Jio has a formula that most of her books follow to the very end. This one is no different. Her writing is gentle and descriptive, but I think it's just not what I enjoy reading anymore. The book is still well-written and has lovely prose. A good book, just not for me at this time.

Sarah Jio is one of my go to authors for a good, all consuming, heartfelt story. Her books are easy to read, and well researched with compassionate characters.

In this novel, Kailey is in love and engaged when her first serious boyfriend emerges after 10 years of being missing. He’s homeless and confused, and Kailey is suddenly torn between the two. There’s also the underlying mystery of how her first boyfriend came to be homeless and lacking in memory.

Sarah has given us another compelling and hard-to-put-down novel. It’s a tribute to falling in love, alternative music, and Seattle. Perfect for when you need a relaxing weekend read.

Sarah Jio presented a great account of how lives could so easily change. Kailey starts in with expectations with wedding plans and the perfect job to be swayed by a vision on the street. Struggles and choices make for this wonderful travel to achieve one’s goals. Always gave true meaning to commitment.
Thank you Netgalley for enticing me with this book!

3.8 - quick, entertaining read; really enjoyed the main character

I received an advance readers copy through NetGalley. I've read Sarah Jio and have loved her in the past, so I was excited to get this. I read it pretty quickly. I just didn't connect with the characters in any way. It was an okay story. I felt like the ending was rushed and it didn't blend well. It was literally just "okay".

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Kailey Crane has a seemingly perfect life – a job she loves as a reporter, lives in a city she loves, and has an almost perfect fiancé. After dinner one night, Kailey approaches a homeless man to give him her to-go box from the restaurant and is stunned to realize that the homeless man is her ex-boyfriend, Cade. For Kailey and Cade, the attraction had been immediate and intense, and they dated for 2 years before Cade seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Something has happened to Cade since the last time Kailey saw him, and his mind has suffered. Kailey feels pulled to help Cade, to piece together the lost years of his life and get him back on track. She initially keeps this from her fiancé but eventually has to let him know and decide what she wants from her life.

The book jumps back and forth between Kailey helping Cade in 2008 and Kailey and Cade’s relationship in the 1990s. The emotional struggle Kailey went through was the highlight of this book; if you like to read a book because of how it makes you feel, this is the book for you. If you like your books to be plausible, this book might make you scoff. The mystery of what happened to Cade is left somewhat up in the air, which is how things often work out in real life.

I really like the writing style.  I like how the story starts in present day.  After Kailey finds Cade on the street,  then it goes back and forth between present and past time when they were dating.  The love story is sweet, you can tell how much Kailey loves Cade.  Most readers can probably guess the ending, but to the find out what happened to Cade is the good part.  However, there still are a few unanswered questions at the end. 

I do not like to give money to the homeless.  We do not know the reasons why they become homeless, it would be because of laziness or drug related problems.  Buying food for them instead of giving them money is probably a better idea than just give them the money.  

4.5 out of 5 stars
Received a free ARC from LibraryThing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Two worlds colliding

A romantic tension as Kailey Crane journalist encounters a train wreck of her past and her future. She is reveling in her present as she is engaged to Ryan a well to do and is completely in love with Kailey. Would do anything for her without resentment. Pretty much worships the ground she walks on. They are having dinner, enjoying each other, talking about their future and as they leave, a homeless man bumps into Kailey. She knows this man.

Her mind, her heart and her soul now cannot rest until she finds him again. The homeless man that was once a successful producer for Seattle's up an coming musicians and was also her fiancé. He disappeared years ago without trace, without a word and is now back in her life with many unanswered questions.

The narration goes from present to past in Kailey's voice. I felt that the narration lacked any dimension in the characters and their relationship with each other. It was blah. The plot was more interesting and that kept me engaged.

A Special Thank You to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

“Always” is a sweet romance of love lost and found. I enjoyed the story but found it lacked the depth of Sarah Jio’s previous books. It’s still very much worth the read if you’re a fan.

The writing carried this one for me because unfortunately some of it is very unrealistic. I liked the 1990s Seattle setting. I also thought Kailey's devotion to Cade is admirable. What I didn't like was the highly implausible medical situation and the fact that Kailey kept hiding things from Ryan, who, I think, deserved better. I've liked Jin's work before but this wasn't my favorite because of the plot. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

Do you move forward or try to redeem the past? The mysterious disappearance of her best friend and lover plagues Kailey. Though she's found a new life and is moving toward marriage and stability, she needs to decide what is most important - and who her heart's true love is.

