When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

I'm truly thankful that Netgalley has put Ruth Cardello on my radar. I loved her previous series about the Romano brothers and super excited for Gian's book. In the previous series you got bits and pieces of him so it was great to see his character grow.

What I loved about this book:

1. If you only read closed door romances, this is not the book for you. This book is so steamy and the sex scenes are 🔥. Gian loves the science behind sex and orgasms and I really liked that the author included that tidbit in the story.

2. I love how all the Corisi/Romano stories are coming together and now make sense compared to the first book. Honestly I was a bit confused in the last series, but Cardello has done a great job of tying it all together. More secrets came out in this one that have me absolutely intrigued.

3. Gian and Teagan made a great couple and I absolutely was invested in their love story. Their banter was everything I hoped for!

I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

Gian and Teagan felt a Instant connection which gets very complicated really fast. Not because of each other that because of the people in their lives. For those that have not read the other books it might seem a bit confusing, but the series is worth reading all together! I love all the twists and turns that have brought this family to be the family they are! Gian and his neice Judy set out to find more family not think they would really find any , hence the complications lol! I can’t wait to see what happens next!

He Said Always by Ruth Cardello is the first book in The Lost Corisis Series. I always enjoy reading Ruth Cardello books. This was no different.
You can see the attraction Gian and Teagan have for each other. I love watch these character together. Each has their own secrets. I love how Ruth writes the story!
I have loved the Corisi family since when read the first book. I am so happy we continue see more of these characters. I also love how the Ruth as intertwined the characters in the series she writes.
I so enjoy the stories Ruth Cardello writes and how each character is individual but you can also see the connect they have to other characters.
I am loved this book and look forward to the next book in the series.

Some secrets are meant to be uncovered. When Gian Romero bets his niece Judy he to see who can find more family first he never imagined it would uncover so many secrets. Judy, Dominic Corisi oldest child is determined to find more family for her father. And her pursuits take her down a road that makes her see herself in a different light.
Gian finds himself faced with instant attraction to Teagan. While trying to determine how place in the family starting a new relationship wasn't on his radar. And she is prickly and protective and definitely hiding secrets. Unable to fight the attraction they give in to the sparks and decide trust can be built one step at a time.

This is such a fantastic book. Loved seeing Judy as a twenty year old. Is it possible there’s more members of the Corisi family? Loved the instant chemistry between Gian and Teagan. Laughed at how he screwed up their first meeting. Loved how quickly he fell for her. But when will she finally trust him? Will she share what she really does? Will she trust that Dominic Corisi really wants the best for Riley and Kal? Loved being so connected with the characters and loved their happy ever after. I highly recommend this book.

It has been a long time since I have been in the book world of Dominic Corisi and it was nice to be back. This book is about Dominic’s half brother Gian.

Gian is the brother of Dominic through their mother. Gian and his niece who are competitive and enjoy challenging each other decide to try and find other siblings/half siblings of Dominics as they are sure more exist.

Gian is the first one to find Riley who he believes along with her twin brother are half siblings of Dominic’s. Riley works for Teagan in a T-shirt print shop and the moment Gian sets his sights on her it is insta love. There relationship is a bit rocky at first with Teagan firstly believing Gian is a bit of a player and has his sights set on both her and Riley, she is suspicious of the Romano/Corisi motivations as she is hiding an AI project that many would like to get their hands on and also she is unsure because Riley and Kal’s mother don’t want them to know about their father and makes Teagan promise to stay away from the dangerous family.

That being said when Gian turns up at Teagan’s house they are both very quick to shed their clothes which becomes a recurring theme and talk quickly progresses to kids and the future. The only things standing in the way are the secrets about Riley’s family and her project.

I enjoyed the story however I felt the concerns were a bit too quickly overcome and I would have liked to see a bit more relationship building before everything was rosey in the garden.

#NetGalley #HeSaidAlways

I found this one quite hard to rate. This is the first time I've dipped my toe into Ruth Cardellos work and I don't think this one should have been my starting point.
This is the first book in a new series but i believe its a spin off from previous stories so although it can be read as a stand alone now that I've read it I wish I'd read the previous book. There are alot and I mean alot of names to get your head around so for a new reader I found this quite confusing with who was who at times.
I liked the story line with Gian trying to find more of his relatives and how he came to find Teagan, although confusing at times it was a good story. The pairs educational and work backgrounds were interesting and something I hadn't encountered in a book before. I didn't find the romance side very believable. It felt far to much like insta love and there encounters felt very rushed.
Overall it was an OK read. I would like to maybe start at the beginning of the Corsi saga to get my head round it from the very start.

This was a nice read. I really enjoyed it. It is about 3 stars for me. Thanks to Netgalley for this Arc.

When Gian agreed to search for additional family members he knew that the search would bring surprises but he never imagined that it would bring Teagan into his life. From their first meeting to her he is drawn to her in a way he has never felt before but he is about to realize that there is a lot about her that he doesn’t know.

Teagan doesn’t trust many people so when Gian enters her life her first instinct is to keep her distance. She has secrets that she holds very close but Gian has a way of breaching the walls she has built around herself but Gian is determined to show her she can trust him with her heart and her secrets.

