Reviews - If You Stayed | The StoryGraph

143 reviews for:

If You Stayed

Brittainy C. Cherry

4.29 AVERAGE

nanaroy's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

fischers_reads's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny sad medium-paced

The perfect man doesn’t exi… in walks Gabriel Sinclair.

Can you imagine being in love with your best friend and then having to leave without saying goodbye? Then many years later you run into him again and he has no clue who you are. 😭 I binged this book in one sitting and woke up thinking about it. The book begins when they are teenagers after an accident happens. You slowly start to learn what happened throughout the book. Then it jumps to present day. It also goes back to childhood when Gabriel and Kiera first met. Their banter as kids continues as adults and it was so refreshing to see that they have grown up but some things never change. Especially since Gabriel has no idea who she is. I read the synopsis before the book came out and I wasn’t sure I would like it. I don’t just like it, I LOVE IT! The banter 10/10, the character growth 10/10, the interactions Gabriel and Ava had were a 10/10! I will say to please read the trigger warning list if you need to. This book is pure perfection!

💔“Henry controlled; Gabriel protected.”❤️

💔I had many regrets in life. Choosing Henry as my husband might’ve been among my top three worst decisions.💔

💔“That was the problem with falling in love when you were out of love with yourself: even monsters looked appealing then.”💔

💕 I didn’t understand why, but something about Kierra’s hugs made me feel safe.💕

SPOILERS: First off how amazing is it that they fell in love when they were younger and then again when they were older when one of them never even remembers the first time 😭 this is the kind of second chance I can get behind.

The book starts out at a hospital and we know that Kiera was involved. Elijah and Gabriel were as well but we aren’t too sure who they are to her. We just know Elijah didn’t make it and his parents are blaming Kiera. The mom tells her to leave and never come back. It time jumps to present day and Kiera is married to Henry. When she met Henry he had a 5 year old daughter named Ava so now Kiera is a mother to her. Kiera was told her mother was a junky and signed over rights. Henry and Kiera’s marriage is trash. Henry will act like the best husband in public but behind closed doors or when he thinks people aren’t paying attention he is awful to her. In the present Ava is 14 and is everything to Kiera. Henry threatens to take Ava away and she will never see her if she chooses to leave him. Henry hires an architect to put together plans for their new house. While at a dinner party Henry introduces Kiera to Gabriel Sinclair and her whole world stops. The wild thing is she is having this reaction and Gabriel is looking at her like she’s weird lol After the accident happened he lost all of his previous memories. So the first 20 years of his life are wiped clean from his mind. After that first interaction Kiera tries to be normal around him. His mother even pays her a visit to remind her she needs to stay away from Gabriel and never to mention Elijah or that she knows him. There are so many cute moments from this point on. Gabriel felt like he had met Kiera in the past but they figured out it was at a cafe where they both get the same cinnamon muffin. Actually Kiera always does but by the time Gabriel gets there in the morning they are all gone. They end up meeting for coffee and a muffin and it was so cute. Normally I would be like “SHE’S MARRIED” and think is inappropriate buuuuuut what Henry and Kiera have is not a marriage. Gabriel starts asking Kiera if she is okay and she finally stops lying to him. Ava wants to become an architect so Gabriel creates a mentorship at his business and has Ava come during the summer to learn. Ava opens up to him about being bullied at school. They eventually run into the bullies and Gabriel sees first hand what she means. He also gets into a fist fight with the father of the boys. Anyways, so many things happen but the big thing that sealed the deal was when Kiera caught her husband cheating and he lost his shit on her. The way he blamed her for everything and talked down to her like she was gum on the bottom of his shoe was absolutely horrible. Kiera had this list of reasons she stayed. The main being Ava but she said if he did any of these other things she would be out. The first one was that he doesn’t put his hands on her out of anger. That one went right out the window. The other one was that at least he didn’t get yelled at or around Ava and towards the end that very much happened. It actually happened prior as well but Kiera didn’t know. Ava came home to grab her forgotten textbook she heard her dad screaming at Kiera. The reason? While getting the pizza out of the oven she burned her hand and dropped the pizza and made a mess. Ava was telling Gabriel about this incident and how the way her father acted you would think her mom ruined his whole life. Kiera ends up asking for a divorce and more DV happens. During this whole thing Gabriel was her rock. Back when they were kids he called her Penguin because of how she walked and she called him Toad because she said he looked like one. So when he said “Goodbye Penguin” it stopped her in her tracks. He was slowly remembering things but wasn’t aware of it. She ends up telling him everything and the way he handled it really showed who he is as a person. He wasn’t mad, he was hurt. He couldn’t believe she would just leave him. He never loved anyone else since her and that speaks volumes to how amazing our minds really are. Kiera told him she didn’t want to but his mom made her and that was a whole thing. He also wanted her to tell him everything about Elijah. Since the incident she had been writing a letter to Elijah telling him about life and she let Gabriel read those. Gabriel actually listens to Kiera and absorbs everything she says. During the present time Kiera is a therapist and there she met a woman named Claire. When Kiera came in with bruises Claire asked if Henry did that to her. It shocked Kiera because she never told her the name of her husband. Come to find out Henry was Claire’s abuser and she also had a baby with him. That baby is Ava and Claire wanted to make sure she was okay and safe so she started stalking Kiera. The more time Claire and Kiera spent together in sessions the more she realized what a great person Kiera is. I really liked how Brittainy Cherry added that into the story. Ava and Kiera end up moving in with Gabriel and Henry goes to jail for 3 years for what he did to Kiera. At the end Gabriel and Kiera have a baby boy 😭