An enjoyable read - and a reminder that everyone on the street is not who they seem to be.

Sarah Jio can always be relied upon to write a story that is so absorbing you forget about those pesky chores and sometimes even sleep! I loved Always. It was a story of first loves, true love, and questions if it is possible to recreate our first love regardless of how much life changes us.

Always made me think of my own life and created a bunch of "what if's?" or "what would I do" and to me that is indicative of good writing.

Thank you so Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read.

This book was so moving. Full of love and heartache. Kailey is out on a date with her fiance Ryan. She has a great job, and fiance, loves her life. When they leave the restaurant Kailey sees a homeless man and decides to give him her leftovers from dinner. When their eyes meet she realizes she knows him. He is the love of her life Cade, who went missing many years ago.Over the next few weeks she decides to help him and to get his memory back. Only to realize that her feelings are still there. This book alternates between their past and the present. I could not put this book down and I had to keep reading to find out what had happened to Cade. I received the from NetGalley for an honest review.

Another great one by Jio! Always gives us Kailey, who is out to dinner with her wonderful finance, Ryan, when she glimpse a man who looks like her lost love, Cade. Years ago, Cade had a stellar career and what looked like a bright future when he seemed to spiral out of control and disappear. Now he is homeless and confused. Kailey can't just let him go without finding out what happened to him. As she begins to know Cade again and tries to help him, she has some horribly tough choices to make.

This book has fantastic characters and an unusual and engrossing storyline. It was a winner for me!

Always

by Sarah Jio
Pub Date 07 Feb 2017

Don't bother with this one.. it is so full of romantic stereotypes I almost stopped reading it. At 22% I debated how far I had to read a book to properly review it. Kailey is engaged to "prince charming" (her girlfriend even calls him that). It is vomit-inducing sickly sweet line after line. Soooo unbelievable. There is nothing wrong with this guy. Their relationship has absolutely no substance. Their only fight is that her stance on an opinion piece for the newspaper contradicts his job as a city planner type. But it's not actually a fight- he encourages her journalism and she wishes him luck when he goes into meetings. If these were truly passions for either of them, there would be at least a little conflict. So then she meets her long lost love who is a direct foil to her fiancé. He's homeless, doesn't remember her, is difficult to track down. Cue the flashbacks to her old life with this man. Through the flashbacks, the ending is so glaringly obvious there's no possibility for an alternate twist. Ugh. I read this whole book so that I could warn you not to read it. 2 stars (only because I find it extremely difficult to give 1 and 5 stars)

Wow! What a beautiful story! I read this book awhile ago and totally forgot to write a review, but the story is still fresh in my mind. Always by Sarah Jio is such an unforgettable story that will definitely touch the reader's heart. I found myself glued to the couch, wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Always is presented in past and present fashion that I have always liked. I feel this adds depth to the story by bringing the past to the front while still continuing on with the present. I really enjoyed the story line, and the characters were well-written and believable. My only complaint is that I wish the book would've been longer!

Sarah Jio fans know that her books stick in your head for a long time after you have devoured them. They embrace the reader and sweep you into the story every time! Always is definitely another favorite to add to my collection, and I highly recommend it to my bookish friends.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced copy of Always in return for my honest review.

Seeing an old friend randomly is often a happy coincidence, but seeing an ex boyfriend... eh, that's a mixed bag. Kaily Crane is shocked when she sees her ex boyfriend, Cade, for the first time in ten years. Cade, once a successful businessman, is now homeless, barely recognizable, and doesn't seem to remember Kaily. "Always" follows Kaily's life as she tries to help Cade while balancing her relationship with her fiance, her friendships, and her career. Will it all come toppling to the ground? And if it does, would that be worth having the love of her life again?

Enjoyable, at times, main character
While I struggled with reading this book at times, I did really enjoy components of the main character, Kailey. She genuinely seemed like a good hearted person who wanted the best for her ex boyfriend, Cade- which I admire. Her concern for him, and the homeless community at large, is admirable in fact, and I enjoyed reading her point of view. I did not, however, appreciate her dishonesty towards her fiancee, Ryan. While it might've been difficult to tell the truth of the situation to Ryan, the author presents him as a kind and caring person and it seemed as though he would've been happy to help Cade. Kailey's dishonesty, sneaking behind her Ryan's back to help and spend time with an ex boyfriend, felt like a betrayal, and made me really dislike Kailey. It felt like an important part of this book was me buying into the relationship between Kailey and Cade, and rooting for them whether friends or more, and that was difficult for me to do. Kailey's choices made the impossible for me to do. For someone who is so eager to protect Cade, she had very few worries about how her actions would affect Ryan, which felt off to me from her other characteristics.

