Review of moving grownup romance Maybe She'll Stay by Robyn Lucas

 

 

Before I begin this review: on this blog I try to alternate my own mostly smutty writing with reviews of romance novels and other romance pop culture.  Right now I'm working on a story about a casual D/s relationship that is moving to the next level -- Tom pushes Ginny a bit too far, and as a result the tables are turned.  It's loosely related to my story My First Submissive Adventure, which you can read here.  When I thought I was wrapping up this chapter I realized I was only halfway through, so it's taking a bit longer than I'd hoped.  Watch this space.

In the meantime, I have unpublished romance novel reviews piling up, which seems silly. Especially because today I finished Maybe She'll Stay by Robyn Lucas and I feel like this is a book the world should know about.  

Although in my title I called this book a grownup romance, the romance is really besides the point.  

Heroine Nancy is a 40ish woman, psychology professor, thrice divorced, commitment-phobe, takes no shit from anyone. Despite hiding it from herself and others, Nancy has a good heart.  She helps a student in a very bad situation, and loves her best friend's kids.  Surprisingly, she is even good with babies.   

We slowly learn more about Nancy at the same time the people around her do.  She has hidden her past so completely that she decorates her house with frames holding the sample photos they came with. 

It turns out, her mother is a narcissist -- not in the casual sense of selfish and likes to talk about herself, but in the DSM-V diagnosis sense.  (If you want to know more about what that means, I recommend these videos.)  Her father is in prison for armed robbery.  She is estranged from them both.

When Nancy learns that her father is dying, her carefully curated life starts to unravel.  She is forced to interact with her mother, and face her father's mortality.  Her family secrets come to light, as do the lies she has told people who believed they were close to her.  She realizes how empty her life is, which gives her the opportunity to fill it, if she can find the courage.

Yeah, there's a guy in the story.  His name is Ashish and he's pretty perfect.  He's hot and smart and gainfully employed and helps everyone out.  He even funded a high school project to grow food to feed the poor.  He never complains about how badly Nancy treats him.  Apparently he sees her true heart.  

It would have been a better book if Ashish were a little more layered. That said, I cried all through the last third of the book, as Nancy navigates her relationships with pretty much everyone in her life and comes to accept that, despite what her mother says, she deserves love.  So does this book.