I had to DNF this one at 15% because the characters didn't work for me. Their voices were more immature than I think teenagers actually are. And they didn't feel fully fleshed out to me. I also didn't like the explanation for how Hart ends up in Jameson's body. It just felt a little too far-fetched for a non-fantasy novel. This book had a great premise, but it ended up just not being for me.

I'm not crying, you're crying! I loved this book. Beautifully written, it was heart breaking and heart stopping.
Hart and Ruby - best friends that fall in love. Senior year Hart unexpectedly drowns while saying a child. Lourdes his angel in waiting swoops in and takes his soul too soon. In an act of trying to correct her mistake Lourdes puts Hart's soul into Jamesons body, the high school jock who just had a fatal car accident while driving under the influence. It is Hart's second chance however there are two problems. 1) He can't tell anyone what happened (and it is only a matter of time before he looses all of his memories). 2) Ruby hates Jameson. Lourdes as punishment is forced to take human form and guards over Hart/Jameson to make sure things go according to plan. Ruby, along with her tarot-reading sister, Gabi and the guidance of their ancestors knows something is up with Jameson. She doesn't understand why she is suddenly drawn to him, but he has changed and seems like a different person. Will she figure it out in time? This is going down as one of my favorite books and I can't wait to read more from J.C. Cervantes. The author did a fantastic job portraying the characters, their development and it was so easy to feel what they felt through the entire book. I can't recommend this enough! #alwaysisntforever #netgalley

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

This book reminded me a lot of You’ve Reached Sam. It’s so beautifully sad.

I loved this so much honestly. The plot was heartbreaking but also happy, if that makes sense and the characters were wonderful. I rarely have a book that makes me tear up but this one did it. It got me all in my feels.

I am happy though that this had somewhat of a happy ending. I was praying that it didn’t end like You’ve Reached Sam. My heart couldn’t take another hit like that right now lol.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves emotional reads. This was truly lovely.

4 stars!

Pub Date: 06/06/2023
CW: death, drowning, grief, memory loss

My reaction when I got the email: “ANOTHER one?!” I got approved for this and Threads that Bind back to back so I was riding a serotonin high when I got this email. Thank you NetGalley and Razorbill!! I’ve been looking forward to reading this one and I can’t wait!!

When I say I fucking sobbed. The first 10% or so had me hurting so bad. It took me forever to get though part one cause I knew it was gonna HURT and it did.

This books needs a warning: emotional hazard. emotions will not come out alive.

Hart loves Ruby so fuckin much. It’s the kind of love one can only hope to have in their life. Like this boy is enamored with her and it’s so sad what happened to him, even though he technically comes back. It’s obviously not the same.

It was easier for me to read once I got past the initial grief and Hart dying. Grief books are always hard for me to read and the first 15%ish of Always Isn’t Forever was no different.

Hart’s determination to get back to Ruby even after coming back as someone she’s not exactly a big fan of is just so sweet. Like he’s still Hart. He wants his girlfriend back. He wants her to know he’s okay, he didn’t want to leave her. And while things can’t exactly go back to the way they were, they can get close.

I love that we found out the title behind the book almost right off the bat. Hart literally thinking of Ruby as he’s dying and his last thought is him apologizing to her.

Bawling my eyes out.

I absolutely love this book though and that’s why I went ahead and preordered it cause I have no self control when it comes to books.

Now… Lourdes. I have mixed feelings about this girl. I love that she saved Hart, I love that she agreed to help him with Ruby, I DONT love that she’s the one that took his memories from him, “shredded them like paper”, even knowing how much they meant to him, ESPECIALLY the ones of Ruby. Like, I get it (kinda). Hart can’t go back to his life, so it doesn’t make sense for him to have Hart’s memories, to be Hart even though he’s not. Mourning the life he can’t go back to. Hurting over his old life. But at the same time, shredding memories like paper is harsh and cruel, especially when you know how much most of those memories mean to someone. Like what’s the harm in letting him keep the ones of Ruby?

BUT WHAT SHE DECIDED IN CHAPTER 57. back to bawling. Back in my good graces.

CHAPTER 59? SOBBING.

CHAPTER 63S ENDING? LAUGHING SOBBING SCREAMING.

CHAPTER 64? the POV? SOBBING.

THE SONG? THE ENDING????! BAWLING MY EYES OUT.