Iconic Setting
While I have never visited Seattle, in fact most of my knowledge about the city comes from my extensive consumption of Grey's Anatomy, I felt the author, Sarah Jio, did an excellent job portraying Seattle and it was a great setting for this book. I was in elementary school during the 1990's when the music scene there was so hot, but I still enjoyed hearing about the bands that the author referenced, such as the then "up and comers" Death Cab for Cutie. One of the stronger storylines in the book centered around Cade and his business partner having differing ideas regarding their company, which bands to pursue, and new talent to develop.

Things I Struggled With
Unfortunately, I could only give "Always" two stars. There were just too many issues that I had with the book. The greatest of these was the way that Cade's medical mystery was handled. While I do not know that much about significant brain injuries, I do watch a lot of Grey's Anatomy!, and his miraculous recovery and easy treatment plan just felt impossible to believe, which made the ending frustratingly dull. Also, how did this super successful businessman and man about town also become a missing person in the same city? As far as writing style, "Always" dd not feel especially nuanced and the characters weren't very well developed. There weren't any moments when reading that I stopped to jot down a quote or reread a page to explore a particularly enjoyable passage. That being said, I did finish the book, and I didn't have. I wanted to see what would happen between the characters and how the situation would resolve. I think that readers who enjoy reads that are more of a guilty pleasure might get more out of this that I did.

Kailey Crane is out to dinner with her fiance, Ryan. Kailey knows that she has it good. The restaurant they are at is fairly upscale by Seattle standards, her fiance is completely devoted to her, and her career has never been better. They are leaving the restaurant when a homeless man catches her eye. It is Cade McAllister. the former love of her life. Cade had disappeared almost ten years ago after they had a fight and right before Kailey was going to tell him that she was pregnant. His disappearance nearly destroyed Kailey and she has fought hard to reclaim her life. To discover that Cade is living on the streets of Seattle was a shock that she just doesn't know how to process. Kailey isn't ready to let him get away again without an explanation so she goes out looking for him, only to find him. And discover that he has suffered some sort of Traumatic Brain Injury. Without telling Ryan, Kailey embarks on a mission to get her ex-boyfriend the medical help he needs and get him off of the streets. Will her secret destroy her relationship with Ryan? Will the Cade she once knew ever be the same again?

Always is one of those books told in two different time periods. The "present" is in 2008 and the past was 1996, right when the Seattle music scenes was at it's hottest. I liked Kailey as a character, she was so happy with Ryan, yet her compassion for Cade was undeniable. I will say that I did get irritated with her in the early days of her finding Cade. It was obvious that he was having mental issues, but she was so demanding that he remember and recognize her. I get that some of that was the emotion of seeing him after all those years, but c'mon. Other than that, I did enjoy Kailey. I liked her best friend, Tracy. And sometimes I even liked the entitled, Ryan. The memories of when Cade and Kailey were first dating were very much a trip down memory lane for me, too. Specifically the music of the era - it was wonderful. In the end, love wins and I was pleased with the outcome.

Bottom line - Always is one of those love stories that proves that true love will conquer all. Who doesn't love a good love story?

Details:
Always by Sarah Jio
On Facebook
Pages:288
Publisher: Random House Publishing
Publication Date: 2/7/2017

I received a copy of this ARC to review by NetGalley.

It was hard initially for me to get invested in this story by Sarah Jio. I initially did not feel a connection to the narrator. However, I quickly became invested when the first flashback really took the characters back through time and explained how the narrator, who initially seemed cold, evolved into the person she was.

I was thoroughly shocked by the ending and although I was predicting another ending, I was pleasantly surprised!

Jio is one of my all time favorite authors. She writes in a way that makes your heart happy, your mind engaged and leaves you craving more. She writes books with rich history, dynamic characters and stories that move you deeply. Always is one of her best yet. There is such wonderful story of the human condition. This book is a MUST read for all. It is perfect for any book club and a book not to be missed!