These 3 short stories are all wonderful on their own.

‘My Forever Girl’ by Jenny Frame is very sad and angsty. Dealing with a heartbreaking loss that broke Brayden and Faith apart. But they never stopped loving each other.

In ‘ Double Jeopardy’ by Carsen Taite, Emma is dumped by Katie before their wedding. Katie leaves her without a word of explanation. Emma leaves for the Air Force. Later becomes a lawyer and meets with Katie again when Katie is applying for a wedding license.

In ‘On the Rocks’ by Ali Val, Halley enjoyed college life in New Orleans and fell in love with fellow student/bartender Max. But right before graduating she leaves without a word. Now she works in the family advertising business in New York. She is sent to New Orleans by her father to try win the bid for an advertising contract with one the most respectable distillers in NO. Only to find out that Max is the heir and future owner.

All of the stories are about a second chance and make a great read.

In "On the Rocks" the writer seems fascinated with blue eyes. Even tho I felt some of the character's features didn't match that of someone who has blue eyes. Genetically impossible. After years of lesfic and a broader market, I hope writers can get more creative (and many do, thankfully) than the usual Xena/Gabrielle looks for their characters The dark-haired/blue-eyed butch is getting tiring.

Still not over you was filled with 3 amazing stories by authors Jenny Frame, Carsen Taite, and Ali Vali. I’ve read Ali Vali before, but the other authors are new to me. After reading their stories they are defiantly going onto my must read list. Each of these stories was full of angst. I found myself crying in each of them. The character development was top notch. I’m not always a fan of Novellas, unless they are from a series that I know and the characters are well known to me. I think in the typical novella the characters are not filled out enough for me to really get into the story, but that was not the case with these stories. I found myself rooting for each of these couples to find a way back to their love. I wasn’t disappointed.

This is the second time this week I’ve posted a review featuring a book with three authors. Love it.
‘My Forever Girl’ Jenny Frame: Brayden Murphy has loved Faith Murphy since the first meeting. Faith was kind of shy and didn’t have a lot of self confidence, mainly because of cheating and never hearing anything good about herself. After marriage they started their own business and their life was going well. Brayden who identified as a butch lesbian felt taking care of Faith was her job. A job she loved. After a few years they decided to have a child but there were complications and when Faith lost the baby their happy life seemed to disappear. Brayden found herself on a downward spiral, losing not only the business but their home all because of her gambling addiction. When they divorced they were still in love but just couldn’t seem to move on. It’s when best friend Kris has a birthday coming up and she wants to share her happy day with her friends. Two weeks on a cruise ship should be enough time to see if Brayden and Faith have a chance at making it again. Ms Frame knows how to tell a story with a nicely paced read with a few more explicit scenes that you would normally see in one of her books. Personally I liked it, as I’m sure you will too. Very nice read.
‘ Double Jeopardy’ Carsen Taite: Emma Reed was on her way to join the Air Force when she last saw Katie James. They were in love or so Emma thought but right before the wedding was to start Katie decided to call the wedding off, leaving Emma at the altar. Emma went on with her life but always held out hope that one day she just might hear Katie tell her why she didn’t want to marry her. After leaving the Air Force Emma goes on to become a lawyer and takes a job in the same city as Katie. She never thought that the place where she’d see her again was at the courthouse with her new fiance, where she was getting another wedding license. She didn’t know that Katie was not getting married for love but to save the family business. This book is perfect for a sunny day, a tree and a blanket. Very nice read.
‘On the Rocks’ Ali Vali: Hayley Wyatt certainly loved her college GF Max Cinclair, who when they’d met worked as a bartender. Hayley grew up in a family owned advertising business in New York. She never had any doubts that was where she belonged, working with her parents and her twin brother Percy. She was good at her job and when Cinclair’s posted they were interested in going with a new firm, she was the one chosen to give the presentation. Little did she know that the head distiller Preston Cinclair was her GF Max. Preston never used her first name because it would just lead to her family’s business of making one of the best whiskeys you could buy. Now Preston is blindsided when one of the firms hoping to get the advertising gig was being led by the woman she had loved in college. The one who left her without a word. Here one day, gone the next. But has their feelings for each other really faded that much? Ms Vali wrote a very nice story, featuring two women who should have never parted.
ARC via NetGalley/Bold Stroke Books

Three powerhouse authors, three second-chance romances ... what's not to like? All three novellas were strong, but to me the Ali Vali was the most developed for the length. I enjoyed getting to know all 6 of the main characters and would definitely like to catch up with them in the future!

