Let Me Stay (A Drunk Love Contemporary Comedy #2) by Aria Bliss

Let Me Stay (A Drunk Love Contemporary Comedy #2) Reviews

• 
  Catbytheseareads

  Ohhh Ahhh!! Somebody get me a drink or I need a cold shower.
  I’ve fallen in love with Aria Bliss’s writing, I read them so fast because I cannot put her books down. This is book 2 in the A drunk love series and I’m loving every second of them. Each book can be a stand alone.
  
  Emily has 3 brothers and Dexter, the middle brother.
  Dexter has been best friends with Evan since Emily was a baby.
  Evan and Emily have had feelings for one another for many years.
  Will Evan resist her or will he take the chance on Dexter not killing him and make her his?
  Oh Evan, be still my heart!
  
  If you love contemporary Romance books you will not be able to put any of these books down.
  
• 
  justlarissareads

  Emily and Evan have secretly been in love with each other for years until one drunken night they run into each other at a bar. One thing leads to the next and in the morning, neither one can really remember the details from the night before. To make matters worse, Evan doesn’t respond well to the situation because he’s more worried about what his best friend Dexter will think about it. Dexter is also Emily’s brother.
  
  I really wanted to love this. It just fell kinda flat for me. It was so repetitive with the back and forth concerning Dexter’s feelings, I skimmed a lot of that inner dialogue after awhile. Evan put entirely too much weight into what Dexter would think about his relationship with his sister. By the time he was ready to commit to Emily and stand up to Dexter, I wasn’t as excited for them as I wanted to be.
  
  This can be read as a stand-alone, but the other books in this series are interconnected with characters in this series.
  
  ARC REVIEW
  
  3/5⭐️
  3.5/🌶
  
  Friends to Lovers - Best Friend’s Sister
• 
  Suze Prescot

  Emily and Evan have loved one another for years, but. Evan is best friends with her brother, Dexter, and he made Evan promise never to hit on his sister. When the pair accidentally meet up In California, copious amounts of alcohol remove any barriers to a hook-up, but afterwards?
  This is a lovely romance, with well-drawn characters and a frustratingly logical apparent impasse to the relationship of the protagonists. I really enjoyed it.
• 
  Book Nerdy 2020

  LET ME STAY By Aria Bliss
  
  Emily co-owns the bar with her three overprotective brothers. She has always had a super duper crush on her Brother's BFF Evan since she was nine. One drunken night changes it all between the two.
  
  😊What i liked -
  
  ✔ Brothers Best Friend/Rom-Com/Unrequited Love.
  ✔ I loved the secretness of their relationship. It added spice to the story.
  ✔ I found Emily to be quite a strong and level headed girl. She was always very clear on what she wants and where she stands.
  ✔ I liked the bond Emily and her brothers share.
  ✔ I even liked the bromance between Evan and Dexter.
  ✔ I loved how easy, cozy and steamy read this was with its share of drama.
  
  
  🤔What could have been better -
  
  ✔ Even though I liked the bromance between Evan and Dexter, I felt the story felt flat because of the importance level Dexter was given.
  
  
  📚Who Should read :
  
  👶Beginners
  💝Romance Lovers
  💕Brothers Best Friend Lovers
  💞Rom-Com Lovers
  
  
  📈My Rating : 3.5/5
  
  P.s: As I was introduced to the series I guess with the 4th book, i did not read it in sequence. So the 2nd book in the series is my last read, i loved the other books in the series more than this one. But ya let me still say this, i am still a fan of Aria's work.
  
  Thank you, Aria Biss for a copy.
  
• 
  Kims.reading.nook

  Ooh I do love a forbidden love story, and the connection between Emily Rockwell (who we met in book 1) and her brother Dexter's life long best friend Evan was 🔥🔥 Aria Bliss has done it again and I devoured this book!
  
  After losing his parents as a teenager, Evan and his older sister Nicole were accepted by the Rockwell family as their own. He'd been best friend's with Dexter since Kindergarten, and spent much of his childhood with the family. Emily Rockwell has had feelings for Evan since she was a teenager, but he's been warned off of her and can't risk losing his best friend. So when a drunken night away at a conference leads to more, what will the two do?
  