I started this book crying and it seems I finished it crying too. It took me FOREVER to read the end cause I couldn’t stop sobbing and rereading. THIS WAS A TEN STAR READ HOLY SHIT.

they got their hea 😭😭😭.

I’m all here for it. True love ALWAYS wins.

Anyways, I’m getting WAAAAY off track. Imma stop here before I burst into tears again. I loved this book. It ripped my heart out, shredded it like paper, and put it back together again.

Read it.

Heartbreaking and beautifully written, I devoured this in one sitting.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

i saw this book on netgalley and once saw the cover and read the description, i knew i just had to request this book.

i won't lie, it took me a while to get in the book. i found what happened to hart so so sad, even if it was just the beginning of the book. they were best friends, soul mates, and in a few minutes he was gone.

i loved the idea that the author had, giving her character a second chance for life, but with a catch. he comes back in the body of the boy she hates, and winning he back will be harder than he anticipated.

i loved the characters, especially ruby's sister. gabi was such a great character and i loved the way she was written. ruby was very lovable too, and reading hart/jameson's chapters were so interesting.

it was a really good book and seeing ruby deal with her grief, hart/jameson trying to get used to his new body, them trying to work out their friendship and relationship without hart telling her who he really is, it was just so good.

thank you netgalley for this arc, i enjoyed it a lot!!

Always Isn't Forever is another addition to the "boyfriend returns from the dead" chain of reads that seem to be circling a little now. The positives here are the novel deals heavily with themes of loss and love, with J.C. Cervantes's writing is honest and thought-provoking, and the characters are relatable and well-developed. Unfortunately, that is where the positives stopped for me. We then have our MC, jumping into his enemy so the FMC - his girlfriend in life can date the enemy. Imagine how that would have looked to the outside world. The dramas that would arise from that alone, made that a bad move in general. I ended up losing a lot of the emotion and the reunion of sorts with our second chance of love trope. It felt too close to You've Reached Sam for me to enjoy sadly.

Thank you so much for the chance to review.

⛵️song: last kiss by Taylor swift
⛵️summary: Hart and Ruby are THE high school couple. They have plans, dreams, and hopes all wrapped up in each other. But when a tragic accident separates them leaving Ruby to grieve and Hart to figure out life after death, the universe questions if love is truly destined.
⛵️recommend to:
-people who love love
- fans of you’ve reached sam
-fans of paranormal romance
⛵️thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It didn’t rip my heart out as much as you’ve reached same but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I think it had great pacing and the characters and their motivations were all completely reasonable for a very unreasonable situation!

As someone who loved You've Reached Sam, I was instantly drawn towards this book, both by the cover and the premise.

This is about Hart and Ruby and how their first love is shattered in grief as one life is taken too soon.

How do you cope with loosing a loved one? And what if a person you hate suddenly starts to remind you of that loved one?

I liked the characters, especially Gabi and Lourdes. The plot kept me firmly invested throughout and I felt my heart sank as Hart's memories slowly faded, piece by piece.
It didn't make me bawl my eyes out, but I think it handled grief very well.

I recieved an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Second Chance Summer" is a heart-wrenching and beautifully written love story about two soul mates who are torn apart by tragedy, only to be given a second chance. The story follows Ruby as she navigates life without Hart, her best friend and forever love, and Jameson, the local bad boy who harbors a secret that could change everything.

The author does an incredible job of capturing the pain of grief and the struggle to move on after losing someone you love. The supernatural twist of Hart's soul being transferred to Jameson's body adds an interesting layer to the story, making it both unique and captivating. The chemistry between Ruby and Jameson is palpable, and the tension created by the forbidden nature of their relationship only adds to the emotional weight of the story.

Overall, "Second Chance Summer" is a beautifully written and emotionally charged novel that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you engaged from beginning to end.

A beautifully written YA romance, with a heart-breaking love story and characters you really root for. This is a can love truly conquer anything. even death? story and you really hope there is going to be a happy ending. I went on an emotional rollercoaster reading this and the depiction of grief was so raw and realistic it really added a deeper layer to this book. This is not a typical YA this is honestly a heart-warming must read romance I highly recommend..

This. Book. Is. Fantastic.
YA love perfection!

