REVIEW: Ask Me To Stay by Terri Osburn

Ask Me To Stay by Terri Osburn finds author Liza Teller struggling with writer’s block after having a best seller. She’s agreed to travel to the remote Haven Island to be a ghost writer for the ninety-year-old Ray Wallis, who insisted she’d be the only person who could tell his story. There she meets Kendall James, who’s father had worked for Ray. He doesn’t know the man’s entire story, but he’s worried about what will happen when it comes out. As he spends more and more time with Liza as Ray becomes sicker, he realizes that she’s not as bad as he originally thought. Will the city girl be able to find happiness on such a remote island?

I’ve read other books by this author and I’ve enjoyed them, but I struggled with this one. I had a hard time getting into it, and even past the halfway mark I was still struggling. It’s not a bad book. I thought the characters were interesting and I liked the storyline overall, but for some reason it just couldn’t keep my attention. I found myself putting the book down, picking it back up, putting it down again. Part of the problem was that it just felt like it was moving too slowly, like the book itself was on island time.

I liked Liza and Kendall. They’ve both isolated themselves for their own reasons, so it was nice to see them break each other out of that isolation. There is an interesting group of side characters and I liked how they easily brought Liza into their fold, even though she was an outsider.

I thought Ray’s big reveal was predictable and I suspected it as soon as he reached the part of his past involving the love of his life. Still, his history was interesting and it was clear that he and Kendall clearly cared about one another. So much so that Ray didn’t admit how bad his health problems were to spare Kendall from worrying.

If you enjoy small town romances, you may enjoy this one. Unfortunately it just couldn’t keep my attention, which took away from my overall enjoyment of story..

Book Info:

Publication: March 5, 2019 | Montlake Romance |

Author Liza Teller’s new book is something of a mystery. She’s been hired to ghostwrite the memoir of Ray Wallis, an elderly stranger eager to share a very personal and surprising life story. The moment Liza arrives on beautiful Haven Island off the South Carolina coast, she has to ask: Out of all the semi-successful writers with stalled careers in the world, why her?
Kendall James, the dedicated ex-military man in Ray’s employ, has the same question. Why is this New Yorker in a frilly blue dress so important to Ray? But as protective and suspicious as he is, Kendall can’t help falling for the tempting outsider. And he isn’t falling alone.
As Ray’s life story unfolds, Liza and Kendall’s chemistry ignites. And all of it could be explosive. On an island this small, Liza soon discovers that there isn’t much room to hide—from the secrets of Ray’s past or from her desire for a man unwilling to give her the one thing she truly wants.