Kailey never really recovered from her relationship with Cade, not even a decade later and engaged to someone new. So when she runs into a homeless man who looks exactly like Cade, she can't help but push her seemingly perfect new life aside in order to help the man she once loved, even if he doesn't seem to know who she is. This novel was a sweet, though somewhat predictable, romance that proves that true love never ends and can overcome any obstacle. That being said, I really wish we could do away with the trope that mental illness can be cured by true love's kiss.

When Kailey Crain sees a former boyfriend homeless and almost unrecognizable, she is compelled into action. In Always, we see the affects of homelessness from a different perspective.

Though Kailey is engaged to Ryan, her desire to help Cade overrides all logic and common sense. Ryan is extremely open minded, recognizing that Kailey has some ghosts in her closet that she must contend with. He does not pry, believing that Kailey will share when she is ready. Kailey spends the weeks following her discovery of Cade, going back and forth from the past and present. We are introduced to what was their romantic relationship, as well as how it all ended, and then flashed forward to the present where she is reintroduced to him and has to figure out what it all means.

Though I liked the story and appreciate the attention it will bring to the homeless, I don't think the characters are as developed or realistic as one might hope in this type of story. Kailey's fiancé is too good to be true, very patient and forgiving. He tells Kailey over and over that he knows there is a little part of her he can't seem to reach, to which she never really responds. It is as if she is playing a game living a lie in the life she has sketched out in front of her. Ryan tries really hard and clearly has greater feelings for her than she has for him. The other character is Cade's business partner from a decade earlier. As certain revelations come to light, the former partner is extremely magnanimous, which does not jive with the description we have of him, based on his actions and flashbacks from an earlier time.

I have enjoyed other books by the author and eagerly awaited Always. However, the elements of suspended reality and unrealistic characters detracted from the overall storyline.

Have you ever wondered about "the one that got away"? And what if after years go by, your paths cross again and they desperately need your help? Is it a chance meeting or is it fate? If you are intrigued, you should read this enjoyable book. This is the first book I have read by Sarah Jio, but it won't be the last. She weaves a good romantic tale that unfolds at a pace that keeps you turning the pages.

First off, thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read once I was able to sit down and finish it!

The characters are real and relate-able. I loved the setting of Seattle.
There is a tug at the heartstrings, helping a past love. Having a caring, generous heart for the homeless/needy.

I would recommend this book to my friends.

I fell in love with Sarah Jio's writing a long time ago. Her story telling is exquisite and realistic. You can feel what the characters in her stories are feeling in such a dynamic way.
Her newest release is no different. Always is a tug at your heartstrings story about love and friendship. What would you do if you were once again face to face with a lost love? Years have gone by and things are completely different in the lives of Kailey and Cade but there is a magnetic pull that draws them together.

I tore through this book. I did not want to put it down. I highly recommend it.

Title: Always
Author: Sarah Jio
Publisher: Ballantine
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:

"Always" by Sarah Jio

My Thoughts...

What a interesting read that seemed to have blended the past and the present together into one good read about Kailey Crain, Cade McAllister, once the love of her life and now her fiancee, Ryan.
For ten years Cade had been missing but Kailey finds him by giving a meal outside a restaurant to the homeless person only to find out that was Cade who had disappeared. The story will go back and forth until Kailey decides to look for him and again finds him and with a friend helps get him into a program discovering he had traumatic head injuries. Now, will this present problems with her fiancee? There will be a lots of things going on in this story with Kailey that seems like a lots of dishonesty in how she really felt about Cade but did she tell Ryan how she really felt? Was she really being truthful with Ryan or keeping a secret? Was Kailey really in love with Ryan...her fiancee or her ex boyfriend...Cade? Well, to find out all the answers to these and many more questions you will have to pick "Always" and see how it comes out. Be prepared for a good love story with lots of 'twist and turns, mystery, forgiveness, turmoils, loss, and drug abuse' with a some predictability, but still a good read. This author did a good job at looking at the homeless and mentally ill who many find themselves on the streets. I will say that ending was a little strange but I know anything can happen as it will for Kailey as 'no one forgets their first love, good or bad' and especially second chance romances.

