Layla Flaherty had the perfect life, or close to it. Until a stranger gunned her parents down right in front of her, leaving her with seizure inducing PTSD. After years of trying to pass as normal and failing miserably, she resigns herself to being invisible. But new to town Landen O’Brien sees her, and he likes what he sees. Much to Layla’s surprise, he doesn’t freak out when she has a seizure in front of him. He does the exact opposite, calming her until the tremors subside. But Landen has secrets of his own. Secrets that both bind them together and tear them apart.
Scarred by loss, Layla leaves her hometown of Hope Springs, Georgia, hoping to put her painful past behind her and start over in college in California. When she runs into Landen at freshmen orientation, she has a choice to make. Reinforce those steel walls she's built up around herself or give the only boy who can keep her still a second chance.
Landen’s more than ready to tear down those walls but this time when they come crashing down, they might bury her.
“Strip.” The command comes out harsher than I mean for it to, but my brave girl grins up at me. Her slender arms cross in front of her body as she lifts the hem of her shirt up and over her head. Her black lacy bra suggests to me that she wants this, planned for it even before coming to my game.
For a second, I’m back in the stadium, looking up at her as the field lights shine all around my glowing angel. And she gives me that look, the secret one that says I’m the only one who knows what she feels like from the inside, in my mouth, and tight around my dick.
I want to always be the only one.
“Slower,” I command, hoping the damn milkshake doesn’t melt too much.
Layla unbuttons her jeans and raises a brow at me. I nod, because yes, now she’s going slowly enough. Once her jeans are down, she kicks them to the side, and I take in her matching lace panties. Every cell in my body screams at me to hit my knees, pull that tiny scrap of fabric aside, and plunge my tongue into her wetness.
“All of it, baby. I want to see all of you.”
Layla’s cheeks darken, and I keep my eyes on hers as she reaches back to unhook her bra. It falls to the floor, and my eyes fall to her perfectly supple breasts and the tight pink nipples protruding in my direction. Again, my tongue presses behind my teeth, aching to taste her.
“Panties,” I practically growl at her.
My chest heaves hard because I’m running out of willpower here. Her skin begs to be touched, licked, bitten. I have the strangest urge to mark her. Claim her. Eying me with her wary gaze, as if she can read my crazed thoughts, Layla bends at the waist and slides her panties down her thighs, past her knees, and lets them drop to her ankles.
“Lie down. On your back.” She blinks rapidly but does as I say.
My cock punches against the zipper of my jeans, and I’m done waiting. Setting the milkshake down on the night table, I undress quickly, leaving my boxer briefs on so I don’t rush things. Climbing on top of Layla, I take a moment to stare down at her perfect body. Perfect face.
I’m dirtying up my angel and I know it, but dammit, how can I not?
Unlike Lyndsie, I was
lucky enough to read Let You Leave, Keep Me Still, and Hold Us Close in one
shot. All I can say is that alone, they would be really good, but all together it
is a beautiful, emotional story. I wasn’t sure as to how I wanted to write this
review, should I break it down by each story or write it as a whole. Each part
of this story brings something special, so I think I’ll highlight each one on its
own. Each part is a 5 star read for me.
This is the story of how
Landen and Layla met. Because of a tragic event, Layla has been homeschooled
since she was 13. For her senior year, she decided to go to school to prepare
her, mentally and emotionally, for college. She is making it through by being
invisible; no one acknowledges her. Landen is new to school. He moves around a
lot because of his father’s job, so he used to it. He is also used to not
getting close to anyone. Landen sees Layla and he is intrigued. He needs to
know her. He brings her out of her shell by seeing her.
I fell in love with Landen
right away. He is sweet, attentive, protective, caring, and loyal, the list
could go on and on. On top of everything, he is a bit damaged; my favorite kind
of guy. Layla is just learning who she is. Landen teaches her how to start
living again.
I felt every single word,
every single emotion of this novella. From loneliness, joy, fear, anger, and
heartbreak this short book is filled with it all. This is probably the most
powerful novella I have ever read.
This is the main novel of
the series and it picks up where Let You Leave left off. Landen and Layla are
now in college. This is also packed with a lot of emotion. Keep in mind that this
series is a story about 2 broken people trying to find their way.