I was excited to read this and am grateful to NetGalley, the authors and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this second chance romance trilogy by 3 established popular authors. whose previous work I have enjoyed.

I was off to a cracking start with Jenny Frame's "My Forever Girl". This was an easy enjoyable lesbian romance and has all the hallmarks of what Jenny Frame's popular books provide. Faith and Bray as main characters work well. They are multidimensional and the plot moves at a decent pace to sustain interest and come to a satisfactory conclusion.

Carsen Taite's "Double Jeopardy" provided the almost slapstick mix ups confusion states reminiscent of many a lesbian relationship that falters due to poor communication. I really enjoyed the banter and the way these characters were able to win through in the end and settle with the partner they wanted and deserved. This was my favourite of the three books.

Having read through the first two novellas in speedy fashion, I was surprised to find that Ali Vali's "On the Rocks" was so much trickier to read. I've tried several times and can't get beyond chapter one. And there is nothing wrong with the premise of the book, the story these characters have to tell or the author's writing ability. I just struggled I suspect due to unfamiliar cultural differences. There were a lot of Southern customs, language, phrasing and means of addressing each other that are unfamiliar to me. I found it confusing. and found myself unusually distracted away from the storyline and characters and it became a struggle. Other reviewers have commented that this is their favourite of the three novellas, so clearly it's just me.

As an anthology this has a great premise. You have three well-established authors each presenting a well-written novella with a common theme and I'm sure it will be popular.

I absolutely enjoyed all 3 stories in Still Not Over You. This book is a collection of 3 stories written about second chances and re-connecting with your one & only true love.
My Forever Girl explores how Brayden and Faith find a way to forgive each other and rekindle the love they have for each other. This story explores how addiction and depression can play a part in destroying a relationship but also shows how forgiveness and redemption can re-build a relationship. Double Jeopardy unravels how lies caused Emma to make bad decisions - the 2 major ones being abandoning her true love (Katie) on their wedding day and then deciding to get into an arranged marriage in order to save her family's company. Only when she shines a light on the truth does she then get a second chance with Katie. Finally, On the Rocks shows that even though Preston and Hayley have misconceptions about who they are and what is important to them, both discover what they are willing to give up to be together.
Even though each story was unique in terms of why the couples separated, what they had in common is that each story completely tagged on your heart strings. I could not help but root for the couples to find a way to get back together. This was a very enjoyable read!

A set of three novellas from three talented authors.  The theme of each short story being a second chance at love with the exgirlfriend that your still in love with. In My Forever Girl, Brayden and Faith, were married but a family tragedy tore them apart where each person wasn't emotionally ready to deal with the fallout. They are intentionally brought together by their mutual friend's birthday cruise where they can no longer avoid each other.  In the next novella, Double Jeopardy, Katie bails on her first marriage to her soul mate Emma. Katie then finds herself just about to walk down the aisle again in a marriage of convenience when she runs into Emma again after 8 years. In the third novella, On The Rocks, Hayley and Preston, are college sweethearts, together for a year when Hayley literally walks away from their relationship without even saying goodbye, a business encounter with Preston sees Hayley looking to make amends with Preston who has no time for her.
The three stories are long enough to pull you in emotionally but short enough to not feel boring. My favourite was Double Jeopardy but all three stories were good. A great way to spend a lazy afternoon.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.

This book was excellent. I waited a little while before writing a review because I wanted to be able to articlulate myself properly. For the purposes of this review I am going to write about each short story since they do not connect and therefore cannot and should not be lumped together in this review. Al three stories are second chance at love stories, which in terms of genre are not my favorite.