There was no denying the chemistry between them but between family drama and her project they had some challenges to overcome if they are going to have a future together.

This is Gian's story, taking place a few years after what happened with the Corisi family. He meets Teagan. The story overall can be read as standalone, but definitely will get more things if you read the previous ones. It was a good story, not my favorite by the author, but we wanted Gian's story for a while. I really liked Teagan, she is a good character, she is into IT which I love as well, she does have some trust issues that play in the story. There were some good steamy scenes, and Gian is interesting enough that I wanted his story. Will love to see where this new series goes.

He Said Always is Gian Romano’s story. I loved the relationship between Gian and Teagan. Teagan is smart, protective and knows that at any moment, things could go wrong. These two go through ups and downs. I was consumed with He Said Always. A definite must read.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆
I liked the story of Gian trying to find lost family members and finding someone to love in the process. It was entertaining at times but for me, some of the time it seemed to drag along.

I liked Gian and Teagan as a couple, but his family didn't seem to want him anywhere near her. I wondered if it was because she owned a print shop. Did they think she was beneath him?

Anyway, I have read this author before and really like her work and will be reading more from her in the future.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This may be identified as the first book in a new series, but it is intrinsically linked to earlier Corisis' stories. I have to tell you that the complications in their family tree are enough to blow your mind! I am completely up to date and was very grateful that Cardello reminded us of the highlights. It really is complicated beyond reasonable... but makes for some fabulous opportunities for fascinating plots and reveals.

Gian Romano and his niece, Judy (Dominic's daughter), are on a mission to find other hidden relatives. To be fair to Gian, he is trying to keep Judy a little under control to help out Dominic, although he is keen to know the extent of his family. When he meets Teagan, for a moment he is worried they may be related, as he is completely besotted with her. Thankfully it is her best friend and employee who is the likely Corisi.

As Teagan and Gian get to know each other better, and fall for each other, the lost Corisi sibling’s story rather plays out as a sideline. It is interesting for sure, but the romance and efforts that Gian has to make with Teagan are really the most exciting bit!

Teagan is creating the ultimate in good white knight software, on a secret mission to save the privacy of society. She is very nervous of anyone finding out what she is doing, so Gian scoping out her shop, and Judy also appearing soon afterwards, fires all her protective streaks. Once she gets involved with Gian, she then has to decide whether she can trust him with this, and if not, what does that say about any future they may have.

You will love how she finally reveals all, and what a plan she has in store to support Gian's unusual plans for his career. Lovely idea and I wonder whether it will ever get developed for real!!


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/F Romance

Gian is searching for more family. However, what started as a quiet endeavor quickly becomes a race when his niece challenges him to a contest to see who might find more family first. As Gian tries to figure out the best way to search without detection, he comes across Teagan.

Teagan is smart, protective, and knows that at any moment, things could go wrong. When she encounters Gian for the first time, let's just say that things don't go quite as planned... As she continues to encounter Gian and his family, Teagan isn't sure what to make of them. She is very protective of her family and wants to make sure it's their choice, but the choice is somewhat taken away when Judy and Gian find them first.

This was a great first encounter and I wanted to like this couple more, but even with Teagan's brains and invention, there just wasn't much to the story. I think I was expecting more to come of her invention, for Gian's family to be less standoffish, and for Gian and Teagan to have less conflict about everyone else.

I liked the series where this book stems from, so I'm intrigued to find out more about this branch. I did like how Judy had to grow up some and hope we continue with that line too.

3 - "You just won my heart..." Stars.

We return to the Romano/Corisi universe with He Said Always giving us Gian Romano’s story. Bearing in mind we are now fictionally twenty years on from Dominic and Abby Corisi’s book; Maid for the Billionaire, where it all began. A lot has happened in the intervening time for everyone but especially in his and now his extended families lives, mainly because lately with each new book that has been added the author feels the need to insert more and more previously unknown illegitimate half-siblings to the mix.

"I didn’t expect to meet someone like you…"

I completely understand the reasonings as to why, but the last couple of books have started to feel lacklustre and diluted in regards to all the important factors, compared to most of the books in the original Legacy Series. I love nothing more than a long series with lots of familiar characters and locales but the stories around them still need to offer up fresh and interesting couples, and this book went from 0 to 100 on the ‘insta’ scale, and because of it I really struggled to feel any real spark between Gian and Teagan, and both of their backgrounds lacked any real development.

It didn’t really help that I barely warmed to Teagan at all, and in all honesty, it was catching up with the secondary characters that I found more joy reading about than the flat-lined chemistry between our leads. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a struggle to read, but equally I didn’t struggle to put it down, and the urge to keep going was not there at all, and that is something I usually have with Ruth’s books.

Not a win, not a loss either, but I will certainly think longer as to whether I read further books in the series or spin-offs going forwards. Saying that though there’s a certain male stripper in this book that has piqued my interest, so never say never!

I'm so excited for this new series. I've always loved Ruth's series. I'm already so excited to see where she is going to take this series. I love Gian and Teagan's story. I loved how their relationship developed. You can really see the attraction between these two. I loved how their story went, it's a good plot. I enjoyed this book. It's fun and enjoyable.

