A quick and easy read. While at times a little repetitive, I was glued to the pages for the most part. There were times when I wanted to throw my kindle across the room because, come on Melissa, are you really that naive? The story takes an interesting and unexpected turn and the ending throws a nice curveball. Read if you like dark and unsettling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC

I will definitely be reading more from Andrew DeYoung, this booked had me hooked from chapter 1. I loved the twists and turns

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Absolutely Loved This One!

The uncertainty around Thomas’s innocence was so well done—I kept going back and forth the entire time, never sure what to believe. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the story took a turn I never saw coming. The twists were perfectly placed, keeping me hooked until the very last page.

Now, I will say that the pace of Melissa and Thomas’s relationship moved fast—almost unrealistically so—but honestly? That didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all. I understand that books are fiction, and not everything needs to be completely believable for a story to be engaging. If anything, the whirlwind romance only added to the suspense, making me question everything even more.

If you love thrillers that keep you guessing until the very end, with a dark, unsettling romance at the center, this is the book for you. Highly recommend!

well, damn!!! Andrew deyoung made me feel like the main character and when i snap back to reality, it made me have trust issues. This is how the book hooked me. This is my very first book from the author and honestly I like the way he writes so I will try to read more of his work in the future.

Reading Stay Away from Him wasn’t a race to the finish—it was an unsettling experience that sank its hooks into me bit by bit, making me question every character’s motives long after I set the book down. At first, I found myself nodding along with Melissa’s choices. After all, who wouldn’t be drawn to a charming, successful doctor who’s overcome a tragic past? But as the unease crept in, so did the doubts—both hers and mine.

What I loved (and hated, in the best way possible) was how Andrew DeYoung masterfully made me feel like I was the one in the relationship. One moment, I was convinced Thomas was unfairly judged, the next, I was practically yelling at Melissa to run. The anonymous warning, the way the tension built ever so slightly with each chapter, the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right—it all made for an incredibly immersive read.

By the time the full truth was revealed, I wasn’t just shocked—I was rattled. This book burrowed into my mind, making me think about trust, perception, and how easy it is to ignore our instincts when we want to believe the best in someone. If you love slow-burning thrillers that leave you unsettled long after you finish, Stay Away from Him is an absolute must-read.

I could not put this book down. I love a twisty domestic thriller and this one hit the mark for me. Thank yo NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, I only liked it. The reason being it was a bit unrealistic at times and I struggled to connect to the characters. Please give it a try because you never know you may really like it.

I like to write a review based on being pulled into the story. No reveals on what happened, just how fast did I get sucked in. I was caught by chapter 1. I read dozens of psych thrillers per year; I am giving this a 5 star recommendation. Highly recommend!

An intense thriller with plenty of twists and some interesting albeit frustrating characters. I was infuriated the whole way through with Melissa. Where there's smoke there's fire. I loved the diary entries and therapist transcripts sprinkled throughout. They really added to the build up to that ending I didn't see coming.

RELEASE DATE : July 08, 2025 ✨

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨ REVIEW: This is the perfect read for thriller lovers! I was hooked by the first chapter. Who’s done it? The plot twists are great and so unexpected! New woman in town meets the widowed husband…that’s rumored to have ❎ his wife. She needs to protect her son, and in order to do that she needs to find out the truth.

If something seems too good to be true, it likely is. Melissa Burke is a single mom who is starting a new life after ending a bad marriage. She wasn't expecting to be swept off her feet by a handsome doctor named Thomas. He's everything she could ever dream of, and he's great with her young son. Unfortunately he's been accused of killing his wife. While charges were dropped, many people still believe he's guilty. Melissa finds herself in danger as the relationship gets serious.

I really wanted to enjoy this one more than I did. The book blurb sounded amazing. There was so much potential here. I thought both FMC and MMC were very much acting like teenagers. It was hard to believe these were adults. I liked the ways the layers of the story were slowly revealed until the big twist. I felt that it was out of left field. It really disappointed me.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to net galley for the arc. This was a great thriller. Melissa moves to a new city with her son after an ugly divorce. She moves to get some distance between her and her ex and to be able to help from all the drama. She goes to a dinner party and meets Thomas who is a widower. As the two hit it off and start getting to know each other, Melissa starts to question what really happened to Thomas's wife.

Stay Away From Him. Andrew DeYoung
Stay away from him, a title and a warning that Melissa should have heeded. Melissa and her son Bradley, have found refuge with friends after escaping a terrible home situation. Hoping to help her settle into her new home, her hosts, Lawrence and Toby, set up a dinner and invite some friends over. This is where Melissa crosses oath with Dr. Darver, dad of 2, doctor, ex murder suspect, what's not to love? Melissa finds herself falling for his charms but his ambiguous past starts to rear it's ugly head again and will Melissa find herself in a more dangerous situation than the one she had just escaped?
Andrew DeYoung is a new thriller writer for me but definitely someone I will be adding to my thriller author list. This is a well written novel with some great twists and turns along the way. So many times I thought I had it all figured out but I wasn't even close. I liked there different narrators throughout and found that the journal entries and transcripts from the therapy sessions, added extra layers of detail and intrigue to the plot.
DeYoung really knows how to paint detailed images in his writing and the end scenes are ones that will stay with me for awhile. Not for the faint hearted.

