3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall a very good book with an interesting story, just not my favorite of the author's books.
This book tells the story of Kailey who has a great career, is in love and getting ready to marry her fiancee, Ryan. They are out to dinner one night and come across a homeless man, who Kailey soon comes to realize is her long lost love Cade.
Seeing Cade sets in a motion a series of events that has Kailey wondering if the course she's chosen for her life is the right one and takes us through the history of their relationship and how it all came to an unexplained end. Will Kailey follow her heart or take the path that she thinks is safe? Sarah Jio writes a touching and heartfelt love story set to the music scene of Seattle in the 90s. I loved that aspect of the book, since so much of the music mentioned is music I listened to during and after college. I could very much relate to that aspect of the book.
Definitely worth a read, even though it was a little predictable. It was a very quick read, I read the whole thing on a plane ride.

I was beyond thrilled to receive an ARC from Netgalley of Sara Jio's new book. I have read all of her books and loved them! This book was not an exception!  I loved this one too! This book stayed with me long after I turned the last page. This story is about a woman named Kailey who seems to be engaged to the perfect man, Ryan.Her past comes back to haunt her when she sees a homeless man outside a restaurant as her lost love, Cade who disappeared from her life 10 years ago. The story alternates between the past with Cade and the present with Ryan. Who will she choose? This story also tells the plight of the homeless and the mentally ill who find themselves on the streets . This was a tender,beautiful love story that I couldn't put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Jio never fails to disappoint in her novels.  I love her writing style and the way she manages to draw the reader into the story.  Quick read - I settled down on a Saturday afternoon and read the entire book and enjoyed every page!

I very much enjoyed this book. It wasn't fast paced and you knew where the ending was going... but it gave a different slant on homelessness.... seeing it through fresh eyes.

i believe that I have read every book that Sarah Jio has written.  It is a lovely thing when you can easily choose to read an author’s next book, because you know you are going to love it.  With Always, Sarah Jio continues to never disappoint me.  

The main character in the novel is Kailey Crain.  She has everything going for her - a great job and a great fiancee.   This changes one night when she sees a homeless man on the street.  When she meets his eyes, she is shocked to see that she recognizes him.  It is Cade McAllister, the love of her life, who simply disappeared one day.  

Kailey, an investigative journalist, who is doing a series on the plight of the homeless in Seattle, can not ignore Cade.  She sets about to help him, keeping it a secret from her fiancee. 

The story is told in alternating tales, the past and the present.  For the past, we learn about how Kailey meets Cade, how they fall in love, and how magical their love is.  In the present, we watch Kailey struggling to help Cade and keep her life with her fiancee at the same time. 

Once again, I loved it.  It was a little predictable, though the ending really could have gone either way.  Just a sweet simple love story with a bit of a mystery.  

I received an ARC of this book.

I always enjoy Sarah Jio's books, some more than others. This was not one of my more favorites, I did give it 4 stars, but only because I enjoyed all the 1990's Seattle music references. Otherwise I thought it was a solid 3 stars.

Jio is a romantic at heart and that comes through very clearly in this book. Given the same set of circumstances, I am not sure I would have responded the same.

This was a nice fast read and would be great to read on a mid-length car or plane trip, but maybe I would have liked it more had it gone a little deeper than it did.

Always was a very moving read, it just didn't move me in the right direction.  I loved The Violets of March, and ever since then, I always look for Jio's books, she really has a way with sucking you into the story.

Kailey is a big hearted reporter, who has been following a story on the homeless, and a business developers desire to displace them.  As passionate as Kailey is about the plight of the displaced, she feels like she can't always discuss her work with her fiancee since he is a business developer.  But Kailey and Ryan have forged a way to support each other's careers because they are so deeply in love with each other. 

Then one night, Kailey goes to give her leftovers to a homeless man, and sees that it is her old boyfriend, Cade.  

Kailey is shocked and stunned, Cade was the one that got away - literally.  He just disappeared ten years ago in the middle of their relationship.  Although Kailey is happily engaged, and has a fiancee without fault (except for overbearing parents - but they live far away), she decides to track down Cade and try to help him.

Cade doesn't remember Kailey, but is willing to take her help.  She gets him hooked up with a neuro institute to deal with his brain injury - he doesn't remember anything about his former life as a record company executive, or his former partners.  As Kailey helps Cade, Ryan tries to understand her need to be so involved with her ex-boyfriend.