My Forever girl by Jenny Frame is a story that was good, but it was also a little clunky and repetitive. The premise of the story is that two women are divorced because of something one of them did. Their friends ask both of them to go on a cruise with them. Both women who up to the cruise only to find out they have been duped, their friends led them to believe the other wasn't coming. Lo and behold two women find themselves on acruoqse with their ex. Through a lot of subterfuge and sadness they get back together. The two main characters Brayden and Faith were fine, but it just didn't feel like the chemistry was right. I don't know they just seemed to want to be together because it wzsd the only good relation ship they had ever known. I am not sure I would be so forgiving if my wife did what Brayden did not matter how contrite she was. Overall the story was good, the love scene was acceptable and in true Jenny Fram fashion it was well written. I guess these were characters I did not connect with.

In Double Jeopardy by Carsen Taite we get to read the story of Katie and Emma. The best part of this story was brining in characters from the Lone Star series. I still want more of those books. I loved those characters, Back to the review. I did not dislike this story, it had a good plot, it was interesting and the two main characters seemed good together. I did like the runaway bride thing twice and that made the story much more enjoyable. Other than that I honestly cannot remember much about the story. It was okay, just not very memorable. It was a very good romantic story.

I save my favorite author for last. Ali Vali write On the Rocks and I have to say after reading every single other book Ms. Vali has written this one is in her wheelhouse. Preston is described as Dark hair and Blue Eyes and I honestly cannot remember how Haley was described, but if it is true Ali Vali she is blonde haired and light eyed. The problem here is that every book I read this is how she describes her main characters It gets very receptive, Preston's mannerism and the way she treats Haley are all indicative of the type of person Ms. Vali likes her characters to be, She wants them strong and butch an their love interest willowy and feminine, Thats what the characters were like. The actual story of the scion of a whiskey empire being so amazing at everything, but also being super rich, handsome, and has a set of the most loving and adoring parents and grandparents is jut so unrealistic, I mean just for once write a character that is more like real life. I can enjoy fantasy to an extent, and I think that this short story was just a stones throw too far into the realm of fantasy for me to truly enjoy it. The writing is spot on, the love scene was good. I am just getting tired of reading the same thing from Ms. Vali.

The three Novelas in this book are so engaging and interesting. While each has different circumstances, the main thread is to women finding each other after at least 10 years of no contact. Actually in all three There is a bit of heartbreak when you read how the two women left each other years ago and the pain each of them still carries in their heart. In one of the stories the two women have a beautiful and hot relationship while they are in college but neither women is honest with who they really are mainly because they both come from wealthy families who have great expectations on each of the women.
Another story two women are getting married in a marriage of convenience one to save her family’s business and the other who needs that business to grow her own. As they’re getting their marriage license one of the women runs into the woman she was madly in love with but left at the altar because your father lied to her. Is this going to be another case where the bride is left standing at the altar alone?
In the third book we find a heartbreaking yeah beautiful love story full of regret on both women’s part until they are able to find forgiveness this is a well written beautiful story. All three of the Novelas in this book can’t have you crying in the beginning of the story and jumping for joy at the end they are all very well written with good character devepolment.

Oh I needed this !

You’ve got 3 incredible authors! 3 short, entertaining and very sweet stories mainly around second chance romances (who dosent enjoy those, you know?)..

I’m going to keep this short.. So, I totally recommend this book.. you’ve got very lovable characters, very interesting stories that don’t drag , but yet it leaves you wanting a bit more unfortunately.. and most importantly, it’s just a smooth happy read :)

“I received an ARC for an honest review.”

Okay so honestly, I have never been the biggest fan of neither romance (as a genre, other genres that feature some romance is obviously okay with me) nor of short stories/novellas and for some reason, I decided to request this book on Netgalley in hopes of it changing my perception of those two things. Sadly, for me, this collection basically only highlighted what troubles I usually have with both romance as a genre and with short stories/novellas.

