4 stars!
This book totally blew me away. My expectations were not that high considering that I had not read the synopsis of the book before.
At first it reminded me a lot of "You've reached Sam" and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. But then, oh my God. I was in pure shock because, as I mentioned before, I had no idea what was happening in the book (That's the reason i recommend going in this without knowing anything). The writing style is so good & fast paced. ALSO we have different povs through chapters. I don't even think it's necessary to mention how much I cried ☹️ (both bad & good way)

I am sobbing. My heart exploded in my chest. I genuinely could not put this down. Loss, grief, and high emotions through the book.
A storytelling so genuine I feel like it could have been someone I knew.
This is a love story I will carry with me for a long time to come.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this! I can’t wait to search for other title from you!

I am at a loss for words with this book. The moment I read the blurb, I was drawn in and it did not disappoint! I went into it with the mind set that it would be similar to The In Between by Marc Klein or You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao but boy was I wrong! It is so different and I adore it so much!

J. C Cervantes sends you into the world of Ruby Armenta and Hart Augusto, two souls destined to be with one another. However, tragedy strikes and the two are ripped from one another, with the tragic death of Hart. But that doesn't mean their stories over. Hart finds himself in the body of another, his soul having been saved from drowning, and he now has to navigate this new life while being unable to tell the one person that he loves more than life itself that he's still here.

I laughed, I cried, I fell in love with the world of Always Isn't Forever, and there wasn't a single character that I disliked! It was so different to the other books that I've read in the past, and I would do anything to be able to read it for the first time again!

You feel as though you've figured everything out, but in the blink of an eye another plot twist is thrown into the works and it leaves you wanting more. I couldn't stop turning page after page until I reached the end! The blurb is only a fraction of the story you're about to embark on and all I can really say is, grab your tissues and buckle in for a journey you won't regret going on.

I will definitely be reading more J.C Cervantes in the future, that's for sure!

🌼 ARC REVIEW 🌼

4.5⭐️

Tropes / Key Points:
✨Sports Romance
✨Second Chance at Life and Love
✨Paranormal Circumstances
✨Multiple POV
✨Young Adult Romance
✨Soulmates
✨Small Town
✨POC Representation
✨HEA

Trigger Warnings:
✨ Grief
✨ Death
✨ Loss of a Loved One
✨ Therapy Sessions


This book would be perfect for fans of "You've Reached Sam". In fact, when reading the blurb when I requested this Arc book, its immediately what I thought of. This is a quaint young adult romance that pulls you in as you become invested in the two main characters.

I really enjoyed the authors writing and the pacing of the story. I think that it does very well at keeping you interested and moving throughout. There doesn't feel to be any slow points or moments where I felt this needs to be removed.

The development of the characters was probably the best part about the book. Not only do you get to see how the couple interacted before the accident, but you get to experience Ruby's grief and hesitation to let go of the boy she considered her soulmate. You get to walk through life with her five months later and watch how she interacts with others who have pulled away from her due to the accident. You get to feel alongside her as she starts to slowly heal, not realizing that the source of her love is only a few feet away. Hart/Jameson is the most interesting development to me personally. You get to see how he starts off strong with his memories and they slowly began to fade away. You see this transition from the character we know to a modified version of Jameson due to Hart's Soul's influence. You become invested in his mission to get the love of his life back, and root for him, despite the divine intervention telling him it can't happen.

I only have one complaint about the book and one part that feels unresolved.

My complaint is the random use of Spanish words scattered throughout. What I mean is, Hart is Latino which is great for representation and I do feel it was handled very well. The author does a great job at scattering in his heritage, even after he loses it by returning to the body of a white boy. (I laughed at a key scene involving this, honestly it was great.) But the part that feels jarring, or out of place to me, (as a non-POC) is that the author has the book in English, but randomly in the middle of a sentence there will be a word replaced with the Spanish Equivalent. Considering that I am not of this heritage, I do not know if this is how they actually speak, so if it is, please correct me and I will remove this immediately. But the random uses of the Spanish language felt off and unnatural. It felt like the author was trying to tell us that he was Latino instead of showing us that he was latino.