One of my fave scenes: Back when they were in high school Kiera had gotten her period while in all white at softball practice. All the kids were laughing at her but not Gabriel. Gabriel got together some clothes for her and a pad from his mom’s car 😭 the way he did things for Kiera and didn’t want to make them a big deal about them had me in tears every time. Gabriel even brought Kiera over cookies because his mom said that’s what women want on their periods. He asked her if they were good and she said they were but her favorite was oatmeal raisin. Even though he made fun of her for it, he brought her her favorite cookies the following month and every month after that 😭😭😭 Fast forward to the present and he comes over to discuss something about the plans for the house and Ava is yelling and slamming doors because she hates being a woman. Ava is super embarrassed when she finds out Gabriel is there. What does this man do? He goes home and bakes her cookies and brings them to her 😭mind you this man has no memory of doing this in the past for Kiera but he is doing this for her daughter.

ANOTHER FAVORITE SCENE: Kierra?” he asked. “Yeah?” I answered. “If I were your husband, I’d be nice to you. I’d make you coffee in the morning and get you a dog named Bentley. And I’d tell you to get Bent, so we could go to the dog park. And I’d kiss you good morning and kiss you good night. Every single morning, and every single night, I’d do those things.” I felt my cheeks heat up from his words. “Yeah, Gabe. I know.” “Good night.”

As an adult Gabriel has a dog named Bentley and I absolutely lost it 😭😭😭

THE BEST ENDING: “How are you?” I whispered when he lay down beside me after the foot massage. “Happy,” he replied. “How are you?” “Happy,” I echoed. So, so happy. “Thank you for finding me again.” He kissed my forehead and pulled me in more, holding me so close that I was able to rest my head against his chest. “Thank you for staying this time.”

simomo198's review against another edition

4.5

emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Great slow-burn story, with perfect amount of connection and yearning in between. Will say the middle felt long with unnecessary backstories which could have been left out. Besides that phenomenal read. Also I 100 percent recommend checking content warnings

Content Warnings

icedcoffeandagoodbook's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

My favorite Brittainy Cherry book thus far! It gave all the damn feels and I adore Gabriel so much! If You Stayed is heartbreaking and infuriating in so many ways, but the great big sigh of relief you get at the end makes it all worth it.

As always, I love me a book with a dual POV and when we get chapters of the past, and Brittainy Cherry delivered with this one. You feel the love and connection Kiara and Gabriel have for one another, and while their story is tragic, its far more beautiful and pure.

I recommend you check the triggers on this book because If You Stayed does touch a lot on mental and physical abuse, along with traumas of death.

car9619's review against another edition

3.75

inspiring

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

noshareads's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book was so dang cute!!

the amnesia trope can be a hit or miss for me but this book made it work. I’m a sucker for a good second chance romance, and this book delivered in all the right ways.

The flashbacks to their childhood were so sweet and heartwarming, and they added such depth to the story. And Gabriel?? A literal golden retriever green flag. So patient, kind, and caring just an absolute sweetheart 🥹

My only critique is that the last few chapters felt a little rushed, but overall this was such a solid read.

suesobo's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

autumn77's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kelsreads_andotherthings's review against another edition

4.0

It’s good to be back in the clutches of Brittainy Cherry’s emotional angst! It’s been a while and boy did I miss it! You know I always love a story that really puts me through it before giving me the HEA and If You Stayed was this and so much more!

Kierra found the love of her life, Gabriel, as a teen. He was her best friend and so much more. He was her forever, until his memories of her faded in an instant. Guilt ridden with all the what-ifs of their situation, Kierra leaves their hometown and Gabriel behind. Now married to Henry, a man whose love for Keirra is conditional and controlling, circumstances bring Gabriel back into Kierra’s life in a way that is unavoidable. He remembers nothing of their past but she remembers everything, including the way she loved him.

No one does childhood sweethearts to lovers with a bit of trauma in the middle like Brittainy. I swear, she has a special way of writing a couple’s beginning that shows their deep connection, no matter how young the characters are. This easily flows into their re-connection later in life and has you enduring whatever hardship she puts them through as they make their way back to each other. And, wow, do Kierra and Gabriel go through it!

There are so many gut-wrenching moments wound into this story. Kierra has let the past dictate her worth and what she deserves, leading her to a loveless marriage with a horrible man. However, this man has a daughter who has become Kierra’s whole heart and their relationship is the bright light in the darkness. I adored their honest and authentic connection and the hope it brought Kierra daily. Gabriel, even without his memories of Kierra, is drawn to her in a way he can’t explain. I loved watching their relationship rebuild as pieces of the past flutter into their future. Their love story is HARD so please check your triggers but, if you’re an angst lover like me, this is one you have to read!

myralovesbooks's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I love Brittainy Cherry's writing and she writes characters so well. They are flawed but relatable and the romance is always heart-wrenching. I'm not a girl who loves drama but Cherry writes the perfect amount to keep enticing but not overwhelming. I love a sad beginning that becomes a happy ending.

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