4.25/5 stars! This book is so beautiful. It reminds me of parts of Lovely Bones and You've Got Sam. Books that are well-written about loss and grief make my heart felt. Hart and Ruby are perfect for each other, but part of healing is letting go. Can Hart and Ruby find their way back to each other or should time allow Ruby move on?

Wonderfulll book that plays with your feelings and makes you question What if I was me? What would I do? Heartbreaking

I really wanted to like this book, but the overall tone was too depressing for me and I found it difficult to connect with the characters.

I regret to say this, but I couldn’t finish this book, no matter how hard I tried. I kept hoping it would get better, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters or their relationship. Even after putting in the effort to keep going, the plot didn’t grab my attention, and the slow pacing made it feel even more tedious. It might resonate with some readers, but it simply wasn't for me.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

You know those books that you hear about and you just know it'll be a book that you'd love?

That was this book for me.

From the second I heard about this book on Instagram, I knew instantly that I NEEDED it and that it would most likely be my next big obsession. When I got approved of an ARC on NetGalley I almost lost my mind.

From the first pages, I was already in love with both Hart and Ruby and I loved reading from both their perspectives and Lourdes. I devoured this book, loved all the characters and cried a lot at the heartbreaking plot line of a lost love being given a second chance to fall in love again. I knew from the blurb this would be gut-wrenching and sad but the book also had hopeful undertones and elements that I enjoyed too. I was surprised by the supernatural elements in the book and liked the touches that added to the overall story.

All in all, I adored this book and I can imagine myself doing a re-read at some point. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a book in the same sort of vein as You've Reached Sam.

So I sobbed pretty much the entire time I was reading this book.
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Always Isn't Forever follows childhood sweethearts Hart and Ruby in the aftermath of Hart dying in a drowning accident. Cervantes does such a good job at giving the reader a strong feel of Hart and Ruby's relationship in so few pages so when their sudden and seemingly permanent separation happens, it's really sad. Hart gets a second chance of sorts thanks to divine intervention via angel on probation Lourdes, who puts his soul into the body of Jameson, who of course Ruby thinks is an a-hole, and he can't tell Ruby what happened.
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Hart's plan to win Ruby back is complicated by the fact that Ruby is still mourning Hart and is struggling to "move on". Cervantes always writes about grief so well, and it really shone here. Though intellectually Ruby knows that she needs to not let it rule her life and relationships, she fights the idea of "letting go", even as she finds herself drawn to Hart/Jameson. Hart struggles to integrate himself into a life and body so different from his own, and finds himself needing to work to get Ruby to stop seeing Jameson as the a-hole he once was. Jameson's backstory also infiltrates Hart's mind, and he learns that Jameson was secretly carrying some major crosses. The book also features some commentary from Lourdes, who has a lot of opinions about humans and love, which adds a bit of levity into this honestly crushing tale.
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This book was sad but also I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. The author did a great job at covering sensitive topics like grief and loss. It was more than I expected as I have only read the authors middle grade series so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.

My heart needed a little time to process, but here is my long awaited review!

This book had such amazing characters. They were so lovable, from the first chapter I was already rooting for them and their relationship. It was sad at times, but had a beautiful message to tell.

The plot was interesting, but sometimes lagging. Due to the short chapters though, it was very easy to read and the mystery surrounding Hart and him slowly losing his memory made you want to keep reading.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Razorbill, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a brilliant YA read and had me sobbing.
I admire fhe plot line, i think it could have easily been done badly because it's so complex, but it was done well.
I can see this book being popular in school libraries and maybe used for some studying too.

This novel beautifully explores themes of love, loss, and the complexities of moving on.

Cervantes has a gift for creating relatable characters that tug at your heartstrings. the premise of the story and the emotional writing interested me right away. I loved the way the narrative delves into the nuances of relationships and the impact they leave behind.

The writing is poignant and lyrical, capturing both the joy and pain of love in such a heartfelt way. I found myself highlighting so many beautiful passages that resonated with me.

While I really enjoyed the story, I felt that the pacing could have been a bit smoother in some parts, where I found myself skimming pages or having to reread a passage.

This was alright but not really for me. Overall I kind of just slugged through it to finish it. The concept was interesting though!

Oof! Sometimes you just need a book that’s going to rip your heart out then glue it back together. This book did just that! Be aware that if you are a book crier this one will have you crying tears of heartbreak, joy, and sadness.

We start with Hart and Ruby a couple of high school kids who went from friends to lovers and love and know each other and the deepest levels. We are introduced to them a few days before “the end” and you know something is coming you just don’t know from where or for who. We get to see the love and joy that Ruby and Hart have together and then you’re hit with it. What you know has been coming for a few chapters.

Hart takes on an extra shift on the boat he and Ruby work on and despite Ruby’s pleas to not go he ends up going anyway. Through a series of events Hart ends up overboard saving the owners child at the expense of his own life.

Then we jump five months ahead. Ruby is a shell of herself. Her friends have drifted away and she can’t bring herself to find joy in anything she did before. Especially when every memory has a piece of Hart in it. Unbeknownst to her a hitch in the universe is about to turn her world upside down and she has to decide if she will allow herself to move forward and on or allow herself to be pulled under by the grief.

This is such a great story filled with so much love, not just romantic love but family and friendship through the toughest of times. It’s about letting go and learning to find a way forward even if it breaks your heart. It’s also about never giving up and that true love can even make the universe bend to its will.

Ruby and Hart have loved each other since they were children. But in a bid to make more money for their sailboat, Hart dies in a tragic accident. But due to divine intervention Hart gets a second chance in the body of bad boy Jameson. Now Hart has little time to find his way back to Ruby.

Younger me as a teen would honestly have frothed this book about soul mates who met as children! And I think many people will LOVE this book. But unfortunately for me I think I was the wrong age for this youthful soulmates story and found it too young for my preferred taste. If you love YA and soulmates you’ll love this!

Thank you sooo much for the arc, NetGalley. This book is going to break my heart ❤️ and I can't wait to read it heheheheh💓💓💓💓💓

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Always Isn’t Forever in exchange for an honest review!

This book delivered! I was excited when this book was recommended to those of fans of You’ve Reached Sam, because I really enjoyed that book and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed this one too. Always Isn’t Forever follows two teens, Ruby and Hart, who are madly in love. A terrible boating accident cuts Hart’s life short, leaving Ruby heartbroken and alone. Lourdes, an angel gives Hart the opportunity to come back in another body. This body happens to be Jameson’s, the local bad boy who Ruby can’t stand. Hart is given the opportunity to take over Jameson’s body, while still maintaining his own thoughts and memories for a limited time, in order to see his one true love again.

All around, the characters were extremely well written. I loved both Hart and Ruby and think that the author did such a great job creating this love story. You can’t help but find yourself rooting for Hart and Ruby to find each other and beat the odds, after Hart takes over Jameson’s body and tries to win Ruby over. Lourdes was also an extremely well written character. We got to see her develop over the course of the book, making personal sacrifices in order to give Hart and Ruby the chance to find each other. What also was important to me was that each of the characters meant something to this story. Quite often authors will write characters just to fill space, but in this story, each of the characters introduced meant something, and that’s something that I really appreciated.

I also enjoyed the alternating chapters between Ruby and Hart/Jameson. I’m a big fan of reading the story from two different perspectives and I think the author did a great job creating unique mindsets for each character. I also really enjoyed how the chapters were so short. I find that this keeps me engaged more and I’m not flipping through to see how many pages I have left before I can take a break.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. I can’t say enough great things about it.

This book made me cry much like Cervantes other book "You've reached Sam" Read with a box of tissues!!

This was such a beautiful book. i recommended it to all my friends. wowowow just wow im so amazed. Thank you netgalley for the arc btw

A huge thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for giving me the chance to read Always Isn't Forever by J. C. Cervantes in exchange for my honest review.

What to say about this incredible romance first ?
The fact that is a second chance romance ? That is has a rare trope -that of reincarnated lovers- that I simply can't get enough of ? That it shows dealing with the loss of a loved one and the healing process of slowly moving on but also how hard and how easy it is to hold on to love ?This book has it ALL!
After reading this beautiful story of Hart and Ruby, I can see why many compare it to the also reader favourite "You've reached Sam".
I cried ,I laughed and loved all in the same book and it was glorious!

Unfortunately a DNF for me, I thought the premise was incredible but the writing didn’t draw me in in the end.

I liked this one. I originally wanted to read it because it said it had you’ve reached Sam vibes, and it does, but at the same time it has a unique twist. I loved the plot, the world, and the main characters. I laughed and I cried.