’s a skill involved in creating dislikable characters and the author definitely has that. This didn’t quite hit the spot for me but it has left me thinking about it.

The premise was so much like Misery one of my favourite books when I was younger but unfortunately that is where the similarities end. It was so slow and I could not relate to any of the characters. The tension and suspense was staggered and somewhat unbelievable. This book had so much promise but it didn't even raise my pulse.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

What an intriguing read this proved to be,
Filled with discomfort and mystery.
With potential Special Forces recruits on exercise
Against paratroopers, dogs and whatever danger they can devise!

Connor set off in a group of four
Two were captured, they knew the score.
When he's rescued by a lady farmer he's pleased
As she offers him shelter and the opportunity to feed.

However, though initially charming, there's another side,
One that his host, Eilidh, seems unable to hide.
As she makes it clear she wants him to stay
He starts to wonder how she'll make him pay.

Get ready for a sinister, tense psychological thriller
With an unexpected serial killer.
Can Connor escape this chilling drama alive
Will fate enable him to survive?

A story with so many twists and turns
As this officer for his future dreams yearns.
It isn't a comfortable read, that is true,
But could it be just the book for you?

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

Well I can honestly say that this book was not what I was expecting. A team of want-to-be special forces recruits set off on the final stage of their assessment. Two are quickly caught, two manage to evade capture, only to find themselves subject to a far worse form of torture than they would have faced at the hands of the recruiters. This is a story in which the interpretation of affection takes a very dark turn and in which, from the outset, carries a very sinister and unexpected edge.



There are echoes of another, rather well known novel and movie adaptation within these pages, and the author does acknowledge ​that influence on her writing. Perhaps because of that, and the fact that the author in question was one of the biggest influences over my reading habits as a teenager, I’m not sure that I ever fully settled into You Can Stay as I found myself drawing regular comparisons between the two, perhaps a touch unfairly. This is a unique story, an enhanced take on a classic and with some very unexpected twists and turns, but I think the similarities were just too strong to ignore.



There is a lot of tension in the book, moments when the author takes us right to the edge of our seats and makes us wonder just how far the tormentor in this story is prepared to go. We are soon to learn that this is really quite far and that they will stop at nothing to get what they want - in this case the love and company of others, even if they are less than enthused by the prospect themselves. Characters are caught between enforced imprisonment and Stockholm syndrome and it makes them all somewhat unpredictable which in turn elevates the tension>

Speaking f the characters, I’ll be honest - I didn’t much care for any of them. There is clearly something very unbalanced about Eilidh, a kind of instability that is slowly revealed in a way that makes us question how much is deliberate and how much an accident. Connor is someone I felt initial sympathy toward but his actions later in the book soon changed my opinions. Do I think he deserved his fate - perhaps not. Do I think he’d have passed selection? Not if the Navy had their wits about them … As for the third character in the mix, you need to read the book to understand her place in the story and then decide for yourselves if she deserves sympathy. If I were to feel anything for any of the characters, she is the closest I came to it when her own story was finally revealed.



You do need suspend disbelief a touch when reading this book as it is hard to believe that two highly trained, highly skilled soldiers much come unstuck in such a way. This is the one way in which the stories - You Can Stay and it’s inspiration - differ, and I’ll be honest, the original is more plausible. But when you get into the heart of the story, events that came to pass had my reactions ranging from incredulous to angry to a touch nauseous and everything in between. The author doesn’t away from some very definite descriptions of what is going on, some scenes which may offend the prudish of nature, but there is nothing I would call particularly graphic.



It just all comes down to story. If I had been more attached to the characters I might have overlooked the implausibility of what came to pass or the nature of the ending which I know will polarise readers. There is no doubting the authors talent for writing and creating atmosphere and tension - the descriptions of the wild and remote nature of Bodmin really made the scenes live so vividly I can almost feel the dew that comes from the morning mists. 

It just all comes back to that believability angle which has been sitting somewhat uncomfortably on the fence. Or may be that should be a short stone wall … Would it put me off reading the author again? No. The story kept me engaged even when it irritated but this wan’t quite the story for me this time around.

Connor is taking part in the elite special forces training program on Bodmin moor when he meets with a woman feeding her sheep when she offers him some refreshments at her home although completely against the rules Connor agrees and what follows is a very strange story!
I’m sorry to say that although the read kept me interested as I wanted to know how it would pan out it was just too far fetched and as the book progressed it become even more unbelievable especially the ending which was disappointing.
I can’t fault the writing and the author does say her inspiration came from Stephen Kings book Misery but I felt the similarities were far too much.
So a three star read for me sadly I wanted to enjoy it more but I didn’t.
My thanks to NetGalley and Headline, Wildfire for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I struggled with this book. I found it to be very slow and I didn't connect with the characters. I loved the sound of it so I feel really disappointed.

Three and one half stars for this eerie chilling read. Connor, seeking to become a member of the Elite special forces team, is facing his last challenge in a remote rugged area in England. There are hidden “enemies” throughout the area seeking to catch them so Connor and his friend, Dele, are on constant high alert braving the elements. Connor crosses paths with a local woman, Eilidh, who offers him food and shelter and there the terror begins.
As I read the rest of the book I was cringing and shaking my head. Although I was unable to connect with either of the two main characters, the writing and plot kept me very engaged. The ending made me cringe. I so appreciated the vivid descriptions of Bodmin Moor.
Many many thanks to Elle Connel and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this chilling read, to be published on August 4th. Fans of Stephen King this read is for you!

I really wanted to enjoy You Can Stay bus sadly this book wasn’t for me. The place was too slow, I didn’t particularly like any of that characters and found parts of the plot unrealistic. Thank you to NetGalley, Headline and the author for the chance to review.

I ended up reading a physical ARC of this one and it was hard to get through. I was extremely bored at the beginning and almost DNF'd it because it did not keep my attention.

There were also some major details in the book that were super hard to believe and made the story not seem real to me.

This is the first book I have read by Elle Connel and I will definitely look out for her future books as some of this book was good, But I just wish that she could of chosen a different profession for Conner, I just found it unrealistic that Conner is on the moors training for the special forces and then a lone woman manages to seduce him and keep him hostage, I understand you can get away with some unrealistic plot lines in fiction but this fact just annoyed me, I did like the twist at the end but at the same time you could see it heading that way. If I could I would give it a 3.5 star

Everything about this book drew me in, from the promise of a dark and disturbing thriller with an original twist to the isolated Cornish setting. And for the most part, You Can Stay is a gripping and twisted read with a really uncomfortable setting, and I enjoyed how Connel made a generic thriller feel so unique.

Normally, this is the kind of book I absolutely love. But sadly, it didn't all pay off for me and I feel a little gutted about that. It wasn't so much the atmosphere or situation as I'm all for violence and gore, so it's usually the darker the better for me. But I just found a lot of You Can Stay crude, which is one thing I can't handle. There were sections of dialogue making me shudder in their cringe-worthiness, so this really put a dampener on my reading experience.

And then we come to the ending, which I'm not sure how I feel about yet. I like the twist itself, but I think everything came to end too abruptly, meaning there wasn't enough time for everything to be pieced together completely.

For me, there were a few things that restricted my enjoyment of this story for me, but I'm sure they won't bother most readers and the atmosphere is definitely there, so I'd still recommend this to others.

Definitely an author to now look out for! This thriller packed a twisty punch and had me flicking pages faster then I care to admit! Highly recommend if you’re in the mood to binge read a brilliant and exciting thriller!!
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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!!