*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

3.5/5 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed "For Never & Always". There were some really great elements that kept me engaged and invested as a reader. First and foremost, the character development from the beginning to the end was great. We really saw Levi and Hannah grow and change. This was aided by the flashbacks, which contrasted a lot of the development we saw with where they started from. The Jewish and Queer representation was also excellent, as can be expected from this author.

Read this book if you want:
- grumpy x sunshine
- second chance romance/marriage in crisis
- mental health rep
- complex characters who behave like real people

At times, I did find the melodrama a bit exhausting, especially since these characters are in their mid to late thirties. I would also highly recommend to anyone picking up this book that they read "Season of Love" first, I think someone jumping straight into this book might find some context lacking and may end up confused. But hey, "Season of Love" was one of my favourite books last year, so I'm happy to recommend it to anyone interested in reading "For Never & Always"!

2.5 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I really liked Helena Greer’s debut last year, focusing on a Christmas tree farm run by Jewish people, and a romance blooming amid tensions over transfer of ownership. But unfortunately, the follow-up, For Never & Always, failed to capture that same magic, being rather dull by comparison.
I do like that the book continues to highlight the complex relationships among the people who live and work at Carrigan’s, from friendships to romance to the more complicated relationships, And to see Carrigan’s transform into an establishment for various holidays throughout the year is a wonderful way to subvert expectations, and highlight not just some other Jewish traditions, but also explore how Carrigan’s might help in celebrating secular holidays, like the Fourth of July.
And I do like the friendships between the core cast, Noelle and Miriam from the last book, and their respective relationships with both Hannah and Levi.
But I didn’t care much for either Hannah or Levi as characters, and I found their romance rather underwhelming too. They had no chemistry, so it was so weird seeing them interact with what was meant to elicit tension or make these romantic declarations.
This book also suffered from a similar issue to a book like People We Meet on Vacation in its excessive use of flashbacks, and apart from the subheading telling you it is a flashback, there’s not much material difference in the text giving you cues that it is one. Their behavior in the present still feels very juvenile, and doesn’t feel like they’ve grown and learned, something I like to see in a second chance romance, so it made it hard to root for them.
While this book was a miss for me, I am excited to see what’s next for this cast of characters, based on the teaser at the end! And I’d still recommend checking out other reviews for other opinions, and possibly giving it a chance if you’re looking to read more Jewish holiday-centric romance, and you’re open to a second chance romance that heavily utilizes flashbacks.

This book was very frustrating for me because I was fighting to finish it. I wanted a cute holiday romance, but instead I got way too many commas and characters I didn't fully connect with or care about. The pacing on this book was off from the beginning for me and I think that messed with my head while reading it.

For Never & Always took me a little while to get into the story, but I enjoyed it when everything was said and done. Unlike other stories where it's easy to read any story in the series out of order, I think I missed some things within this series by not reading Season of Love first. I enjoyed the LGBTQIA+ representation in the story and the fact it's a Jewish family who owns a Christmas tree farm and business.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

This writer's style just isn't for me, unfortunately. It feels like it explains things overly and doesn't create the sense of urgency or passion I need when I read a romance. Still, I can appreciate that there is an audience for this style of writing. It also irks me as someone from the Adirondacks that a lot of the place-specific details are wrong, which is, again, a very personal thing.

3.5 stars

This was a good second chance romance between two childhood best friends. I liked the relationship between Hannah and Levi and how we got to see it develop from friends to lovers to exes to lovers again between two time periods. They definitely were meant to be and are each others people and just got each other. But I felt like there was just too much of a lack of communication between the two that ended up being repetitive and made me yell at them to just talk already. I feel like they had too many issues to due this that made it unbelievable that they would work out. Although once they did actually talk in the end then I could see their relationship working out and them having their happily ever after together.

Overall, this was a good romance and recommend that you give it a try!

Read if you like…
•second chance
•small town
•queer romance

It’s back to the tree farm and drama galore!
Whew, Hannah’s anger emanates from the pages repeatedly. I wondered if she had ever been happy in her life.
A bombshell is dropped a few chapters in, that apparently, wasn’t that big of a secret anyway.
I felt for Levi because he kept delivering everything Hannah demanded of him and yet it still, wasn’t enough.
One of the lessons I took from the book is if there is something or someone you really want, go after it, give it your all, until all possibilities are exhausted.
Sometimes the person you’re with is just the right fit.

