Changing the narrative in books - characters saying no to struggle love
Stay with Me: Strickland Sisters series book 1
Angela Strickland is highly successful in various fields in her life, except for when it comes to love. Twice she has been hurt by two different men that she had given her heart to and so she decides that maybe staying single is the best solution for her.
Ryan Boyé is exactly the type of man Angela has vowed to stay away from. He's drop-dead-gorgeous, successful and, sadly, a womaniser who has no intention at all to commit himself fully to one woman. But there's only one problem, and that is the fact that they live right next door to one another and share an undeniably fierce sexual attraction.
The book touches on topics like marital issues; the choices women make to stay with unfaithful men and sometimes mother the children their husbands have as a result of their extramarital affairs, what it's like to be single and searching, and what pretending to have a happy home looks like.
While the book's main focus is on the main character, miss Angela Strickland, and her relationship with her new tenant, and next-door neighbour, Ryan, it also introduces the reader to her two sisters. Her oldest sister, Reneé, whose husband continuously steps out on her, and her youngest sister Nicky, the self-professed "hoe" of the family who goes through one man after the other, hoping to find Mr. Right. The reader gets a look at the tense relationship between the three sisters as they voice each other's disapproval of the next sister's choice on how to live their life.
What makes the book so relatable is the dysfunctional family dynamics between the main character's parents and the three sisters; one most people can instantly identify with. The father is barely around, although his work hours clearly give him enough time to spend with his family. Instead, he always has one excuse or the other to serve as an explanation for why he is always late or doesn't show up on some days. Of course, being older, the main character Angela, as well as her sisters, have caught on to the fact that their father is having extramarital affairs on the side of his work, but their mother has chosen to turn a blind eye all these years for the sake of preserving the peace and because she has been enjoying the comfort of their father's income and care for so long. Whenever confronted about their father's cheating ways, she always seems to take up for him.
Meanwhile, Angela's neighbour, who is also from a dysfunctional family, and which he uses as a means of justifying his womanising behaviour, is starting to take interest in Angela and doing the most to get her attention. He is constantly and desperately trying to come up with new ways to entice her, but she is not easy to crack, despite her attraction to him. Miss Strickland is intent on not mixing business with pleasure and sees him as strictly business due to him being her tenant. Of course, this is not a satisfying answer for Ryan, who simply can't stop thinking about Angela.
As the story progresses and Miss Strickland and Mr. Boyé get to know each other, as well as themselves, better, they realise that perhaps they were too hasty with being set in their ways. Perhaps it is possible to come across someone who can make you change your mind about an outlook you may have previously had after all?
Admittedly, the book is rather fast-paced, although the relationship between the two main characters seems neither rushed nor forced. It also showcases what happens when women who have been subject to emotional abuse and misuse for a long time finally wake up to smell the coffee. This is a reality a lot of women are faced with; perhaps wanting to leave but not finding a "good enough" reason to do so.
Overall, the book ties up its loose ends nicely and ends rather satisfyingly. It is definitely a reminder that people can change for the better, although this doesn't apply to all individuals. It also teaches us that those who stumble around in darkness might eventually end up realising that the light-switch was right by them all along. A highly recommended read for people in search of something else to read outside of their normal.
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| Image: Goodreads |
Ryan Boyé is exactly the type of man Angela has vowed to stay away from. He's drop-dead-gorgeous, successful and, sadly, a womaniser who has no intention at all to commit himself fully to one woman. But there's only one problem, and that is the fact that they live right next door to one another and share an undeniably fierce sexual attraction.
The book touches on topics like marital issues; the choices women make to stay with unfaithful men and sometimes mother the children their husbands have as a result of their extramarital affairs, what it's like to be single and searching, and what pretending to have a happy home looks like.
While the book's main focus is on the main character, miss Angela Strickland, and her relationship with her new tenant, and next-door neighbour, Ryan, it also introduces the reader to her two sisters. Her oldest sister, Reneé, whose husband continuously steps out on her, and her youngest sister Nicky, the self-professed "hoe" of the family who goes through one man after the other, hoping to find Mr. Right. The reader gets a look at the tense relationship between the three sisters as they voice each other's disapproval of the next sister's choice on how to live their life.
What makes the book so relatable is the dysfunctional family dynamics between the main character's parents and the three sisters; one most people can instantly identify with. The father is barely around, although his work hours clearly give him enough time to spend with his family. Instead, he always has one excuse or the other to serve as an explanation for why he is always late or doesn't show up on some days. Of course, being older, the main character Angela, as well as her sisters, have caught on to the fact that their father is having extramarital affairs on the side of his work, but their mother has chosen to turn a blind eye all these years for the sake of preserving the peace and because she has been enjoying the comfort of their father's income and care for so long. Whenever confronted about their father's cheating ways, she always seems to take up for him.
Meanwhile, Angela's neighbour, who is also from a dysfunctional family, and which he uses as a means of justifying his womanising behaviour, is starting to take interest in Angela and doing the most to get her attention. He is constantly and desperately trying to come up with new ways to entice her, but she is not easy to crack, despite her attraction to him. Miss Strickland is intent on not mixing business with pleasure and sees him as strictly business due to him being her tenant. Of course, this is not a satisfying answer for Ryan, who simply can't stop thinking about Angela.
As the story progresses and Miss Strickland and Mr. Boyé get to know each other, as well as themselves, better, they realise that perhaps they were too hasty with being set in their ways. Perhaps it is possible to come across someone who can make you change your mind about an outlook you may have previously had after all?
Admittedly, the book is rather fast-paced, although the relationship between the two main characters seems neither rushed nor forced. It also showcases what happens when women who have been subject to emotional abuse and misuse for a long time finally wake up to smell the coffee. This is a reality a lot of women are faced with; perhaps wanting to leave but not finding a "good enough" reason to do so.
Overall, the book ties up its loose ends nicely and ends rather satisfyingly. It is definitely a reminder that people can change for the better, although this doesn't apply to all individuals. It also teaches us that those who stumble around in darkness might eventually end up realising that the light-switch was right by them all along. A highly recommended read for people in search of something else to read outside of their normal.
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