  This was far more than your classic best friends sister style romance. The back story here and the way that the Author builds on the characters with each subsequent book in the series is impressive. Even though you could read each of them as a stand alone, I really encourage you to read through the whole series as I became so much more connected to the characters based on what I already knew of them. I love a HEA and the twists in this book were unexpected!!
• 
  BP34

  This is the second book in the Drunk Love Series but can be read as a standalone. I recommend reading the series in order so you'll get to know all the family members. You'll love Emily and Evan's story. She was off limits as her three over protective brothers continued to remind him. It's a dual POV which is great as it lets us know what both of them are thinking. They've secretly been in love with each other for years but never acted on their feelings. Fate brings them together in California and they get together after an alcohol enhanced night lowers their resistance. This was a great book that will capture your attention right at the beginning and have you page turning until the end. The characters are great and their chemistry is explosive. I read a free book via Booksprout and voluntarily chose to review it.
• 
  Michele Richardson

  Emily is such a force to be reckoned with, as the youngest Rockwell and only girl she has to be tough to stand up to her brothers. She has been in love with Evan - her middle brother’s best friend- for as long as she can remember. Evan is also in love with Emily, but made a teenage type promise to said brother he’d NEVER date or touch his sister. You can guess where this goes and the battles to get to their HEA are nearly epic! I love this couple and their story is so good, you do not want to miss this one!.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Terri Zumbrook

  LET ME STAY is the intense, passionate and romantic story of the Rockwell’s only sister, Emily and the brother Dexter’s best friend Evan.
  
  I loved this story because while it is identified as a friends to lovers story, it is more a story of loyalty and forbidden love. Emily wants the man she loved to put her first. Evan promised his life-long friend he would “not touch” his sister. Each believes their love for one another is unrequited until a fateful night together changes everything.
  
  You will really enjoy this book for the depth of Evan’s love for Emily. His struggle between his love and his promise almost gets the best of him until he realizes he may not have Emily within his grasp forever. It has steam, jealousy, betrayal and everyone being all up in Emily’s business. It’s a good book!
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  elly (big hiatus)

  every single person in this book got on my nerves.
  
  thank you to booksirens and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Andrea Barth-Leidinger

  Everlasting love? Not possible…
  Possible? I’ll say if it’s there since twenty years…
  Evan and Emily don’t have it easy. With her brothers, and especially Dex in their hair it seems nearly impossible to work out for them. But don’t underestimate the power of whiskey! And what happens after…lol. Charming, heartbreaking, funny story about two people who have to find their paths.
  After this wonderful HEA I am now waiting for Dex and Chelsea. Good that Em had a conference in California!
  Why? Read and learn… and enjoy!
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Robin Reviewer

  Night and day different from book 1 - read on KU
  
  If I hadn't read the first book before this one, I would have given this one 3 stars. It is, at best, an average romance. I gave the first book 4 🌟. It is rare I give 5 star reviews but it was close. This book went wrong in so many ways.
  
  The worst part about this book is the first 40% or so is boring. All you get is them each lamenting about why they aren't with the other person. There's a bit more to the story than that but not much. I haven't ever read a book review where a reader said "I love that the author kept the story on their internal monologue," so I doubt many will love this part of the book.
  
  Then there is the grammar. The grammar in the first book was almost pristine. That is very much not the case in this book. There were multiple cases of misused object and subject pronouns. The worst of it, however, was she called Emily's family the "Rockwell's." Not a single time did she correctly state "Rockwell" or "Rockwells." I'm not sure which it is supposed to be. If it is the former, then she did correctly state their name in the single time it was used in a possessive form. If it was the latter, she didn't even get that right, as the correct form would be "Rockwells'." What happened to her editor/proofreader? It is almost like she put all of her energy and funds into the first book and gave up on the second. I understand the funds if the first book wasn't as profitable as needed to cover a better editor or proofreader. However, there are so many fans who would proof for free.
  
