Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for allowing me to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

The flow of this book was nice and easy to read even though it was a bit predictable.

Brittainy did well writing a friends to lovers with drama. This was very emotional and Ms. Cherry did well describing the details in this story with Kierra and Gabriel’s story. I’m not usually a fan with past and present stories but I felt the author did well explaining this throughout the book.

She definitely knows how to show emotions in a book and will break you and bring you back together! That’s what makes her writing so well written.

I would definitely check your trigger warnings before reading as this story has abuse in it as that might not be a cup of tea for others!

There was a lot of quotes I liked in here but one that stood out to me was from chapter 1 when Kierra’s mom will tell her “Let go of what’s dragging you, baby girl. Then you can walk more freely.”

Tropes:
💜Memory loss
💗Second chance love
💜Friends to lovers

I love Brittany Cherry’s work. She writes with so much passion and emotion. I love a good second chance romance. Cherry knows how to break your heart and put it together in the same space. Even though some of the plot was predictable i enjoyed it.

Such a sweet story and so romantic!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the pacing in this book. This was my first book by Ms. Cherry. This romance definitely had some drama but it was so well written. The second chance love from childhood to adulthood I loved. Learning the past and present.

One can remember the last 19years of life. One will never forget.

Kierra has had some sad and darkness in her life. She thought meeting a man whom she thought loved her will give her peace only to find that this man she married is not who she thought she was. This story deals with emotionally and physical abuse so that is something the readers should be aware of. This book is about second chance at love and overcoming abuse, depression and feeling of not worthy to find a love that stands against all odds.

This was a heartbreaking, sweet second chance romance.

This is my first Brittainy Cherry book so I was super excited to pick this up (have heard nothing but good things about her books). I was very happy that I ended up liking this and will be trying more of her books.

Kierra & Gabriel really stole my heart. Their love story is for the true love/fate believers. This is a beautifully told second chance romance. Gabriel and Kierra were separated due to tragedy and Gabriel's amnesia. When fate brings them together again he still doesn't remember Kierra but their connection/bond is still there. The characters and the history between them weaved a tragic but hopeful love story that will stay with readers.

Highly recommend! Especially if you want a book to make you cry and believe in love.

4.5 🌟

“It makes no sense, but I feel you, Kierra.”

Another book by Brittainy Cherry that absolutely broke me then put me back together. I can always count on her for an emotional read.

Kierra and Gabriel grew up together from not liking eachother as kids to becoming friends to falling in love. Tragedy struck and pulled them apart and years later they have a chance encounter. Gabriel doesn’t remember much from before the accident so when he sees Kierra he just feels this pull to her he can’t explain.

The amount these two go through is heartbreaking. I love how Gabriel is just always there for Kierra no questions asked and loves her through it all. These two deserve all the happiness.

“Because I finally know what love is. It’s patience during the storms. It’s sometimes waiting. I’ll wait for you.”

“If I lost my memory every single day for the rest of my life, I would still find my way back to loving you.”

Y’all I highlighted half this damn book 😅

Read if you like
🩵Second Chance
💜Memory Loss
🩵Forbidden Love
💜Friends to Lovers

Thank you to sourcebooks and NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved everything about this book. This was the kind of love story that make you believe in love. Gabriel and Kierre had a heartbreaking story. Ripped from his memories, Gabriel forgot everything about Kierra. I love memorie loss as a trope and BCC did this one so well here.

This was such an emotional read from the very beginning. The first chapter was heartbreaking. Gabriel and Kierra were childhood sweethearts only for tragedy to tear them apart. Years later at a party Kierra sees Gabriel again.

This was a great read that had so many emotions on all levels. Kierra's life is complex and I felt for her the entire story. Gabriel brings a light to her otherwise harsh life. Will they have a second chance.

Be prepared for every emotion to encompass you while you read this story. There were tears, a few choice words, wanting to throw my kindle, joy, happiness, worry and being scared. This is a book that each chapter is a rollercoaster.

