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Nov 21, 2010

What a wonderful story. I don't read reviews of books before I read them and, somehow, (I guess from the book's description) I'd gotten it into my head that Stay was going to be a light, fluffy romance. But really isn't. There is romance, that's true. But Stay is also about friends and how we sometimes take them for granted and how sometimes we don't know them like we think we do. It's about family, the biological and the family-of-the-heart, and about the good times and the bad. And it's about More...

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Dec 21, 2011

Rebecca rated it:

Craicky, I found a link to chick-lit novels that feature pets, mainly dogs. I am screwed! But if this book is any indication on what is to come, I might give up soon. It was cute, but lame at the same time and didn't really bring anything new to the table.

Girl is all sad that her best friend (whose parents employed her mother, so they are sort of more like sisters then anything) married the guy she had been crushing on in college (Something Blue, anyone??) and in a fit of drunkenness, More...

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Oct 24, 2011

Meg rated it:

Oh, how I loved Allie Larkin's Stay. Nevermind that I'm a total dog lover who thinks her golden retriever has human qualities and really "gets" her. Or that I'm a sucker for love triangles and tales of first love, especially when they're coupled with the struggles and triumphs of modern dating.

This is just a really great book.

Stay surprised me in the absolute best way possible. I'll admit that I accepted a review copy based solely on that adorable pup on the cover More...

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Sep 20, 2011

Nicole rated it:

Savannah “Van” Leone’s life is not turning out the way she intended. Her best friend, Janie, is marrying the man Van has been in love with for six years. To make matters worse, she is the maid of honor and has to silently endure her heartbreak, while wishing both of her friends happiness. So she does the only rational thing while drunk, order a loyal companion in the shape of a German Shepherd puppy from the internet.

Van’s narration was very witty and filled with tons of dry humor that

More...

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Sep 03, 2011

Jan rated it:

I'm borrowing parts of this review from another one of my chick-lit book reviews, largely because, on some level, all of these chick-lit books are basically the same.

Okay, let's be honest here. If you're anything like me, you don't read a book like this because it's a lyrical masterpiece or because you expect to get a lot out of it. You read it for entertainment, and because you like things that wrap up in nice boxes with happy endings. You read it because it's fun. Like candy for the More...

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Aug 03, 2011

Mandy rated it:

The protagonist of Stay, by Allie Larkin, Savannah “Van” Leone has a problem – the man (Peter) that she’s in love with just married her best friend, Janie. It’s more complicated than that however, not only is Janie from a privileged family, but Van grew up in her carriage house. Her late mother, Natalie, was the housekeeper for Janie’s family (and also Diane, Janie’s mother’s best friend.) Yes. Her life is complex and not free of drama.

And it didn’t help any when, rather than drunk- More...

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May 20, 2011

Cyndy rated it:

Most of the books I pick up are things that look interesting at the library or a friend recommends. I'm never one to read bestseller lists or New York Times reviews, but I started hearing some pre-release buzz about Allie Larkin's Stay, and added it to my Amazon wishlist to track it. When I realized she was from the same city I am and an alum of my college, it bumped up to a must-read, and I ordered it right after it was released.

::: The Plot :::

Savanannah Leone has lost ever More...

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Feb 15, 2011

Paul rated it:

Savannah "Van" Leone is having a bad day. She is attending the marriage of her lover, only she is the Maid of Honor. Her only true love, Peter, is marrying her best friend, Janie.

After the ceremony, Van goes home and finds herself drowning her sorrows in drink and a "Rin Tin Tin" TV series marathon. She decides she needs companionship and feels that a German Shepherd (Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd) is the answer to her problems.

She orders a Germ More...

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Feb 04, 2011

J.Elle rated it:

I liked this, although it reminded me an awful lot of the movie "Sabrina". I did like that movie though, so it’s easy to understand why I enjoyed this book. Van has been in love with Peter since she first met him in college. Unfortunately, he comes from money and she is the daughter of a housekeeper. His parents disapprove of the class difference and he lacks the balls to stand up to them. Instead, he ends up meeting, falling in love with, and marrying Van’s best friend, Janie (wh More...

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Jan 04, 2011

Carolyn rated it:

OK, I get it that characters are supposed to be flawed like the rest of us and show some kind of growth by the end of the book, but I almost did not get past the opening chapters of "Stay". Savannah, 'Van', Leone is not very sympathetic -- a foul-mouthed drunken slob who still carries a torch for her college crush who just married her best friend. Peter, the object of her crush, seems hardly worth it. He's cute and wealthy with nice manners, but is happy to follow the lures of a cu More...