  I did like Emily and Evan and didn't let his stupidity when it came to Dexter's feelings change how I felt about him. But, if I were Emily, it would have taken me a long time to recover from finding out my brother had kept me from happiness for possibly nine years. (Dexter warned Evan off when Emily was 18 with his fists. Emily is now 27 and, in the book, they keep saying ten years ago, but that is obviously 9 years ago.) While it is probably best they didn't get together when she was 18, as she probably needed to mature and have a carefree time in college not attached to someone much older, there were a lot of years in there where they were both unhappy just so her brother could feel more comfortable.
  
  Their age difference was another place where the math didn't add up. Her mom was pregnant with her at the start of when Dexter and Evan were in kindergarten. At most, they would have been 6 when she was born but it seems like the author stated their age difference was 7 years. I'm a math person, so it irks me when numbers don't add up.
  
  I did enjoy time with the Rockwells. The changes to their bar business were a good edition to the story. And this story was hot. I saw another reviewer gave it less than a 3 out of 5 on a spiciness scale. There were multiple adult toys involved. And scenes that were quite not vanilla. Speaking of, if any kink offends, this isn't the book for you. It isn't a BDSM type book but it is definitely chocolate with sprinkles. Kudos in that department.
  
  My last criticism isn't of the book but of the blurb. I find it a little off-putting when the AUTHOR notes you will like her books if you like four other specific authors. I follow all 4 of them and do not recall any of them promoting this series or this author. While I certainly could have missed that, I searched the FB group of the author who has the best FB group ever and she never commented on liking Ms. Bliss's books. I didn't take time to search the pages/groups of the other three. This is the kind of thing you get someone else to say so you can quote them on it. You don't say it yourself. I would have even been less off-put if she had said she aims to please the readers who enjoys works by those three authors. And her comment contributed to my rating as I expect more from someone making that statement. Those authors are great.
  
  I get that it is hard to write a book, get it edited, and published and to put yourself out there. I don't want to be a hater but I really think this author could benefit from considering some feedback on this book. Given the difference in treating of these two (5 vs. 4.4 stars), I'm not in the minority on that opinion.
• 
  Sharon Moritz-rosenthal

  This is book 2 in the series but easily stands alone. It is about a group of siblings who run a bar and grill together. This is the youngest sibling, Emily's story and it pairs her with her older brother Dex's best friend Evan. There is a bit of an age gap as well between these two and he grew up knowing Emily. Evan is a lawyer and he helps out when they need some legal help.
  
  I loved the first book in the series and I loved Evan and Emily and I could tell how much they liked each other in that book so I could not wait to read this book. If you have not read the first book, this book easily stands alone. Though the characters in that book are very involved in this story.
  
  This book has a love triangle though not in the way you would really expect. Emily has two siblings Heath and Dex. In the first book she fixes up her brother with her best friend in a fake romance that ends up turning real. So you would think when her other brother, Dex's best friend likes her and she him, it would be smooth sailing for them to date. But nope. Why? Because Dex has made Evan swear several times over the years that he will never get romantic about Emily. Why? Because in all honesty he is afraid he will lose Evan to his sister Emily. Its not about loving her or wanting the best guy for Emily but rather he wants to be first in Evan's life and he thinks Emily will get in the way of that. So its a love triangle within a Bro romance and with Dex's sister. Dex is selfish and very self centered and thats how the author portrays Dex throughout this book.
  
  As to Evan at times I wanted to shake him. He claims to love Emily and he chooses Dex over and over again. Honestly I loved how he felt about her, but I hated how he treated her as this huge secret and he chose Dex over her time and time again. When Emily gets fixed up with this other guy by her mom I wanted her to get over Evan and get with this other guy. Evan did not deserve Emily and this other guy seemed awesome.
  
  I did enjoy the way the author told this story and I liked the unique twist in this story about the bro romance. But at times I wanted to shake Evan because love is precious and Dex was so selfish in this book. Emily was absolutely awesome. She was this terrific girl boss and she handles her siblings so wonderfully. I think she should have gotten angry at Dex more and be less forgiving of Evan but the heart wants what it wants I guess.
  
  This was a age gap and brothers best friend romance that had a very different spin to it.
  
