Return to Carrigan's in this sequel to Season of Love, this time focused on the epic love story of Hannah and Levi.

Told in a past/present dual-POV style, this is a great second chance love story and features two Jewish characters. I really enjoyed the writing style and the complicated emotions Levi dealt with about his relationship with Cass and challenging her infallible legacy. I loved the positive therapy rep and the demisexuality rep.

I'd like to think Hannah and Levi make it work, but they both have to put in a lot of effort to do so, which the story shows a decent job of them trying despite their fears.

Thank you to Forever for providing me with an arc of this book.

I dnfed this at 13% in... I wanted to love it, i really did. I love Helena Greer's writing and I keep wanting her stories to work for me but this is the second one I haven't enjoyed. I don't mind miscommunication but after I wasn't feeling it I read some reviews and saw that pretty much the entire book was miscommunication and I just knew I couldn't keep going. When these characters are in their 30s and can fix things with a conversation I'm not going to vibe with it and I'd rather quit while I'm ahead. I probably will try whatever Helena writes next but we will see.

I confess, this rating is heavily influenced by the fact that I have not read the first book, as I didn't know this was a sequel when I downloaded the galley. I think it should be spelled out clearly from the beginning that the first book is required. Otherwise, some of the complicated history around these characters feels like its treated quite cavalierly and almost as throwaway lines. Perhaps with that extra book of character development, the moodswings of our mains would also feel less like whiplash, as sometimes they are deeply in love and sometimes their anger seems to come out of absolutely nowhere. I also was hoping for more nuance around everyone's relationship with Cass, but I suppose it's true to life that there are things you'll never know when a family matriarch passes.

I love the representation in this book, and I think that is so important. Jewish, plus-size, mental health issues, many different iterations of queer - there's a wonderful cast of characters here.

Overall this didn't do it for me, but I do think some people may enjoy seeing themselves represented here.

A lovely follow-up to Greer's first book. Character-focused and clever. A great option for readers who like a closed-door romance without super traditional/conservative themes and people.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 11/28/2023. This book left me… with Feelings. Yes, a capital F and they were conflicted, both good and bad. We shall now unpack. First things first - After reading the first few pages, I realized that there was already too much history and backstory so I stopped and went back and read the first book in the Carrigan’s series, Season of Love. While romance novels don’t usually require this, I suggest it because it gives you much more of a base for a good portion of the cast in For Never & Always. You really only need to “meet” Levi and so it makes keeping names and personalities straight. Not that it’s hard because Greer creates some very memorable characters in both books - quirky, distinct, very rainbow-friendly, creative, neurotic, and memorable. Sometimes a bit too quirky, to be fair, but you don’t mind because they really are such vivid personalities and so very messed-up.

Seriously, Carrigan’s is like the set of a soap opera and it is delightful that one of the characters, the Very Dapper Gay Lawyer Elijah, comments on this more than once. He is our wry (and better dressed) selves on this point because Carrigan’s and its dysfunctional, multi-trauma’d cast are a wealth of issues. Most issues are handled with great sensitivity, just as they were in Season of Love, but there are so very many of them that it becomes more than a little overwhelming. It’s like being hit by a rolled up newspaper over and over. You don’t quite become numb to it (almost, though!) but you do get the feeling that the plot is more to string the traumatic histories together than for the sake of plot.

Which is a bit of a shame because the plot is quite simple and lovely (complete with a surprise twist that you get pretty early on) and features a believable and pretty satisfying HEA (or at least “in the solid process of a HEA”). While the Miscommunication Trope is used fairly frequently, it is actually dealt with through honest to goodness adult communication once the two main characters get over their initial knee-jerk emotions. There is character growth, there is communication, there are changes in relationship dynamics that include more than just the romantic relationships. I love me some good friendship interactions and family growth stories. Especially when families are as complicated as this one!

