Thank you @readforeverpub & @netgalley for the eARC of For Never & Always which is out now!

As made rather clear from my star rating, I did not enjoy this book. I would’ve DNFd if I didn’t feel obligated to finish it.

Some things that didn’t work for me:
💜 A lot of the conflict between the main characters relates to miscommunication and seemed like the characters were making a HUGE deal out of relatively small issues. For people who have been friends for years and talked a idk everything, they’re awful at actually communicating.
💜 The FMC was insufferable.
💜 The repetitive writing - this book could have been significantly shorter due to repetitiveness and how many times does the MMC have to be described as a cactus or feral cat?

Overall, this book may be for someone, but it was not for me.

For me this one was just okay. I really loved the first book in this series and this didn’t quite match up to my expectations. I loved the queer (especially demisexual) and Jewish representation in the novel though!

While Hannah and Blue (Levi) are childhood best friends to lovers to strangers and then it’s revealed almost immediately that surprise they’ve been married for years but the entirety of that time Blue has been in Australia and the two haven’t had any contact. The coming back together so suddenly even with their issues just didn’t feel realistic. I did enjoy the layers of complexity with familial and non familial relationships and grief represented but I almost wish the author had shown Hannah and Blue inside the therapy office together on-page breaking down these dynamics (though I understand why they didn’t). Ultimately I had mixed feelings on rooting for the couple and that definitely affected my enjoyment.


3 stars

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took a little time for me to get through this one because of traveling for work and other distractions, but the long journey was more than worth it — and, dare I say, made reading this second-chance romance even better. There's something about this particular trope that I really enjoy because, in many cases, it feels like the author starting at the dark moment, which means that there's nowhere to go for the characters but up. Hannah and Blue definitely have some obstacles to get through before they can be happy together, but what I appreciated most about this romance was that it was never a question of if they could reconcile, but when they could. That assurance made this book an absolute joy to read even through the angst and emotional beats, and ultimately made their HEA a giddy reading experience. (Plus: the secret marriage reveal! I GASPED.)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First Thought: This wasn’t my favorite, I had a hard time connecting to the characters. Childhood love that breaks due to different paths in life but realizing they are better together than apart.

Levi left four years ago to pursue his career as a chef he couldn’t be tied down to the place he grew up. He always dreamed of escaping as a child and the bad memories.

Hannah spent her childhood traveling the world, she dreamed of staying in one place and never leaving. So when Levi decided he didn’t want to stay it broke her heart but she knew he had to go.

This is a second chance romance of childhood besties that are actually secretly married but have different priorities. They need to figure it out, is love stronger than their dreams.

Oh. What angst! Absolutely sensational! I absolutely loved the relationship between the leads. They just loved each other so much and their chemistry was honestly brilliant.

General trigger warnings for homophobia.

I'm so sorry but this book is a slog and not worth going through it. The characterizations are annoying at best. The plot is mediocre at best.

Rep: jewish, queer

This.book.is.amazing! the mental health and plus size representation is spot on and so needed now days. I loved this book from beginning to end and simply couldn't put it down!

To start with, I absolutely picked this book solely for the cover. The colors are vibrant and beautiful, the characters look savvy and well dressed, and the blurb has lyrics from a Taylor Swift song.

SOLD.

As for the story itself, For Never & Always alternates perspectives between Hannah, a highly organized, ambitious woman who comes to be the co-owner of a destination inn... and Blue, her first love, the man who unequivocally destroyed her heart, and the (unfortunate) co-owner of the same inn.

While Hannah, anxious and determined, has no plans to leave her town or her Inn, Blue wants only to escape - to travel and to explore himself, his sexuality, and his newfound gig as a quirky, famous chef on the move.

The future seems impossible, the past seems insurmountable, but the inn draws them together... or apart...

I give the author props for all of the diversity she fits into this novel. Apparently, Greer's niche is taking popular storyline tropes and giving them a "queer" slant. Beyond the LGBTQ+ representation, For Never & Always also features Jewish characters and dives into issues around mental health that really added depth to the story.

This novel must be a companion book - and I did feel like I was missing some backstory for the first few chapters - but it didn't deter me from finishing the book.

I did have a bit of trouble with feeling like the story was drawn out a bit too much with melodrama and brooding in parts, though. It definitely felt longer than necessary, and it's relatively a fairly short book.

If you like a quirky romance with a diverse cast and perspectives alternating between characters and timeframes, I think For Never & Always might be one you'd enjoy. It just may take a little patience, as the characters can get a little insufferable at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

TW/CW: homophobia (past), death of a loved one (past), grief, anxiety, childhood emotional abuse, toxic relationship (past)
LGBT+ Rep: queer demisexual hero, sapphic side couple and side characters, achillean side couple and side characters

This *can* be read as a standalone, but as someone who only vaguely remembered Season of Love, things definitely make more sense if you’ve read the first book.

