3/5 stars

thank you to netgalley and grand central publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

okay i had really high hopes for this because i adored season of love and really enjoyed miriam and noelle’s love story and was also so intrigued by the hinting of hannah and levi’s romance and what went down in the years miriam wasn’t at carrigans for. HOWEVER. this kind of fell flat for me :/ the characters did show some growth but acted so childish at times, especially levi!!! he said so many things that made me frown and honestly would not forgiven him for (but that is just me). hannah deserves better my lovely </3 they seemed quite dysfunctional at times and made me kind of doubt that they should even be back together. first half of the story was pretty slow too but the ending was sweet, but overall just not as much of a hit for me :/

i did enjoy the queer jewish rep though and seeing miriam and noelle and COLE!!! felt like a cute family reunion my beloveds

For Never & Always by Helena Greer is a heartwarming second-chance romance that immediately grips the reader's emotions. Returning home after a five-year absence, Levi "Blue" Matthews must confront his past, including his former flame Hannah Rosenstein. Though Hannah initially resists his presence, circumstances lead her to hire Levi as the chef for a significant event at Carrigan's. In a playful twist, Levi proposes a Shenanigan where they embark on five dates to prove their love's resilience. The novel artfully weaves past and present timelines, unraveling the history of their relationship and revealing their growth. Levi's swoon-worthy gestures and the captivating chemistry between the characters make it easy to root for their reunion. However, the book's reliance on references from a prior installment, "Seasons of Love," may slightly hinder readers unfamiliar with the previous story. Nonetheless, For Never & Always offers a poignant, angst-filled romance that leaves readers thoroughly enchanted.

After a childhood spent traveling the globe and longing for a place to land, Hannah has a home at her beloved Carrigan's. Unfortunately, she shares ownership of Carrigan's with her first love, Levi. Levi whole left her heart-broken to see the world. Levi who is now a big deal chef becoming a reality show darling. Levi who is now back at Carrigan's and wreaking havoc on Hannah's carefully put together life as he makes it clear that he's back for her.

I was absolutely feral for this book, and couldn't put it down. Hannah is such an interesting character who is written with enough nuance that she doesn't merely become a reclusive homebody. She loves her home, and is deeply loyal to Carrigan's and the aunt that left it to her, but she also has dreams and aspirations and very real struggles outside of her relationship to Levi that were really lovely to watch unfold. I think Greer especially does an amazing job dealing with mental illness and Hannah's anxiety; she treats it sensitively, as something that is definitely part of Hannah's life and experience, but not something that defines her.

And Levi. Oh my goodness, Levi. A gender non-conforming demisexual pansexual CHEF who wears EYELINER? I was a goner from the start. I really appreciated Levi's character development throughout the book, and how Greer uses his development to explore the concept of how we remember the past and people, as well as issues of class. As the son of "the help", Levi's family was never treated as family by Hannah's aunt, and it colors how he sees the whole place, which I loved.

No relationship in this novel is clear-cut or easy. Hannah and Levi love each other and make no sense together, and yet they make all the sense in the world. That alone makes this novel a fun read, figuring out how on earth they will ever come to a happily ever after that feels believable and satisfying. And somehow Helena Greer manages to pull it off.

This was a tough one for me to get through and only finished because I my mind couldn't comprehend how this could could end up together.

I can't process how the writing can be so beautiful but also just so over the place that everything seemed disjointed. There were way too many characters to keep up with and tons of exposition without things ever really happening.

I loved the Jewish representation but as a non-jew it was very hard keeping up with what everything was. When holidays, traditions, etc were mentioned, there was no explanation of what it was or the importance of it.

For me, most of the characters were just unlikable with no redeeming qualities.

I really enjoyed the plot and the writing style. I also loved the main characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I feel terrible for not finishing this book. But I tried so hard to like it. I made it 60 percent of the way through and I felt as though barely anything happened and things kept repeating at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Helena Greer for this ARC.

First I want to say I had no idea this was book 2 of a series so I did have a bit of a hard time with it but other than that it was a cute second chance romcom. It was very entertaining. It was a cute quick read.

5.0 ⭐

Okay, I LOVED this book. The author's debut was lovely and I really enjoyed it, then was waiting (somewhat) patiently for this follow up. It did NOT disappoint! The demisexual rep is wonderful--peep the flag on Levi's suitcase! As was the anxiety rep! Their friendship to love to separated and then their secret, which made me gasp so deeply it made me cough. So good! Hannah becoming herself, everyone dealing with their view of someone important being altered. It is deeply emotional, deeply Jewish, and I am so excited for the story to continue (as I assume it will based on their close friends who haven't found their love stories yet). Oh my word, also: all the references to movies, books, pop culture, etc. are fantastic in this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC! Read Seasons of Love now and then this when it comes out on Nov 28/23.

For Never & Always is a super cute second chance romance that I really enjoyed reading!! I read this one not realizing it was technically a sequel -- and I've already added book 1 to my TBR list!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this book.

Turns out, I should pay more attention to the books synopsis before requesting. So often I see something and request it only to find out after approval it is a sequel, or part of a series with many books before it and I don't know who anyone is or what is going on. This book is not the exception to that.

Be sure to read Season Of Love first. It makes a big difference. I will probably not be going back to the first book and trying to understand the storyline though.

The pining!!! The tension!!! This book has everything you could want in a second chance romance. Hannah and Levi have so much history and so many FEELINGS between them. I loved watching them work through their very realistic problems and find their happily ever after. I also loved watching Hannah find her way to a career path that really worked for her. The whole thing was a delight!

