Book Review: Ask Me To Stay by Elise K. Ackers

***--3 Stars.
When family tragedy brings bad boy Ethan Foster home, he doesn't expect a warm welcome. In the small town of Hinterdown reputation is everything - and Ethan's was ruined long ago. Nobody wants him around, particularly not Sam O'Hara, the girl he left behind. There's still a powerful spark between them, but Sam is afraid to risk her heart again. And Ethan is hiding a secret that will have repercussions for his whole family. Will the townspeople ever forgive him? More importantly, will those he loves the most find it in their hearts to take him back? This tender tale of love and redemption is the first in a brilliant new series by Elise K. Ackers, author of Small Town Storm and the bestselling The Man Plan.

My review:  I have a hard time reviewing some books and this is one of them. It is a tender story of a man, Ethan, trying to redeem himself, but he came across as a big jerk at first. When his brother's wife suddenly dies, he finds himself back home. Usually, instead of facing his problems, he would run and hide, but now it's different. WHY is it different this time? It seems like he was always trying to drown his sorrows in a drink and was often borderline drunk. Then *SNAP*. He's changed. People in town were so rude to him, but once the secret came out, they changed their attitude towards him in a snap as well. All that changed was quite sudden, at least for me. I wonder if that's how people are in real life...

That said, I did like how Ethan had a great relationship with his niece and nephew and how he got his nephew to open up. I loved how he talked about goodbyes and hellos with him, to try and help them deal with their mother's death.

Content: Some language (although some of it is Australian slang, so wasn't spelled like it is here). Personally, I don't believe in intimate relations before marriage or in drinking yourself into a stupor. I had to remove my personal beliefs and focus on the actual content. Yes, there were things happening and mentioned, but there weren't explicit details given, so it is technically a clean read, but there were a few parts that left me feeling a bit uncomfortable.