I had hoped to enjoy this as I constantly seek out books with Jewish representation but it was not for me.

Thank you to Forever for an advanced copy.

Who doesn't love a second chance romance?! This was so fun, so cute, the right amount of angst and steam and overall a great, and quick!, read.

Carrigan's is Hannah's entire world, and it has been ever since she convinced her parents to let her live at the family-run hotel for high school instead of continuing to travel the world with them. The one thing it's missing is Blue: her best friend, her ex... her husband.
Levi (or Blue, as he's known to Hannah) ran from Carrigan's as fast as he could, and his desperation to get away was only strengthened by Hannah and Cass, the then-owner, telling him to leave and never come back. But he's back now, fresh from filming a cooking show in Australia.
Hannah and Levi still have feelings for each other. But their life goals are diametrically opposed. And when Levi tells Hannah why he was so eager to leave Carrigan's in the first place--and why he hated Casss, her favorite person in the world--it shakes their foundation even further.
He asks for a chance to win her back: five dates. And all the while they're working together at Carrigan's, trying their best to believe that maybe, somehow, they can work things out.

For Never & Always explores the ways people fall apart and come together. It's a second-chance romance between two people desperate to make it work, and scared that they'll repeat the problems of their past. At first, I had a hard time rooting for them, just because there was SO much of an emphasis on their previous relationship being toxic. But we were shown a lot of the good from the past, too, and their growth really made me come around and root for them by the end. I also loved the exploration of Levi's sexuality (as well as Cole's subplot). The prose was a bit more straightforward than I'm used to (a lot of telling) and I found that I really liked it. Overall, though it did take me a little while to get into the book, I ended up loving it.

Tw for severe anxiety and agoraphobia, emotional abuse by parental figures, and mentions of homophobia

Still thinking about these two ❤️

For Never & Always isn't out until November 28th, but I am here to tell you to pre-order it!

Hannah Rosenstein's heart has always belonged at Carrigan's Christmas tree farm, and she thought that her childhood best friend/true love, Levi "Blue" Matthews belonged there with her. But when he leaves to see the world and breaks her heart, she has to pick up the pieces and focus on making Carrigan's an all-year destination.

Until one day, Levi returns. Determined to prove his love for her and explain why he left, Levi gets Hannah to agree to five dates to win her back. Shenanigans ensue (IYKYK).

If you love...

- Second chance romance
- Demisexuality and pansexuality rep
- A gender non-conforming MMC who wears EYELINER (hot)
- Celebrity chefs
- Jewish representation and traditions as a backbone of the story 🔯
- Positive experiences of therapy
- OCD/anxiety/undiagnosed ADHD representation
- Characters you kind of hate at the beginning but they exhibit so much growth and complexity that they grow on you
- A CAT
- A wonderful cast of secondary characters including friends, exes, and family

...then this is a book for you! ✨

I did not read Season of Love and, while I think I would have benefitted from reading it prior to this, it wasnt 100% necessary. BUT since this doesnt come out until 11/28, you have time!

Title: For Never & Always
Author: Helena Greer
Rating: 4/5 ⭐
Pub date: 11/28/23

A sequel to Season of Love, For Never & Always follows Hannah Rosenstein and Levi Matthews—Hannah should be happy, she’s finally in charge of her childhood home, an inn called Carrigan’s All Year, only aspiring chef and love of her life Levi is back in town and is determined to win her back. Honestly, I had a lot of trouble with this one. The queer representation and cultural representation and advocation for therapy was all wonderful, but I didn’t like these characters. They didn’t feel like they had chemistry; their love story relied entirely on their past and I didn’t feel like the flashbacks really showed them falling in love, it just showed their individual struggles. They both have a lot of growth and they both want to do right by each other, but there’s just a lot of angst and not a lot of resolution. And maybe if I had read the first one, I would have felt more connected but I didn’t know it was part of a series til halfway through. The writing itself was lovely and charming, I just wanted more overall from this.

Many of my favorite authors write characters I want to hang out with. Some of my favorite authors write characters I would run from if I were actually faced with them in real life. Helena Greer writes worlds I want to live in.

For Never and Always is a second chance/secret marriage/marriage in trouble romance with inspiration from Rapunzel. Carrigan’s has been Hannah’s refuge and her place of power. The way her anxiety manifests, it has also been her prison. In her relationship with Levi, it is the bone of contention. Unlike Hannah and Miriam, Levi was not a favorite of Cass Carrigan’s. She never seemed to approve of him, and being on the outs with the woman everyone else loved made growing up a Carrigan’s stultifying. But Cass surprised them all by leaving the farm to Hannah, Noelle, Miriam, and Levi. Now Levi has returned. More than anything, he wants to win Hannah back.

Because he’d seen every corner of the earth, and not a single mile of it was worth a damn without her.

Hannah and Levi have to deal with the fallout of knowing they were in love but still not able to make it work. Knowing that love isn’t enough, can they rebuild their relationship in a way that lets them both fully be themselves? Because this is a romance, you know that they will, so the fun is watching the way they rediscover themselves and each other. I love when a romance acknowledges that there needs to be more than love and good chemistry to make a relationship function. Can they listen to each other? Can they compromise with care and compassion? Having gone out into the world, Levi has learned that love is worth effort and compromise. What really makes this work is that Hannah and Levi are adults in their thirties who screwed up their marriage in their twenties.