Which then brings me to one of the especially conflicting parts of this book for me - the absolute heel turn of one of the most beloved figures in the first book. I’m not just talking a different viewpoint of the character either. I’m talking she’s suddenly an absolutely neglectful bitch to the hero and no one saw it even though they all lived in each other’s pockets and nothing in the first book prepped you for this. So either his memories are still Teenage Emo Boy overblown or else everyone else was blind and deaf. It just was super jarring and threw me out of the book repeatedly. There had to be a better way of getting Levi to be a little shit who runs away.

So I liked it well enough but I didn’t love it and again I found myself misled by the cover. Cute cartoon covers do not properly prepare me for the amount of heavy emotional lifting and thorough investigation of nature vs nuture and feelings in this book.

"Never and Always" deserves commendation for its wonderful portrayal of Jewish and plus-size characters, which adds much-needed diversity to the narrative landscape. However, while I appreciate the importance of these representations, the overall book didn't quite resonate with me. It's a matter of personal preference, as the story, characters, or writing style didn't align with my tastes. Nonetheless, for readers seeking more inclusive and diverse literature, this book is worth considering.

I love this cover and the book was really good too! I love plus size characters in books so that was a serious plus. I think this book will be a hit and I can’t wait for everyone to get to read it.

I think my favorite thing about this book is how nuanced it was. I really enjoyed the complexities of the different relationships, especially the ones with Cass (outside of the MCs'). I love that it forced me to read with an open mind and not be too quick to judge. Real life isn't black and white either, right?

Having said that, I regret reading this book without reading the author's previous book, Season of Love, first. It look me awhile to get into the story cause it felt like I should have already known something, if that makes sense. A lot of the angst was also a little difficult to grasp for the same reason.

What I think this book delivered on, though, was representation. I could feel how much heart Greer into writing this variety characters, and I enjoyed them all.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this title to read and review. I read the first book, Seasons of Love, on New Year's Eve last year, and it was an instant 5-star read for me. I was looking forward to this story, which follows side characters from Seasons, Levi and Hannah, because there was clearly SO much to their history together hinted at in the first book. But my preexisting interest in these characters was probably the only thing keeping me following this read. I found this book super tedious to trudge through at times, because these characters are solidly in their mid-30s and keep circling around and around and around with their same problems and same philosophizing about the world, seemingly without looking for actual solutions. They're as angsty as teens, but this isn't YA, and they're stuck in the past in every possible way, but they're also modern young people with ambitions. The tone just didn't add up for me, and I was tired of both leads saying the same things across multiple chapters and using perceived childhood slights as fodder for their entire personalities. I did think the writing was very well done and brought me back to my joy for Seasons of Love - but specifically Levi and Hannah didn't do it for me.

I have thought about Hannah and Levi every single day since I read the end of Season of Love. That one scene between them was absolutely electric and rife with the most delicious tension. I loved this book and was so excited to finally be reading their story. There is no trope I love more than second chance romance and this is one of the best ones I've read. The history between them was so organic and Helena Greer wrote one of the rawest, most realistic romantic arguments I've ever read. I loved being back at Carrigan's and I cannot wait to read whatever comes next!

This was my first book by Helena Greer and I think that was my first mistake, because this is technically a sequel. As a result, at times, I felt that this was hard to continue reading. I felt that there was a huge amount of angst within the characters that I was disconnected to over the course of the novel.

Now, don't get me wrong, a little angst is fine; however, it just became too much. It went on for entirely too long and then the couple just magically got together really quickly.

For positives, I did love the small-town romance aspect and the representation of mental health as well as queer and Jewish characters. I also felt the found family aspects were pure and lifted the tone of the story!

Thank you Netgalley, Helena Greer, and Forever Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the Jewish representation, particularly the various holidays and traditions mentioned, but with both this book and Greer's prior book, I struggled that so much of what her characters are passionate about is connected to Carrigan's—a Christmas tree farm. I also have trouble feeling invested in her characters, and that was also the case for this book. It took me awhile to get into the plot, and for a fleeting moment I did care about Levi and Hannah's relationship, but then the book began to feel a bit tedious and too long—so much talking about feelings in a way that didn't resonate with me—and I lost interest. I think this book just wasn't for me.