Fun fact: Season of Love was one of my favorite holiday stories last year. And I couldn't wait to read this! I cannot believe I was lucky enough to receive the ARC!

At first, I was a bit put off by the fact that it's set in spring instead of winter. But this story is so quirky and twisty and darkly humorous. And I am from page one invested in the life of Hannah & Levi. Of course the concept of Carrigans All Year makes perfect sense.

I have such a good time with meddling will-writers and their schemes. Cass is especially devious.

And Levi. "I don't feel sexual attraction for other people." Full stop.

This book is fabulous.

Five years ago, Levi “Blue” Matthews left Carrigan’s Christmasland, his childhood home. With that, he also left Hannah Rosenstein, his best friend and the love of his life, who can’t leave Carrigan’s.

When Levi reluctantly returns, Hannah isn’t interested in letting him back into her life or rekindling their relationship.

They’re forced to work together, and Levi sets out to win Hannah back. As Hannah begins to trust him again, they still have to get past what broke them apart five years ago: Levi can’t stay at Carrigan’s, and Hannah can’t leave.

The premise of this story piqued my interest, but I was let down when I went to read it.

I didn’t feel at all invested in the story or the characters. They came across as juvenile, more like teenagers than people in their mid-30s.

There were long, redundant descriptions, combined with writing told the reader what the characters were feeling instead of showing us through the narrative.

I’ve seen that other people like this book, so I’m glad that it’s found it’s audience, but this book was not a good fit for me.

I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this book was part of a series at the time I requested it. So, when I realized I was reading a sequel, I doubted if I should quit temporarily to read the prequel first. But I already had problems getting through the story, and my mind kept telling me not to pick up the first one because my TBR is overflowing, right now. I struggled for a few days and then decided to DNF this romance. Maybe I’ll get back to this series someday. I won't post this review on Goodreads or any other platform.

4.5/5 (rounded down to 4)

CW: homomisia, anxiety, agoraphobia, grief, death of a family member

I would like to thank NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Levi Blue Matthews returns home to Carrigan’s after the death of great-aunt Cass, he faces the people he left behind five years ago, including his estranged lover Hannah Rosentein. Though Hannah wants nothing to do with him here, she ends up hiring Levi to be the chef for a huge wedding Carrigan’s is hosting. In exchange for the job, Blue calls for a Shenanigan where they both have to go on five dates with each other for Blue to prove that they were meant to be together. Yet, can Levi and Hannah move past the reasons why their relationship fell apart in order to start again?

For Never & Always is a romance full of angst and pining that catches your attention from the very first page. Told in past vs. present timelines, you get to see the history of Hannah and Levi’s relationship and how they ultimately come back together again in this book, which really helps with showing the growth Hannah and Levi go through in the book. Levi provides some certainly swoon worthy moments in For Never & Always and you can’t help but root for them to get back together.

Now, there are reasons why I’ve rated this book four stars out of five. A particular issue that I have with this book is that there’s some noticeable disconnect in For Never & Always due to references to Greer’s prior book, Seasons of Love. I wasn’t aware of For Never & Always is a sequel novel and the book makes several references to the prior book in regards to key aspects of character and plot development, which makes it a bit harder to understand if you haven’t read the first book in the series. Additionally, I felt some of the plot twists in this book were revealed way too early and I wished you got more time to understand the characters before these plot twists come out.

Regardless, I applaud Greer’s storytelling for creating this soulmate romance that readers will love. I would just recommend reading Greer’s Seasons of Love before diving into For Never & Always.

This one was, for me, a perfect example of two characters who really shouldn't be together. I spent much of my reading time hoping so much that the two MC's wouldn't get back/stay together.

I was disappointed by my response to this novel because I absolutely adored Season of Love and had really been looking forward to reading her next work. The author writes so well, I love the Jewish and queer rep but this one really wasn't for me.



Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the DRC

Book 2 in the series was as good as book 1! I was happy to be back at Carrigan's and the exceptionally queer friend-family. I generally love the parts of later books in a romance series where i get to see people from a previous book being happy together--which was very nice here. Also, seeing anxiety represented as something beyond feeling stressed sometimes--as something seriously life-shaping, even with treatment--felt really important. So glad to check back in with this crew!

NetGalley ARC.

This is a good second chance Rom-Com. I was really into the story. It held my attention and was very entertaining on a rainy day. I read this in one sitting. I really liked the characters and the story line.
I just reviewed For Never & Always by Helena Greer. #ForNeverAlways #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Okay, okay, I typically don’t gravitate towards second chance romance (nothing against it, just not a top trope for me) but when I tell y’all this book was so good!?!

The representation in this book was so tasteful and Levi and Hannah were so incredibly chaotic lol but it was so much more than that. The found family, the mental health and queer reps?? So so good!

This book felt like a warm hug and the character development was so rich. I loved this book. Definitely read if you love:

💗second chance romance
💗childhood best friends
💗found family
💗chaotic main characters
💗mental health representation
💗queer representation
💗Jewish representation

Okay, I’m going to be really honest here: I just don’t like the way Helena Greer tells a story. I know thats harsh, but hear me out:
I loved the plot of this book, loved the setting, loved the characters, but the amount of exposition vs the amount of action and dialogue drove me absolutely batty. I found this same issue with Seasons of Love, which I also really wanted to like.
I’ll say this: If you want a book that is going to completely engross you in the story, really transport you in to the characters mind, then Greer is an author for you. Personally, I like a faster pace, but I’m really thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to check this out!