Nice story. The characters were interesting. I was expecting a bigger twist at the end, but all in all it worked with the mood of the story.

My Thoughts:

I have difficulty figuring out how I felt about this book. There aren't very many books that I actually like the whole flip-flopping between two time periods. Kate Morton is one of the few authors where I have to read what is going on with each generation/time period. About halfway through I just passed on all of the parts taking place in the 90's. I knew how that part would end and that the mystery wouldn't be resolved there but rather in the present time.

It was good subject matter. I live and work in an area that has a rather high homeless population and it really is easy to forget that these people didn't start out here, they had a past and perhaps - if they accept help - they can have a much better future.

Kailey is a well rounded woman - at least she would be if Cade hadn't suddenly popped into her life. The feminist part of me is thinking "Girl, finish your work focus on the life you have and don't let some boyfriend from the past mess it up." The nurturing part of me thinks "good job, way to take care of your man - even if he hasn't been yours for a long time." The only thing that drove me nuts was the fact that she wasn't straight up and honest with Ryan. I think that it was a childish move and that she could have avoided a lot of pain had she done the adult thing and practiced open communication with her partner.

Overall I thought it was decent. I'm not racing out to purchase my own hard copy, but if I see anything else by Jio I most likely will get it.

I received a galley for free in exchange for a review.

I am NEVER disappointed with a Sarah Jio book. This one kept my attention from the first word until the very last...

Having read other books by Sarah Jio, I was very excited to dig into her latest book, Always. I was blown away by Goodnight, June and Blackberry Winter, and really enjoyed The Last Camellia. Would always continue the streak?

Alas, for me, it fell short.

I was intrigued by the plot of the book. What would happen if you suddenly came across one of your exes, and he's living on the street? And he's not just "one" of your exes, but when you were together, you thought he was The One...and he's not just living on the street, but he's totally lost himself and apparently his memory! What an intriguing premise, right?

As intriguing as the premise was, where the book really delivered was the descriptions of the rich music culture in Seattle. I wasn't just reading about the city; I really felt like I was right there with the character. I wanted to hop into my car and drive there to experience this vibrant, musical ambiance! (Reality stopped me - I live in MN, lol.)

Unfortunately an interesting premise and fantastic city descriptions aren't enough to warrant 5 stars from me. The book feel short in making me believe the love story - either with the main character's fiance or with the ex-boyfriend. Both were moderately believable (they certainly both had their moments), but I didn't believe in the true love possibility of either staying with the fiance or leaving for the ex-boyfriend (keeping this spoiler free!). Since I didn't believe it, I wasn't invested in the outcome and it's where the story fell flat.

I thought it was "interesting" and because I've really enjoyed 3 other books by Sarah Jio, I know I'll read more...but this one didn't do it for me.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall a very good book with an interesting story, just not my favorite of the author's books.
This book tells the story of Kailey who has a great career, is in love and getting ready to marry her fiancee, Ryan. They are out to dinner one night and come across a homeless man, who Kailey soon comes to realize is her long lost love Cade.
Seeing Cade sets in a motion a series of events that has Kailey wondering if the course she's chosen for her life is the right one and takes us through the history of their relationship and how it all came to an unexplained end. Will Kailey follow her heart or take the path that she thinks is safe? Sarah Jio writes a touching and heartfelt love story set to the music scene of Seattle in the 90s. I loved that aspect of the book, since so much of the music mentioned is music I listened to during and after college. I could very much relate to that aspect of the book.
Definitely worth a read, even though it was a little predictable. It was a very quick read, I read the whole thing on a plane ride.

I was beyond thrilled to receive an ARC from Netgalley of Sara Jio's new book. I have read all of her books and loved them! This book was not an exception! I loved this one too! This book stayed with me long after I turned the last page. This story is about a woman named Kailey who seems to be engaged to the perfect man, Ryan.Her past comes back to haunt her when she sees a homeless man outside a restaurant as her lost love, Cade who disappeared from her life 10 years ago. The story alternates between the past with Cade and the present with Ryan. Who will she choose? This story also tells the plight of the homeless and the mentally ill who find themselves on the streets . This was a tender,beautiful love story that I couldn't put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Jio never fails to disappoint in her novels. I love her writing style and the way she manages to draw the reader into the story. Quick read - I settled down on a Saturday afternoon and read the entire book and enjoyed every page!