Update: I have to add a whole new paragraph because another reviewer articulated something I dance around here in a review for a completely different book - making one’s self small vs. compromise. After a peripatetic childhood, Hannah needed to stay at Carrigan’s to feel safe. The conflict with Cass made Carrigan’s feel unsafe emotionally to Levi, he needed to leave. To make their marriage work one of them would have had to cut pieces of themself away to fit into the other’s idea of safety. After a few years of the safety they needed, they’ve grown enough that their safety is less about where they are and more who they are. 

I love that Greer lets Cass Carrigan be a hero, a villain, and an enigma. She was imperfect. We’ve gotten so bad at letting people be complex and difficult to know that it’s a relief to see a much beloved person also be problematic, and they can never explain themselves. The people who mourn Cass have to figure out their relationship to her as they process new information.

This is why I say I want to live in the world Helena Greer writes: she values imperfection over perfection. Season of Love and For Never and Always find their happiness as they settle into the imperfect. Happiness and joy are found in compromises, a little chaos, and the willingness to be uncomfortable occasionally. This really was a joy to read. I can’t wait for the next book and fingers crossed that there will be a next book.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Forever and NetGalley. I am friendly with the author on social media, and have done my best to ensure the review is based solely on the book itself. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

Hannah has loved Levi as long as she can remember. She spent her child nomadically travelling the world with her parents and has now found solace in Carrigan's Tree Farm & Inn, as the new co-owner. Her great-aunt left the farm to her, her cousin, her best friend, and her first and only love. Now Levi is back. When Levi left Carrigan he had good intentions. He was going to escape the small town and the Inn where no one seemed to understand him, except Hannah. He is now a famous chef, with some celebrity and a high profile bride wants his cooking at her wedding. Levi agrees to do this, if Hannah will agree to five dates to win her back. As they work through the pain and heartbreak, they discover the love is still there.

This book was full of so much heart and emotion. Hannah and Levi are both amazing characters going through their own thing, but are so deeply entangled with each other in their love. You never doubt that the two love each other, yet you find yourself wondering if they will be able to overcome the obstacles in their place. This book also showed serious character development of both characters. With many second chance romances the couple no longer have feelings for each other, but these two were sometimes nothing but feelings.

There is a lot going on in this book, which I think clouded what the characters were experiencing and coming to terms with. Some scenes I found to be unnecessary, where as some weren't in depth enough for my liking.

I loved the Jewish and queer representation in this book and only wish for more books like this. I also loved the normalization of therapy and seeking therapy to help when things are tough. Overall, this was a great book with some great messages. This was the second book in the Carrigan world and I have enjoyed both, I look forward to seeing what Helena Greer comes out with next! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

3.5 ⭐️
I loved Season of Love. It’s one of the books that I recommend constantly, to really anybody who will listen. So naturally I was really excited for this book. While I loved many aspects of this, ultimately it just didn’t work for me.

Let’s start with what I loved:
a) I love the representation. There are so many queer characters, our main character Levi is demisexual and of course we have queer side characters (Miriam and Noelle make some appearances). Jewish culture is also infused in every corner of this book, from food, to holidays (we have a Passover Seder about 25% of the way in), and so much more. I really loved that.

b) I also love the whole idea of a childhood friends to lovers arc. Hannah and Levi have this history that really keeps them bound together. I also loved the flashbacks to their past because it helped show just how their feelings have been shaped by everything they’ve been through.

c) Carrigan’s in general is somewhere I would give anything to visit. Period.

Now. Where this didn’t work for me is pretty simple. I don’t think Hannah and Levi work as a couple. Separately? They’re great, I love them. But together? No.

There were several scenes where their dialogue just didn’t work for me. Like some other reviews have stated it felt more like therapy speak than an actual conversation. I also really struggled with how the dialogue is written at times because I couldn’t assess whether Levi was actually mad or if it was just the writing.

I’m also going to say right now that if my partner just up and left for FOUR YEARS I wouldn’t be considering any form of second chance.

So again. While I loved parts of this, other parts just didn’t work for me. I’ll probably still recommend this and I’m always thankful to my friends over at Forever for allowing me to arc read this book.

For Never and Always by Helena Greer
Format: ALC from Forever, Grand Central Publishing

For Never and Always is Helena Greer’s second book, and features the same cast of characters from last year’s debut novel Seasons of Love. For Never and Always is a second chance romance with mental health, queer, and Jewish representation, and I loved the diversity featured in all of the main and supporting characters. In For Never and Always, Levi and Hannah are reunited at Carrigan’s, the Christmas-themed farm and hotel they each inherited a portion of. Hannah works at Carrigans as a hotel and event planner, while prodigal son Levi left years ago vowing never to return. These two have a LOT of history together! Together with their families, they begin to unpack their emotional baggage and learn to work together again, but they cannot deny the connection they still have after many years apart.

