4 ⭐

"Letting go doesn't mean forgetting. It just means goodbye for now."

Tropes:
- friends to lovers
- tragic accident
- chasing soulmate

I was so excited to read this one because just by checking out the cover I could tell it was going to hurt, and it did.

This follows Ruby and Hart, they're in a relationship, but after something devastating happens to Hart, Ruby is left "alone" for a while.

What really got me was that little plot twist in which Hart was offered his second chance, I did not expect it to be Jameson's body. I gasped honestly.

Reading Hart/Jameson's POV was intriguing and saddening at the same time. You could see how Hart struggled to tell anyone the truth. How desperate Hart was to tell the big secret to Ruby... and let's not talk about the doggie who recognize him...

The last chapters were difficult to read, I couldn't bare with the thought of knowing Hart was going to lose his memory entirely and that Jameson was going to take over. Although this is one of the main reasons my rating is not a five start, I was curious to read how a romantic relationship between Ruby and Jameson could have been.

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Young Readers Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Oh I loved this one! This was such an engaging story about the power of love and how it will transcend any separation. I instantly loved all the main characters and were rooting for each of them. This was emotional, powerful and one that makes you appreciate the ones you love most. Highly recommend!

Oh my this book made me cry ugly tears. I knew going in, it was going to break my heart. I just really hoped it would heal it too and lucky for me it did.

I loved this story. I love to read about young love and how sometimes it is even more real and powerful than we realize. Hart and Ruby gutted me. I loved that they truly knew each other so well. I loved that you really got to see Ruby's grief. Grief is so hard to endure and everyone goes about it differently. I can't imagine losing someone you love so young.

I loved that tarot card and spiritual aspect of this book. I grew up with a mother that frequented psychics and had reading. I love that the cards have so many meaning and the position of the card can change it's meaning. (Upside down vs right side up). I also really loved Lourdes' character. I know she wasn't exactly the most honest angel but I think she was trying and I loved how she earned her wings back. It is always heartwarming to see sacrifice pay off.

The ending of this book left me happy and fulfilled. I was worried that my heart would be broken, but was so glad it wasn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

J.C. Cervantes always has a great writing style for a young adult novel, I've enjoyed previous books from J.C. Cervantes. It worked overall with the description and I was invested in what was going on. I enjoyed how good everything was written and thought the romance aspect worked well overall. It kept my interest and I'm glad I got to read this.

Well, I am a puddle on the floor.
What a beautifully written love story.


Always Isn't Forever is a hard book for me to provide a review for simply because I was so invested in the story while reading, I didn't take any notes...I just read it and thoroughly loved every minute. That's a sign of a wonderfully immersive story, in my opinion.

Ruby faces a tough journey after losing her best friend and love of her life, Hart. The story weaves through Hart's death from multiple POVs, Ruby's grieving process from the help of her family and friends (I absolutely adored her sister, Gabi!), and explores her connection with Jameson through it all.
It's not all sad tears, though. There are some very uplifting and light-hearted moments that tie in perfectly making the story all the more enjoyable.


So, if you're looking for a romantic story that will provide you with all the emotions, definitely pick this one up and have a box of tissues handy.


HUGE thank you to PenguinTeen for the e-ARC to read, enjoy, and honestly review.

Ruby and Hart/Jameson were ♡ and the storyline was really good. Lourdes is truly the best angel ever!

This was a beautiful story! This book addressed themes like grief and love in such a unique and beautiful way. Hart and Ruby are pretty much meant to be together, and then he tragically dies. He’s given a second opportunity to live but this comes with rules and challenges. I found this story extremely compelling and it really made me think about love.

J. C. Cervantes is pure magic. A heart-aching tale weaved by a delicate hand, the reader is forced to confront and be bathed by emotions demanding to be felt. This story isn’t just to read, it’s to truly experience it.

Ruby and Hart’s journey was devastatingly beautiful. That push-pull combined with the instinctual understanding that they are just Right together really elevated this story to me. I just wanted to keep reading about them.

The first part where we meet Ruby and Hart was absolute perfection. They fit together like they were always made to be by each other’s side, but already knowing the premise of this story, there was this looming danger just waiting to crash.

Tension heightened at the second part, and we meet Lourdes and how Hart and Jameson collide. At this point, the threads start to unravel a little bit. The chapters are short and punchy, which is great for the most part. However, sometimes the pacing is sacrificed and it feels like it’s all moving so fast. Gaps also form in the narrative—mainly when Lourdes goes to school and suddenly had already met Ruby. (I’m going to assume this is because I read an ARC, meaning this still isn’t completely finished).

