Very good, This was claustrophobic and unexpected. I dont want to spoil it, but the tone and feeling that someone has found themselves in a totally different place to the one they were expecting was well handled and paced. The author in her acknowledgements mentioned Misery and this is a fair comparison. The violence is graphic but not over the top. Recommended.

A interesting thriller full of twists of turns. A mix of misery and the chain I enjoyed this quick read. Recommend

Creepy atmospheres and harsh climates come together in 'You Can Stay' by Elle Connel. Written in a full third voice narrative, this novel chronicles the journey of Connor, who we meet facing his next challenge in Bodmin Moor, England, in an overall training exercise to become a member of the elite Special Forces team. We learn about his background in the military; and also his separation from his partner Michelle, which ended with him being kicked out of the family home, also furthering his isolation from his daughter, Ivy. Soon, Connor meets with other training members and is partnered with Dele, where they all disperse into the Moor, with one main objective- "Don't get caught." After several mishaps, they stumble upon a shed, where they seek shelter for the night. When Connor awakens in the morning, he finds Dele missing, and a local named Eilidh offers him some rest and food at her home. However, all is not as it seems with Eilidh, and we are soon ensconced in a twisted and devious tale, with many hair-raising moments.

In the afterword, the author credits Stephe King as inspiration for this book, and I could definitely tell this. The writing was dark and gritty, with a plot that was oftentimes disturbing and intense. Despite that, or maybe because of it, I had to keep reading to see how it would all end.

Alternatively, it did take me a while to get into the swing of this, as I found the first few chapters a bit tedious. The amount of background we got on Connor's life in the military was slightly excessive and made it difficult for me to become engaged in the story at first. I am glad that I pushed through though, as it did get better with time. The biggest issue I had with this novel overall was the lack of believability when it came to Connor's behavior- many of his actions did not jibe with his personality as it was introduced at the start. For instance, we heard from him often how much he wanted to graduate to Special Forces; why then would he jeopardize that by breaking one of the biggest rules about not seeking help from locals? Other little inconsistencies like this bothered me and made it hard to connect with him as the main protagonist.

Overall, I give this a rating of 3.5 stars as I think the potential for an awesome book was there, but it just fell a little short for me. Eilidh as an antagonist was totally convincing and I loved that Connel portrayed a feminine 'bad guy' and not the typical male one. She was creepy and psychotic, and seeing things from her point of view made it even more disconcerting. I recommend this for persons who love thrillers, as this was believable as a thriller, more so than many novels I have recently read with the same title. It is suitable for persons eighteen and older due to troubling and vivid scenes of violence and erotic acts. Triggers include: death, graphic violence, and torture. I had never read anything by Connel before this, but she has now made a fan of me, and I plan on seeing what else she has to come!

*A great many thanks to Netgalley, Elle Connel, and Headline for this ARC. It is important to note that I was under no commitment to provide a positive review, and all opinions are undoubtedly my own.*

Having lived near Bodmin Moor and loving driving through the vast, open space, this book was right up my street. It’s definitely got “Misery” vibes and not for the faint hearted. Tense, gripping and very dark. It’s a tale that will draw you in but not one that I can say was enjoyable!!

This story is very strong, very intense and very very scary!! I don't think that I could recommend it to anyone without warning them first. It is definitely a love it or hate it sort of book - not for the faint hearted.

This really intrigued me and the description caught my attention so I couldn’t wait to get started and read it!
I read it very quickly over just a few days as the pacing was great and however, I really felt that at times it was all a little bit much. The events and goings on were at times just not credible and it pulled me out of the story a little. I also struggled with the ending as it didn’t really ring true or seem like something that could possibly happen.
That said the characters were well built, creepy and gave me a real chill reading this and I think the puzzle of how it all came together drew me in and kept me reading.
On the whole I did enjoy parts of it and it was a real mystery to unravel, with a few tweaks I would have loved it.