The weird thing is that as Kailey goes into her flashbacks of her and Cade's life together, you see that their relationship wasn't on all that solid ground.  Cade was pretty close to being an alcoholic, was blowing off dates with her and had a budding drug problem.  His partner wanted to dump him because his addictions were interfering with his judgement and he was frequently not showing up for work.

But Kailey keeps getting more involved with Cade, neglecting her wedding planning, and lying to her fiancee, who is getting close to having enough.

Cade has a breakthrough and remembers his accident, his partner agrees to pay him the millions he is due, and Kailey and Cade will live happily ever after - Ryan, not so much.

I have to say, this story made me a little frustrated with Kailey - it's not like Cade was treating her well at the end, even before he went missing.  And Ryan has been nothing but loving and supportive, but she chooses to leave her happy life to risk it all again with Cade.  I'm not even thinking she shouldn't be with him because of the brain damage, the slow speech, etc., but because he wasn't that great the first time around!

It had a nice wrap up for Kailey and Cade, a not so nice one for Ryan, and all in all, I think Kailey is a romantic without any common sense.

Current Goodreads Rating 3.78

I've read all Sarah Jio's books and love all of them.  "Always" did not disappoint.  Dealing with homeless is a hot issue in our times, and especially when it is someone you love.  Sarah Jio made this book into a poignant story.

Sarah Jio is an author that I always look forward to her next book and have enjoyed them all so I was really disappointed with this book. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy the story line and I had a difficult time finishing the book.

Sarah Jio's novel, Always, is such a poignant tale of love, lost and found.  It also gives the reader a brief glimpse into the subject of homelessness.  Beautifully written!  

This story is sure to be a delight for Sarah Jio's readers. I would recommend this novel for book clubs as there is much to be discussed between the covers of this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel and to share my thoughts.

Catching up with my reading is taking some time, but I'm glad I'm getting there. This week's book is the romance Always by bestselling author Sarah Jio. As always, I try to avoid any spoilers, but sometimes they can't be avoided.

spoiler-alert

Kailey Crane is a lucky woman. She has a job she adores, lives in a city she loves and has a handsome, attentive and, well, rich fiancee to accompany it all. As her and Ryan, her soon-to-be husband, are leaving a nice restaurant after a lovely dinner, Kailey bumps into a homeless man. She has been working on several articles regarding the situation of the homeless in Seattle and, knowing their situation, offers him the leftovers from her meal. She is shocked to recognize the man. He is not some anonymous soul in the streets, he is Cade McAllister, former founder of Element Records and Kailey's first and greatest love. Shaken, she is unsure of what to do. When he had disappeared, years before, she never thought she would find him in the streets. But nothing can be done, she can't get him off her mind. She decides to find him and help him get his life back.

I found this book a good read and with an interesting premise. We do cross homeless people quite often in our daily lives. What would you do if you bumped into a homeless man and it turned out to be an old friend or even an old boyfriend? Would you help him? Would you ignore him? Would you hand him £20 and wish him the best? It's difficult to tell. On principle, I'd like to think that we would all help this person, but the reality might be very different once it hits you in the face with the force of a boulder. 

The story keeps you on your toes. Kailey is unsure of her own feelings about the now two men in her life. Cade's disappearance as well as the reason for his homelessness remains a mystery too and is one of the main plot lines that kept me avidly turning pages.

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Jio alternates chapters of current story with flashbacks to how Kailey and Cade met and how their romance flourished and then slowly  decayed into a final fight before Cade walked out seemingly forever. 

If I have one reproach to this novel, though, is that the character of Kailey, being the main character, doesn't show the type of growth I would have expected, or at least hoped for. The ending, I believe, will be fully satisfactory for most readers, but I'd have liked something more out of it.

It's a good winter read though, with a lot of importance placed in the setting, highlighting Seattle and its modern popular history and, although not as successful painting the city as Isabelle Bloom was depicting Prague in A Year and a Day, we do get a real sense of what Kailey's and Cade's Seattle was like.

If you like a good romance, one that fills you with warm fuzzy feelings at the end, like I do, you will love Always.

Always is now available for purchase.

Always opens with Kailey and her fiancé Ryan beginning a special date night at an exclusive restaurant.  
Ryan is Kailey's second great love .  Her first, dropped out of sight suddenly and with no explanation.  This disappointment bruised her heart, but she has forged on and is ready to marry a man that values her above almost everything.  
Always is a gripping story, rich with twists and turmoils, love, loss and drug abuse.   Take this trip with Kailey...and see if love really does conquer all.

This book shines a spotlight on homelessness, which is an issue for many or most urban centres. It's easy to judge how or why people end up on the street, but things are not always what they seem. This topic forms the background of this book and the choices we must make in life and in love. I did find the ending a little too pat, but this book was a good read.

Thank you to NETGALLEY and SARAH JIO for allowing me to read and review. This is fourth novel written by Sarah Jio, I have enjoyed them all, especially Blackberry Winter. I like the way the author introduces the reader to her characters, you grow to care about them and what happens to them. The story goes from past to present, present to past.
The story starts with the future, Kailey is engaged to marry Ryan, she has a job she loves, she feels that she has finally moved on from her painful past, that life is good for her, then she runs into a homeless man, and who that homeless man turns out to be will turn her world upside down.
Remember your first love, Kailey and Cade , lighting strikes when they meet each, they fall madly
in love, the attraction is strong and life changing. Cade is everything Kailey wants in a man, he is dedicated to music and to Kailey. Then one day, they argue and he disappears, ten years later, with her life in control, she realizes he is in big trouble. She feels that she has to help him, she cannot let him go. But if she helps Cade, will she lose Ryan, who is so good for her. Follow her story to see what she decides to do.
This is a wonderful love story, no one ever forgets their first love, bad or good, this novel will
remind you of that time. It is full of sadness, some mystery, music, much happiness, forgiveness, new beginnings, but most of all, love, and we all know love is everything.
Thank you NETGALLEY!

I'm a big fan of Jio, she writes stories about love that have a some substance and not just fluff. I like that. This story grew on me as I read it. At first I was not a fan of the choices the main character was making. But that turns out to be the whole crux of the story: if you had the chance to go back, would you? Interesting concept written with a lot of heart

Another home run from Sarah Jio. Reading Sarah's books always makes me want to go to Seattle. This is a beautifully written love story. Sarah puts some of herself in the main character Kaley.

This is a story of present vs. past love. Engaged and happy Kailey sees a disheveled looking appRently homeless man outside a restaurant and on closer look realizes it's the same man that was the love of her life 10 years ago. Told in alternating chapters of past and present, does she give up her present happiness to try to re-establish and resurrect her past relationship? This book has the makings of a soap opera ok but not great; however I like the author's previous works enough to read her latest.

A little too sappy and perfect for me. I don't really think Kailey would have done all she did. Also, there were too many "holes" in the plot-line especially concerning how Cade got so injured. I think Ms. Jio went off track there and just left things hanging. She does do a great job describing Seattle and bringing us into that world.

I started out as such a fan of Ms Jio, but, for me, her last few books have been lacking. Not sure if it's because so much has happened in her personal life (clearly that can change things) but I hope she gets her writing mojo back soon.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

I wasn't sure where this book was going, but in a way it has a fairy tale ending.

It was the synopsis that made me interested to read this book. Kailey and Cade had a really beautiful story and it was sad the way it ended for them.

Even though Kailey moved on and found Ryan, you could sense she wasn't as carefree in the relationship as she was with Cade. When Kailey met Cade, who had become homeless and suffering from amnesia, Kailey felt compelled to help him get his life back. And as she helps him, she finds herself drawn by the feelings she's buried away since Cade's disappearance.

Even though I was team Cade, Ryan was perfect. I had wished he had a secretly bad character like being a cheater since he often goes on business trips but no... he was perfect. He loved Kailey despite knowing she wasn't with him 100%. He didn't mind being the one who loved her a tad more. He was as understanding as he could be when he eventually found out about Kailey helping Cade.

I loved that this book was inspired by a true life incident and I'm a sucker for second chance romance, I did wish there was a stronger closure on what happened to Cade. It was too brief and a little far fetched to the beautiful romance they had. I wished for a better ending for Ryan as well. He really didn't deserve any of what happened.

This is my first book by Sarah Jio. To be honest, I've been wanting to check her books out but with the number of books I have to read, I hadn't gotten to it till now. I like the different writing style in this book with flashbacks of the past between Cade and Kailey. I do hope to check out more of Sarah Jio's books and have to commend on her beautiful book covers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for an ARC copy to read and review.