Review by shea_reads_always - When I Should've Stayed

shea_reads_always 's review for:

When I Should've Stayed by Max Monroe

3.75

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A poignant, bittersweet love story full of romance, loss, second chances, and all the messiness of life. 3.75 🌟s

Oh, boy- what isn’t When I Should’ve Stayed when trying to describe the story? At the heart, it’s a true romance, but it is absolutely so much more. This novel is beautifully written- it will make you laugh out loud, it will make you weep, and it will have you fussing at the characters in frustration. Josie and Clay have a lovely sweet but difficult story and Max Monroe brings all the feels.

I very much enjoyed When I Should’ve Stayed overall. This was my first read by Max Monroe. I definitely liked the cadence of the writing and the clarity of the characters. I do feel that parts of the story dragged on in places and was ultimately left feeling very ‘ugh’ about the reason for the distance between the main characters- not with what actually happened to cause Josie to initially feel the need to file for divorce, but how what she didn’t do afterwards caused all the heartache and unhappiness to draw for so long. (I’ll admit that I am not the biggest fan of miscommunication/lack of communication tropes.) I didn’t mind the time jumping and felt that the movement between past and present added a depth to the story. I just wish it would’ve been a little easier to follow when in time each transition was occurring. While I could absolutely follow along and the story reads fine without it, I do wish that I had read and do recommend reading the first book What I should’ve Said first.

All that said, When I Should’ve Stayed is a beautiful second-chance romance that pulls on all the heartstrings. I’ll certainly be checking out more Max Monroe books in the future.

Please consider the author’s note with disclaimer and trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. Your mental health is important.

Many thanks to Entangled: Amara, Max Monroe, and NetGalley for the e-galley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Content Warnings