They are both plagued with
self-doubt. Layla wants to protect Landen from herself, she has a condition
that she feels will destroy Landen. In turn, he wants to protect her from…the
world. Let me take a moment to sigh…*SIGH* Even though he is damaged, he is all
kinds of perfect. Any who, she tries and tries to push him away, but he WILL
NOT be pushed aside. He loves her and he works his ass off to show her how they
belong together.
The love the two have for
each other is so tangible. Everyone can see how they feel just by how they look
at each other and react to the other. And O.M.G. does it get hot when they
finally give in to all the sexual tension surrounding them.
It is SO hard to write
this review without revealing much of the story. I want to shout their beautiful
story for all to hear. But, you NEED to read it for yourself to get the full
impact.
Just when I thought
FINALLY they are in a great place, the story gets even more gut wrenching. I
think the 1st two stories, while they were about Layla and Landen
building a relationship and loving each other, it was more about Layla’s
personal growth. She needed to find who she is and how to live, not in the past,
but in the present. This to me is Landen’s book. It’s his turn to focus on
himself, so that he can live for Layla.
Oh Landen. How my heart
breaks for him. We know that he is broken, but in this novella, we find out
just how broken he really is. He went through so much as a child and it is
finally and totally catching up with him. He has major anger and rage issues. I
hurt for him and for the little boy that he was. He is such a good man; he just
needs help.
Layla’s growth through the
series really shows in this book. It’s time for her to be strong, not only for
herself, but she needs to carry Landen this time. It’s her turn to not give up
on him and for her to push when he tries to cast her aside. She shows Landen
that she will always be here for him and always show him the way when he is
lost.
I absolutely love these
two together. They are perfect for each other. Their relationship is far from
perfect, but they are willing to keep polishing and polishing until it shines.
Just when they think it is sparkling, they find a smudge (sometimes huge) and
it’s back to polishing.
This isn’t an easy
romance. This is a story of two very broken people. They seem so far beyond
repair, but together, piece by piece, they build each other up and become whole.
I loved every moment of this book, even when my heart was breaking. If I had to
use one word to describe Landen and Layla’s story it would be…BEAUTIFUL.
I have to say I loved this book from the moment I picked it up. Keep Me Still has everything in it: friendship, love, loss, healing, family and sexiness. I could not put it down. I stayed up until about 2am finishing it. I will tell you I did read Let You Leave and Keep Me Still when they were first published in the special edition so I had a wonderful time re-falling in love with Landen and was antsy until I got to Hold Us Close at the end.
The story is written in dual point of views which I absolutely LOVED. I enjoy knowing what both characters are feeling while I go along. My review will be short only for the reason that I do not want to give ANYTHING away. You need to feel every emotion as you read.
We are first introduced to Layla Faherty who has recently gone back to high school after a traumatic event happened to her when she was thirteen. She is now a senior and is determined to make it through the school year. She knows if she can’t get through this last year in high school there is no way she can handle college by herself. As soon as she’s back in school everyone steers clear of her. She knows what they all think of her and is fine keeping to herself.
Landen O’Brien is in his senior year of high school as well and is being moved to another state AGAIN. His family is constantly moving due to his father’s job. They currently live in Colorado where he has two really good friends that he doesn’t want to leave. Bye Colorado and hello to Hope Springs, Georgia. He starts his new school and the first thing he notices is Layla. Oh Landen, Landen, Landen, I have a big crush on you! The second time around I think I fell harder for him. He’s smart, funny, protective, sexy, loyal and just the right amount of F’d up.
The story takes you through Landen and Layla becoming friends and moving into something more. We follow them through high school into adulthood. Both of them hiding their secrets from each other and you know what happens when secrets are held….they eventually come out and no one will be happy. This book is an emotional roller coaster from page one. I LOVED EVERY FREAKING SECOND OF IT! Reading it the second time around was simply amazing. I felt the same emotions as when I did the first time. Your heart will break; it will heal, be filled with love, break again and be squeezed tight. Once you make it to the end you will sit there saying WOW.
I did fall in love with two secondary characters. Corin aka Ginger, and Skylar. Corin is Layla’s best friend. She is a feisty girl and I absolutely loved her fierceness. Skylar is Landen’s friend/team mate from college. He is a hoot and I loved his banter with Landen. I’m hoping and praying we will get their story at some point. I want it *pouts*. No scratch that… I NEED it *stomps foot*.
Keep Me Still is seriously a beautifully touching story. Pick it up today, you will not be disappointed!
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Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com.