4,5 stars

I love Brittainy’s stories because she writes emotional, warm, wholesome stories with some or a lot of angst to keep us invested.
I always fall hard for her characters and that happened in If You Stayed.

If You Stayed is an emotional second chance story on a background of grief, guilt and abuse.
And yet, it doesn’t feel dark thanks to Kierra’s solar personality and Gabriel whole support for Kierra.

The trope is pretty straightforward: after being childhood sweetheart, Gabriel and Kierra separated after a horrible accident. Said accident left sequels for Gabriel and a huge guilt for Kierra.
She never was the same and bore a profound feeling of guilt, something that will lead her to live in a toxic relationship because she doesn’t think she deserves something perfect.
Years later, they will reunite and… you will have to read to know what happens!

Going back and forth between present and past, between Kierra and Gabriel’s point of view, Brittainy weaves a deeply emotional story with wonderful characters.
You also have an evil villain, Henry and a sweet girl, Ava.

Kierra is a strong yet fragile heroine who will have a whole journey in the book. I would love to count her as my friend!
And Gabriel is the strong, handsome and supportive type, my favorite kind of hero!

I read that story very quickly, totally invested in the romance and the drama, with heart pounding at some part of the story. A very good Brittainy Cherry and a very good contemporary romance!

This one didn’t hold the same magic that some of Brittainy cherry’s others have for me - but it was still cute! I loved how the story came together but it was a bit too “on the nose” for me. It was a second chance romance with amnesia, which is one of my favorite tropes! I didn’t feel as much angst with this one as I normally do with amnesia but I still think it was done well.

I ended on 3.5 stars for a few personal reasons. Gabriel was very tropey and finding out that Kierra met her daughter when she was 5 years old was mentioned far too many times. I do think this can be edited out and it would have been a solid 4 star for me!

I've had Brittainy's books to me many times but this was not my cup of tea. I finished it but it was a struggle.

I absolutely loved this story!
My heart went out to both of these characters! I desperately wanted to flip to the end to see the outcome but I stayed strong. Barely….
Kierra and Gabriel grew up as enemies which then turned into best friends which then turned into in love. They would have gone the distance - that’s how strongly they loved each other.
But something terrible happens only leaving one of them remembering. The other person cannot remember the first 19 years of their life. The one who could remember left forever blaming themself for the incident.
Very tragic.
Thankfully fate steps in 20 years later and they meet again.

I had to wait a full 24 hours to write this review because last night, I just didn’t have the words! 🤐

This book completely stole my heart and shattered it in the best way possible. 💔✨ This is, without a doubt, my FAVORITE Brittainy Cherry book yet!

I am obsessed with Kierra’s story—her guilt, her pain, her fight to overcome an abusive marriage, and her longing for happiness. 😭💪🏼 Watching her journey unfold was gut-wrenching but so beautifully written. The dual POV and dual timeline were absolute perfection! They gave so much depth to Kierra and Gabriel’s relationship—showing not just their pain and distance but also the foundation of love and friendship that made their connection unbreakable. 💞🔥🔒

Let me just say...there’s ONE character that will make your blood boil. 😡🔥 I wanted to dive into the book and rip him to shreds! My hatred for him was almost too much to handle, but it made me root for Kierra and Gabriel even harder! 💪🏼❤️

This book gave me ALL the emotions— sadness, anger, hope, and joy. If you’re ready for a story that will break you and put you back together again, then this book is an absolute must-read. 🌟💌

This book is an incredibly emotional and beautifully written story that touched me in so many ways. I love brittainy so much

This book is an incredibly emotional and beautifully written story that touched me in so many ways. I’m always one to read the blurb and this one perfectly sets the stage for a heart-wrenching journey filled with love, guilt, and hope. Kierra’s struggle to balance her feelings for Gabriel while being trapped in a loveless marriage is portrayed with such raw honesty that it's impossible not to empathize with her. The author does a fantastic job of conveying the complexities of their relationship and the emotional turmoil that comes with rekindling a long-lost love. What I found most compelling about this one is the way it navigates the delicate balance between past and present, and the hope that blooms in Kierra’s heart despite the shadows surrounding her. The story is a testament to the enduring power of love and the possibility of redemption. It's a powerful reminder that sometimes, the most emotional journeys are the ones that lead us back to ourselves.

