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.

I enjoyed the premise of this book, but I think it missed the mark for me. I didn’t realize this was a sequel so it’s partially on me for not having read the first book, but there was so much going on anyway that it was hard to keep up. It definitely had potential to be great, so I will try out other books from this author, this one just didn’t hit perfectly for me.

I appreciate the opportunity to read an ARC provided by NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing. However, I found the novel's dialogue to be clunky and unnatural, with characters over-sharing and reacting in ways that felt forced. The dynamics between characters were unlikable, especially the irrational anger of the alleged best friend when the main characters' marriage is revealed. While the book had moments of promising tension and chemistry between the main characters, the fade-to-black approach left much to be desired. With some editing and finesse, the novel could potentially enhance these positive aspects.

**Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5**
Season of Love by Helena Greer was one of the first books I read for my holiday season reading this past year, so when I saw For Never & Always–about side-characters Hannah and Levi who we met in Season of Love–I knew I had to pick it up.

For Never & Always follows Hannah and Levi “Blue” and their journey to either repair their relationship, or part ways for good. When Levi shows up on Hannah’s door after 4 years and determined to win her back, Hannah must decide whether or not she can forgive and move on from all that happened in their past. Through a series of flashbacks interwoven with present day events and conversations between Hannah and Levi, what unfolds is a beautiful and difficult story of the passion and heartbreak of first love, the arrogance of youth, and the rippling effects of unresolved personal trauma.

For me, the character development is a real strength of this book. We see both the main characters undergo a lot of personal growth in complex and honest ways that didn’t feel overly simplified for the sake of narrative. Something I appreciate about Greer is the more realistic way that she deals with complicated mental health and past struggles in her characters, and this is displayed well in this book. Greer’s decision to engage with (rather than overlook) Levi’s queerness in this book was also very refreshing, especially in this book which might appear to be about a cishet MF couple.

Two reasons I think this book may not work for people have to do with the tone and choice of marketing. This is not a “light” romance novel with a picture perfect love story, and so I can see people not loving the more serious or sad feelings dealt with in this book. Secondly, I’m not sure I agree with the decision to market this as a standalone instead of book 2 in a series with Season of Love. Personally, I think the background information we get on these characters and their family in Season of Love is absolutely necessary for really appreciating Hannah and Levi’s journey as a couple, the business situation they’re in, and their respective relationships with their families. While this technically could be read alone, I think it would undermine the emotional work that Greer clearly puts a lot of effort into developing with these characters. Because I read Season of Love, I think I was already invested in a lot of their world and their characters, which made this book work well for me in a way it might not have for others.

I would definitely recommend this book to adult romance readers, especially those looking for more complicated emotional stories that they can connect with. I’m glad I continued on in the series, and I look forward to reading the next planned book about Tara!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you, NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Helena Greer for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book!
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

The cover of For Never & Always makes it look like it would be another book set around the Christmas or Hannukah season, but actually it's set in the Spring (I think). So if you were afraid you shouldn't pick it up outside of the winter holiday season, have no fear. This book can be read at any time. As for what it's about, this book follows Hannah and Levi, who are childhood best friends turned lovers turned exes with quite a bit of animosity between them. Okay, mostly just on Hannah's side. The two of them each have a deep emotional wound that fully drives this story and so the character work is really incredibly well done in this one. Greer shines with the way she layers those wounds into the story and carefully weaves in healing. Hannah and Levi are Jewish and Hannah has this awesome Rabbi who they eventually turn to for some guidance in how to move forward in their relationship. I really loved the way this book talked about faith and romance. It was well done. I can't wait for the next book in this series. I rated it a four star and I think it's probably closer to a 4.5 because I am still thinking about it two weeks later.

I love a second-chance romance and the LGBTQ representation is great! I didn't realize this was a sequel of sorts and I hadn't read Seasons of Love first, so that's on me.

This second chance romance was a breath of fresh air in a sea amongst traditional holiday Rom-Coms.

First, the main characters are Jewish who run a Christmas Tree farm. Second, there is queer representation (demi-sexual) and a strong emphasis on mental health (working through past trauma, anxiety disorder/panic attacks, and therapy).

The romance is a second chance romance between two childhood friends (both grumps!); finding their way back to each other is a journey readers will easily be invested in/cheering along. My favorite part of this romance plot was the way the main characters are kind, supportive, and seek to support each other. Yet there is still plenty of angst and in Greer’s typical fashion, plenty of fun shenanigans. There is also plenty of steam/tension but the bedroom scenes are fade to black/closed door. Overall, this is such a fun town, family, and wonderful queer and Jewish representation, that I am looking forward to returning in the next series installment. Thank you to Forever pub and NetGalley for my e-arc!

This book was ohhh so cute and swoony!!! I love this author’s writing and look forward to reading more from her!!!

This book was so cute! It had so many of my favorite romance tropes, especially second chance and best friends, and found family. What made it a great read was the mental health and queer rep - we need more of this and I was so happy to see it.

Hannah and Levi are two of the most frustratingly perfect for each other characters I’ve ever read. By page 20 I knew this book was gonna be a memorable one and ooh wee, 330 pages later I am a sappy mess and so far gone for these babies. Who are not babies at all. Very queer. Very Jewish. Incredibly fun. And just a touch too close to the heart for me. A top romance of my year for sure.

Thank you forever for my advanced e-copy!

After reading reviews and although it’s most likely an interconnected standalone, it seems like you have to read the first book in order not to be confused about the timeline and the cast of characters. I paged through a little bit and it is confusing since I’m starting at the middle of a whole big story.

So by no fault of the author, it should just be a little more clear marketing wise when these kinds of things happen.

I read and really enjoyed Helena Greer's first installment in this series, "Season of Love", and For Never and Always is an even better follow up!

Hannah Rosenstein lived a childhood of adventure, tagging along with her parents as they traveled the world, but her real home has always been at Carrigan's Christmas tree farm with her eccentric and deeply beloved great-aunt. She loves the stability and comforts of her home on the farm, but when her late great-aunt's will stipulates that she will share the inheritance with her ex/great young love Levi "Blue" Matthews, she is thrown into the chaos she so despises.

I loved both Hannah and Blue and their chaotic but tender second chance love story. This was a great story of rediscovering love and finding yourself in the process. I would definitely recommend reading the books in order, but while the first book leans into the Christmas part of the setting, this book is a delight at any time of the year. Jewish readers will love the strength of the representation, and queer readers will enjoy the range of representation and found family in the main characters and side characters alike. This was a solid 4.5 stars rounded up.

I hereby declare a shenanigan.

This was my last read of 2023 and I loved it. Pretty much anything that makes shenanigans a part of the plot I’m going to love. I don’t know if shenanigans count as a microtrope but I’m making it one & also making it one of my favorites.

Levi & Hannah were just 💜💜. And I loved how this story explored their relationship with each other & their family & friends.

I love this series & can’t wait to spend more time at Carrigans!

Special thanks to @readforeverpub for the ARC!