Let me preface this by saying that I don’t think there’s anything objectively wrong with this collection and that my rating doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the stories as such. I bet a ton of readers will be able to enjoy this, I just wasn’t, really. Which is a shame; I think I’ve managed to narrow things down to a couple of reasons why I didn’t take to these stories – all of them to do with me and nothing to do with this book, definitely.

In this collection you’ll find three novellas, all about second chance romances – a trope I’ve been interested in exploring for quite a while now. Did I mention they’re all lesbian stories, too? Because that’s what made me hyped up for this collection in the first place. Like, tropey lesbian stories are SO rare and I was flailing upon finding this collection.

My Forever Girl tells the story of a couple who got divorced following a family tragedy and how they found their way back to each other during a cruise. This is the story I liked the least, I didn’t connect to any of the main characters (possibly because I’m too young – these characters are way older than me and thus live completely different lives and I just couldn’t relate at all), of course I thought their story was tragic and sad and everything, but I still couldn’t connect. I didn’t really care for the writing either. 2/5.

Double Jeopardy features a runaway bride and an arranged marriage – the latter being a trope I thought I would enjoy immensely. Sadly, it turns out I didn’t. The writing I found to be much better in this one than in the previous story and while I liked the characters and story way more in this novella, I still somehow found myself feeling slightly bored throughout it all. I would definitely be willing to pick more books by this author up though because I did enjoy her writing style, I just wish this story would have gotten more room to grow and expand. 3/5.

On The Rocks is definitely the story I liked the most, where a girl is trying to win back her college sweetheart. I liked the romance and the fact that the characters were a bit younger. The romance was cute, the plot was good and I actually really liked the writing and how the two perspectives were woven together. I would definitely read more stories by this author. 3.5/5.

Ultimately this collection of stories turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment to me which made me sad because it was 1) sapphic and 2) a trope that I, in my mind, thought I was going to love. As it turns out, this trope wasn’t as interesting IRL as it was in my head. I also realized that while I like the idea of short stories, I prefer my actual books to be more thorough and fleshed out in a way short stories cannot be for obvious reasons. I also realized I don’t really love romance as a genre because whenever I try to read romance, I end up feeling like the book is lacking somewhat, plot-wise. I’m glad I decided to try this collection though, even though for me it only made me realize what I like and what I don’t like in my books. Again, objectively this is not a bad collection and if you’re really big on romance I’d imagine you’d like this. Also, it’s sapphic you guys!! You can never read too many sapphic romances to be honest.

How I like second chance romances! And in this book there are three good stories, short but interesting enough for my delight.

Of the three I would not know which one to highlight, because they have all been interesting in their own way. The three authors are excellent in this work.

In all three stories there are in common: a butch woman and a femme woman, more or less; a rich woman and another not so much, except in the last one but in essence this is also the case. And as the title indicates, love that has endured over time, which gives for intense rediscoverings.

This kind of books also has the positive factor that they are to the point and do not divert much from the main focus.

This has been a book that I have really enjoyed and recommend for a summer read. Or winter, spring or autumn.

I really love anything by all three of these authors and these novellas were the perfect thing to tide me over until their next release. I particularly enjoyed My Forever Girl by Jenny Frame - cruises and meddling friends and a little angst and a lot of chemistry made for a delicious little story.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book itself was enjoyable. I did like some stories better than others.

My Forever Girl by Jenny Frame
This is the story of Brandon & Faith. This story was probably the most mature and well written for real life. It also had a much more emotional connection than the other stories. It felt like this could be any of us.

Double Jeopardy by Carsen Taite
Katie and Emma. I love this story. Let me be specific. I loved Katie. Her internal thoughts had me laughing out loud! It's really a sweet and funny story, over the top, but what is true between being put in a bad situation and having to fight your way to finding your balance.

On the Rocks by Ali Vali
I am a huge Ali Vali fan! This is the story I was looking forward to reading when I opened the book. However I was left a little disappointed. Ali Vali can craft a scene and character with such vivid details it's hard to forget they aren't real people. That can also be a downer since Vali is so good at setting a character's personality. I found during the story that Preston could be almost too cold. The other character Hayley, was a bit over dramatic. However the story, the setting and the overall characters were good enough to have their own book. It's fantastic and I'd love to read more on this family.

