Review: For Never and Always

Helena Greer’s Season of Love was one of my favourite holiday books last year (review here) so I was really looking forward to getting to hang out at Carrigan’s All Year again with Hannah, Miriam, and Noelle in For Never and Always. But, while I was happy with some of the themes of the story, I was ultimately left disappointed. I didn’t buy the romance and if I don’t buy the love story in a romance novel? Well, that’s a hard thing to come back from.

Here’s the book’s description:

Hannah Rosenstein should be after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi "Blue" her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner.
When Levi left Carrigan's, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn's cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he's ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he his family's angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again .
Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He'll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.

I was so sad that I didn’t love this love story more than I did. I just found Hannah and Levi’s relationship to be so incredibly toxic. I was with Noelle, who also didn’t think they belonged together. Hannah explained her feelings by saying that Noelle just never got to see Hannah and Levi together and happy. By the time Noelle came along, cracks had formed and it wasn’t a great relationship. Well, I didn’t see a great relationship either, not even in some of the flashbacks. And I love a good romance between childhood friends but I couldn’t see past their toxic past. Especially when they kept saying that they used to just “fight or fuck.” I’m supposed to root for them after that? When neither of them were actually, you know, TALKING to each other? “He’s just not understanding!” Well, sweetie, it’s because he can’t read your damn mind. Of course he doesn’t understand. As for Levi, he wasn’t telling all his truth that completed affected his teenagehood and something he sure as hell needed to resolve before he could have a healthy relationship.

Speaking of that secret of Levi’s…it had to do with Cass and it made zero sense to me. It was a huge truthbomb that affected Hannah and Miriam so much but I was left scratching my head a bit. Not necessarily because of what happened. But more just how the narrative was being put together. It seemed like this truth should have caused more…problems? Maybe? It’s hard to say without spoilers but it was a big part of why the story didn’t work for me.

This story also kind of dragged for me. I didn’t really feel like there was much movement in the plot. It was just back and forth of Hannah and Levi trying to figure out their lives and being kind of whiney and kind of self-centred the whole time. I’m pretty sure there was a lot of skimming happening.

Even though I didn’t enjoy For Never and Always, I still want to check out the next book in Helena Greer’s series. I think she has good stories to tell - this one just really missed the mark for me.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via Netgalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*