Here are my recommendations:
1. Read this book
2. Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the ride!
3. Bring tissues

This follows Hart and Ruby. They are soul mates, always have been. Then Hart has a tragic accident. Ruby is left to pick up the pieces. She lets grief over take her. How could she move on without Hart? Then all of the sudden the school’s bad boy, Jameson, wants to talk to her and is all the sudden nice. Ruby feels an undeniable pull to him but also wants to push him away.

What a story! Loved it! Five stars and my favorite YA of the year.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me read an ARC of this. I enjoyed every second!!!

Hart and Ruby were such amazing likeable characters I couldn't help but root for them. This book is great when you're in the mood for a heavier read. I thought this dealt with grief, death, and substance abuse so well. The losing of memories was just so gut wrenching. If you want a good cry session this book is totally going to have you dehydrated.

I'm not usually an emotional reader but I bawled my eyes out with this one.

Reminiscent of You Reached Sam - but executed much better. I adored both Hart and Ruby so much, their relationship was so heartfelt it was difficult to keep myself together, and as respective characters they were both incredible individuals. The depiction of grief felt very real, I almost felt like I was going through it myself.

I did appreciate the direction the plot took and that it was more than Ruby just trying to move on. It made for a very intriguing storyline. I can't recommend this book enough.

The book is easy to read and fast paced contains sensitive topics like grief and death. This book got so emotional for me.
I felt like this was so well written i really loved Hart and Ruby.

I bawled my eyes out with this one.

This is similar to what You Reached Sam was trying to do, except this was done really well. I loved both Hart and Ruby so much it felt like MY heart was going to burst. They were both such incredible individuals and their relationship was so cute. I did cry for a significant portion of this book, the grief was written really well, I felt like I was going through it myself. I did appreciate the direction the plot took and that it was more than Ruby just tried to move on. It made for a very intriguing storyline. I can't recommend this book enough.

TW: grief, drowning, substance abuse

I received an e-arc of this title from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.25 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I had a rollercoaster of emotions while reading this ARC. Some were good, some were not.
I really liked the idea and the premise of the story, and the last 3rd of the book completely reeled me in and almost got me choked up at times, which is a huge feat.

I absolutely loved Jameson/Harts interaction and relationships with Victoria and Gabi. And I really enjoyed seeing Hart navigate his new life and the limits he had with communicating with others.
With Ruby, you felt her heartbreak and her anger after what she had been through. Her journey felt believable and not too rushed.

The writing style wasn't my favorite. Sometimes it was hard to follow along if it was a flashback or not, or who was talking at times. The writing also felt juvenile at times. I know we are in the POV of teenagers, but the gen z language felt forced and took me out of the story. Due to that, it took me a long time to get into the story and to start caring about the characters.

4.75/5
Okay, so this book was a lot but all in good ways. It made me bawl my eyes out in the beginning. I had thought it'd be more sad after that but it wasn't. It's a very sweet, quick yet painful read. This is one of those books that make you believe in love and that love overpowers everything if it's true and strong to the core. Lourdes will be one of my favorite characters. She's kind beyond thought and I loved her so so much. Gabi is that one sweet, jolly character that everyone cherishes and I loved how she was always there for her sister, Ruby. Her and Ruby's bond is unconditional.
Now, coming to Hart and Ruby, I loved them and more so I loved how they loved each other. So much that they both won each other back defying death. A love like that is pure and only ever exists in books.

If you love books that have sweet romance, makes you believe in the power of love, concepts of after life and the universe, reincarnation, hea and you want to cry too - then you should definitely read this book!

What an absolutely beautiful journey! I loved every minute of it! I was afraid this was going to be a knock off of "You've Reached Sam" because of the title and the description, but I loved that book so I decided to give this one a chance. I am happy I did because it was completely different and very unique! I think I even enjoyed this one more! Highly recommend this book. I'm so thankful for my ARC copy from Netgalley and the publishers ❤️

First, I love the name ;)
Second, this book was very enjoyable.

Always Isn't Forever by J. C. Cervantes is a moving, touching and lovely YA romance.

The storyline is clean and charming, and the characters are endearing. Ruby, the protagonist, is particularly relatable.
This book was well written and takes you through the emotions….. all the damn emotions!
I was so wrapped up with emotions these characters went through, I found it really hard to put this book down.
While it’s a young adult book, it’s still beautiful. It makes you think.
This is my first book by this author and it was a truly great experience.
Cervantes writing is engaging and pulls you into these characters world.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Razorbill for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!