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A Reason to Stay

by L.S. Murphy (Goodreads Author)

3.53 of 5 stars 3.53 · rating details · 15 ratings · 7 reviews

Within minutes of arriving in her hometown after an eight year absence, Julianna Markum runs into Pace Carter, the last person she expected to see. Pace was her best friend during high school, but she left town without telling him, knowingly breaking his heart. Now that she’s back to help care for her ailing aunt, Julianna wants to make things right with Pace. If she could...more

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Published November 2nd 2012 by Calliope - Musa Publishing

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Nov 09, 2012 Richa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

Originally posted at City of Books - http://ecstatic-for-books.blogspot.com/

A Reason to Stay is a standalone contemporary romance novella, and it begins when Julianna Markum returns to her hometown, Hartfield, after leaving abruptly eight years ago. L.S. Murphy writes beautifully, and she drew me in right from the start.

Julianna and Pace have been best friends for years. Growing up, they were always there for each others, and Pace was the only one who could comfort her when she found out about t...more Originally posted at City of Books - http://ecstatic-for-books.blogspot.com/

A Reason to Stay is a standalone contemporary romance novella, and it begins when Julianna Markum returns to her hometown, Hartfield, after leaving abruptly eight years ago. L.S. Murphy writes beautifully, and she drew me in right from the start.

Julianna and Pace have been best friends for years. Growing up, they were always there for each others, and Pace was the only one who could comfort her when she found out about the death of her parents. Julianna has a lot of childhood memories which are embedded throughout the novella, and every single one of them involves Pace.

I ran my hand over the blanket, hearing our laughter as we pointed out shapes in the clouds or constellations in the night sky. Pace was my childhood.

They have a history together, something that can't be erased even by eight years of absence. I loved the chemistry between them - it was deep, interesting and full of sparks. They start out a little awkward around each other, which is expected. Pace has been waiting for Julianna for so many years, and now that she's back, he's not sure how he feels. He's mad at her for leaving without saying goodbye, but at the same time he's just relieved she came back. His feelings for her haven't gone away, and neither have hers. A Reason to Stay shows us how Julianna and Pace overcome obstacles in their relationship and finally tell each other how they feel.

I loved Pace's character in this novella. He's a cop, which I find really cool, and he's also kind, compassionate, loving and loyal. Plus, he'd do anything for Julianna.

“I would’ve gone to China if you’d asked me.”

That's how much he loves her. Julianna's lucky to have grown up with a friend like him, and she's lucky to have him after returning to Hartfield as well.

Julianna, though, I have slightly mixed feelings for. I admire her for her strength and independence. She left Hartfield to find out what happened to her parents, and she did it all on her own. I didn't like her real reason for leaving, though. She has a lot of irrational fears, and I don't think there's any place for those in her life. Not anymore. I also thought she was quite paranoid when it came to Pace. I mean, the reason she didn't come back after three months was because Stacey, her cousin, told her Pace was seeing someone else. What kind of a reason is that to not go back to your home? Her Aunt Helen is there, Stacey is there, and it's the place she grew up - the place where all her memories are tied. To stay away for so many years because the guy she loves is seeing another girl seems kind of weird to me.

A Reason to Stay had a fairytale ending, which was expected but at the same time really touching. Julianna finally realizes her parents are dead and she can't do anything about it, and the rest... Well, I don't want to give it away! My only problem with this novella is that it was too short. I really wish it had been a full-length novel, so there would be space for character and plot development. It felt a little rushed to me, but I loved a lot of aspects about it. It's short and sweet, and I think it's worth the read. If you're into light and contemporary romance, you'll love A Reason to Stay!
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Nov 13, 2012 Steffi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance, friends-to-lovers

Original review: www.sweptawaybyromance.blogspot.com

Julianna Markum left her hometown, Hartfield, 8 years ago and she left loved ones behind. Her cousin never really forgave her and neither did her best friend, Pace. Pace Carter was Jules’ best friend in high school but he always felt more for her than friendship. But Jules left without saying goodbye right after Pace confessed his feelings for her. When Julianna gets back to Hartfield to care for her ailing aunt, she keeps running into Pace and...more Original review: www.sweptawaybyromance.blogspot.com

Julianna Markum left her hometown, Hartfield, 8 years ago and she left loved ones behind. Her cousin never really forgave her and neither did her best friend, Pace. Pace Carter was Jules’ best friend in high school but he always felt more for her than friendship. But Jules left without saying goodbye right after Pace confessed his feelings for her. When Julianna gets back to Hartfield to care for her ailing aunt, she keeps running into Pace and old feelings start coming to the surface again. Or were they ever really gone?

