A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Always Isn't Forever by J.C. Cervantes

Genre:
Young Adult, Romance, Netgalley, Paranormal, Fantasy, Contemporary, Fiction, Novel

Publication Date:
June 6, 2023

Rating:
4.8 out of 5

Blurb:

Best friends and soul mates since they were kids, Hart Augusto and Ruby Armenta were poised to take on senior year together when Hart tragically drowns in a boating accident. Absolutely shattered, Ruby struggles to move on from the person she knows was her forever love.

Hart can't let go of Ruby either.... Due to some divine intervention, he's offered a second chance. Only it won't be as simple as bringing him back to life--instead, Hart's soul is transferred to the body of local bad boy.

When Hart returns to town as Jameson, he realizes that winning Ruby back will be more challenging than he'd imagined. For one, he's forbidden from telling Ruby the truth. And with each day he spends as Jameson, memories of his life as Hart begin to fade away.

Though Ruby still mourns Hart, she can't deny that something is drawing her to Jameson. As much as she doesn't understand the sudden pull, it can't be ignored. And why does he remind her so much of Hart? Desperate to see if the connection she feels is real, Ruby begins to open her heart to Jameson--but will their love be enough to bridge the distance between them?

Review:

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.

*Disclaimer: Thank you to the author, PENGUIN GROUP Young Readers Group Publishing, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.