  I received a complimentary early release copy of this e-book from the author prior to release and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Von Jess

  I did enjoy the first book in this series about the Rockwell siblings.
  
  This one fell a bit flat and there are spoilers in my review.
  
  - The way Evan was warned off Emily by Dexter made me dislike Dexter. Also the reason we learn about later, is really overreaching, regarding protecting a younger female sibling.
  
  - Evan and his bromance love for Dexter almost cost him the love of his life!!! When he finally gets in gear about that, it’s almost halfway through the book. I didn’t have my percentage on in the right hand corner, and when they get together, I was shocked to see I was only at 55% of the book. Meaning the first 40-ish% of this book are about the night they can’t really remember, the regret of promises, the two best friends that are way to calm and or know-it-alls (this will probably take a break for Dexters book) and getting off in the shower. And Roxie, and work also take up a lot of space in this book.
  
  - Emily. Oh Emily darling….hmpf. I liked that she was open with Even and telling him what and how she felt…but that she didn’t understand the dynamic between her brother and Evan. That she didn’t understand how he was feeling about it all. So when he says “screw my life long bff friendship to your bro. What’s 30 years when I’ve loved you for 10. Secretly. In my mind” she makes him wait to say something to Dexter, to have that really hard talk. He wants to shout it from the rooftop and she’s like “nah…lets wait.” BECAUSE THAT ALWAYS GOES SO WELL!! Also her actions regarding the oops! and how she runs to her friends but doesn’t talk to Evan first, knowing full well that he chose her over his brothers friendship and then questions how he’ll react?!? Girrrrrrl! That made me dislike Emily. She didn’t come from a broken home or violence, so her hesitation was selfish in my opinion.
  
  I know Dexters book is next and once Emily mentioned she had a tenant already lined up for one of the apartments above the bar and her job was mentioned, I knew she’d be a candidate for one of the unmarried brothers. And then we see a glimpse of why Dexter is messed up regarding dating….tada! The photographer has entered the story. Don’t know if I’ll want to read Dexter and Chelsea’s story.
  
  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
• 
  Viper Spaulding

  Intense, deeply conflicted romance
  
  When your best friend would literally do anything for you, except let you date his sister. That's Evan's dilemma - Dexter has been his ride-or-die friend for nearly thirty years, and the only thing Dex asks for in return is that Evan not date Emily. Evan tries - he really, really does, for far too long if you ask Emily - but eventually Love wins out and they've got no choice but to see where things go.
  
  I'll admit it was hard to identify with Evan's reasonings at first, especially when Emily called him on it, telling him that she deserves more than a man who would choose her brother over her, but when we get to know Evan more and see the depth of his friendship it makes it more understandable. Still, I was happy to see Evan finally man up and admit what everyone else - except Dexter, of course - could see.
  
  This story didn't pull any punches when it finally came to letting the cat out of the bag. That scene and its fallout was far better than I'd dared to hope for. A lot of authors go to great lengths to build up to a dramatic conclusion only to smooth it over far too easily; not so, here. This author let all the characters have all their feelings, raw and exposed, and it was glorious!
  
  There was another unexpected wrench thrown in along the way that totally changed the dynamics; a common trope in romance books but used for completely different purposes here. I really enjoyed the roller-coaster ride that this romance took us on, and commend the author for putting a totally new spin on a familiar premise.
  
  And since the next book follows Dexter's romance, this book gives us a pretty good introduction to his character. Emily's relationship with her best friend and new sister-in-law, Alicia, again forms the foundation for getting to know our book's heroine, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting updated on Alicia and Heath.
  
  Aside from needing a bit more editing (timeline issues, too many apostrophes, spelling, and word choice errors), this book was a delight to read and I'm already queuing up the next book in the series. As far as contemporary romances go, they don't get any better than this. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
• 
  tattoo blogger (Amanda)

  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
  I have to say I really enjoyed reading this book. Aria Bliss really has a way with writing a story that just sucks you in and that you can really relate to the characters in her story. Book one was just awesome the sparks between Heath & Alicia and now Book two is Evan and Emily's story. I just love reading about the characters and how relatable they are.
  