Loved Them All
This is a great book with three stories by three wonderful authors. These second chance romances are filled with hurt and betrayal, anger, confusion, sadness and then acceptance and desire, joy and peace and of course love. All three are so beautifully written and so full of emotions that they will have you crying tears of pain and of happiness, there will also be many contented sighs along with hearts filled with warm fuzzies! If any of these authors are new to you, now is a good chance to get a glimpse of how they write and if they are favourites of yours, like they are to me, then this is a lovely treat to see them in action again. This is an amazing book, perfect for a quick read on a break or to devour in one go!

Book Review for Still Not Over You. Overall rating: 4 Stars

Three stories of second chance romance. Three couples meet again, years after breaking up. Can they rekindle their romance? Do they both want to?

3.5 Stars for My Forever Girl by Jenny Frame
This is the story of Brandon & Faith. They are happily married when tragedy and bad choices converge causing them to divorce. Their mutual friends (Jan & Kris) intervene (meddle?) by bringing them together or at least on the same ship for a two-week cruise in the Caribbean to celebrate Jan’s 40th Birthday. Brandon declined, because she couldn’t afford it and wouldn’t accept charity, but Kris said it is too late, they already bought her the air and cruise tickets. She finally accepts when she is told that Faith was not going. And Faith decides to go when they tell her Bray could not afford the trip. Both of them hadn’t dated much if at all in the 4 years since their divorce, neither could move on. How could they? When each were still in love with the other? Here Faith reflects after an initial talk with Bray when they discover their rooms are next door to each other… “Their four years apart had taken their toll on Bray, as they had done her. She supposed both of them would never really be fine ever again. All they could do was to find ways of coping from one day to the next.”

I believe I’ve most of Frame’s work (online and published) with an exception here and there liked them all. And I liked this one too. I liked both mains, especially Bray, who turned her life around and kept her promises. My only problem with this story, is it felt too long. I know, it’s a short story/novella, how is that possible? <shrug> It felt like we followed them every single day for the entire 2 weeks. It may have been my mood at the time? When I do a re-read in the future, its highly possible my opinion may change. Nevertheless, it is still a good read. Note: Cruises in general are not appealing to me, mainly because I get woozy standing on a floating pier. With one exception - I’ve always wanted to take an Alaskan cruise. Maybe with the right motion sickness drugs, one day…

3 Stars for Double Jeopardy by Carsen Taite
Katie James and her fiancé, Ann are in the courthouse to pick up their marriage license when Katie looks over and spots her ex, the love of her life, Emma Reed. Emma whom Katie left at the altar several years prior. Katie who agreed to an arranged marriage to Ann – it is a merger of two family owned Oil companies rather than a marriage for love. Katie and Emma (who is now a lawyer) reconnect when Katie asks Emma to look over her prenup agreement before she signs. Will Katie go through with this marriage?

4.5 Stars for On the Rocks by Ali Vali
I actually read this one first because Ali Valli has been a favorite writer of mine for many years and I wasn’t disappointed with this novella. This was by far my favorite of the three.

Preston Maxwell Cinclair is set to take on more responsibilities to head her family’s distillery, Cinclair Whiskey. She has become a master distiller, distilling a new Whiskey that would be their first foray in the over a hundred dollar bottle realm. For this Whiskey they decided she would meet with new prospective advertising firms.

Hayley Wyatt wasn’t planning on heading up the team to pitch her family’s advertising firm to Cinclair Whiskey, but her twin brother pulled out at the last minute. Hayley never intended to ever return to New Orleans, where she lived while attending Tulane University. She still feels guilty for disappearing right after graduating. She and Max, a bartender at a Whiskey bar had become very close but neither told the other about their family dynasties and how both were being groomed to take on more receptibilities. Imagine their mutual surprise when Hayley and her team show up meet with Cinclair Whiskey’s heir Preston aka Max. The two of them navigate secrets revealed, family, business and would Max be able to forgive Hayley for disappearing after graduation?