This was okay. It just felt like a book that should of taken place with people in their mid 20's, not a 35 and 36 year old. I enjoyed their romance but I just feel like the development wasn't really there. I liked all of the Noelle and Mariam that we got though.

I received an arc through netgalley.

DNF at 15%...

Part of this is my bad, in no way should I be picking up contemporary second chance romances but I was ready to give this one a try particularly because it's queer but woooo boy could I not handle their personalities in that first little bit.

The FMC invites the MMC to the Christmas Farm in order to get him to sell his portion to her. And then the first time she sees him essentially refuses to talk to him and says "I'm not sure why you're here" and wants him to leave without talking to him... and then in the next chapter they're having sex?? It just unfortunately felt incredibly immature and I just can't continue with it.

Apologies to the Publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was drawn in by the adorable rom com cover, but this isn't a rom com. It's is a perfectly fine contemporary romance, but it's not for me. I like fun, upbeat books, and this one is kind of sad and depressing. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

As much as I wanted to get into the book, I couldn’t. I think there could have been more to the characters as I wasn’t drawn and invested into them. Maybe it’s me and I’m not the reader for this specific book.

This Jewish second chance romance hits in all the Holiday feels.

I had not read the first book in this standalone series, but that didn't make me love this book less. I loved Hannah. I loved Levi. I loved that even when they didn't agree with things they would have communicated. I loved how this whole story played out and I don't know how to express my love for this book.

I think I love their individual growth in this book. I'm gonna continue to cry and not talk in circles. Read this book, bye.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For Never & Always (pub. date November 28, 2023) by Helena Greer was luckily in my NetGalley queue and immediately available for me to read after I read Greer's first romcom Season of Love (review coming in late December). The cover is gorgeous--a curvy, plus-sized woman looks from afar at a handsome, dark-haired man, so one might think it's a traditional hetero romance, with the slight twist of having a fat female love interest. It's so much more than that!! I'm hopeful the cover might draw some unsuspecting straight people into reading a romance that isn't . . straight.

Set at the fictional Christmas tree farm and hotel/resort called Carrigan's, run by a Jewish family, Hannah is a niece of the woman who started the farm (Cass) and died before the first book begins. Hannah is the general manager, helped by the handyman and cook Mr. and Mrs. Mathews, Noelle the tree farm manager, and Hannah's cousin Miriam, artist and creative director. Hannah and Miriam spent a lot of time at Carrigan's growing up, and were the same age as the Mathews' son Levi, who they nicknamed Blue.

As the book begins, we know that Hannah and Blue were together at some point, but it blew up spectacularly, and Blue left to pursue a career as a chef all around the world. Hannah stayed at Carrigan's to hold the place together during her Aunt Cass's final illness and death. But Blue has come back, and the two can't be in the same room together without screaming at each other, unless they find themselves in a hidden corner of the hotel and keep their mouths otherwise occupied.

Not just a comedy, Greer does a spectacular job of dealing with difficult subjects, such as anxiety that manifests similar to agoraphobia, past bullying due to homophobia, coming out when one's sexuality doesn't fit into a "gay or straight" box (Blue is demisexual), and dealing with complicated grief.

As Blue comes back home, now a celebrity chef from an Australian cooking show, how can he and Hannah work things out when he can't stay at Carrigan's, and she can't leave? Helped by their quirky family and friends, it's a sweet second chance romance. I loved it, and can't wait for Greer's third book with some of the same characters!

For Never or Always is fat positive in the best way--there are fat characters, like Hannah and Noelle, living their complicated lives without much thought of being fat. They are sexy, desired, uber-competent, vulnerable, and flawed in ways that have nothing to do with their body sizes. It's awesome to read a book with fat characters without a plot revolving around their or other people's conflicts about fatness. Kudos to Greer for writing this and her editor/ publishers for publishing it!

Such a cute story 😭 I will definitely be reading more from this author as soon as I can 🤭

Thank you so much for the Opportunity to read this early

I absolutely adored Season of Love and couldn't wait to return to Carrigan's! Similarly to the previous book, the Jewish representation will certainly make some readers feel seen. A new queer identity is represented: Levi is demisexual, and a lot of discussion is given to how that's colored his love life.

Sadly, For Never and Always took me a lot longer to get through. There was a lot of backstory to Hannah and Levi's relationship, but I never felt the chemistry between them. Even in the flashbacks, I just saw best friends, not two people falling in love. While they both had done a lot of work on themselves in present day (don't get me wrong, this was great), it didn't feel like some of their core relationship issues were resolved. I think it would have felt more realistic if these characters decided that they loved each other as friends but that it was time to let each other go. Second-chance romances aren't always my favorite, so this could be a "me" problem!

