This second chance romance was a breath of fresh air in a sea amongst traditional holiday Rom-Coms.

First, the main characters are Jewish who run a Christmas Tree farm. Second, there is queer representation (demi-sexual) and a strong emphasis on mental health (working through past trauma, anxiety disorder/panic attacks, and therapy).

The romance is a second chance romance between two childhood friends (both grumps!); finding their way back to each other is a journey readers will easily be invested in/cheering along. My favorite part of this romance plot was the way the main characters are kind, supportive, and seek to support each other. Yet there is still plenty of angst and in Greer’s typical fashion, plenty of fun shenanigans. There is also plenty of steam/tension but the bedroom scenes are fade to black/closed door. Overall, this is such a fun town, family, and wonderful queer and Jewish representation, that I am looking forward to returning in the next series installment. Thank you to Forever pub and NetGalley for my e-arc!

This book was ohhh so cute and swoony!!! I love this author’s writing and look forward to reading more from her!!!

This book was so cute! It had so many of my favorite romance tropes, especially second chance and best friends, and found family. What made it a great read was the mental health and queer rep - we need more of this and I was so happy to see it.

Hannah and Levi are two of the most frustratingly perfect for each other characters I’ve ever read. By page 20 I knew this book was gonna be a memorable one and ooh wee, 330 pages later I am a sappy mess and so far gone for these babies. Who are not babies at all. Very queer. Very Jewish. Incredibly fun. And just a touch too close to the heart for me. A top romance of my year for sure.

Thank you forever for my advanced e-copy!

After reading reviews and although it’s most likely an interconnected standalone, it seems like you have to read the first book in order not to be confused about the timeline and the cast of characters. I paged through a little bit and it is confusing since I’m starting at the middle of a whole big story.

So by no fault of the author, it should just be a little more clear marketing wise when these kinds of things happen.

I read and really enjoyed Helena Greer's first installment in this series, "Season of Love", and For Never and Always is an even better follow up!

Hannah Rosenstein lived a childhood of adventure, tagging along with her parents as they traveled the world, but her real home has always been at Carrigan's Christmas tree farm with her eccentric and deeply beloved great-aunt. She loves the stability and comforts of her home on the farm, but when her late great-aunt's will stipulates that she will share the inheritance with her ex/great young love Levi "Blue" Matthews, she is thrown into the chaos she so despises.

I loved both Hannah and Blue and their chaotic but tender second chance love story. This was a great story of rediscovering love and finding yourself in the process. I would definitely recommend reading the books in order, but while the first book leans into the Christmas part of the setting, this book is a delight at any time of the year. Jewish readers will love the strength of the representation, and queer readers will enjoy the range of representation and found family in the main characters and side characters alike. This was a solid 4.5 stars rounded up.

I hereby declare a shenanigan.

This was my last read of 2023 and I loved it. Pretty much anything that makes shenanigans a part of the plot I’m going to love. I don’t know if shenanigans count as a microtrope but I’m making it one & also making it one of my favorites.

Levi & Hannah were just 💜💜. And I loved how this story explored their relationship with each other & their family & friends.

I love this series & can’t wait to spend more time at Carrigans!

Special thanks to @readforeverpub for the ARC!

For Never & Always follows Hannah and Levi who were once lovers and now are reconnecting over the hotel they inherited!

I didn’t know this was technically a sequel before I went into it and although I don’t think that harmed my reading experience, there was definitely some extra angst that I probably missed regarding a certain side character.

I really enjoyed the start of this! I just wrapped up a few stories about unlikeable main characters and this was a great change of pace with two messy characters but who were both still likeable and able to pull me into their relationship.

I think the things I didn’t really love were related to the drama that they both thrived and loved as people. Both that either Levi or Hannah search for or create drama, they just both love being a part of things and their overall lack of communication skills lead to more pain for them both

Both Levi and Hannah seemed to really self-analyze in different ways and look towards a way they can both be full people separately while also trying to figure out how to be in a healthy relationship together. You’re definitely rooting for them to get their shit together throughout though!

For Never & Always
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Helena Greer

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Hannah Rosenstein should be after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi "Blue" her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner. 

When Levi left Carrigan's, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn's cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he's ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he his family's angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again .

Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He'll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.

My Thoughts: This was a sweet romantic read. This was a follow up book to The Season of Love and some readers of this book may not know that and feel a little lost. To get the most character enrichment and backstory, it is better to read The Season of Love first, and then dive into this book. Initially, the beginning of the book, I was confused with the storyline but a few chapters and everything cleared up. Hannah Rosenstein spent most of her childhood all over the world, with never living in the same place too long. Her great aunt bestowed Carrigan’s to her, a destination inn. Her great aunt also made Levi part owner. Hannah and Levi were each other’s first love and when he left, she was heartbroken and wrecked. Levi has returned, now a famous chef, and nothing goes as planned. The governor’s daughter is having a wedding at Carrigans and will only do so if Levi is the chef. Well Levi sees this as a way back into Hannah’s graces, he will agree to be the chef for the wedding if she agrees to five dates with him, and if by the conclusion of the dates, he does not win her over, he will sell his shares of Carrigans. Will he be able to win her back over? Or does the hurt run too deep? This follows the tropes of second chance romance, small town, and friends to enemies to lovers.

The story is narrated in a dual narration by Hannah and Levi, in their respective perspectives, with flashbacks to the past. Our heroine is plus size and represented well. Hannah is a fun, spirited woman that is loyal to a fault, and cares deeply. Levi was confused when he left, he never felt like he fit in, for those he loves, he is all in. There was a lot of supporting/side characters in this story. Now in the end, they did enhance the story, but it took some time to get there. The characters were well fleshed out, had depth, had tremendous growth through the storyline, witty banter, chemistry, angst, and tension. The author’s writing style was complex, endearing, closed door, intriguing, and kept me invested (once we got to the halfway mark). I held on reading because I know this author writes very talently and there would come a point when everything made sense.

Trigger warnings: childhood trauma. The author did a fantastic job with representation of LBGTQ+, Jewish culture, customs, and tradition, as well as mental health. The story started a little confusing and no where did it label it a follow up, or sequel book to the Season of Love, which is why a lot of readers were confused by the beginning. It felt like starting in the middle of the book; and then the middle of the book felt like it was the beginning of the book. However, saying this, I still enjoyed this novel and would recommend to other readers.

I have incredibly mixed feelings about this book. got a bit lost with a few of the side characters with their stories as well as the back and forth of things. I almost feel I would have liked it better if I would have read the first book of the series.

I found the characters difficult to like and deal with. They were all so whiny and annoying. It felt sad and unhappy.
I love a good redemption story but unfortunately this one kind of missed the mark for me, but I hope to have better luck with this author in the future.

The premise was really promising, and I'm sure there are plenty of readers who will love these messy, queer characters and their childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance, but something about the writing style just didn't mesh with my brain and made it difficult for me to read.

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for my copy to review.

✨ Review ✨ For Never & Always by Helena Greer

The sequel to Season of Love, this book picks up where that book ends with Levi (Blue) returning home to Carrigans and his relationship with Hannah. The book alternates between this present day story and short flashbacks providing their back story. Blue convinces Hannah to go on several dates with him in an attempt to woo her back, but really they both identify things they need to work on along the way.

I loved learning more about Blue and Hannah in this book -- the highs and lows of their relationship and what makes them tick. The book is filled with Carrigan's All Year events, including several events for the governor's daughter, and it gives us a chance to settle into Carrigans.

While this book is a second chance book, it feels a lot deeper than that. Instead of the two basically same characters coming together or decades later coming together, it truly felt like them working on themselves and each other in a healthier way than many second chance books feel to me.

It did start to drag a bit in the second half and could have been a bit more snappy, but overall I enjoyed this one, and can't wait for the next!!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.75)
Genre: contemporary F/M romance, queer & Jewish representation
Setting: Carrigans Tree Farm, rural NY
Pub Date: Nov 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ Christmas trees & Jewish holidays
⭕️ lots of delicious food
⭕️ second chance romances

Thanks to Forever and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Loved this. It was great to read a romance with characters in their mid-thirties trying to figure out anxieties, relationships and life. Looking forward to book 3.

This was the first book I have read by Helena Greer and I really enjoyed it. I didn't realize this was the second book in this series and because I didn't it did leave me confused figuring everything out. I got there and really enjoyed the book. I will be going back to read the first one. The setting and the characters are really good. This is a sweet small town romance and I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

This took me some time to get into it, but once I did I flew through it in less than a day. I ended up purchasing the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration. I loved being back at Carrigans and seeing Miriam and Noelle from Season of Love. Levi and Hannah get their second chance when he returns home after Cass’ death. I appreciated how everyone finally heard him in how Cass mistreated him and how it allowed him some peace. There were a lot of healthy aspects to Levi’s relationship with Hannah as they tried to rebuild their secret marriage. I loved that they went to therapy together. There were lots of sweet moments and plenty that made me laugh out loud too. I loved the ending. Im excited for more books from Helena Greer.

I believe this is marketed as a standalone but I really think you need to read Season of Love, Helena Greer's debut novel, before this one. You'll definitely have a better understanding of some of the major characters who play important parts in this story.

That said, I enjoyed this book more than I did SoL. And it made me look at one of the main players in SoL, who also plays a big part in this book, a lot differently. But I really liked the two main characters in this book, Levi and Hannah. I liked getting to see things from both their points of view, as well as the flashbacks. These two had so much history- most of it good, until it wasn't. I'm so glad Levi came back to Carrigan's, they really, really needed to work things out and to make things right between them. There was just too much good and wonderful between them, for it to all end.

I loved the epilogue!!!

