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 losing someone you love, and the grief and how that changes absolutely everything. And, finally, it's about starting over, reinventing yourself, and moving on... whether you want to and whether you feel you're ready to or not. I'll definitely be looking for Allie Larkin's next book. Sometime soon, I hope? ( )

I loved the dog (who was the best character) but the rest of the characters were pretty much whiney people who needed something real to think about. Not a great book. Not even very good fluff. The dog was great. ( )

While at college, Van meets Peter and after her first encounter with him, she falls in love. One day, her best friend Janie comes to visit and sparks fly between Peter and Janie. Needless to say, Van is heartbroken, but she tries to put on a happy face while she stands up in their wedding. After that, she begins thinking of how lonely she is and spends an evening with a little too much alcohol, her computer and her credit card. Enter Joe, a "puppy" she ends up purchasing on the internet from Slovakia that only understands Slovak commands. And with that, Van tries to start a new life for herself, with Joe's antics keeping her on her toes the whole time.

Steffie H. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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A fun read. I think many of my co-workers would enjoy this one. A charming little book with a loveable main character who has a complicated life. A lot of stuff about the dog is pretty darned unrealistic (a juvenile dog just acquired, instantly responding to commands in very distracting situations for example), and yet there are other times when the author describes the comfort a dog can give - despite all the accidents in the house and throwing up on the floor etc - in a very heart felt way.
I hope to see more books by this author.
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Girl has boy, girl loses boy to best friend and in drunken misery accidentally buys a dog on the internet, girl meets vet, original boy comes back … girls is confused! That about sums up this book. Another nice first book by a new author.

What can I say … it’s a romance novel with a dog as a major character. But this dog does not talk or do anything un-dog-like. He is just there; a constant, as any good dog should be. A great read for a rainy, or lately around here - sweltering, Sunday afternoon when there is really nothing to do that would be any better.
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