Received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Definitely lived up to the You’ve Reached Sam blurb. I love these types of stories where there’s hope that true love will overcome any obstacle with some connection to the afterlife. Bittersweet story. Read in one day.

That you Netgalley and Penguin Group for an e-arc of Always Isn’t Forever by J.C. Cervantes in exchange for an honest review
The synopsis hooked me immediately. A man who died but loved his girl so much that he came back for her? Sign me up!
When Hart dies in a boating accident, through divine intervention he was able to come back into the body of the local bad boy, Jameson.
Hart is forbidden from telling his girlfriend and forever love Ruby the truth and with each passing day he forgets more and more about his life as Hart.
And though she is still grieving the loss of Hart, Ruby is drawn to Jameson in a way she can’t quite explain.
I was so curious to see if they would get their HEA before Hart forgot who he was before the accident entirely.
I loved seeing this new phase of their relationship, how are as people (Hart as an entirely new person), and if their relationship would be as it one was.
And let me tell you, J. C. Cervantes delivered! I couldn’t put this book down, I read it any spare moment I hate.
I have no note, no critiques. Just all the love <3
5/5 stars

I enjoyed this story of loss and finding each other again. This was a sweet love story about two soul mates who are separated by death but find their way back to each other thru difficult and tricky circumstances. It was a good story and pulled on the heartstrings. I look forward to more from this author. Thank you netgally for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great book!!!!

"Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗
"I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

This book broke my heart and I love it so much. This is a first time I'm reading this aurthor work. So looking forward reading more stuff by her. The characters where perfect in the book and the storyline was good about grief. Also a very pretty cover. Thanks for letting me review it.

I have to be honest here. I’ve outgrown the YA genre that starts in High School. The way they talk or act is just not relatable anymore.

Another point I have to make is that I did not like “You’ve reached Sam” and this reminded me of it. Sorry, but this was not for me.

Be still my heart - this book!

I absolutely ATE THIS STORY UP!
The magical elements combined with the young and loveable characters were *chefs kiss* PERFECTION!

Did I cry? Absolutely. But the author did a great job of pairing these heavier and real moments of grief with joy and fun. This really resonated with me as a reader because it demonstrated a true and non-linear depiction of what it is like to move-on after a tragedy.

Thank you so much @RazorbillBooks for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 06 June 2023)

SYNOPSIS | Hart dies too young but is given a second-chance at life when an angel allows him to take the body of another young man who is about to die. Despite getting to live again, he cannot tell anyone what has happened & in less than a month he will lose all memories of who he was before.

WHAT I LIKED:
- representation of grief and learning how to let go when you didn’t get to say goodbye

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- wanted a more bittersweet ending instead of the main conflict being conveniently solved
- Gabi's entire purpose as a character was to read tarot cards for the other characters
- a lot of 'telling' & not a lot of 'showing'
- the magical realism was just too much for me & I really struggled with the believability of it all

I enjoyed this book it gave me you’ve reached Sam vibes which I really enjoyed even though I was going through some emotions while reading it.

𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅, 𝑰'𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉𝒔

I do not read contemporary romance a lot at all. But every once in a while, a title or book cover will catch my eye, and I have to see what it's about. This cover caught my attention, and I'm so glad I decided I needed to read it.

In the vain of You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao, this story was beautiful, broken, and healing all at once. It's one of those books that will rip your heart apart and then put it back together piece by piece. I just loved it!

This took me a long time to read this because of how sad it was. I don't usually read sad books, especially sad YA books, but every now and then I'm in the mood for it.

I'm glad I read Always Isn't Forever because despite the consistent atmosphere of melancholy and sadness, Hart and Ruby's story is at its heart a sweet story about the pureness of first love.

Recommended if you're in the mood for something heart-breaking.

3.5

DNFed at 30% i just didn’t feel gripped by it or the characters. it had so much potential to be a tear-jerking read but for some it was lacking something.

Wow, thank you for this wonderful book! Upon reading the book, I just find the flow of the story similar to the book called You've reached Sam. Took me a week before finish this since I cannot contain my emotions because of the characters, I just get emotionally attached to them to the point I always cried every time I read throughout the pages. Thank you Net Galley for giving me opportunity to have this book <3

I have come to the unfortunate realization that young adult contemporary is not a genre for me anymore. A very sad realization by the way. I used to love the genre, but now as a 23 year old woman it just isn't hitting the same as it used to. Reading about teenagers in high school is just not something I can relate much to anymore, sadly. I do still recommend this for young teens though, especially ones that may be dealing with grief and not knowing how to process it

The cover is super cute but so many plot holes that I couldn't ignore.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This paranormal romance explores the bounds of grief and the power of love. When Hart dies before his time, he is given a second chance. He is desperate to get back to his old life, and especially Ruby, the girl he’s loved for forever. Unfortunately, his old body is … no longer available, so he has to take on the life of someone else. And he’s physically unable to tell anyone who he truly is. To make matters worse, he’ll eventually forget his old life completely, including Ruby. Meanwhile, Ruby has been dealing with grief and guilt over Hart’s death and she doesn’t understand the pull she’s feeling toward a guy she’s never liked, at all. This is one of those romances where you basically know how it’s going to work – there aren’t a ton of surprises – but the addition of Hart’s fading memories and his integration with his “new” identity does add an element of suspense that you wouldn’t otherwise get in a book like this. It’s enough of a twist to keep you wondering how it will all work out. This twist is what kept me turning the pages, and had me rooting for Ruby and Hart the whole way!

Heartwrenching YA romance. Ruby and Hart are soulmates. Their love is the stuff of legends, until a tragic accident takes Hart's life. Ruby doesn't know how to go on without him. Meanwhile, Hart wakes up in a twilight realm, with an angel who calls herself Lourdes. Lourdes tells him that he can have a second chance at life, in the body of someone else who is close to death. Of course he jumps at the chance, even though she tells him that he has to let his old life go, including Ruby. He comes back as Jameson, a bad boy who Ruby totally despises. Hart will fight through all odds to be with Ruby again, and she feels a strange draw to him as well. Can this young love survive even after death?

I got so much enjoyment, and quite a few tears, out of this sweet YA love story. The depth of love between these two... amazing. You have to root for Hart; he's fighting the universe to get a second chance with Ruby. Along the way he also is able to improve Jameson's relationships with his family and friends. I really liked the subplot involving Lourdes and her struggle to get back her angel status, as well as the inclusion of Ruby's family's mystical connections. I wasn't sure how the story would end until I got there, though I knew how I wanted it to. An emotional read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

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

Thank you netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for allowing me to read this book. This book was so sweet and heartbreaking at the same time. I loved the true love that Hart and Ruby shared and the twist in the beginning was so shocking! This book got me so anxious every time I thought the secret was going to be revealed! I absolutely adore the characters and loved how emotionally deep this book was! This book put me through a roller coaster of emotions in the best way! The ending was so beautiful and had me in tears!

I wanted this arc so bad. I hoped and hoped I would get approved. But once I started it reading it just felt off to me.

The MCs love for each other is just kind of shoved at you from the start. Which is fine. And then the tragedy happens and from there we are just supposed to accept based on very little interaction the girl hates this “bad boy” and that at the drop of a hat this guy can inhabit and swap with the bad boy? But like…… what happens to the bad boys soul? It’s just gone?

I just couldn’t get past some of the holes in the plot and then on top of that it’s again just lackluster and left me wanting more, unfortunately.

As someone who loves second chances, friends to lovers romances, and anything with a supernatural element I thought for sure I would love this one, but sadly it missed the mark with me. The story started off intriguing and I was waiting with bated breath for the MMC to die to see the characters grow with the obvious conflict, however, then things slowly started to shift in a not-so-great way and I never fully got on board with how the reincarnation aspect worked.

The MMC inhabiting the body of a local bad boy felt like full erasure of the other boy's character and made him feel incredibly one-dimensional. The way Hart would be willing to give up everything including his father to possibly get Ruby back felt so off to me and the way he started to assimilate parts of the other boy's identity (enjoying football, disliking coffee and tortillas) but ultimately got to stay himself just made no sense. It also left a bad taste in my mouth that the MMC was originally POC and came back as a white boy.

I felt like the FMC fell so easily for the new version of the "bad boy" that her MMC was inhabiting and their romance just didn't do it for me. They had such little interactions for the enemies-to-lovers portion to make sense and before Hart died their love felt obsessive versus genuine.

Maybe I finally have aged out of YA rom-coms, because while this one had some cute moments, it could have had a great larger-than-life message and instead it ultimately missed the mark. I really wanted to enjoy it more. Things I did like: an exploration of grief and how grieving affects those directly impacted but also the peripheral network as well, discussions around substance use and abuse, the sisterly love and relationship.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review!