There are many people who will really enjoy this book, and I appreciate the value that it will have for them. Unfortunately this book did not speak to me. The characters read as all very emotionally immature for their ages, and I wanted to yell at them at several points throughout the book. Some aspects of the writing also really bothered me, like improper capitalizations and phonetic spelling. The plot itself was fine, but the characters and writing kept me from loving the book overall.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the ARC of For Never and Always, which publishes on November 28.

While I was extremely impressed with the queer and Jewish representation in this book, unfortunately I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I’ve tried on several occasions over the past few months and each time I get into a slump. This is a sequel, and I haven’t read the first which could be the reason for me not relating to nor enjoying the characters, but in reality I do feel like there is a lot of inner dialogue and not much plot. I appreciate the opportunity to read this.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book early! I really enjoyed it. I thought the writing was very well done, and the story kept me interested. I believe my students/patrons would also love this book and will be acquiring it for the library!

For Never & Always had some amazing Jewish and Queer representation in this book that I absolutely adored, and wanted more of! This made the book so unique, and if you're looking for more romance in these categories, I'd recommend picking it up.
This is a second chance romance story that has a lot of family drama! It also revolves around cooking, small towns, traveling, and the hospitality industry.
Our main characters, I felt, were pretty unlikable, and not great for each other. Some people love reading about unlikable characters, but I am not one of those people. Miscommunication, again, a trope that many like but I do not, was through the roof!
I also had a bit of a hard time following the plot. It was more of a "vibes" story, so if you enjoy a general ambiance, this is a good fit for you.
Ultimately, this was not a great read for me, but is obviously a great fit for many readers out there based on the abundance of excellent reviews! I hope this falls into the perfect hands come publishing time.

This book comes out November 28, 2023! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC in exchange for a review.

After reading Season of Love, I was hoping we would get a book all about Hannah & Levi! They had an obvious connection and I had to know their story! For Never & Always did not disappoint! I had a really good time with it. I do think I enjoyed the first half more than the second though. The pacing felt a bit slow.

I love a good second chance romance! This one was like *I hate you/I love you I’m sorry* kind of thing and I ate it up. I enjoyed seeing Hannah & Levi find their way back to each other while also healing some old wounds. The two learned a lot about themselves and what they really want together in life.

I can’t wait for Helena Greer’s next book!

I was so excited to see a second book in this series! I love getting to revisit characters that were main characters in previous books while also getting the opportunity to connect with new characters. This was a great addition to the carrigans universe!

I'm not kidding when I say I've waited a year for Levi and Hannah's story. I was already hooked from the little bits I learned about their story while reading Season of Love. The story has Hannah and Levi going from (kind of) enemies to lovers but of course before they were on the outs they were once friends and then lovers in their younger years. Levi's side of the story was so sad yet sweet to read, he's always wanted nothing more than to prove he belongs and is worthy of the family and friends he has. I loved seeing Levi try to win Hannah back and have Hannah slowly open up throughout the story. And their heart to heart talks just kept getting better, especially when Levi opened up about his sexuality. I loved how the book ended and thought it worked well for what the characters wanted.
Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC

I was drawn to this book because of the cover. I had heard of the author before but hadn't read their other work and didn't realize this is the second book in a series. I didn't feel like I needed to read that first, although there are a handful of characters from the first book and it may have helped in knowing their relationships to the MCs slightly better.

It's a second chance romance. Hannah and Levi (Blue - because they thought he was named after jeans) have known each other since they were kids. The chapters jump back and forth between the past and present day, starting with Hannah at 7 years old. We see how they became friends and how they're relationship grew and fell apart.

Hannah owns a family Christmas tree farm, even though the family is Jewish. Blue has been away for 4 years to make something of himself. He's a famous chef and he wants to prove to Hannah they're still good together and gets her to agree to 5 dates. The problem is, she doesn't want to leave and he doesn't want to stay.

I enjoyed this one, for the most part. I wish I had read the first book just to have more of a background. I also felt parts of it dragged a little, but was still a good book. It has great representation. Jewish rep, Queer rep (the MMC is demisexual and side characters from the first book are also LGBTQ). There's also mental health rep, which I love seeing. I will read from the author again.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley. I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I didn’t realize this was a sequel- just a disclaimer! I absolutely loved the representation in this book! And reinterpretations are hit or miss but this was incredible

Absolutely one of my favorite romcom reads, a rare demisexual representation and beautifully written in so many ways as well. Believable and loveable characters who learn how to put the work in to make things work.

I personally did not like this book. I read 67% (up to chapter 16) before I realized this book was not enjoyable for me.

I found the writing style to be incredibly confusing. The use of third person didn’t always flow, so it made the plethora of characters run together. This also didn’t feel like it could be read as a stand-alone in the series. There is little explanation of the happenings of book one, which every second book in a series needs some of.

I also found the back and forth between Levi and Hannah to be ridiculous and often redundant. Hannah wants to hate Levi so much, but she was also in the wrong for a lot of things.

I also find it so rude that everyone is ALWAYS talking poorly about Levi. His struggles and pain were invalidated throughout the whole book, and I found that to be disappointing. Loved the demisexual representation but did not enjoy the invalidating of Levi’s strife.