Thank you Helena Greer, Forever, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

First off, I loved the representation in this book, especially the Demisexual representation! I have not read Season of Love yet, but definitely plan to go back and read it after finishing For Never and Always. The characters were lovable and I really enjoyed the dual timeline. My heart broke for young Levi. This book will tug at your heartstrings!

Oh how I love a second chance romance, and this one was so lovely. I really enjoyed reading it. Loved all the representation in this book, and I will definitely pick up more books by this author.

Levi and Hannah were both great characters, and I loved their story. I really enjoyed reading their history and seeing both the hurt and the growth as they moved forward.

The setting was also delightful. Does anyone else wish they could visit Carrigan's? I'd love to go there for a weekend getaway...or maybe just live there...

Overall, I enjoyed this book as it was just the fluffy read I needed.

A sweet, sappy, small-town romance that follows almost every classic trope with the edition of Judaism. I learned so much while laughing at their shenanigans. Every once in a while, you just need a quick little palate cleanse and this was great for that!

I have been excitedly anticipating this book since I read its predecessor (and one of my top reads of last year) season of love. Second chance romance is probably my least favorite trope but I already knew I loved this author, and at least one of this books MCs Hannah so this book had a lot to live up to. Good news it absolutely did.

I again loved how queer this book was. As an asexual person I loved getting some ace rep. I loved how this book was about real adults who had grown and worked on themselves not taking it for granted that they could continue to grow and work together. I love how our MCs communicated with each other and the emphasis on the importance of friendship. I loved the difficulty expressed in holding both your own truth of the past as well as the contradictory truth of someone you love. This book was just as super Jewish as the one before which I still love.

This book is an excellent follow up to season of love and a truly delightful and deep second chance romance that I read in a day I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever for a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

For Never & Always was a fun follow up to Season of Love. I was not quite as enthralled as I was with the first book but I enjoyed it all the same. I was pleasantly shocked by how much I liked the male lead.

this was so lovely and Hannah and Levi were the most imperfect perfect match.
I have been seeking a marriage in trouble, queer romance for some time and this one was everything I hoped for. the deep care they had for each other and the way their history informed their future was written so well and I am so inspired by the writing of this story. so much lovely rep, two Jewish mc’s, demisexual exploration, anxiety disorder with agoraphobia. Love

I’m so deeply in love with every single character from Carrigan’s / this bookish universe in general.

Greer writes such intricate, complex characters who share just as complicated relationships and dynamics with each other. She writes so that no one is ever “THE” villain or completely at fault. She writes with such empathy and compassion for each character, that you find yourself sympathizing with a decision that maybe you wouldn’t have made yourself (well, that you THINK you wouldn’t have made in that situation).

I adore Levi and Hannah — these two perfectly imperfect chaotic honeys are everything. The angst, the pining!? AHHHH. I used to be such a hater of second-chance romance, and I think it’s due to my own journey with regards to forgiveness. However, it made so much sense for these two to unpack their conflicts, and to find their ways back to each other. If anything, I appreciate the importance that communication played in this character-driven novel.

Representation (which Greer does with so much love and care!!): Jewish, Queer (demisexual, pansexual)

This could also be considered forced proximity and a workplace romance!

CW: mental health struggles, grief, cursing, death, bullying

I think so many people will enjoy this holiday read when it comes out later this month.

For Never & Always by Helena Greer is a fantastic follow up to [book:Season of Love|60383010].
I absolutely LOVED Season of Love and was so freaking excited for this book and it did not disappoint at all. This book can definitely be read as a stand-alone story but I definitely think you will find more enjoyment knowing some backstory.

First and foremost, the demisexual, queer, and Jewish representation in this book is AMAZING!
Miscommunication trope, check.

There are many secondary characters, which I really enjoyed those dynamics.

I really enjoyed the different variances of LGBT relationships of all different characters.

As someone that suffers with anxiety, I really appreciate how this was handled.

Hannah and Levi are an unexpected pairing who I really was cheering for.
Friends to enemies to lover's trope, second chance trope, yes please.

There was a lot of drama and chaos in this book, and I loved the drama.

The characters were well written, and the story is fantastic. And the rep, I just feel so seen.

Highly recommend!