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Nov 02, 2010

Rachel rated it:

To read more reviews check out Reading Rendezvous on MISS at http://www.missomnimedia.com/tag/reading...

In the new novel Stay by Allie Larkin we are presented with the same age-old question, do you swoon and lust after a man who doesn’t want you or fall hard for the new man who wants you? Savannah ‘Van’ Leone is presented with this question when her best friend-Jane- steals the man of her dreams, or at least this is how she sees it. Savannah has been in love with Peter Clarke ever si More...

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Aug 08, 2010

Kira rated it:

Book Review: Stay, by Allie Larkin
The characters spring to life from the first sentence in Allie Larkin’s debut novel, Stay. Savannah “Van” Leone has sacrificed other possible relationships and put all her hopes and dreams in one basket. She is devastated when her ultimate love blindsides her, begins a romance with her best friend, and marrying Janie instead of Van. There are always consequences to alcohol consumption, as Savannah soon finds out. She orders a dog from the internet to assu More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Alea rated it:

From the cover you might think to yourself that Stay is a dog book. Well sorry, but no. Yes there is a dog, that is a character and he shows up as much as other characters but the book is by no means solely focused on him. I wouldn't call myself a dog person so for me this was great, but strangely enough Joe (the dog) had such a great presence and personality you can't help but love him! He helps pull Van out of her funk and for that he's completely lovable.

Van, I loved Van's story. More...

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Oct 04, 2010

Amy rated it:

This book was really disappointing. I chose it because it got good reviews in People magazine. Clearly the reviewer and I have different opinions of good books.

The concept was good but the execution poor. It was so predictable and cheesy. Plus, Van (Savannah) was so messy. This shouldn't matter but it really grossed me out. When she got back from her best friend Janie's wedding, she got drunk, since Janie married the man she'd always wanted to marry, Peter.

She e More...

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Sep 20, 2010

Molly rated it:

Allie Larkin is a talented young author, there is no doubt about that. She captured me instantly with her witty humor and characters that pull you into the story, making you one of them. Allie Larkin is a new author who will rise to the top if she continues with captivating novels such as this one!

Stay is a story that will do one of three things: make you laugh, make you cry, or both. I did both. I laughed at all the humorous thoughts and antics that Allie added to Van's life. I cri More...

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Jul 01, 2010

Carol rated it:

Man, I loooved this book!

Though I am a couple of decades older than the protagonist of Stay, I can remember how it felt to be a few years past college and a few years shy of what I considered "adulthood". Van is floundering in this particular gray zone, without the support of parents or siblings. Her two best friends, one her secret crush for years, have found each other and gotten married, and Van feels like her world has come to an end.

It is against this back More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Rashmi rated it:

I saw this book on the shelf in the library and thought ‘Oh, that is one cute dog’ and though being a cat person, I thought I should probably read it. I loved the story!!! It was kind of chick-lit book, but it was a ‘feel good after reading’ feeling. I couldn’t put the book down during the last 20 chapters and after I was done, I thought seriously about getting a dog! The book deals with the unconditional love you get from man’s best friend.

Allie Larkin has an art keeping the read More...

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Jul 19, 2011

LORI rated it:

Janie is Savannah's (Van's) best friend since childhood. Peter is the man she literally fell for her first day of college. Her biggest mistake was introducing them to each other. That is why as this book starts she is dressed up looking like a satin orange pumpkin as maid of honor at their wedding.

After the wedding hoopla she decides to drown her sorrows with a little Vodka and a Rin-Tin-Tin movie marathon. During the night she drunk orders a puppy off the internet. When the puppy More...

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Jul 13, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Stay is about Savannah "Van" Leone, who just watched her two best friends Peter and Janie get married. The problem is that Van's been in love with Peter since they first met about 6 years ago. After the newlyweds take off for their honeymoon, Van drowns her sorrows in Kool-Aid & vodka and watched reruns of Rin Tin Tin, and accidentally (drunkenly) orders a German Shepherd puppy online. Though he's bigger than she was counting on, she names him Joe and starts to get over her heartbreak. More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Erin rated it:

This was one of those lovely browsing accidents at the public library. Basically if there is an animal on the cover I am hooked but this one turned out to be surprisingly wonderful. It struck me as incredibly realistic. I could identify with the character so much as I am relatively in the same life stage and all the uncertainty that follows graduation from college and trying to find a place where you belong. This character hopelessly misconstrued almost everything anybody said to her and it More...

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Jun 15, 2010

Deborah rated it:

STAY by Allie Larkin (HC – 06/2010 Dutton)

First, I have to say I was told to read this book by a very dear friend of mine, whom I totally trust with these recommendations. And I am glad to say that she was totally correct.