A Reason To Stay is a contemporary romance novella on the short side, even for a novella. There is a lot of emotion packed into this short read and we do get a lot of background information about the characters. Nonetheless, I felt slightly cheated at times. For me, A Reason To Stay felt like hearing about the HEA of a friend or a neighbor over coffee one afternoon. Somehow the story felt more like a recounting of events, which led to Julianna’s and Pace’s happy end, instead of experiencing the story with the characters, discovering their feelings at the same time they do. While I enjoyed L.S. Murphy’s writing a lot, I didn’t care for the way of storytelling in this book. I didn’t feel like I knew the characters very well in the end and wasn’t able to relate to them as I didn’t understand the basis of their decision-making. Pace is still an enigma to me. I know he has loved Julianna his whole life but that’s about all I know of him. Also, Jules’ reason for leaving was understandable but not necessary to keep a secret at all in my opinion. I would have expected something more shocking as a reason for leaving the town she grew up in for 8 years.

The story about Jules’ aunt Helen was very moving and I enjoyed reading about Julianna reconnecting with her family after so many years apart. I expected more outrage on her part, though, when finding out about Stacey’s little lie that basically changed Julianna’s life and made her stay away for so long.

I enjoyed A Reason To Stay very much, I did root for Pace and Jules and was happy when they finally found their way back to each other but I would have liked to have gotten more than a small glimpse into their life. I really hope L.S. Murphy will keep writing contemporary because I wanted more of Julianna and Pace and still want more of the author’s writing. If I had to sum up my review with one word it would be ‘more’, more story, more dialogue, more of Pace’s side of the story, which was quite heart-breaking. If you want to get to know L.S. Murphy and try out her style, give this one a try. After the heart-warming and very sweet ending of the story, I’m waiting for more to come, hopefully another romance.

*A copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*(less)

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Dec 27, 2012 Sandra "Jeanz" rated it 5 of 5 stars

MY REVIEW
I was sent this book directly from the author in exchange for my honest opinion and review.
At first glance the cover is fairly plain and not greatly attractive. However when you read the book, the relevance of the cover becomes more apparent. the cover shows a once beautiful Victorian style house, surrounded by other style houses such as ranch style too. The once beautiful house belongs to Helen, the elderly aunt and former guardian of Julianna Markum. Julianna's parents died in an acci...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Sarika Patkotwar rated it 4 of 5 stars

*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of A Reason to Stay from author L.S. Murphy in exchange for an honest review. We thank Linda for the book!

There are two things that I absolutely love reading about. One is past. Things left undone, words left unsaid, doing things without explaining why you did them and doing what feels like the right thing to do at a certain time. And two is best friends becoming lovers. I love reading about such relationships. It makes sense and gives you hope. A Reaso ...more
*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of A Reason to Stay from author L.S. Murphy in exchange for an honest review. We thank Linda for the book!

There are two things that I absolutely love reading about. One is past. Things left undone, words left unsaid, doing things without explaining why you did them and doing what feels like the right thing to do at a certain time. And two is best friends becoming lovers. I love reading about such relationships. It makes sense and gives you hope. A Reason to Stay has both . It is a wonderful, moving, mild and simple story about family, friends, love and relationships. Also, another awesome thing about the story is that it is set in a small town which makes it homely, believable and intimate.
Julianna and Pace have been best friends since the time Pace's grandmother babysat the two kids who were also neighbours. They went to school together, spend their free time together, basically they grew up together. They were the kind of best friends who shared everything with each other, be it thoughts, views, hopes, dreams, aspirations or even their respective relationship statuses. The two were inseparable until there came a time when Julianna had to suffer the tragic loss of her parents, after which she decides to find out more about their disappearance and leaves everything behind to begin her search.
After her parent's death, Aunt Helen takes Julianna into her own home and takes care of her. Aunt Helen's health is getting worse day by and day and Julianna is forced to return to her hometown to give to her aunt all the love and care that she had received. She meets Pace again and it's like the two were never really apart.
Julianna was a great protagonist. She was brave and smart. I liked how she didn't give in to everything and thought about the consequences of all her actions. She did what she felt was right and had her own understandable reasons for it. Pace was such a sweet-heart. He was the simple, sweet, patient and down-to-earth guy who we all love. Julianna and Pace share a lovely relationship. Julianna's family formed a major part of the story. Be it aunt Helen or her cousin Stacey, they were all very kind hearted and warm people.
Author L.S. Murphy's writing has a really nice flow to it. I loved how Julianna and Pace's childhood memories were put in here and there to show how strong a bond they share. A short read that can be finished in one sitting, A Reason to Stay is a cute and emotional story, the end of which will leave you smiling. (less)

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Nov 12, 2012 J.A. Belfield rated it 4 of 5 stars

A Reason to Stay is undoubtedly a warm-fuzz-inducing story with a little cheese on the side.
I make the cheese reference, because most contemporary romances must have a dash of requisite cheese before they can pass the true romance test—and this short and sweet and fast-paced tale certainly had its dose.
We have MC Julianne, who has stayed away from what she knew as home when growing up, but ends up returning when her aunt (who took care of her) is ill. I found her reasoning for having left in th...more A Reason to Stay is undoubtedly a warm-fuzz-inducing story with a little cheese on the side.
I make the cheese reference, because most contemporary romances must have a dash of requisite cheese before they can pass the true romance test—and this short and sweet and fast-paced tale certainly had its dose.
We have MC Julianne, who has stayed away from what she knew as home when growing up, but ends up returning when her aunt (who took care of her) is ill. I found her reasoning for having left in the first place believable. Her reasons for returning certainly were. However, I do question this: if she so easily decides she needs to remain there (for the reasons she gives), why did it take so long to return? I think there may have been one other slight point that I can’t really allude to without allowing spoilers, but there were a couple parts of development with a certain someone that seemed a little rushed. I’d have like to see those fleshed out (maybe that’s the romantic in me who longs for relationship development in books even when I’m reading ones I know don’t contain any). Otherwise, I liked the MC a lot, she was easy to connect with.
And so what about Pace? Now him, it took me a while to get a handle on. His moods were a little bipolar (though, I’d imagine that could be down to him protecting his heart), and at one point I wanted to smack him upside the head (with a pick axe) for his decisions/actions (as well as his dodgy standards when he was with one when he couldn’t have the other but then behaved somewhat inappropriately toward the one when he was with the other—and that did for a moment have me questioning what kind of morals this guy had (yeah, I’m cryptic, I know). However, he did kind of win me over by the end.
And talking of the end, that cheese I mentioned? Yeah, we got served some in the ending with a side salad and fries. HOWEVER … (and I’m not ashamed to admit it), the ending really was quite cute and lovely and adorable and brought a tear to my eye—and that, people, is where you will be left all warm and mushy inside. :)
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Jan 10, 2013 Tia rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found this novel to be a bit incomplete. I wanted to know the past better and feel the more emotional aspects of the novel. However that wasn't the case. While I was left with a happy ending that made me smile, the novel didn't feel whole.

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Nov 25, 2012 Hollie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-in-books, for-review

Aw, this was so cute! Full review to come.

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May 09, 2013 Naznin Azeez rated it 2 of 5 stars

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About L.S. Murphy

L.S. Murphy lives in the Greater St. Louis area where she watches Cardinals baseball, reads every book she can find, and weaves tales for teens and adults. When not doing all of the above, she tends to The Bean (aka her daughter), her husband and a menagerie of pets.

She is a member of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the St. Louis Writer’s Guild.

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