Second chance romance! Childhood friends to lovers! Grumpy sunshine! Oh my!

I won’t lie, I have mixed feelings on this. I was so intrigued by Levi and Hannah because of book one - and the messy relationship that’s foreshadowed there is definitely delivered here. Expect angst, complex feelings, and a lot of introspection.

I won’t lie - this book kinda drags at time. But the writing is excellent and the characters are compelling enough to make you push through.

As I mentioned before, Levi and Hannah have a messy past. They were not good for each other when they were younger and had awful communication skills that inevitably led to their downfall.
But, for better or for worse, they’re still connected to each other.
They have a *lot* of baggage to overcome, and they somehow manage to do that. Their fight to the end, to be together, to make it work is beautiful :,)

Last thing - I love the growth we get to see between Miriam and Noelle, I’m so excited for the next book! And Cole is still the best character (seriously - when do we get his love story??).

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for an ARC of this!

This is a second chance romance between childhood best friends/sweethearts.
But you wouldn't know that from the way these two interact. You would think they barely know each other from their inability to communicate, empathize, or understand each other.
It's not often that I really hope the couple realizes they shouldn't be together. One of the main characters is INSANELY unlikable.
Strongly disliked this.

 I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Messy characters with a messy history and messy personal issues they really need to resolve before they start rekindling their romance??? Sign me up. I absolutely loved getting backstory on these two - Levi and Hannah left me with so many questions after reading Seasons of Love, I was so excited for answers! I loved the complexities of their relationships and how their stubbornness and personal issues kept getting in the way. It was so rewarding getting to see them work things out (and, I'll admit it, I also enjoyed the drama of them struggling to work things out).

Unfortunately... the thing that happens every now and then with romance books for me happened with this book. It lost me towards the end. It's tough to pinpoint exactly what happened, I might have just enjoyed the messiness of the first half too much to love the resolution (oops) or possibly the direction of the plot just wasn't my favorite. But my enjoyment definitely declined a bit towards the end, which was a bummer.

Overall, if you liked the first book in this series I think this is worth the read, you get to revisit characters and finally get some answers about Hannah and Blue. I would also totally recommend this for folks who love messy characters and a second chance romance! Even though there were parts towards the end where this book lost me, overall I still absolutely enjoyed it!

2 stars!
I wanted to enjoy this book so badly because the cover and the title reminded me a bit of Taylor Swift, so naturally, I thought I would really love it. However, I wanted to DNF it from very early on in the book. I even considered just choosing to not give feedback. This book drained me; it got to the point where the plot was so tiresome that I just wanted it to end. I understand that being an adult means that life is messy and that not everything is always black and white but I felt like as soon as they made progress, they would reopen a wound, then make progress and open another, in an endless cycle. If Levi had a hate club, I might have to join it. I think this has been one of the most insufferable main characters I've ever read. I enjoyed the different representations, but didn't enjoy the "romance". They should have been just best friends because they were honestly so bad for each other. Although I am not the biggest fan of second-chance romances, I have read some that I loved, and unfortunately, this was not one of those.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Me and second chance romances: *shaking hands*

Helena's first book was honestly kind of a miss for me. But I did love the way her characters were developed so I wanted to give this one a chance and WHEW. It did not let me down. This romance between Hannah and Levi was queer and angsty and feel-good and swoony and I honestly loved everything about it. There is FANTASTIC rep in this book (Jewish rep, Queer rep, Mental Health rep) and Greer never lets me down in that regard.

My queer heart is so happy and I sincerely hope this is something everybody picks up because there is literally something for everyone in this book.

A well done second chance romance with colorful characters that are very likeable. Mental health issues, such as anxiety, are very well represented. Likewise, there is wonderful representation of Jewish and LGBTQ+ characters. This is a technically a sequel to Season of Love but can be read as a stand-alone book, although I would recommend reading the previous book to learn the backgrounds of all the characters in these two books.

I did enjoy this book but felt it was a bit melodramatic at the beginning. The main characters of Hannah and Levi were fun to get to know better but their relationship felt more juvenile than needed. It did start to get better as they addressed the more complex issues in their relationship and how they worked through the issues.

Overall, the characters carried this book through with success. The setting and supporting characters are fabulous and add so much throughout this second chance romance plot. I look forward to the next installment of books taking place at Carringan’s!

I am grateful to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this heartwarming book.

Thank you Read Forever for the gifted e-copy.

For Never & Always is the follow up to the author's previous book, Season of Love. Supposedly this one could be read as a stand alone, but I didn't read Season of Love and I was kind of lost with some of the characters and their back stories. I do recommend reading that one first for a fuller understanding.

The best thing about this book was all of the representation - several LGBTQIA+ characters, mental health, and lots of Jewish rep. The second best thing was Carrigan's All Year. I want to go there to visit!

