Review by kaatzoetekouw - When I Should've Stayed

kaatzoetekouw 's review for:

When I Should've Stayed by Max Monroe

3.0

emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

[A list of (spoiling) trigger warnings can be found at the end of this review.]

When I Should Have Stayed is the second book in a series about couples in a small Vermont town called Red Bridge. Prior to reading this ARC, I read What I Should Have Said: Bennett and Norah's story. Throughout the first book, there are references to another couple: Clay (Bennett's best friend) and Josie (Norah's sister).

I suppose the second book could be read as a standalone; there is a lot of overlap between overall storylines. Most plot points from the first book are summarized or fully retold from Josie & Clay's perspectives. However, there is a major plot event with maximum emotional impact in the first book which features heavily again in the sequel, but it doesn't quite hit the same way if you don't have the background and details surrounding all of that. So if this series is up your alley, I do recommend reading all the available books in order of publication.

Josie and Clay's story begins with a flashback to 5 years ago, when Josie decided to rather abruptly file for divorce, blindsiding her husband. Cut to the present storyline, and it is clear Clay hasn't been able to move on, and Josie still loves him - she divorced him for a reason known only to her. They don't speak, which is how Josie prefers it. But everything threatens to unravel when her younger sister Norah suddenly arrives in town. When Norah finds herself entangled with Bennett, Clay's best friend, Josie finds it harder and harder to avoid her ex-husband. As these two passionate former loves attempt to manoeuvre around each other today, more flashbacks are woven through, telling us the story of how they fell in love to begin with, and how their relationship came to an end.

There's a lot to like about this one. The timelines were well done. It took a bit of orientating here and there, but the authors give plenty of pointers and overall it isn't too hard to determine where we are in the timeline at a given moment. (Although I can understand that a "5 years ago" or "present time" header would have helped put us readers in the right headspace immediately.)

But the way Max Monroe told the story, the flashbacks were dosed perfectly, both in amount and in where in the story overall they take place. I thought it a rather seamless reading experience, because the storytelling was clear; the three different timelines culminate beautifully. Once the timelines catch up to the present, we then roll through to the conclusion of their story in a smooth, orderly fashion with all the information we need.

Now, I don't know about everyone else, but I love a romance that has some type of intense conflict. Give me angst! Author duo Max Monroe definitely write angsty books. The way my heart was practically ripped out on not one, but several occasions... Romance novels aren't thrillers but I felt such an adrenaline rush regardless. Bringing out intense emotions in readers, that's not an easy feat, in my opinion. It's what's beautiful about art: how people react to it. I think the lead-up to Josie & Clay in book 1 definitely contributed to that; there was a subtle build-up of tension between these two and I just really, really wanted to read their story. How I liked book 1 didn't even factor into this. I just needed to read this story, too.

But Max Monroe lost me a when the angst kept on angstin' almost passively. We're just told over and over how much they love each other (to the point of it being too much, especially from Clay's PoV) but meanwhile they're not handling the conflict satisfactorily.

I just found myself disappointed in Clay for putting up with Josie's crap; his entire personality is loving his wife and telling us about it. But I mostly just felt so aggravated by Josie's unwillingness to just freaking communicate with the man. The reason why she left him is tragic, and having actually shared a bunch of Josie's experiences, I do come from a place of deep understanding. But Clay's own traumatic experiences (he goes through several of his own) are completely minimized - not just by Josie and Clay himself, but by the authors.

The best parts of the book - the most evocative - were the scenes describing Clay's pain. His reactions to Josie's actions. That's where the real drama resides, the real conflict. Those scenes felt the most real, but there were too few of them, and they were too short. I needed him angry. I needed him bitter. I needed him to work through a journey of not just understanding, but forgiveness. If a book is intended to be dramatic, push through and REALLY bring it all. Confront it fully. Instead, Clay was just sitting there as a golden retriever placeholder waiting for, basically, circumstances to pull Josie out of her stupor (which... she just kept this up for so long). Had Norah not arrived in town, Josie would have kept Clay in the dark without the closure he'd have needed if he ever had any chance of moving forward.

The book had amazing potential and started off so well, and I really wanted to love it, but it fell so flat in the end. I found myself questioning how Clay could still love her. But probably worse than that: I found myself questioning if Josie ever really loved him at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for generously providing me with a copy of this book; all opinions expressed are honest, and 100% my own.

Now follows a list of (spoiling) trigger warnings:

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TWs:
- Grief
- Loss of a child
- Childhood illness and subsequent death of a child
- Life-threatening accident

Content Warnings