I thought this book was brilliant!
The description brought to mind ‘Misery’ by Stephen King, so I had high hopes - and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t left disappointed!
It was gripping and had me feeling tense for most of the second part, trying to work out what was going to happen. I must admit that I read it just assuming the ending would go a certain way … so I was absolutely floored by what happened - a few times! Love, love, loved the ending.

I could not get into this book. The beginning is supposed to help you get to know the main character but it was just so boring I gave up.

You Can Stay is a really tense thriller set in the Bodmin moors. It was very suspenseful and kept me interested in the story unfolding. A good solid read.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this book. I was compelled to finish it as wanted to know how it played out but found it both disturbing and uncomfortable.

It highlighted the fragility of humans and also the lengths to which people will go to control and manipulate for their own ends while being shaped by their upbringing.

So both good and bad in equal measures.

I knew what I was getting myself into with this premise but it was still a tough read. The writing, characters and pacing are well done.

I found myself a bit puzzled by Eilidh’s past, how this monster was shaped. It is clear what she became, but the how/why is a bit foggy. Family issues and sexual abuse are alluded to but, unlike the graphic descriptions of her abuse of the soldiers, her past is quite hazy. She is quite the character though, and her perspective was interesting to read.

I have read a few reviews on this page where the reviewers hated the ending and I was floored! I had no clue how this would wrap up and the turn of events was beyond clever! It gave me quite the chuckle. I bumped up my review another star because of it!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Headline for a copy in exchange for a review.

My thanks to Netgalley for my copy of You Can Stay, a really chilling tale of how a small but damaged woman can inflict physical and mental torture on one of the force's elite soldiers paying tribute to Stephen King's Misery. At times I wasn't sure I'd be able to read on the detail was so horrific but it was very well written! But I still don't undrstand how you can injure someone in that manner whilst having sex but I'm happy to remain in ignorance.

Ooooh I loved this book!!! It is not a storyline I would generally be interested in but I found it so well written and interesting. The army side was good to read and I can actually bizarrely imagine this could happen!

Slightly gruesome , keeps you guessing , unputdownable, this is a fabulous read!

This is an incredible edge of your seat story with thoroughly believable characters - even the ones where you don't know what their true story is. So many possible outcomes along the way and a totally unpredictable ending.

This book was an okay read. Not what I was expecting and a little like Stephen Kong's Misery of you like that kind of book. I'd have liked to have read more about the major characters back story and found some parts not quite believable.
Some people will love this book but it wasn't my cup of tea.

I had high hopes for this. It started off so well - there's a gut churning scene which really makes you feel like you're in for something special.

But Connel doesn't seem to be able to maintain the momentum and the ending was really disappointing. So many loose ends and I found it highly implausible, especially since we never did find out about the backstory of one of the major players.

I wish it had been better.

You Can Stay by Elle Connel was a dark and disturbing book. The story line was reminiscent of Stephen King's Misery. I found the main character to be vulgar. I did not enjoy it.

Down By The Water takes the reader on a weekend trip from hell... I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere, and the characters... My advice is not to start reading this unless you have time to go to the end! It is compulsive.

This is a really well written book, with great characters and a great plot. Really engaging and gripping and throughly enjoyable

Connor is on a Special forces exercise on Bodmin Moor. It’s cold and it’s wet. So, when he comes to a local farmhouse or ‘Bothy’ He is invited in to take rest. He jumps at the chance to get into the warm. His superiors will never no, right? And his buddy Dele has deserted him.
So, when he is invited in by a woman called Eilidh something happens to them both and he can’t resist her charms and they end up in bed. But when he tries to leave, she has him trapped.
Thank you Headline for a copy of You can Stay by Elle Connel. I was looking forward to reading this after the interesting blurb. But after reading this I am afraid this isn’t for me. The first half of the book telling me about his life in the forces made it authentic, but after that I found the storyline to be unrealistic and just querying everything. Connor is supposed to be an Elite soldier, but he can unravel himself from one woman. Also, if a soldier is on and Elite training program and he is supposed to hiding from someone than why is he going shopping in a Petrol station? My mind boggles. I found this to be so bad I couldn't finish it. 2 stars from me.