  
  Blurb about the story:
  
  Emily owns an upscale bar called the Rock Room with her brothers Heath, Dexter and Luke, they are her big brothers and very protective of her more so Dexter. Emily has always had a thing for Evan which is Dexter's best friend. There's an age difference so it wasn't possible at first. Dexter didn't want his best friend dating his sister so he promised him to stay away, granted it was when Emily was 18 and now she is 28. They meet up again at a Event planning conference that Emily was attending and Evan was attending a Law Seminar, they got a little drink and slept together. When Evan wakes up he gets scared and tells her it shouldn't happen and runs away, he doesn't wanna lose his friendship with Dexter. A lot happens in the story between the characters it is a must read and find out if Dexter and Emily workout and see what happens between Dexter and Evan and how he takes everything.
  
  I got to say I can't wait to read if the author writes a story about Dexter finding his true love and if Luke finds love. I just wanna read more about these characters and maybe updates on Heath and Alicia and others. Like does Trent find his somebody which is Emily's and Alicia's bestie. Just it out you won't be disappointed.
  
  
• 
  Emily Pennington

  Evan and Emily . . .
  
  Evan has been best friends forever with Emily's brother, Dexter. Evan was told by all three of her brothers that he must keep his hands off their sister. So he kept his feelings to himself and honored the promise he made.
  
  But when Evan and Emily are away from home and, having had too much to drink, they sleep together, it’s too late to try to reverse what they did. How can he go back to that promise now that they know how each of them feels about the other? Is this going to destroy his lifelong friendship with Dexter? Or will he have to hurt Emily and allow their relationship to go no further?
  
  This is a well-written book with strong characters who have great chemistry. The author brings a sweet romance with descriptive and detailed scenes and delivers an entertaining heartfelt romance I enjoyed reading. However, just my own personal grievance about this trope of the protective older brother(s), I firmly feel that once the sister reaches adulthood, big brother should have no more say in whether she dates his best friend or anyone else he knows. It is quite frankly none of his business at that point. He’ll get over it eventually. And best friend should be strong enough to stand up to his friend and tell him so. How is keeping it a secret (i.e. lying) or breaking a heart a better solution? It’s all about relationships and, if they are that flimsy, maybe they are not worth keeping. Love happens, and promises to stay away can’t prevent it.
  
• 
  Lesley

  Emily has been in love with her big brother's best friend Evan since forever!! Little does she know that Evan has been in love with her for a number of years too, but long ago he made a promise to her brother that he'd keep his hands off of her, and he's been regretting that promise for a long time.
  
  They both happen to be out of town, for completely different reasons, but a drink together leads to more drinks which leads to a drunken hookup night, which leads to some awkward times when they get back home!!! Evan doesn't regret that night but he has a difficult choice to make, choose the girl he loves and risk losing his best friend or stay loyal to his best friend but miss out on what could be the love of his lifetime with Emily. Emily too has a choice to make too - stay in love with Evan but realize it's not going to go anywhere or put him in her rearview mirrow and find someone who's willing to put her first and foremost above her brother.
  
  I loved this book! Emily's over protective brothers sure know how to make her crazy. Evan deserved a few slaps from me to man up and be the man that Emily knows he can be, and take the risk of angering her brother all while trying to convince him that he is definitely worthy of her!
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Lindsy

  New to me author and series. This was the second book and I was able to read it easily without reading the first one.
  Emily is the youngest out of 4 kids. She has 3 older brothers and then there’s Evan.
  Evan is Dexters best friend and has been around since they were kids. Evan lost his parents early so Emily’s parents took him in and helped his sister get custody of him.
  These two had hidden feelings for each other for years before one drunken night in California changed everything. This story had a lot of back and forth in the beginning between these two. Evans worried about losing Dexter and his job and how the family will react.
  Emily is worried that she will lose Evan and ruin the friendship Evan has with her brother Dexter.
  I definitely loved the chemistry these two had and you could tell how much they loved each other. I loved the family aspect as well. Between Emily’s family and the relationships she had with her brothers to Evan’s sister and how great he was with his nieces.
  This story definitely has some surprises to it but I was glad that it wasn’t stuck on this one thing the whole time. That the story was almost over before Emily realized what was going on.
  I was able to finish the story and enjoy it even though at times I felt like the story was longer than it needed to be.
• 
  Celeste

  I was glad we got a story about Emily and Evan because I loved them in the first book && wanted them to finally get together!
  