There were moments where I felt like the story benefitted to have the reader linger and ruminate in a character’s head, going down that spiral with them. Instead the story kept getting cut and going forward at lightning speed.

I also wished we knew more about Lourdes and the angel side of this. It felt like we only scratched the surface with her and the whole universe thing. I wished there was more development on that front.

One thing stayed consistent—how utterly perfect Ruby and Hart were. And Hart’s struggle to try and reach her was agonizing to witness. I kept rooting for them to finally realize they were there for each other, that Ruby could see that Hart was there.

This book was a magical experience. This story will always be special to me, but I do think it needed some work grounding it. Overall, a truly beautiful story!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

I loved this story. It was heartbreaking, beautiful, challenging, yet hopeful. I was rooting for Hart and Ruby from the very beginning. Their love was so innocent and pure that I believed all of it! It’ll be a favorite of mine for sure

This book was so emotional and just so raw and pure, the love these characters had for each other was just so sweet. I didn't immediately click with the writing but the premise was very intriguing to me so I kept reading and I am so glad that I did!! The author did an amazing job at letting the reader into the minds of the characters and feeling their emotions, it was so heartbreakingly beautiful and a very enjoyable read!

This book was so emotional. At one point, I couldn't stop crying. The tears just wouldn't stop coming.

I loved Ruby and Hart so much. You can't help but root for them. They just had the sweetest friendship and so much love for each other. It was all just tragically beautiful.

If you are looking for a book that will give you an emotional release, this one would be perfect.

If you enjoyed You've Reached Sam then you will probably enjoy Always Isn't Forever by J.C Cervantes. The stories have a common theme of loss but play out differently. Worth the read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital review copy.

I had to DNF this one at 15% because the characters didn't work for me. Their voices were more immature than I think teenagers actually are. And they didn't feel fully fleshed out to me. I also didn't like the explanation for how Hart ends up in Jameson's body. It just felt a little too far-fetched for a non-fantasy novel. This book had a great premise, but it ended up just not being for me.

I'm not crying, you're crying! I loved this book. Beautifully written, it was heart breaking and heart stopping.
Hart and Ruby - best friends that fall in love. Senior year Hart unexpectedly drowns while saying a child. Lourdes his angel in waiting swoops in and takes his soul too soon. In an act of trying to correct her mistake Lourdes puts Hart's soul into Jamesons body, the high school jock who just had a fatal car accident while driving under the influence. It is Hart's second chance however there are two problems. 1) He can't tell anyone what happened (and it is only a matter of time before he looses all of his memories). 2) Ruby hates Jameson. Lourdes as punishment is forced to take human form and guards over Hart/Jameson to make sure things go according to plan. Ruby, along with her tarot-reading sister, Gabi and the guidance of their ancestors knows something is up with Jameson. She doesn't understand why she is suddenly drawn to him, but he has changed and seems like a different person. Will she figure it out in time? This is going down as one of my favorite books and I can't wait to read more from J.C. Cervantes. The author did a fantastic job portraying the characters, their development and it was so easy to feel what they felt through the entire book. I can't recommend this enough! #alwaysisntforever #netgalley

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

This book reminded me a lot of You’ve Reached Sam. It’s so beautifully sad.

I loved this so much honestly. The plot was heartbreaking but also happy, if that makes sense and the characters were wonderful. I rarely have a book that makes me tear up but this one did it. It got me all in my feels.

I am happy though that this had somewhat of a happy ending. I was praying that it didn’t end like You’ve Reached Sam. My heart couldn’t take another hit like that right now lol.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves emotional reads. This was truly lovely.

4 stars!

Pub Date: 06/06/2023
CW: death, drowning, grief, memory loss

My reaction when I got the email: “ANOTHER one?!” I got approved for this and Threads that Bind back to back so I was riding a serotonin high when I got this email. Thank you NetGalley and Razorbill!! I’ve been looking forward to reading this one and I can’t wait!!

When I say I fucking sobbed. The first 10% or so had me hurting so bad. It took me forever to get though part one cause I knew it was gonna HURT and it did.

This books needs a warning: emotional hazard. emotions will not come out alive.