For those reasons, I put this ARC down for a long time before finishing it. I needed something more cheerful, rather than picking through all these characters' pain and angst. I eventually finished it, but my opinions didn't change!

1. Cover art is lovely.
2. This second chance romance is a sweet & fun story.
3. Charming characters

For Never & Always by Helena Greer was a fun, lighthearted read, that I absolutely enjoyed the heck out of.
The premise and the characters were really fun and entertaining.
I loved being on this remarkable journey with Hannah and Levi.
Their growth throughout the story was incredible. They were fascinating characters.
The chemistry between them is truly magical and I loved seeing them grow as individuals and in their relationship throughout the book.

“Two best friends… who are now exes, and three months to prove he loves her, forever and always, in this sweet second-chance romance.”

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

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

Shenanigans and Carrigan’s, they just go together - And the stakes are higher than ever. Blue and Hannah’s journey back to each other is not quick, definitely not easy, but is undeniably worth it!

There was so much I liked about this book - I had an obscene amount of lines highlighted by the time I was done.

It has all the highs and lows I think excellent second chance romance needs-
Broke my heart a little - maybe a lot - because even as much as they love each other I think there were legitimate reasons it couldn’t have worked out the first time. But the time they were apart changed them in important ways, there’s some therapy aided growth - absolutely crucial - then putting in work and seriously talking to each other after he returned. Enough that you’ll believe why it could - and should - work *this* time

I liked the way flashbacks were mixed in throughout the book. Some things were already known because of book one, but others…Cass was an even more complicated woman than I gave her credit for. No specifics, because spoilers, but there’s a lot to unpack there for them all.

Instead of being shoved to the background, the characters of book one are still important as before. A good thing because not only did I like them there’s the whole joint ownership and family member situations. I only bring it up because - unlike some loosely interconnected romance series - this is one series where you really should read the books in order to fully enjoy them
(Besides, why wouldn’t you want to read both? They’re amazing!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

This was an unexpectedly lovely book! I loved the depth and breadth of the characters. Their devotion to their Jewish roots. The variety of characters personalities, preferences, and that’s so many differences in sexual identity were described and shown in the characters (yay for demisexual characters!) it was a bit slow to start, but I’m so glad I stuck with it!

Thank you Net Galley and Helena Greer for this eARC!

This was a breath of fresh air. Second chance romance can be a real hit or miss for me, and most recently have been huge misses but this one really delivered.

There’s so much depth between Hannah and Levi that their romance genuinely had me choked up at several moments. What I found worked so well in their story is that their second chance feels so hard won, they truly battled their inner demons, trauma, AND mental health to get back to each other and even still, there are no clean cut, immediate solutions offered at the end.


If you’re hoping for a fairytale escapism romance, this isn’t that. This gets real and raw and honest about confronting your demons and the idols in your life that let you down, even if you didn’t want to admit it. There’s a real reckoning with Cass’ character, even though she passed, which I found so validating and honest, because often everything is forgiven, you never speak ill of the dead, and honestly it’s a bunch of gaslighting.

In addition, while I think parts of this was too lengthy, where the pacing felt like a bit of a slog, and at times Levi and Hannah were so unlikeable and frustrating in their flaws and issues, when to came to end, I found I deeply appreciated all those moments because this felt like a real love story, grounded in reality, that suffers from everyday pains. It’s refreshing and damn near shocking to see a romance story that very clearly shows you why love on its own is not enough, especially if you don’t do the work to have your own separate life and friends and ambitions.

I’ll be thinking about this for a while and I can’t recommend it enough! Last, but certainly not least, this is a wonderfully full, vibrant JEWISH story that celebrates jewish holidays and traditions with its whole chest. I loved the fantastic jewish representation and jokes, and loved the notion of a jewish family owning a Christmas tree farm and inn. It’s quirky and fun and lovingly puts Judaism on equal footing in terms of celebrations and traditions. There’s also plenty of queer representation that is thoughtfully incorporated, that really made this feel inclusive and warm.

It’s book two of a series and I haven’t read book one, all the characters have been established I just needed to make the effort to keep up with everyone. The second chance is not my top trope, both MCs felt a little flat in trying to get back together. I think I needed a bit more tension between them, a little more angst or just fight for what they wanted. Overall I did enjoy reading what the characters got themselves into, and all the small town shenanigans.