  After years of pinning for each other, a drunken night ends withs with morning regret because Evan realizes he can’t be with Emily the way he wants to because of a promise made to her brother/his best friend 10 years before. Heartbroken from rejection Emily tries to cope with knowing she’ll never be able to have Evan they way she wants him. But soon he realizes it’s harder to not have her than it is to be loyal to his best friend…
  
  I loved this book and all the emotions that came with reading it! Emily and Evan were meant to be together. They have both loved each other since they were young! I could feel Evan’s love for Emily through the book as well as Emily’s love for Evan. I can only hope to have such a love story one day!
  
  One major thing I didn’t like about the story is how Emily went missing for 3 days with no contact with anyone. I know it’s a book but if that was real life, there would have been a police report made. I feel she should have at least contacted her best friend! Other than that, I enjoyed the book very much && I called something that happened in it.
  
  *I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*
• 
  Amanda Cagle

  After reading Not For Me, book 1 in the Drunk Love series, I could not wait to start this book. Unfortunately for me this book fell flat. The first half was so tedious and dare I say boring. All the back and forth was really hard to read which is why it took me like a week to finish. Another thing, I cannot stand surprise pregnancy books. If I had known this book included some surprise babies I probably would've thought twice before reading it. Ultimately I would've read it because I loved the first one and cannot wait for Dexter and Luke's stories but I would've felt better about it knowing before hand it was coming.
  
  However, something I did like was that Evan finally got his butt in gear and fought for Emily regardless of how he thought Dexter would relax. Wasn't a fan of how all the brothers found out they were together but hey, it was bound to come out eventually. It didn't hurt that the only person completely oblivious to their feelings was Dexter.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
• 
  Reba Pennell

  This brother’s best friend romance book is pretty good! This is one of my favorite tropes so I went in with high expectations. I loved the chemistry between Emily and Evan and the entire book had just the right amount of angst, drama, family, and a whole lot of love.
  
  Emily and Evan have always liked each other but have never acted on it until recently, though neither of them can completely remember. Evan has been told by Emily’s brothers that she is off-limits but their one night together opens up a flood gate of emotions. I loved the dual POV so we could get into both of their thoughts and there were no questions (for the reader) about what each of them was thinking.
  
  The writing was great, the characters are likable, and I love that you got to see the characters from the first book in this series. While this book can be read as a standalone, you should check out book #1 in the Drunk Love series. This friends to lovers, brother’s best friend book is one I definitely recommend!
• 
  Raecharmed

  Emily and Evan have had feelings for one another for years. One night they meet up at a bar in California when a man refuses to leave her alone Evan steps in to help. Sparks fly between them and its not long before things heat up between them. However, the next morning Evan starts regretting what happened. He loves Emily but doesn't want to lose her brother's friendship so he tells her it can't happen again and leaves. Emily is tired of never being the first for any guy especially Evan. So, when she gets home she asks her mom to set her up with some guys. Evan isn't happy about this and makes his next move. Will they finally get their happy ending?
  
  This is an amazing story that will captivate you from beginning to end. This is a well written and very entertaining story. I would recommend this book to any book lover.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Mari Pequenos Retalhos

  I love the best friend's little sister trope, so I couldn't resist picking this up. Being completely honest, it wasn't anything new, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
  
  Basically, Evan has been in love with Emily since forever, she has been in love with him back, but her brother, Dexter, made him promise he would never lay a hand on her. So, he never told her about how he felt and she believed he only thought of her as a sister.
  
  Until they got drunk and things happened. After that, they just couldn't ignore their feelings anymore.
  
  It was a very steamy and fast read and one that I enjoyed, but I think you should like the trope to enjoy it. It was predictable but again, it was something I enjoyed a lot. Being predictable is not a bad thing, not every time.
  
  I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.