5 Fabulous Stars🌟

I’ve only ever read one other book by Ruth which she co-authored with another favourite author of mine…but can I just say that this book was absolutely amazing and so well plotted and the characters though mildly confusing with regards familial connections was still so likeable and realistic🤩 I will definitely be taking the time to read more by her as I really genuinely enjoyed this story - it was fresh in a unique way❣️

Teagan meets Gian when he comes into her printshop but her opinion of him changes when her best friend Riley comes in and he can’t seem to keep his eyes off her…suffice to say they both handle things wrong but also Teagan misunderstands his intentions with regards Riley - which she later discovers🤔

A wonderful, fabulous read that I received an advanced copy for via Netgalley and voluntarily leave my honest review❤️

Can’t get enough of these characters and the stories surrounding them! This installment surrounds Gian, who has recently found that his family tree has grown yet again thanks to his horrible biological father. While on a mission to meet his new siblings, he meets their best friend Teagan, who has a complicated background herself. A computer prodigy who keeps her work secret as a way to protect it, Teagan is immediately attracted to Gian, which throws her off because she has never experienced those feelings, but then writes him off because she thinks he’s flirting with her best friend. When Gian finds out what Teagan thinks, he quickly resolves the situation and pursues his immediate chemistry towards her, giving her the full story of why he was there in the first place at a later date. This story really makes it for me because of all the twists and turns involving the family and how they continue to find more siblings. I also really enjoy Judy and her character because while she’s extremely intelligent, I love that Teagan puts her in her place, which is something that she really needs because she doesn’t acknowledge or understand boundaries. I loved the relationship between Gian and Teagan and was so happy they were able to work everything out and get their HEA, especially after the turmoil Gian experienced with all the upheaval in his life. I can’t wait to see who’s next and hope we get Judy’s story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Interesting start to the story about how Judy and Gian began the search for more Corisis siblings. Aside from one selfish reason, Judy also wanted to bless her father Dominic by finding more family for him. Gian joined in to partially keep Judy out of trouble but also to help his half-brother Dominic too.

Teagan is smart, hard-working and has quite the secret or two going on. She is also fiercely protective of her "adopted" family, the Ragsdale's. Riley and Kal are the youngest members of the family and she is friends with them. Well, it's probably more accurate to say that Riley is more like a sister to Teagan and they help balance each other out. They are so close that Riley is really the only person who knows about Teagan's secret project.

Gian had quite the interesting family dynamics as well and when you think about it he also had an "adopted" family, the Romanos. Something that Teagan and Gian have in common. Gian also knows almost instantly that Teagan is "The One". His Romano father had experienced something similar when he met his wife. I liked the romance between Teagan and Gian and although he had a rocky start with her, he begins to know how best to interact with her as time went on. Of course his father's advice had been helpful too. One thing that the couple had no trouble agreeing on was the good sex that they were having. In that area there was NO problem.
Judy was a surprise to see as an adult, I wasn't expecting that. I had read other books in this series and in them she was still a child. She was smart and kind of sneaky in those books and it looks like she hasn't quite outgrown that yet. But yeah she will have a confrontation coming that will set her on her much needed ear.

On a side note I would say that the larger cast of people took me a few minutes to sort out, which I wasn't expecting. But I did like how the story ended.

"I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I have read the three books before this one (the Corisi trilogy), and I was STILL confused about all of the family dynamics. As the first book in a brand new series, you'd think that it'd be easy to jump into this without needing to know the backstory. That is absolutely not the case. The author is really doing herself a disservice here, because I do generally enjoy her writing style, but the family dynamics get more convoluted with every book. And this instalove storyline did nothing to win me over; it certainly wasn't strong enough to overcome the confusing backstory. I can't recommend this to anyone who hasn't already read AT LEAST the Corisi trilogy, and even then, the romance was more instalove than anything.

The story follows Gian, a guy who just found out that his family tree is bigger and more complicated than he realized. While seeking out relatives that he's never met before, Gian meets Teagan. The two have an instant spark and Gian is interested in pursuing Teagan, but she's turned off when she believes Gian is also flirting with her friend. Miscommunication gets in the way of the chemistry that sparked between them, but Gian is persistent in his pursuit of Teagan. As the truth is revealed and their connections are identified, it complicates things even more.

I've already laid out my issues with the family dynamics, so let's talk about Teagan and Gian's relationship. I couldn't connect to them. They have one VERY brief interaction, and it's pretty much love at first sight. Gian is immediately smitten with Teagan, and Teagan is already burning with jealousy when she believes that Gian is also interested in her friend. There was not enough time spent together to warrant any of that. And then Gian creepily starts texting her - when Teagan didn't even give him her number. What follows is a lack of communication, both in getting things out in the open AND in actually emotionally connecting. These two are very physical, and I had trouble understanding why they became so close so quickly. Pair that with the off-putting family dynamics (and a very random sex research subplot), and this just didn't work for me. I received an early copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this steamy romance.

I love this series! Another amazing addition! It was so fun and cute and I loved the interaction between the main characters!