I very much enjoyed this book. It wasn't fast paced and you knew where the ending was going... but it gave a different slant on homelessness.... seeing it through fresh eyes.

i believe that I have read every book that Sarah Jio has written. It is a lovely thing when you can easily choose to read an author’s next book, because you know you are going to love it. With Always, Sarah Jio continues to never disappoint me.

The main character in the novel is Kailey Crain. She has everything going for her - a great job and a great fiancee. This changes one night when she sees a homeless man on the street. When she meets his eyes, she is shocked to see that she recognizes him. It is Cade McAllister, the love of her life, who simply disappeared one day.

Kailey, an investigative journalist, who is doing a series on the plight of the homeless in Seattle, can not ignore Cade. She sets about to help him, keeping it a secret from her fiancee.

The story is told in alternating tales, the past and the present. For the past, we learn about how Kailey meets Cade, how they fall in love, and how magical their love is. In the present, we watch Kailey struggling to help Cade and keep her life with her fiancee at the same time.

Once again, I loved it. It was a little predictable, though the ending really could have gone either way. Just a sweet simple love story with a bit of a mystery.

I received an ARC of this book.

I always enjoy Sarah Jio's books, some more than others. This was not one of my more favorites, I did give it 4 stars, but only because I enjoyed all the 1990's Seattle music references. Otherwise I thought it was a solid 3 stars.

Jio is a romantic at heart and that comes through very clearly in this book. Given the same set of circumstances, I am not sure I would have responded the same.

This was a nice fast read and would be great to read on a mid-length car or plane trip, but maybe I would have liked it more had it gone a little deeper than it did.

Always was a very moving read, it just didn't move me in the right direction. I loved The Violets of March, and ever since then, I always look for Jio's books, she really has a way with sucking you into the story.

Kailey is a big hearted reporter, who has been following a story on the homeless, and a business developers desire to displace them. As passionate as Kailey is about the plight of the displaced, she feels like she can't always discuss her work with her fiancee since he is a business developer. But Kailey and Ryan have forged a way to support each other's careers because they are so deeply in love with each other.

Then one night, Kailey goes to give her leftovers to a homeless man, and sees that it is her old boyfriend, Cade.

Kailey is shocked and stunned, Cade was the one that got away - literally. He just disappeared ten years ago in the middle of their relationship. Although Kailey is happily engaged, and has a fiancee without fault (except for overbearing parents - but they live far away), she decides to track down Cade and try to help him.

Cade doesn't remember Kailey, but is willing to take her help. She gets him hooked up with a neuro institute to deal with his brain injury - he doesn't remember anything about his former life as a record company executive, or his former partners. As Kailey helps Cade, Ryan tries to understand her need to be so involved with her ex-boyfriend.

The weird thing is that as Kailey goes into her flashbacks of her and Cade's life together, you see that their relationship wasn't on all that solid ground. Cade was pretty close to being an alcoholic, was blowing off dates with her and had a budding drug problem. His partner wanted to dump him because his addictions were interfering with his judgement and he was frequently not showing up for work.

But Kailey keeps getting more involved with Cade, neglecting her wedding planning, and lying to her fiancee, who is getting close to having enough.

Cade has a breakthrough and remembers his accident, his partner agrees to pay him the millions he is due, and Kailey and Cade will live happily ever after - Ryan, not so much.

I have to say, this story made me a little frustrated with Kailey - it's not like Cade was treating her well at the end, even before he went missing. And Ryan has been nothing but loving and supportive, but she chooses to leave her happy life to risk it all again with Cade. I'm not even thinking she shouldn't be with him because of the brain damage, the slow speech, etc., but because he wasn't that great the first time around!

It had a nice wrap up for Kailey and Cade, a not so nice one for Ryan, and all in all, I think Kailey is a romantic without any common sense.

Current Goodreads Rating 3.78

I've read all Sarah Jio's books and love all of them. "Always" did not disappoint. Dealing with homeless is a hot issue in our times, and especially when it is someone you love. Sarah Jio made this book into a poignant story.