Levi and Hannah kind of annoyed me though, in that they were supposedly mid 30s but acted several years younger. I liked their chemistry but their constant anger towards each other got very tiring. I wanted more Noelle and Miriam, so apparently I need to go back and read the first book soon.

Such a delightful book! I am usually skeptical of romance series that start sapphic and then veer into straight-ish territory, but Helena Greer did a great job of gently handling the surprising complexity of Hannah and Blue.

Coming into the book after reading Season of Love was great, because while I thought I knew what was going on, it was so much more complicated and interesting! Hannah and Blue carry so much baggage with them, and their intial interactions seems so fraught, dramatic and confusing until the story peels back the layers of what each of them is actually saying, or trying to say with their actions. I really appreciated the way both characters grew so much over the book and learned to talk about it!

Also! Blue's demisexuality was handled with the most thoughtful gentle representation I have seen for this identity and went a long way towards making this m/f relationship feel very queer! Though getting to see more of the queer characters from previous books went a long way too

I read Helena Greer’s Season of Love and absolutely loved it. I have no idea why I waited so long to read For Never & Always because this one was just as good and dare I say—better? I do think you should read Season of Love prior to this book so you can know the characters and back story and whatnot. I absolutely loved the banter (the author is great at this!), the characters, their family and friends and just everything about this book. Helena Greer has become one of my favorite authors lately!

*spoilers in review*
While the premise of this book was very intriguing to me, I did not enjoy the book. Levi and Hannah have a long history in their small town, from childhood friends to lovers, and he returns after years away from home hoping to get her back. As much as I wanted to love this book , i hated most of the characters and found myself struggling to even care about the romance - I never felt like Levi and Hannah were a good match. The main character, Hannah is absolutely terrible - we know she is dealing with a lot of grief and struggling with her mental health, but the things she says to the supposed "love of her life" are so awful and mean. Her struggles are not an excuse for the way she treats Levi.
On multiple occasions, Levi tries to explain his choices and the reasons why he never felt accepted into her family and their town, and ultimately why he left. He tells her about the homophobic and classist bullying he endures in the town, the cruel things Hannah's beloved aunt Cass did and said to him growing up. The way that people, especially Hannah, take these revelations is absolutely heinous! He is called selfish, he is told he "misinterpreted" his bullying and just "wanted" to hate the small town, and Hannah accuses him of selfishly trying to tarnish/ruin the memory of her aunt cass, the person she loved most. I thought we would get more of a development of this from Hannah, that maybe she'd see this treatment of Levi is wrong, but no, her actions are never condemned. I'm sure we are supposed to like Hannah, she is the main character, but after this i absolutely hated her and could not be convinced she was a good person - Levi was way too good for her.
Levi's "selfishness" is a big plot point, as he is constantly accused of only thinking of himself, of only thinking of his own interests, of only leaving or returning to his small town at his own whims. What baffled me was the fact that there was practically no distinction between "being selfish" and simply being a human being - who inevitably must think of themselves in situations they find themselves in. He explained at one point why he loved Hannah and wanted to be with her, and she complains that the classic levi selfishness was making an appearance because all he can talk about is himself and his wants. I was puzzled with this - he can't make choices for others or tell them how they feel - all he can do is tell Hannah how he feels, what he wants, and ask her if it's aligned with what she wants. Another plot point that bothered me about his "selfishness," was that his trauma and struggles were dismissed as him being self centred and egotistical by his friends and family - until they found out he was queer. At that point his trauma was justified in their eyes and they began to be more understanding. I don't think I need to explain that pain and trauma is valid regardless of a person's identity?
I've never left a romance hoping for a couple to break up, but I left this book so disappointed that Levi and Hannah ended up together - I hoped he'd get the hell out of that town and away from that toxic family.
I did enjoy a couple things about this book, mainly the representation. This is a queer Jewish romcom, with a fat main character, and a diverse cast of characters. Levi is demisexual, and i so appreciated his journey and explanations of that to others. I loved how queer normative it all was, the town seemed very accepting (after Levi left it). I did like how characters were always happy to talk about their feelings - though they all eventually spoke like they were reciting a therapy workbook, and it didn't feel realistic or natural.

Thank you to netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

I don’t know what you’re doing right now, but you need to stop and read this book because just from the cover you can tell that it was going to be a QC type of story and it was but it wasn’t written poorly which is a bonus. sometimes it’s really hit or miss when you have, the cartoon type book covers and it seems like they throw in every type of trope just to appease a wide market but I don’t know there was something about this story that I really enjoyed and I felt good reading it

3.75+ stars

This book has a gorgeous cover, representation of a lovely range of diverse identities, and two protagonists who are strong, dedicated, deeply flawed, and loveable. My attention wandered a little bit once or twice, but ultimately, the good of this story (including the mature and mostly-satisfying conclusion) outweighed any bad.