This novella collection has the best title, it’s exactly what all 3 novellas are about.

The first novellas is about two people who have lost so much over the course of their relationship their marriage had to end. After 4 years their friends lie to them and have them on a Caribbean cruise together, they reconnect, but there are legitimate fears of going back to Glasgow from this paradise and not have it last again. Their story is sweet, the characters nice and I feel this one has the best ending. This was my favourite.

The second story is about a runaway bride who is now getting ready for an arranged marriage to save her family’s oil business. Although I always like Carsten Taite’s writing this story didn’t sit to good with me. I feel like the ending is rushed, the story unresolved, maybe this one would have been better as a full novel.

The third novella has my favourite character, but the story is not my favourite. One of the main characters left New Orleans without saying goodbye 9 years ago. Both characters lived a sort of double life while in college just to step outside of the family business (and their dad’s shadow). The main that just upped and left has to do a marketing pitch for the other one’s company and they are both surprised and neither of them would have thought to see the other ever again. Their love was always there and they rush back into it. The ending was not for me, but I guess it all happens so fast because it’s a novella.

Overall the 3 stories were nice enough to read, I breezed through all of the, it felt like I read only a couple pages and the story was over. I certainly would have liked some more pages. Aside from the first story I actually think they needed those pages as well.

This was fun read of three short stories by three very popular authors. I personally enjoyed two of three and the one I didn't like as much as the others was still a good story. All the stories are about second chance romances with all happy endings and all butch/femme match ups. For me this a dream read. It will leave you wanting to know more each of the stories and all the characters are well written. Out of three, I will admit Frame's story was my favorite and it had the right emotional connection that I really wanted more. Read this...it is definitely worth it

I just had to get Still Not Over You as soon as I saw the authors who had contributed stories to this collection of novellas.

Jenny Frame, Carsen Taite, and Ali Vali are all award winning authors. You can count on their works being exceptional and fun to read, and they did not disappoint in this collection.
These three novellas are second-chance, reunion romances. The stories are set in different places with diverse characters and plots, but they all do have a few things in common. They are all well-written, they all have characters easy to connect with, the romances are filled with angst (naturally), and they are all delightful love stories.

The great thing about a novella is that you can easily read the whole tale in one sitting. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three, and can recommend them to all reunion romance lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for giving me the chance to read and honestly review this book.

I absolutely love the first novella "My Forever Girl" by Jenny Frame. Its tone is sad from the beginning yet we feel the immense love and caring between Braydon and Faith. Because of unfortunate circumstances, they were divorced and had avoided seeing each other for four years. But their friends invited them on a cruise and forced them to share adjacent room for two weeks. Melancholy flowed relentlessly through the story as Bray and Faith worked to forgive each other and, most importantly, themselves. Frame did not disappoint with this emotional butch-femme story and oh what I would give to have a full length novel of them!

The second story was relatively weak just because the first one had me spoiled. Carsen Taite's "Double Jeopardy" is still a good short. Told in Katie's first-person narrative, we learned that Katie stood Emma up at the altar eight years ago. And now, they ran into each other again right before Katie's loveless new wedding. Honestly, I did not find Katie very likeable but it was definitely easy to connect with her as the story gradually revealed her concerns, both past and present. I would say true friends played a big role in this novella and since it ended quite abruptly, it left us space for imagination and hope.

Ali Vali's "On the Rocks," another butch-femme story, is very cute. I especially like how each scene started with the same idea the last scene left off. Though consecutive scenes focused on different characters, the connection of thoughts and dialogues made conversations stretch beyond space, even if they were talking about different things. Though I cannot truly grasp why Haley thought ditching Max after graduation was a great idea, I love the whiskey theme and seeing them get closer to each other after receiving closure. Also, the Cinclairs were absolutely adorable. If the first and second story showed us what friends are for, this one emphasized on wonderful and supportive family members.

"Still Not Over You" is a wonderful second-chance romance anthology that makes you believe in love again. And you would certainly be missing out if you have not read "My Forever Girl" because it truly is everything.