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.

This book had me blushing even though there was no on page sex, idk how Helena managed that but wow wow wow I am bowing down.

I felt so seen while reading this book, I think the queer representation was perfect. I couldn’t get enough of the tension and banter between Levi and Hannah and really felt like I was in the room with them sometimes. Found family holiday books are my absolute favorite and this one is no exception.

Unfortunately due to a lack of formatting in this eARC, I am unable to read the book. I do apologize and I appreciate the copy, but I have severe ADHD and the lack of formatting makes it very difficult for me to read. I will not review anywhere but once the audiobook comes out, I will look to support and review this author/title! Sorry for the inconvenience.

I really enjoy Helena Greer’s writing and inclusion of diverse characters. Levi and Hannah’s story was well told and I enjoyed their relationship. It did take me a while to get into this one because I felt like the beginning really dragged. Once the story got going, it was very enjoyable though.

This is the second book in a series but can absolutely be read as a standalone. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first book in the series as well as to fans of second chance romances.

I really enjoyed this book! Helena Greer did a great job of showing just how difficult relationships and marriage can be, especially when people grow up together and think the know just what the other thinks. I absolutely loved the LBGTQIA+ representation and the Jewish culture throughout the book. Thanks #NetGalley

O.M.G I LOVED this book. It had all of my favorite tropes: second chance romance, friends to lovers, it’s only ever been you, marriage in trouble, and so much more. I enjoyed but didn’t love the first in this series, but sure am glad I picked up For Never & Always.

Hannah and Levi are destined to be together. They’ve grown up together and only ever loved each other. Too bad they want diametrically opposite things out of life. They agree to a series of dates to figure it out and if they can’t, they’ll sign divorce papers.

This love story is sweeping and epic. Told in dual POV with occasionally flashbacks to their history, I could not get enough. These two are gone for each other, but Levi especially is just GONE. The man literally worships Hannah and his chaos monkey personality just adds to his charm. I loved him so much. I wanted slightly more of Hannah’s background and for her to show a bit of the emotional vulnerability we were seeing from Levi, but it was true to her character to remain pretty buttoned up until the end. We also get to revisit Carrigan’s and the found family therein which was so fun.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

After reading book 1 I was so excited to get my hands on For Never and Always. It's a classic second-chance romance between Hannah and Levi, childhood sweethearts who wanted different things out of life which caused them to break apart in their earlier thirties. Except when Cass, the owner of the inn and Hannah's aunt, leaves the whole estate to Hannah and Levi along with their two friends (who you read more about in book one) it brings them back together. Can they rekindle the lost love of their lives or will the pain and suffering of it all cause them to never turn back?

I loved the Jewish joy. this novel brought. especially right now when antisemitism is on the rise we need books that show some of my favorite parts of Judaism! The traditions, the family, and the community. It was thoroughly inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community and had a ton of mental health representation as well which I totally relate to, being someone who struggles with anxiety and depression. The reason this wasn't a 5-star book for me was that I found myself skimming a lot. It also felt a little messy. I also had a problem that Hannah's crippling anxiety around travel and almost inclusiveness just magically went away in the last couple of chapters. Lastly, I found it hard to grapple with the author's very anti-Israel reactions online when this book is so entranced with Judaism which is intrinsically tied together.

Overall I'd give this a 3.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest opinion. This book releases 11/28.

I was really looking forward to this one. I loved Season of Love by this author so much, it was one of my top ten books last year. Unfortunately, For Never & Always was not such a hit for me.

To be fair, I'm not the biggest fan of second chance romance or of a lot of relationship drama, so maybe that was part of the issue. I found the first book so charming and so special, I loved the whole cast of characters. There were moments in this book when the setting and characters still charmed me, but they were far fewer. I liked that this one wasn't as Christmas-y as the first. I did not like either of the MCs. I found them both irritating and immature. Frankly, at many points in the book I just wanted them to shut up already and get over themselves. The dialogue felt way overly dramatic and just not like the sorts of things real people say. I didn't even feel any chemistry between them. I think part of the problem was that they are having sex pretty much right from the start so there was no build up of tension. There was a lot that didn't work for me personally, but it's very possible that's just a personal preference thing. It made me want to reread the first one, so I could feel the magic of the place and the people again. I didn't hate For Never & Always by any means, there were enjoyable aspects, but I was disappointed after having loved the first one so much.

Second chance romance between two ex childhood best friends who may have secretly gotten married but left each other but are reunited again when their ownership stakes in a destination inn forces them to face each other. Hannah Rosentein should be happy, she's now the co-owner of the destination inn Carrigan's All Year, her happy place but unfortunately so is her first love, biggest heartbreak, and absentee husband, Levi "Blue" Matthews. Levi left Carrigan's to pursue his dreams of becoming a celebrity chef, and he has made it. He's famous, and he's proud to be the queer cook who made a name for himself yet his return is not as welcoming as he had planned, especially since his family is made at him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah, his wife, wants him to leave... again. Levi and Hannah grew up as childhood best friends turned lovers, but Levi left when Hannah asked him to, and now he's back because she's asked him to come back but this time he wants to be back in her life permanently and he's going to do whatever it takes to prove it to her. Hannah and Levi want two completely different things but they can't stay away from one another, can they make it work this time? This is the spinoff book to the Seasons of Love (which I absolutely adored) but unfortunately this one didn't work for me. Hannah and Levi are suppose to be in their 30s but acted like teenagers, the miscommunication trope went hard on this one, and honestly they both just didn't really feel like they worked together that well. I didn't find myself liking or caring about their relationship all that much, which is so unfortunate because I adored the first book so much. If you like second chance romances with tons of miscommunication then this is for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*