Hart loves Ruby so fuckin much. It’s the kind of love one can only hope to have in their life. Like this boy is enamored with her and it’s so sad what happened to him, even though he technically comes back. It’s obviously not the same.

It was easier for me to read once I got past the initial grief and Hart dying. Grief books are always hard for me to read and the first 15%ish of Always Isn’t Forever was no different.

Hart’s determination to get back to Ruby even after coming back as someone she’s not exactly a big fan of is just so sweet. Like he’s still Hart. He wants his girlfriend back. He wants her to know he’s okay, he didn’t want to leave her. And while things can’t exactly go back to the way they were, they can get close.

I love that we found out the title behind the book almost right off the bat. Hart literally thinking of Ruby as he’s dying and his last thought is him apologizing to her.

Bawling my eyes out.

I absolutely love this book though and that’s why I went ahead and preordered it cause I have no self control when it comes to books.

Now… Lourdes. I have mixed feelings about this girl. I love that she saved Hart, I love that she agreed to help him with Ruby, I DONT love that she’s the one that took his memories from him, “shredded them like paper”, even knowing how much they meant to him, ESPECIALLY the ones of Ruby. Like, I get it (kinda). Hart can’t go back to his life, so it doesn’t make sense for him to have Hart’s memories, to be Hart even though he’s not. Mourning the life he can’t go back to. Hurting over his old life. But at the same time, shredding memories like paper is harsh and cruel, especially when you know how much most of those memories mean to someone. Like what’s the harm in letting him keep the ones of Ruby?

BUT WHAT SHE DECIDED IN CHAPTER 57. back to bawling. Back in my good graces.

CHAPTER 59? SOBBING.

CHAPTER 63S ENDING? LAUGHING SOBBING SCREAMING.

CHAPTER 64? the POV? SOBBING.

THE SONG? THE ENDING????! BAWLING MY EYES OUT.

I started this book crying and it seems I finished it crying too. It took me FOREVER to read the end cause I couldn’t stop sobbing and rereading. THIS WAS A TEN STAR READ HOLY SHIT.

they got their hea 😭😭😭.

I’m all here for it. True love ALWAYS wins.

Anyways, I’m getting WAAAAY off track. Imma stop here before I burst into tears again. I loved this book. It ripped my heart out, shredded it like paper, and put it back together again.

Read it.

Heartbreaking and beautifully written, I devoured this in one sitting.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

i saw this book on netgalley and once saw the cover and read the description, i knew i just had to request this book.

i won't lie, it took me a while to get in the book. i found what happened to hart so so sad, even if it was just the beginning of the book. they were best friends, soul mates, and in a few minutes he was gone.

i loved the idea that the author had, giving her character a second chance for life, but with a catch. he comes back in the body of the boy she hates, and winning he back will be harder than he anticipated.

i loved the characters, especially ruby's sister. gabi was such a great character and i loved the way she was written. ruby was very lovable too, and reading hart/jameson's chapters were so interesting.

it was a really good book and seeing ruby deal with her grief, hart/jameson trying to get used to his new body, them trying to work out their friendship and relationship without hart telling her who he really is, it was just so good.

thank you netgalley for this arc, i enjoyed it a lot!!

Always Isn't Forever is another addition to the "boyfriend returns from the dead" chain of reads that seem to be circling a little now. The positives here are the novel deals heavily with themes of loss and love, with J.C. Cervantes's writing is honest and thought-provoking, and the characters are relatable and well-developed. Unfortunately, that is where the positives stopped for me. We then have our MC, jumping into his enemy so the FMC - his girlfriend in life can date the enemy. Imagine how that would have looked to the outside world. The dramas that would arise from that alone, made that a bad move in general. I ended up losing a lot of the emotion and the reunion of sorts with our second chance of love trope. It felt too close to You've Reached Sam for me to enjoy sadly.

Thank you so much for the chance to review.

⛵️song: last kiss by Taylor swift
⛵️summary: Hart and Ruby are THE high school couple. They have plans, dreams, and hopes all wrapped up in each other. But when a tragic accident separates them leaving Ruby to grieve and Hart to figure out life after death, the universe questions if love is truly destined.
⛵️recommend to:
-people who love love
- fans of you’ve reached sam
-fans of paranormal romance
⛵️thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this one! It didn’t rip my heart out as much as you’ve reached same but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I think it had great pacing and the characters and their motivations were all completely reasonable for a very unreasonable situation!