This book Forever & Always is really a good book. I rated it 4 stars because I loved the experience of reading it and it's super well written.

I wanted to read this book because the cover captivated me! The story differed from my usual books, but overall it was entertaining and short. Thanks to NetGalley for the copy.

This was an interesting read! The prose was lyrical and the love really shone through. It was a quick, easy read!

After finishing this I am left with so many questions and emotions. It's told in a third person POV mainly following Lono, a prominent fisherman. This is a pretty short story with a few time jumps. We start out with Lono asking Laka out and having their first date on the beach where they experience an intense spiritual connection. Though Lono has a vision that is a bit ominous. After, they become so ingrained in each other even their work becomes a distraction for their love. Time passes and they are expecting a child. During this, ships arrive and although everyone seems at ease after the first encounter, Lono is suspicious. They claim to just be lost and require help navigating and will await help from their ship. Lono is chosen to be that aid. After the ship had arrived everything on the island begins to change. Strange things are happening and people are acting out of the ordinary.

The connection between Lono and Laka is undeniable and their need to be with the other felt so amazing to read. But when the ships arrived my anxiety definitely spiked. I already knew what was going to be on the ships, so to find out wasn't a big surprise. The parchment and what it contained wasn't that big a surprise either. The spiritual aspect was. Although I could follow along, I was left with so many questions. It was a bit disappointing in the way things were left. The ending was confusing because so many things were left unanswered, it didn't feel finished. I read many short stories and a few with open ended endings where even when it was up to the reader to use their imagination it was still satisfying. This wasn't that.

The spiritual aspect of the story is still such a mystery that I can't make out what happened fully, especially to Bomoh. Don't get me wrong, the story was interesting and entertaining but because of the millions of questions I now have, I'm just a bit unsatisfied after finishing it.

The ending was so sad. The loss and what happened to Lono and Laka was so hard to read because of how vibrant they were when I started the story. I hope there will be more in the future to this story because I would definitely be interested in reading it.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I thought the writing was great. The characters were likable. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend.

I was immediately drawn to this book by its gorgeous cover. The beginning started out interesting with the vision on the beach. The writing felt enchanting right from the start. Then as the story progressed the writing lost its whimsical charm and I didn’t love the writing style as much after that. If I’m being completely honest, I had a hard time understanding this story. With novellas I expected for things to be a bit more choppy due to their shortened length but with this story, I felt like things were jumping around quickly and left me with a ton of unanswered questions. I feel like there is supposed to be a deeper meaning here that the author was trying to convey but if I’m being completely honest I have absolutely no idea what it was.

Set against the lush, isolated backdrop of an archipelago, this novella follows Lono—a once-dedicated fisherman whose world begins to revolve around his growing family rather than the sea. Just as life slows into something peaceful and sweet, three mysterious ships arrive with strange goods and even stranger intentions.

Told in third person, this story starts off calm and grounded but quickly takes an eerie turn. The author blends lyrical prose with creeping unease in a way that lingers long after the final page. The shift from domestic tranquility to unsettling revelation was handled masterfully—it’s a quiet kind of horror that sneaks up on you.

It’s a trippy little novella, rich in atmosphere, with writing that pulled me in immediately. I’ll definitely be checking out more of this author’s work!