You Can Stay

#YouCanStay #NetGalley
Awesome.
Someone is hunting Connor. Alone, freezing, in the wilderness of Bodmin Moor, on an elite Special Forces training exercise, he'd be a fool to scorn the kindness of a local stranger. Wouldn't he?At first, Eilidh seems to be an impeccable host. She offers Connor food and a warm bed - he finds it nearly impossible to leave her charming farmhouse. What happened next? Find out in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for giving me an advance copy.

I enjoyed this book that in parts turned my stomach and kept me turning the pages to see what the next incident
would be.

The scenery descriptions were very evocative and the characters all relatable, even if you didn't like them.

I would love to know what happens next, the ending is open for you to decide and my imagination is in overdrive

I like this I’m currently racing through it at a breakneck speed. There are some points which did render the disbelief, that said it’s an engaging book that’s got me on tenterhooks.
The characters were engaging and rooted in the reality of the bleak landscape. Like to see Bodmin moor for real now.

This is a great book. The story reminded me of the book misery by stephen king. I was gripped from the start.

A completely absorbing and tense ride from start to finish. You can tell this has been influenced by Stephen King's Misery but it is no way a copy, the book managed to hold its own unique storyline successfully.
I always love a story where the lead female is particularly unhinged and Eilidh fits this bill perfectly! Eilidh initially comes as a caring and hospitable saviour to the exhausted and mentally strained solider, Connor. There's already such a feeling of unease with her and undercurrents of tension that leaves the reader screaming internally to Connor to leave, but unlike Annie, Eilidh is quite the temptress and soon Connor is under her control.
This book is quite the journey and the tension is so palpable throughout from start to finish. The characters are so well developed and the storyline an intense heart pounder. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and King's Annie definitely has competition now!

A plausible plot in this thriller which grabs tight hold and won’t let go. Connor and colleagues are enduring Special Forces training but little does he suspect that the manoeuvres will become even more special for him, in diverse ways, when he encounters an enticing woman.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Headline for a free Advance Review Copy of this book.

I haven’t read anything by this author previously, but the cover and book description intrigued me. This is a dark, gritty, and sad read. The ending is not at all what I expected, or wanted, but the story is thoroughly enjoyable all the same.

“She can see nothing beyond her fingers. Darkness smothers the moor.” … from this intriguing opening line, the reader is taken into the darkness that fills Eilidh (pronounced Ay-Lee). And the lesser but still dubious demons that lurk within Conner.

The characterisation was done brilliantly, and even though they’re not likeable people, you still find yourself rooting for them, and personally, the two I really wanted to succeed were Conner and Julie. Bodmin Moor, known and loved by me, was so well described it came alive and resembled a menacing character in its own right. Below are some lines that stood out for me in particular …

“The reflux from his empty stomach had only lubricated his bloody mindedness.”

And …

“He saw his mind slipping away, escaping through one of his eyeballs.”

And …

“A terror that was not rational but made up of the dark, the cold, the peaks, their indifference.”

I could go on, as the writing was so superb. As you may have guessed, You Can Stay gets a solid five stars from me.


***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

You Can Stay is a tense and gripping psychological thriller by Elle Connel set on bleak and beautiful Bodmin Moor.
Royal Marine Connor wants to join the elite Special Boat Service, the Navy's equivalent of the SAS. Having done the worst parts of the course,the gruelling trek across the Brecon Beacons and the Jungle training he's only got what appears to be a relatively easy evasion exercise across Bodmin Moor and the dreaded interrogation trial to go..
Tracked by Paratroopers with dogs and with the rest of his group either captured or separated from him he stumbles across an attractive middle-aged woman, Eilidh who convinces him to rest up at her Farmhouse by way of a break from the pursuit.
It soon becomes obvious that Eilidh has more in mind than offering Connor Bed and breakfast.

This is the first book I've read by Elle Connel and it's a class act. The story is believable with blurred lines between good and evil. Eilidh is deeply flawed ,to put it mildly,but Connor is a pretty repulsive character himself and some of his behaviour is appalling. Bodmin Moor is perfectly drawn, I speak as someone who used to live there', and is almost a character in it's own right.
An excellent read and one that I see making Elle Connel one of the big names in the genre.

If you're a fan of Stephen King psychological thrillers 8n the genre of "Misery" then this is the book for you. I found it very tense and gripping which is what 6ou want from a good thriller with a few twists and turns along the way. Highly recommended.

Ooooh I loved this book!!! It is not a storyline I would generally be interested in but I found it so well written and interesting. The army side was good to read and I can actually bizarrely imagine this could happen!

Slightly gruesome , keeps you guessing , unputdownable, this is a fabulous read!

This is an incredible edge of your seat story with thoroughly believable characters - even the ones where you don't know what their true story is. So many possible outcomes along the way and a totally unpredictable ending.