Tanya Anne Crosby

DNF. I rarely stop a book part way through, but the writing was cliched and clunky and the heroine was driving me crazy in a way I don't think she's meant to grow out of by the end. She 'acted before she could think' with alarming regularity for a situation where people's lives are genuinely at stake *eye roll*, and was just kind of childish and entitled. I think her self sacrificing for particular individuals was supposed to help endear her, but it seemed much more to do with her own show more martyrish tendencies, or heavy-handed need for an excuse to take some 'bold stance', than it was actually about the other people.

From the blurb I knew that the Vikings were coming to attack but she had foreseen it. Which had definite potential. I imagined she'd likely have used that information to put some sort of plan in place even. No. She has the dream, which isn't the first time she's had a premonition of future events, and her mother apparently had the sight as well, so it's a little strange she's so skeptical, but whatever, she's concerned enough to go stand out on the ramparts waiting, (but not enough to maybe wake up the sleeping guard apparently). And in fact *does* see the Vikings approaching... and just continues to stand there. She's very concerned about tipping anyone off to the danger because 'what if they ask her questions?!', *even after she's seen them with her first sight, you know, her actual eyeballs!* lol. Like the people who might survive by escaping into the woods before the Vikings reach the keep will return and be like 'hey, the important question is really- why were you awake!?!?' Even if they did she could say that she 'couldn't sleep', or 'needed fresh air', or 'heard a noise', or 'had a bad feeling', or anything in the world besides 'I might be a witch actually, better start the fire!' that she's apparently so worried about. I can't even fathom getting a prior warning, confirming it, and then *still doing nothing* about it, when it's maybe the difference between life and death for her people. Gah! I went on with several more scenes, but overall I just can't take it. show less

Thirty years ago, the prince of a small European country promised to marry the daughter of a Scottish earl, and she bore him twins. Then he decided to marry another woman. When they separated, they each took one of their infant sons and told the boys falsehoods about the other parent to protect them from the truth.
Now, in 1831, Crown Prince Merrick Welbourne IV of Meridian knows something is amiss with his father. The king is miserable, and Merrick goes to the wilds of Scotland to find out show more why. While en route to Glen Abbey Manor, a group of highwaymen attack his carriage and hold Merrick at knifepoint, but the face of his captor is all too familiar. He’s knocked unconscious, but nothing is the same when he wakes up. The thieves believe Merrick is their leader, Hawk, and Merrick must pretend to be so for his own safety and to get the answers he needs.
Chloe Simon is Lady Fiona’s nurse, and she despises the lady’s pompous son, Ian, the Earl of Lindale. When Ian (Merrick) returns one night, injured and seemingly drunk, she lets him know just how much she despises him. Attraction sizzles between them for the first time, and she knows something isn’t right. Once she realizes the mysterious highwayman, Hawk, a man she idolizes, is also Ian, she finally accepts the love that’s been building in her heart. But Ian (Merrick) has another secret, one she’s desperate to uncover.
This is an amazing story. I love it. There are so many twists and turns. All the characters are lying to one another, but everyone knows that the others are lying, and everyone is just too stubborn to give in and talk about everything they know. Normally, this type of plot would annoy me, but I found it very intriguing. The author wrote in a compelling manner from multiple POVs, so the reader would never be confused and to know all the characters’ motives behind the lying. I enjoyed the banter, the half-truths, the coaxing, and teasing between Merrick and Chloe, as well as with Fiona.
Merrick and Ian’s mother was a wonderful, strong-willed woman who’s trapped in a cage of relentless mistakes. I felt so bad for her and completely despised Julian, her ex-lover the king and the twins’ father. But, at the same time, I feel bad for Julian. Yes, the bad situation was his fault, but he does love Fiona deep down.
Merrick and Chloe are wonderful together. They learn and grow, and realize what’s truly important in life and not to judge others before you get to know them. It’s a beautiful story and my favorite of the two books in this series.
In the sequel, The Imposter Prince, Ian takes on the mantle of “prince” and begins to live Merrick’s life. I’ll be sure to post a review for that story as well.
I definitely recommend this book!
5 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion. show less

DNF. I rarely stop a book part way through, but the writing was cliched and clunky and the heroine was driving me crazy in a way I don't think she's meant to grow out of by the end. She 'acted before she could think' with alarming regularity for a situation where people's lives are genuinely at stake *eye roll*, and was just kind of childish and entitled. I think her self sacrificing for particular individuals was supposed to help endear her, but it seemed much more to do with her own show more martyrish tendencies, or heavy-handed need for an excuse to take some 'bold stance', than it was actually about the other people.

From the blurb I knew that the Vikings were coming to attack but she had foreseen it. Which had definite potential. I imagined she'd likely have used that information to put some sort of plan in place even. No. She has the dream, which isn't the first time she's had a premonition of future events, and her mother apparently had the sight as well, so it's a little strange she's so skeptical, but whatever, she's concerned enough to go stand out on the ramparts waiting, (but not enough to maybe wake up the sleeping guard apparently). And in fact *does* see the Vikings approaching... and just continues to stand there. She's very concerned about tipping anyone off to the danger because 'what if they ask her questions?!', *even after she's seen them with her first sight, you know, her actual eyeballs!* lol. Like the people who might survive by escaping into the woods before the Vikings reach the keep will return and be like 'hey, the important question is really- why were you awake!?!?' Even if they did she could say that she 'couldn't sleep', or 'needed fresh air', or 'heard a noise', or 'had a bad feeling', or anything in the world besides 'I might be a witch actually, better start the fire!' that she's apparently so worried about. I can't even fathom getting a prior warning, confirming it, and then *still doing nothing* about it, when it's maybe the difference between life and death for her people. Gah! I went on with several more scenes, but overall I just can't take it. show less

The Girl Who Stayed is billed as a mystery/thriller, but trust me when I say that it's so much deeper than that. This is the story of Zoe Rutherford's return to her childhood home of Sullivan's Island. A place of memories, most of them unpleasant. What begins as a quick trip to clean and fix up her childhood home, quickly turns into an introspective look at Zoe's life. Be warned, there are a plethora of emotions here, with childhood and adult abuse mixed in. This isn't the easiest story to show more read, but it was definitely more intriguing, than I expected it to be.

Zoe's head is a tough place to be. She's a prickly, and initially rather unlovable character. There's a wall miles tall between her and everyone else, set in place to protect her from more hurt. The fact that she obsesses over the same things, in an endless loop, makes for a tough read at times. As her abuse at the hands of both her father, and her recent ex-boyfriend started to come to the surface, I began to understand her more. It takes a lot of guts to finally walk away from something so damaging. Zoe ended up being stronger than I expected her to be, and I slowly grew to appreciate her for that. She may have been a bit broken, but only because she kept all the people who could have helped at arms length.

The mystery part of this is two-fold. One the one hand, Zoe has never let go of the unsolved disappearance of her younger sister Hannah. Her childhood was broken enough as it was, but Hannah's possible death has never let Zoe go. Crosby slowly unearths snippets of this traumatic event, bringing the reader further and further into Zoe's mind. When the second part of the mystery is presented, which I won't spoil for you, it actually fits in quite well. While I was pretty committed to this story for most of the book, the ending was what really brought it all home.

This wasn't a perfect story. It dragged at times, and Zoe isn't a character that everyone is going to love. However The Girl Who Stayed pleasantly surprised me. It ended up being much deeper than I expected it to be, and well-written at that. If you're in the market for a mystery/thriller that has a contemporary feel to it, this fits that bill. It's a worthwhile way to spend a few hours. show less