Andrew DeYoung delivers a tense and unsettling psychological thriller with Stay Away from Him, a novel that explores the fine line between trust and danger, attraction and fear. With its slow-burning suspense and gripping premise, this book is sure to keep readers on edge until the very last page.

Plot Overview:

After a painful divorce, Melissa Burke moves to a new city with her five-year-old son, hoping for a fresh start. The last thing she’s looking for is romance—until she meets Thomas Danver at a friend’s dinner party. Thomas is charming, kind, and a dedicated pediatrician. But there’s one major problem: he was once accused of murdering his wife.

Though Thomas was ultimately exonerated, whispers about his past still linger. Some believe he got away with murder, while others insist he was a victim of a flawed investigation. Against her better judgment, Melissa agrees to one date—and soon finds herself caught in a whirlwind romance.

But when an anonymous warning reaches her, doubts start creeping in. Could she be falling for a dangerous man? Or is Thomas simply a misunderstood victim of public suspicion? As Melissa digs deeper, she realizes that the truth may be far more terrifying than she ever imagined.
Likes:-
1 A Compelling Premise: The idea of dating someone with a dark past—especially a suspected murderer—creates immediate tension. DeYoung masterfully plays with the reader’s expectations, keeping us guessing about Thomas’s true nature.
2 Psychological Depth: Melissa is a well-drawn protagonist. Her emotional scars from her previous marriage make her both vulnerable and relatable. Her internal conflict—torn between logic and emotion—adds depth to the story.
3 Slow-Building Suspense: The novel doesn’t rely on cheap thrills. Instead, it carefully builds a sense of unease, with small red flags that gradually grow more alarming.
Overall :- Stay Away from Him is an engrossing psychological thriller that blends romance, suspense, and psychological intrigue. It will make readers question how well they truly know the people around them. If you enjoy slow-burning mysteries with morally complex characters and an eerie sense of uncertainty, this book is worth picking up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me an advance copy.

Was almost late for work finishing this one up, I just had to know how it ended! I feel like there were some aspects of this book that were frustrating, like how the main character is making stupid and irresponsible choices that affect her child basically the whole time, and also the love at first sight trope can be startling to try to comprehend. Positively though, the ending made up for the misgivings i had on those things, i spent the whole book guessing between 3 people and i was wrong! I read enough thrillers that they tend to become predictable, so not figuring it out until it all falls together is always a perk for me! Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

4/5 stars for this one!
I was hooked and each chapter ended where I couldn’t stop reading! I kept wanting to know what was going to happen.
I’m so thankful I got to read this ARC. I’ll be sure to read more by this author

Melissa, recién llegada a un vecindario tras escapar de un matrimonio destructivo, busca estabilidad para ella y su hijo. Pero todo cambia cuando conoce a Thomas, un hombre encantador y atractivo, con quien rápidamente conecta. Sin embargo, al día siguiente se entera de que él fue acusado de asesinar a su esposa, un crimen que ocurrió hace tres años. Aunque las pruebas fueron desestimadas, la sospecha persiste. A lo largo del libro, Melissa se debate entre lo que ve en Thomas, un hombre cariñoso y dedicado padre, y lo que la gente le cuenta, mientras intenta descubrir la verdad. ¿Será él realmente culpable o es solo una víctima de las circunstancias?




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Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This reviewer thoroughly enjoyed reading Stay Away From Him. Author Andrew DeYoung presents an interesting question: Would you date someone who's been investigated for murder but then cleared? Protagonist Melissa Burke gives pediatrician Thomas Danver the benefit of the doubt when she agrees to a date. Their mutual attraction is nothing short of kinetic and friends have vouched for him. Thomas fast tracks their relationship, and his love bombing draws Melissa close in a relatively short time. Is Thomas's intensity healthy or a red flag? DeYoung does a great job keeping us guessing until the last page in this well written thriller that's fun to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing an advance copy of the book to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews.com at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

Melissa is fresh out of a disastrous marriage and looking to settle into a simple life; find a job, support her young son, and stay far away from a relationship... and then she meets the handsome, charming Thomas Danver. He's perfect, except for the fact that he was accused of killing his wife three years ago and most of the town thinks he did it.

A fun, short, fast-paced read. Reminded me of a Freida McFadden in that sense. I had a hard time buying that Melissa fell for Thomas as fast as she did - he just seemed pushy and desperate, especially at the beginning. I love a good thriller and a whodunnit, although I had this one figured out earlier than I would have preferred. Still an easy read and I found myself looking forward to reading more and finding out what would happen next.

Not to get too into the weeds about the details but this book is about a woman/mother that is attempting to regain her life after divorce. She moves to a different town and meets a charming pediatric doctors whose wife is missing or dead or both? The pace of this book was good and it rarely had slow moments after take off. The fast relationship plot was unrealistic, making it a little harder to connect with the characters but the twisty thriller aspect was good. I have never read this authors work so I look forward to reading more.