The part of the book that feels unresolved involves two very small chapters that you probably can't even consider chapters. The book, (at the time of this review) opens up with an excerpt from an Angel talking about love. You then see another excerpt from this angel when Hart dies, with only his time of death. I feel like these moments are meant to be Lourdes, the angel that is effectively the cause of this entire book, but we aren't clearly told this. If it is meant to be her, I feel like there should be a moment that tells us this, especially as we get a few chapters in her POV. As it stands, it just leaves me asking who was the "Celestial Angel" who had two small moments in the book.

Overall such a great read. I didn't sob like I did with 'You've Reached Sam' but it's because this book really does end up with a HEA. I did tear up at the end as it was a very wholesome and sweet book. I will recommend this to anyone who just feels like they need a small change of pace and a feel good story.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

I don’t even know where to start but to just say that I went into this book not expecting much and came out sad and blown away.
This book is very reminiscent of another popular book online…but for me personally, I think this book handled the themes much better. Is it a perfect book? I didn’t think so, but I loved the way it handled the topics of grief and tragedy with underlying backgrounds of religious themes thrown in.
It had some bittersweet and touching moments. My heart goes out to the ML T_T
Overall, I think this was a solid 3-stars book with that ending!!

Thank you netgallery for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

I loved this book so much, it made me feel all kinds of emotions like hope, sadness, anger of happiness.

It’s written in a way that totally sucks you in the story. The only book I could compare it with is you’ve reached Sam. So if you liked that one definitely read always isn’t forever.

I got this advance e-copy from NetGalley thanks for that.

So 5 stars from me, it broke me in all kind of ways but I loved it!

Also posted it on goodreads and storygraph

I was given an ARC by Penguin Random House and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I adored this book!!

I loved our couple and how the book handled grief. I loved the idea of angels and coming back as another person. This book was definitely sad as Hart drowns saving a child who fell off the boat. But it was so incredibly well written!! I really love this authors writing style!

Be sure to pick this up on June 6,23.

being advertised with “the perfect read for you’ve reached sam” AIF will undoubtedly draw YRS readers who are intrigued and want to experience the similar atmosphere all over again. so consider me as a reader who wanted that but was unfortunately let down because the expectations weren’t met and found a number of weaknesses in this book.

first off, the language appears to be straightforward but debut-like and direct. there’s no craft. no creative writing. just concise stories akin to those found in middle-grade literature. everything escalated so quickly that we are unable to relate to the characters, empathize with them, or even become outraged. it was similar to watching a movie with the speed automatically set to 2x.

the plot is so unserious, could have been more nuanced and layered but you have to had Hart's spirit seeking to rekindle things with his gf while inhabiting a fratboy's fresh-from-the-coma body, which is obviously odd and scary from Ruby's point of view. the whole ridiculous set up could actually be more meaningful if there were more platonic relationships that were explored more deeper. the most moving sequence isn’t even about Ruby and Hart/Jameson, instead it is about Hart and George.

i would like to see more of the plot revolve around Hart and his family and how they deal with their grief, and i want to see two of the main characters genuinely mature as people because they remained unchanged up to the conclusion of the story, except Ruby being more willing to let Hart go. so many wasted potentials. i also did not like how the angel interfered with the MC’s life so many times, giving instructions, explaining how the afterlife corporation works (lol) and even making deal with the MC. at least YRS used ambiguity narrative while interacting with divine being, as in the character wasn't sure how or why things worked or why even he still couldn't traverse the in-between dimension. that creates a more eerie vibe but i can see how it could be challenging to work into the AIF storyline considering how important the angel will be to the plot. i didn’t like how the climax was handled. the ending makes no sense because for me, it essentially takes away the entire purpose for which the angel transferred Hart's soul to Jameson's body in such a brief period of time to stay. what about the tragic end? what about the fact that everything that happened has been designed as a gift for them both to have a good closure at last? but, no! we’ll give them a happy sweety unrealistic but lovely ending!

so, yeah. the whole grief theme was moving at certain places, yet it was weak and emotionless elsewhere. gorgeous cover tho. 2 stars.

<i>arc kindly provided by penguin young readers group via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Why did I NOT think to have tissues nearby when I picked up this novel? Seriously, I was a sobbing mess at the beginning of it. Ruby's grief could be felt from the pages. A young girl on the verge of graduating high school, in love with her best friend, and looking forward to having a life with him in the future. Only it was torn apart one night. I felt sorry for her because while people wanted her to live outside of her grief, it was not as easy as they wanted it to be for her. It is hard to revisit places that held happy memories of two people who were in love and harder to go through the motions of life. Everything planned for the future seems so dismal now and I could see that in Ruby. I wanted so much to hug her and whisper that things would be all right for her...that it was okay to grieve and okay to not want to visit places that held memories...not to listen to Gabi who believes in talking about it now. Not everything would magically go away if you did. This was a girl who was trying to navigate her pain and her future.

I even felt heartache for Hart. His life and future were cut short and all he wanted was Ruby. This was a love anyone would have died for (sorry for that!) but seriously this story was worth picking up and worth crying over. The characters and their grief could be felt through the pages and Ruby - damn girl, I am still crying for her over this.

I loved this book. I loved the characters and the plot. Was it perfect? Nah. Were there some plotholes? A few but nothing too wild. Was this an homage to Heaven Can Wait? Possibly.

tl;dr
A little too sweet for my tastes, but should land perfectly with anyone looking for soul mates and tales of undying love.

Thoughts
True believers would call this romance pure and sweet. Bitter cynics like myself would call it sappy. Things like "soul mates" and "love that transcends all other loves" don't typically do it for me, and it was pretty clear going in that this is exactly the kind of story this book was about to dish up. So why did I bite? Well, I'm a huge sucker for the "my love doesn't know it's me and I can't tell them" plot line, so I showed up to the party anyway. And for the most part, yeah, I'm glad I did. That plot played out well, with all the drama, angst, and uncertain feelings that I love. There's also a very tender and honest depiction of grief, and the various ways it can present itself, that I appreciated.

The rest is officially Not For Me. World building is loose, with little reasoning about how or why any of afterlife rules work, along with the absolutely wild fact that one of the characters is literally a medium, and we all just handle that super casually. But you didn't show up here to read philosophical musings about the afterlife - you showed up to read a story about undying love around a couple that you can cheer for. And if that's what you want on the menu tonight, then dig in.

Always Isn’t Forever is a heart-wrenching story, with a serendipitous love, that gradually aligns together throughout the duration of this beautiful, piquant second-chance like no other.

This book had bittersweet moments throughout, whilst also providing an integral outlook on a fissuring relationship due to the severity of grief and change, that will undoubtedly leave readers enamoured by Cervantes exquisite storytelling- and Hart and Ruby’s story.

Thank you to the Publisher, the author and Netgalley for providing me with a E-ARC of " Always Isn't Forever" in exchange for an honest review *

This Is a sad, ultimately hopeful book. I would definitely recommend this to fan of "You've Reached Sam" because "Always Isn't Forever" hits the same spot of feels.

Oh this book. I'm conflicted. There are things I really liked and things that made me uncomfortable. Let's get the negatives out of the way. First, the approach to the afterlife. If you have Christian beliefs, you will need to suspend those. Any connection with spirits and the spirit world is considered "the universe" and "cosmic laws and rules" and the actual connecting is when the Ruby's younger sister lays out her tarot cards "that are never wrong." The only time you read the names God, Jesus, and Christ are as swear words. Considering that the demographic is impressionable young adults, I have a problem with this. I feel like it is pandering more than teaching. I'm not saying I insist that a YA book teach Christianity, but this book seems to mock it, and that isn't cool.

My second issue is the plot itself, which is entirely unoriginal. Just watch Heaven Can Wait, a 1970s movie with Warren Beatty, and you'll get the basic plot this book. Body in trouble gets the soul ripped out before actual death by angel who thinks he knows better. Body gets destroyed so soul cannot reenter. Dead person must choose a new body of similar age and, wouldn't you know it, the available body happens to be someone the potential love interest cannot stand. It's been done. And if you're going to rehash a plot, do it better.

Issue #3 is the level of devotion, to the point of stubbornness, that the main characters have for each other--at 17 years old. I know we're already dealing with fantasy, but this just adds to it. The idea that two teenagers can feel this way each other from childhood is pretty unrealistic. Even mature teenagers are fickle when it comes to feelings of attraction towards others. It's a nice idea, sure, but highly unlikely.

Those are the downsides. The upsides are the main characters themselves, Jameson/Hart and Ruby. It took a while, but they grew on me. Lourdes, the "death angel" was a great addition, as was George, Hart's best friend. I did not like Gabi, Ruby's sister. Her contact and power with the aforementioned cosmic forces was ludicrous for a fifteen year old. Better to have made this an older sibling, or an old lady neighbor. Anyone but Gabi, who was just obnoxious and irritating.

The writing had its moments of profundity, other times it was just embarrassing. Again, with the language and the swearing, I feel like it is pandering to the demographic just to attract readers. Be better than that. Elevate your readers. I wouldn't recommend this book to students or my own children.

So...3 stars.

All I knew about this book going in was that I was ready to feel emotional and this accomplished that! This dealt with grief and love and just being human in such a heartwarming way. It also reminded me of that old movie Heaven can Wait which was fun to read about! I loved the characters and felt a really solid emotional connection with them. When reading this book, there were two specific moments I was waiting for and when both of those moments happened I really felt it and loved it!

The only reason this isn't a complete 5 star read is a) why were they using "probs" so much I'm sorry but no and b) because I was waiting for a specific ending and it was set up really nicely and then it didn't pan out that way at all which was fine but not exactly the emotional payoff I wanted. Overall though, I loved the exploration of humanity and love and grief and I loved the friendships and relationships a lot!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it. The Plot was amazing and I can't wait for others to read it too.

This had me on such an emotional rollercoaster... but I loved it. Hart and Ruby were such well written characters separately but then brought together? Amazing. Their relationship was so cute. I loved that it did deal on more heavier subjects like grief and substance abuse. Personally, I love a book that has more of a deeper thing to it, like heavier subjects.

I really did love this story.

Some authors really know how to break your heart and then begin to heal it just to re-break and heal it before they are through.
It took me a little bit to get into this story, but once I did I couldn't seem to put it down.
This book made me happy and sad at the exact same time, and it made me want to read more books just like it.

Hart and Ruby have a love that conquers even death.

I bawled my eyes out with this one.

This is similar to what You Reached Sam was trying to do, except this was done really well. I loved both Hart and Ruby so much it felt like MY heart was going to burst. They were both such incredible individuals and their relationship was so cute. I did cry for a significant portion of this book, the grief was written really well, I felt like I was going through it myself. I did appreciate the direction the plot took and that it was more than Ruby just tried to move on. It made for a very intriguing storyline. I can't recommend this book enough.

TW: grief, drowning, substance abuse

You’ve Reached Sam WISHES it could be this book. I am broken and whole and I’ve spent two hours crying my eyes out. This was so beautiful and heartbreaking and it is everything. I enjoyed Flirting With Fate, but this is a whole new level of pure fate, faith, and magic. Usually I love a good sad ending but I’m pleasantly surprised at how hopeful this was. It makes me a believer in magic and the universe and love and if you are not reading this over the summer when it comes out you should not be reading at all. I can't form words or thoughts and it's been a few hours since I've finished and I know this will live in my mind until my own time is here. I love the way Cervantes weaves in the culture and what pure poetry everything is. I'm a fan forever.