DNF

I rarely ‘do not finish’ a romance novel. But, as I found myself hating more and more of “For Never and Always”, my absolute disgust with this book forced me to stop.

Hannah and Levi have been friends / in love with each other all their lives; they haven’t seen each other for a number of years after Levi asks Hannah to leave the farm/hotel where they all live to explore the world and Hannah refuses because her aunt (who owns the property) is sick, and the hotel is her happy/safe place. Levi’s back and wants to reunite.

Levi hates the farm and small-town for various reasons I won’t get into. But what is important is that everyone dismisses or doesn’t know about how bad it was for him. Hannah says something to the effect of “I guess we should have believed you instead of thinking you were an exaggerating, moody teenager”; everyone is shocked at how poorly the perfect aunt treated him. Did these people not have functioning eyes or ears?

I stopped reading when a side character says to Levi (I paraphrase) “I thought you were a just a whining cisgendered white man, but now that I know you’re queer, your trauma is real / justifiable.”

Hannah is terrible. She and Levi are having dinner, and she wants to know about why his childhood was so bad, and Levi explains some of the ways the aunt treated him. Her response: “I can’t believe you’re trying to ruin the memories of someone I love.” And then she runs out of the restaurant.

Levi is described as "selfish" or self-centred, but I saw little evidence of it. He is a person who filters events through his own experience - not sure that makes him selfish or simply human? And, when he's spent most of his life not fitting in and told he's a drama-queen, all my sympathy was for him. I could only think - you can do better!

I found all the "best friends" immature and similarly terrible, and I just could not bring myself to finish this book. I received an ARC of this book, but the review is my own.

You don’t need to read the previous book to understand this one but I would recommend her other books. This one felt a bit flat to me simply because e the characters weren’t my favorite.

Helena Greer’s Season of Love was one of my favourite holiday books last year (review here) so I was really looking forward to getting to hang out at Carrigan’s All Year again with Hannah, Miriam, and Noelle in For Never and Always. But, while I was happy with some of the themes of the story, I was ultimately left disappointed. I didn’t buy the romance and if I don’t buy the love story in a romance novel? Well, that’s a hard thing to come back from.

Here’s the book’s description:
Hannah Rosenstein should be after a lonely childhood of traipsing all over the world, she finally has a home as the co-owner of destination inn Carrigan’s All Year. But her thoughts keep coming back to Levi "Blue" her first love, worst heartbreak, and now, thanks to her great-aunt’s meddling will, absentee business partner.
When Levi left Carrigan's, he had good intentions. As the queer son of the inn's cook and groundskeeper, he never quite fit in their small town and desperately wanted to prove himself. Now that he’s a celebrity chef, he's ready to come home and make amends. Only his return goes nothing like he his family's angry with him, his best friend is dating his nemesis, and Hannah just wants him to leave. Again .
Levi sees his chance when a VIP bride agrees to book Carrigan’s—if he’s the chef. He'll happily cook for the wedding, and in exchange, Hannah will give him five dates to win her back. Only Hannah doesn’t trust this new Levi, and Levi’s coming to realize Hannah’s grown too. But if they find the courage to learn from the past . . . they just might discover the love of your life is worth waiting for.
I was so sad that I didn’t love this love story more than I did. I just found Hannah and Levi’s relationship to be so incredibly toxic. I was with Noelle, who also didn’t think they belonged together. Hannah explained her feelings by saying that Noelle just never got to see Hannah and Levi together and happy. By the time Noelle came along, cracks had formed and it wasn’t a great relationship. Well, I didn’t see a great relationship either, not even in some of the flashbacks. And I love a good romance between childhood friends but I couldn’t see past their toxic past. Especially when they kept saying that they used to just “fight or fuck.” I’m supposed to root for them after that? When neither of them were actually, you know, TALKING to each other? “He’s just not understanding!” Well, sweetie, it’s because he can’t read your damn mind. Of course he doesn’t understand. As for Levi, he wasn’t telling all his truth that completed affected his teenagehood and something he sure as hell needed to resolve before he could have a healthy relationship.

Speaking of that secret of Levi’s…it had to do with Cass and it made zero sense to me. It was a huge truthbomb that affected Hannah and Miriam so much but I was left scratching my head a bit. Not necessarily because of what happened. But more just how the narrative was being put together. It seemed like this truth should have caused more…problems? Maybe? It’s hard to say without spoilers but it was a big part of why the story didn’t work for me.

This story also kind of dragged for me. I didn’t really feel like there was much movement in the plot. It was just back and forth of Hannah and Levi trying to figure out their lives and being kind of whiney and kind of self-centred the whole time. I’m pretty sure there was a lot of skimming happening.

Even though I didn’t enjoy For Never and Always, I still want to check out the next book in Helena Greer’s series. I think she has good stories to tell - this one just really missed the mark for me.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via Netgalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I did not finish this I just couldn’t get into this book.I was not interested in anything about this book