Seriously, our heroine (Van) is a mess until the arrival of her accidentally purchased German Shepherd. Unlike some novels, there are no quick fixes or instant happy resolutions. She has to work on discovering what is important and then learn to accep More...

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Jul 16, 2010

Evanston Public added it

In an effort to console herself after the love of her life marries her best friend, an intoxicated Savannah Leone buys a six- thousand dollar Slovakian German Shepherd off the internet. With a premise like that, one would expect this book to be filled with over-the-top antics, yet Stay, was much different. On the surface it appeared to be a cute chicklit novel: Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl makes peace and learns about herself. To dismiss this book so easily, however, takes away its dep More...

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Aug 18, 2010

C rated it:

Oops, not the kindle edition - I picked it up from the library after Tracy posted her review.

I'd say skip the plot summary in the description and just give it a read. The summary is like those movie previews that show you the whole movie before you get to see it, but in this case, misses the good parts.

I really enjoyed it, and found myself laughing & having to go share them with my husband, who did genuinely crack up - so score points for Allie, or my husband, or both!
More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Shannan/GirlsInTheStacks.com rated it:

Have you seen it yet? That novel with the cute, black dog on the cover? When I first started reading Stay by Allie Larkin, I began a friendship with Van. But as I read, I kept thinking where is this dog?? Then Joe came along in a most hilarious way. Studly, adorable, lovable Joe. After meeting Joe, who needs Scooby Doo?
Van has grown up living in her best friend’s guest house along with her mother who worked as the family’s housekeeper. After college, Van is maid of honor in the wedd More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Meredith rated it:

This was a such a great book in terms of both story telling and writing style. I just loved it and was impressed that it was Larkin's debut novel. The main character, Van, is extremely relatable and easy to pull for. When the story begins, it's like she is just going through the motions of life but not really living. It feels like she'd been trained to put others before her, like her best friend and her love interest and spends much of her time grieving the premature death of her mother. Bu More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Samantha rated it:

Seriously, who can resist this cover? Better than the cover- the actual story and the characters that filled the pages. Stay is an impressive debut from Allie Larkin that belongs on your to-read list. The story follows Van Leone and her baggage of emotional problems- from losing her mother to cancer to losing the love of her life to her best friend. Van succumbs to loneliness one night, and impulsively buys a German shepherd puppy over the internet. When Joe (the outrageously large puppy) finall More...

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Feb 20, 2012

Hannah rated it:

I'm not going to lie, the cover totally made me pick up this book. I'm not even a huge dog lover, but I can't resist a German Shepherd puppy. The puppy, Joe, turned out to be such a lovable character that I was browsing the Internet for puppies as soon as I finished this book.

I really loved Stay. It's so much more than just chick lit or just a dog book. This is Larkin's debut, and I was so impressed. Her descriptions were spot-on and her characters were realistic. My favorite part? T More...

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Jan 01, 2012

Bissfan rated it:

Savannah ist verzweifelt. Seit dem Moment, in dem sie ihrer großen Liebe Peter zum ersten Mal über den Weg gelaufen ist, hatte sie sich diesen Tag ausgemalt – den Tag, an dem die perfekteste aller Hochzeiten steigen würde. Und perfekt war sie auch, wenn man von dem winzigen kleinen Makel einmal absah, dass ihre beste Freundin Janie und nicht sie die Frau war, die im weißen Kleid an der Seite ihres Peters auf den Altar zuschritt und damit Vans noch verbliebene Hoffnungen, Peter für sich zu erwärm More...

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Dec 23, 2010

Sheree rated it:

I adored this book, it was an absolute hoot and one of my favourites of the year for the pure enjoyment factor! Van is messed up, her mother has died, the man she has loved for years marries her other best friend, she's lonely, miserable and has a fondness for Kool-Aid Vodka cocktails.

When Van over indulges in her beverage of choice, orders a puppy over the internet and awakens with the hangover from hell I was almost rolling on the floor laughing. When Van lets fly with some very un More...

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Sep 06, 2010

Katy rated it:

I am so totally hitting the jackpot in fun reads this summer. I just finished Stay by Allie Larkin and the first thing I want to say is READ IT. If you enjoy witty, laugh-out-loud funny books that touch on the themes of love, loss, friendship, healing, and finding your place in life (and aren't offended by a bit of profanity and an instance of premarital sex) go out and buy this book today. I read half of this book on a long car trip last week (no, I wasn't driving LOL!) and hubby kept shooting More...

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