This book is a must-read for anyone who appreciates a deeply moving tale of love and second chances.

If you enjoy second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers, and stories that explore trauma, you’ll probably like this book. Just a quick note, be sure to check the trigger warnings first. That said, I really appreciated how the topic of domestic violence was approached and written. The story is deeply emotional, and the characters are well developed and enjoyable.

Kierra is unhappy in her marriage and her husband is not a good man. She met Gabriel who is working with him. And she knows Gabriel, they were in love until he lost his memory in an accident. But there is still a spark between them.
Omg this book! I read it in a few hours. I loved how Kierra is so good and strong. And Gabriel is such a boookboyfriend. It’s flawless to fall in love with him.
Brittainy is capable of makes you feel so much in a few pages.
This book is a big yes!

"𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚐𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚡𝚢 𝚠𝚛𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐."

🤎

A heartbreaking story of second chance, redemption, forgiveness, destiny, faith in the future despite the devastating storms of the past. The story of two deep, complex kindred spirits who always feel and find each other in the midst of distance, loneliness and suffering.

Kierra is loving, kind, caring, selfless and deserves the world. Every time she struggled, went through hell, her little voice whispered, my heart bled. Then all her moments of kindness, tenderness, resilience and courage to break her chains healed my wounds. I loved feeling my heart being ripped out to see her fly away.

Gabriel is sweet, protective, kind, loving unconditionally, tender, seeing beyond your armor. He's that shelter that keeps you safe when your world is cruel, lets you feel, reassures you and sets the world on fire to protect you while facing his own past.

Brittainy Cherry is one of my “if she writes it, i'll read it”. She poetically writes about everything that's painful, heartbreaking and beautiful in life; deals with important topics with delicacy and accuracy, yet the romance doesn't belittle them but sublimates them to show that there's hope even when the shadows overwhelm us.

Once again, thank you Brittainy Cherry and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC !
Coming : April 22.

Brittainy C. Cherry can never do wrong. Ever. It hasn't been a secret that I love every single word she's ever written and I will jump at the chance to read an ARC from her.

I have to start saying that if you read this book, please make sure you've read and understand all the trigger warnings, since this book tackles strong themes and has many scenes that can be triggering for some.

That being said, IF YOU STAYED is one of those love stories that break you but has all the power to heal you. Gabriel and Kierra had the kind of love we all wish for ourselves because it's so selfless, so beautiful and puts pieces together when everything is falling apart. That's the magic of BCC's characters, the chemistry and the love between them is so real that it actually convinces you that there's a similar love out there waiting for you.

"It makes sense that I loved you, because when I first saw you... I didn't know you, but I could feel you."

I felt so hard in my heart for Kierra. Her pain was so real, her realization that she was being abused was so hard to read but at the same time I really appreciated how BCC wrote it as part as her growth as a character. Her love for Gabriel and her desire to be with him was part of that growth too, because she already knew how love looked like and felt like and she knew she deserved more. I also felt deeply for her relationship with Ava. The found family aspect of the book was simply beautiful, I loved how they loved each other and how Ava chose her above all.

And how could I not fall in love with sweet Gabriel? He was patient and kind and already knew how to love Kierra because he never stopped loving her. I really enjoyed seeing his healing process and how despite everything that went down, he was still present and ready to defend Kierra and Ava. It was such a beautiful thing to read.

The book overall made me tear up, cringe in certain parts for the sake of Kierra and feel hopeful and inspired with such a beautiful, healing romance as only BCC can do it. She is simply a master of words and a real Romance artist. She knows the genre and writes it exactly as it should be written. I had been craving to read another heart-wrenching, swoony and inspiring romance from her for so long and I got exactly what I needed.

I received this ARC from Brittainy C. Cherry and Sourcebooks Casablanca through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.