Stay with Me Audiobook By Ayobami Adebayo cover art

Stay with Me

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Stay with Me

By: Ayobami Adebayo
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

This celebrated, unforgettable first novel, short-listed for the prestigious Bailey's Prize and set in Nigeria, gives voice to both husband and wife as they tell the story of their marriage - and the forces that threaten to tear it apart.

Yejide and Akin have been married since they met and fell in love at university. Though many expected Akin to take several wives, he and Yejide have always agreed: Polygamy is not for them. But four years into their marriage - after consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures - Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time - until her family arrives on her doorstep with a young woman they introduce as Akin's second wife. Furious, shocked, and livid with jealousy, Yejide knows the only way to save her marriage is to get pregnant. Which, finally, she does - but at a cost far greater than she could have dared to imagine.

An electrifying novel of enormous emotional power, Stay with Me asks how much we can sacrifice for the sake of family.

©2017 Ayobami Adebayo (P)2017 Random House Audio
African American Contemporary Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Women's Fiction Marriage
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"A bright, big-hearted demonstration of female spirit, as well as the damage done by the boundlessness of male pride." (The Guardian)

"Adebayo describes parenthood and love with heartbreaking prose. She deftly reveals secrets and the decisions that set life-altering events in motion. The story's fast pace brings surprising twists to Akin, Yejide, and their families' lives." (Booklist)

"Adjoa Andoh delivers a strong portrayal of this audiobook's main characters.... She virtually becomes the elder mothers and other family members who impact the couple's relationship.... This is a powerful novel that unfolds through Andoh's superb characterizations of the protagonists." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Stay with Me

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,152
  • 4 Stars
    432
  • 3 Stars
    169
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    16
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,202
  • 4 Stars
    272
  • 3 Stars
    89
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    26
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,021
  • 4 Stars
    389
  • 3 Stars
    155
  • 2 Stars
    34
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Heart-rending and epic

This book almost killed me, in a good way. As a mother I sometimes felt that I couldn't go in reading, it was just too much to bear emotionally, but I kept going, because I was too invested in the characters, I needed to see this through with them. I felt like I left a piece of me in that book when I finished.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Wonderful to listen to

I loved the narrator and how each character had a unique voice and conjured up an image all their own. The time flew by as I listened to this novel.

What I didn't care for was that one of the plot twists didn't make any sense at all. I don't want to give the story away, but one of the characters has a condition that would have been obvious to the wife and would have made it impossible for her to be able to hide something she did. I even replayed part of the story to make sure I hadn't missed something and I didn't. So one of the main plots just didn't make any darn sense.

If I excuse that, I enjoyed the bits of Nigerian culture that were woven throughout the story and it really hit home that we set ourselves up for misery and miss out on life when we pin all of our hopes on having a fairytale life that is imposed by the people around us. We have to find happiness in the true loves in our lives and stop wasting time pretending, lying, and covering it up to be something we aren't, especially when there are people who love us the way we are.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome Story!

The delivery of this story was really good and the author was awesome at evoking so many many emotions as the story went on. Thoroughly enjoyed it.....did not want it to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible.

An emotional and captivating story about the evolution of a marriage and the individuals contained within. Beautifully and flawlessly narrated.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. I found the story very interesting and came from a very different voice than mine. I have no idea if the accents were correct but the performance kept me engaged rather than distracted which happens when I don't enjoy a reader. I definitely recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tore at all the heart strings

I felt the love, the betrayal, the pain. I have never lost a child, and can definitely not imagine having to do that repeatedly. I can even understand Akin trying to do anything to make his wife happy. Infertility can destroy relationships. Put some deceit on top and you have a whole mess.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stay with Me

This was a wonderful read. I started out reading the book but work got too much. I needed to continue so I listened to the story while driving home. I will probably listen to it again.
Thanks for this well written story, Ms. Adebayo.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Unique Story

I so appreciated that this story did not feel like something I’d read before. It was unique and held my interest from the very start. I couldn’t stop listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

Wow, such a complex cast of characters and story. Unforgettable, heartbreaking, and with such a unique perspective.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Twists and Turns galore!

This was a Book Club book. I had no idea what I was about to get. I love that "I didn't expect that" feeling! It was a crazy story that I loved! Great job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful