I didn't love this one quite as much as the first Carrigan's book but was still a fun enjoyable listen. Overall I liked it but there was a little too much on the nose therapy talk which made that part feel forced and too in your face. But otherwise I enjoyed the stories and characters and look forward to reading the third book in the Carrigan series.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! I just couldn't get in the mood for this one, but I do love this author!

This book brought me so much joy. The Jewish representation AND the LGBTQ+ representation made me so happy. We need more books portraying mental health!!! This book was wonderfully executed. I haven’t read anything by this author but I will going forward. I loved the characters & the plot. The whole book from start to finish was great.

For Never and Always was personally a hard book for me to get through and finish. I put it down for a while and then picked it back up to finish it so I could leave an honest review. There was so little hope and happiness in this story, with all the characters having problems, pain and trauma. This book had characters so rooted in mental health challenges that it never got the hope and change I wanted to see. There are definite good parts to the story and Greer is a great author for sure, but it was such a long story for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Helena Greer for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has been on my Netgalley for a bit and I haven’t picked it up. I haven’t been into romance in a minute, so I’m not the right person to review it anymore.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title and thank the publisher for providing me with an eARC, however as so much time has passed since this works publication date and my lack of urgency with this piece, I am unfortunately going to move on. I hope to one day read this work at a later time and if I do, I will adjust my review. Thank you again for the opportunity.

I love second chance romances and this one fits the bill!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

For Never & Always was such a feel good romance. Loved seeing Hannah and Levi get their second chance.

This book absolutely surprised me. I had a similar "issue" with Greer's previous book, so I knew to keep reading, but I don't always click with the first few chapters. Then BOOM I'm super invested and compelled. Hannah and Levi are that perfect storm of a duo, the type where you cannot see them being with anyone else, they are perfect for each other even if it is a chaotic wild ride to get them there. Both characters had a lot of inner struggles, mental and self esteem issues, to work out themselves first. Their younger selves hurt each other because both were silently kind of hurting themselves. I really loved following along their personal journeys and their journey back to being a couple. Also SO SO SO SO happy to see demi rep, especially male demi rep? This felt like a total unicorn of a book and such a rare character trait. I'm so glad this book exists.
Overall had such a great time with the mid and ending. Looooved it once I got into it, although the beginning was a bit rocky until it clicked with me.

Strongly recommend! What a lovely little queer book.

Forwarding - DNF at @ 50%. 5 hours into an audiobook gives me permission to mark as finished and review.

I request this as an ARC from NetGalley, and it's very behind mainly because I've stopped and started this many times. Originally It was a petty thing, I didn't realize/read that the main theme of this series is Carrigan's Hotel. This issue with that being is my name, and I didn't wanna hear it repeated a million times. I needed to power through and get this book read, however.

For DNFing this current run, I can not handle these pretentious characters written in millennial cringe humour and therapy speak woke. It feels like the author is a raging republican writing "blue haired liberal" delusional fantasies. There's a point where one character asks what new hobbies the other has gotten into and they said something about dungeon and dragons then the other one replied they tried to get into true crime but "had a horrible time sprialing about police injustices and brutality" heyyyyyy what are we doing here this is a romance book.


A thanks to NetGalley for proving me the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Although I didn't enjoy this book, I appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rounded up from 3.5 stars

Things I liked:

I loved the conversations around memory, especially the part about how people can grow up in the same environment and with the same people but have completely different experiences with them. This is only complicated when someone has passed away and is no longer there to have complicated conversations with.
The found family aspect in this is also one of my favorite things in this series.

Things I didn’t like:

Some of the conversations Hannah and Levi had around their relationship got repetitive after a while.

Carrigan's All Year is back, and Hannah and Blue (Levi)'s story occurs between Passover and Pride Week. Their second chance, soulmates-but-torn-apart-by-their-incompatible-views-of-the-future romance had me wondering if they could really pull it off, which made the HEA that much more satisfying! Carrigan's Christmasland is a delightful series from Helena Greer, full of warmth, character growth, and lovely characters I was rooting for from page one. I received an advanced review copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

3.5 stars
I loved the first book and was really looking forward to book 2, however I didn’t enjoy my reading experience as much.
The relationship between Levy and Hannah is so messy and complicated and I struggled with the fact that they couldn’t communicate like adults until the end of the book. They otherwise fought or made up and it got tiresome after a while. Their love story and the plot was interesting but I could have live with less drama and so much self centeredness from these two.

I have tried to read this book several times and it is just way too cheesy for me I can't get past the first few chapters. It is just not my type of book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

Despite numerous character speaking like they were reading from a psych textbook, this whole cast felt like they could use an enormous amount of therapy. Whenever the two MCs talked to each other, I wanted to head-desk.

I found Hannah very contrary. Hannah saw the world with her parents as a kid and came back to her favourite place to make a career and life. Levi was stuck in that place as kid and left to make his career and life. And while Levi is proud of Hannah, Hannah only resents Levi. Hannah says at one point that she thought Levi was too worldly for her, but at the same time was mad that she built up a life she was proud of and that he shouldn't ruin it for her, which he never does, by the way. She had all this pent up something and he resented the childhood he had, full of bullies and emotional abuse that no one took seriously (and when they do, it felt so disingenuous??). I don't know, they felt like an absolute mess, and Hannah especially felt like she just wasn't open to seeing other people's perspectives, as if they'd tarnish her own views and memories. It all felt fairly toxic. And like, it seemed like no one really noticed Levi's suffering?? Which also seems wild to me. I understand the children, but the adults being totally aware of how Levi was being treated just ignoring it and staying felt so wrong.

As a whole, there is a big cast. It took a second to adjust, since I haven't read the first book, but I adjusted eventually. I feel like if you're making companion novels that are marketed to be read as stand alones with cameos, those cameos shouldn't have such a big impact on the reading experience. There are a bunch of characters and some inside jokes that I assume are pulled from book one, but dumping it all on readers, especially new ones, at the very beginning of the book makes the barrier to entry a bit higher.

I loved the Jewish rep in this book. I think that it was so interesting that this Jewish family owned a Christmas tree farm, but still held true a lot of their own beliefs, and I liked that. The presence of Jewish culture, especially noticeable in their food and Levi's foody dreams, was very strong and educational. I loved that aspect of the story.

All in all, this one wasn't for me. I don't think it's because it's a sequel, but because Hannah and Levi don't seem good for each other at all. I feel like they ended up together because that's how they believed their HEA should be rather than what's actually best for them. I need all of them to go to way more therapy though. The therapy speak isn't enough to save them.

Rep: pansexual, demi MMC; FMC with anxiety

TW: grief, anxiety, emotional abuse (flashback), toxic relationship; mentions homophobia, death of a family member

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 2/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Forever via Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

hot amazing showstopping, very obssesed because hello? I love them so much and they deserve the world they should be real. I need them as my friends too

This book made me feel so many things!!! While being a queer person, I always assumed I was ace. I also knew I was pansexual. But meeting Levi, a Demi-pansexual was everything I needed.

Levi and Hannah have been a thing for YEARS. And are technically married. Unfortunately, they’ve been estranged for a while and have to meet up since Levi wants to dissolve his share in Carrigans so he can be done with the place, one and for all. But what happens when he realizes he can’t be without Hannah and they begin a married with benefits relationship that turns into an enticing revisitation of their romance.

I love Helena’s writing so much.

Competently written but incredibly exhausting. Another review I saw said they were tired of the endless meaningful conversations and therapy speak and that is exactly the issue. Too much of all that for two people who should absolutely not end up together in any way because of their pile of unresolved issues. Probably not a good sign for a romance where you do NOT want the main couple to end up together. The "for never" part of the title is very apt.

Thank you to Forever/Grand Central and Netgalley for the eARC! I loved the author's previous novel, and after taking so long to read this, I wanted to love it so much but it just wasn't for me. there wasn't enough at stake, very low angst, and the 2nd chance romance didn't engage me all that much.

I loved this book! The plot, the characters, all of it. The writing great! And it was a fun book.
Would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone!