Review: Shay With Me by Lily Courtade

 

Shay With Me Website (for information on where this book can be purchased please click this website link) 

I read this book because the author reached out to me and recommended it. I quickly went to check the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads to make sure that this was a book that I would be interested in. 

This is the story of two women, Shay (40s) and Mallory (60s) who have been friends for years. Mallory becomes ill with a deadly virus no one has survived and Shay goes to take care of her. During her illness, Mallory admits to Shay that she has been in love with her for some time. Shay is a religious woman, so this is a bit of a personal confrontation for her. However, Mallory is her person. These two women have been there for each other for years. 

The romance in this book is very sweet. It is the kind of romance you would want for yourself, your parents, etc. at 40 and 60. A romance where the two people love each other dearly and support each other through their hardships. There is such tenderness between the couple. I really enjoyed watching them build their life together. 

I will say that a lot happens in this book. I found myself gasping and vocalizing my distress/joy. It might have been a bit much to happen in a book for a simple gal such as myself, but a lot happens in a couple years in real life so it is not unrealistic. I will also mention that although this is a story about older lesbians, there is a threesome involving a man. (You could potentially skip over this part as it is a short part of the book.) I think that is good to be aware of if that might make you uncomfortable. 

For a full list of content warnings, be sure to check StoryGraph. There is some mature and potentially upsetting content present in this book. 

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the relationships present in the book. It was good to watch Shay deal with her personal/religious beliefs and how they conflicted with her relationship and learning to overcome that. I also like the idea that even after years of beings alone, there is still the opportunity to find love. I really liked the ending of this book. I think it ended in a way that provides hope and happiness for the future of their relationship. It was also nice to read a book with main characters older than their 30s (I typically read young adult or new adult). Be sure to check this book out.