Tome Thursday: Stay Until Sunrise

 

Hello everyone!

 

Long time no see with one of these, eh?

 

But here we are again.

 

As if I could ever NOT have a Serenity Woods book on my blog every now and then!

 

It just so happens that she's a wonderful contemporary romance writer that's still going strong, even after writing as many books as she has.

 

And she's got a brand new, sizzling romance coming out VERY soon, that has nothing to do with the particular series I'm going to talk about tonight, but it's still going to be exciting.

 

I mean, it'll have a billionaire and there'll be surprise babies and the works.

 

You know how it goes. But it'll be done RIGHT this time!

 

Enough of that. Let's jump into what we've got going tonight, shall we?

 

It's time to Stay Until Sunrise.

 

Links to previous related posts can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual.

 

Stay Until Sunrise is the first in the Sunrise Bay series, focusing on small-town romance and connecting to the wider universe established when Ms Woods published her Three Wise Men. You can definitely read this as a standalone, but there are SO many other characters running around that have all had their stories told already, and besides, they're all GREAT stories, so why not have a look around?

 

Like I said, it began with Three Wise Men, then it continued with Billionaire Kings, and we're returning to the sanctuary of Noah's Arc in this one, although there's a few connecting series still floating out there if you're interested (Billionaire Princes and Southern Stars, to name a few).

 

This is Archer and Beth's story.

 

We met them both in Stay For Christmas (Cullen and Isla's little romance), but this is their time to shine.

 

Beth has been in a relationship with her boyfriend Jude for a long time, but it all comes to a head on Valentines Day when he tells her he doesn't want kids, and they part in anger that night.

 

Archer goes to find Beth - he's been best friends with them both for years - after talking to Jude, picks her up from the bar where she'd gone to, and takes her home with him.

 

The thing she doesn't know about Archer, however, is that he's been in love with her from the first second he laid eyes on her.

 

She learns that night, however.

 

And considering she and Jude had been drifting apart for a while, the breakup only solidifying things, Beth considers herself to have been single for a long time, and so she and Archer give in to the obvious attraction between them - because, yes, Beth has liked him for a long time, too.

 

Then the next morning Jude pops by to come pick Beth up, and things get complicated.

 

She goes to her sister for a while, who's been struggling to conceive a baby and it's really done a number on her marriage as it appears that's the only thing she can focus on, but truth be told all Beth actually wants is to be with Archer - she's just sweet and soft and doesn't know how to explain this to Jude without him blowing a gasket.

 

Archer, in the meantime, is working hard on setting up the PAWS Animal Assisted Therapy Center, so you'd think they both had some wiggle room.

 

No dice, because Jude puts two and two together, and he gets a little physical with Beth (nothing serious!) in the middle of Noah's Arc, Archer sees red, and then the Kings cousins have to pull the two apart before the bigger Archer mauls him like a bear.

 

That's officially the end of Beth and Jude, but Jude is also pissed at Archer, who he considers his best friend, so there's that. Still, at least Archer and Beth can now theoretically move forward at some point after the waters all settle.

 

And of course, it takes two to tango, since it comes to light Jude could never fully commit to Beth because he's still hung up on an ex of his that dumped him and moved to Australia. 

 

Archer reads him the riot act for that, when he's picking up his adopted pooch, Queenie, but then he focuses on Beth - who's learned something in the meantime.

 

She's pregnant.

 

Although she's on the pill, she and Archer didn't use a condom that night, thinking it was safe, but she'd been sick the morning after so the pill went bye-bye.

 

Archer, who'd been raised by a very strict father with morals higher than the sky, has a confused reaction rather than an elated one, which puts immediate strain on their blossoming relationship, but luckily he has an older sister who explains that he really shouldn't put their dad on a pedestal. The man had an affair once while on a business trip, and Archer was a bit of an oops because birth control failed their parents, too, among other things.

 

Getting his head on straight after that shocker, Archer hightails it after Beth and apologises, promising to keep making it up to her for the rest of their lives. He asks her to marry him, and the book concludes with life settling into a rhythm, PAWS coming along nicely. Plus it sets up a few different couples still to come, too!

 

I was very kindly sent an ARC of this book; my opinions are of course my own.

And I must say, Serenity Woods has done it again.

She usually does, let's be real.

Beth and Archer are partly "the one that got away" and partly "second chances" in terms of tropes, which I love as a mix is always fun to read. The writing, as usual, remains top notch and I loved every single page.

I enjoyed the journey and questions raised in this one. What's a good relationship? What does compromise mean? When do you draw the line?

And of course, the set up of PAWS is in the background, already proving to be a great success. I can't wait to read more stories based in this center!

Plus, seeing the Kings in any way, shape or form (particularly Noah of this gen, my favourite) is always a treat.

10/10 recommend! Ms Woods writes everyday issues in heartwarming ways, bringing hope to a sometimes grey world. Her books never disappoint. 

 

xx

*image not mine

 

Stay For Christmas