He promised me forever.Then he boarded a plane for a college a thousand miles away and never returned. A decade later there’s a ring on my finger with a new promise from a new love.Just as my life falls into place, pretty as the pages of a magazine, my world is knocked over. The moment he touches me everything around me begins to crack, exposing all the lies I’ve told myself.Every glance reminds … told myself.
Every glance reminds me. Every touch ignites.
Things aren’t how they used to be.
Love isn’t easy.
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This was a new to me author, and the book certainly didn’t disappoint. After being gone for ten years, Pike returns home and Aubrey is engaged to another man. With each encounter with Pike, Aubrey fights back the old feelings and memories, convinced her future is with Caleb. But Pike fights to remind Aubrey they are meant to be together…..forever.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Who knew love could be so bittersweet in this romantic read by K.I. Lynn. Forever and All the Afters focuses on main character Aubrey, a sweet girl who seems to have lost her way somehow and forgotten who she is. Both Aubrey and Caleb work together, Aubrey as an Interior Designer and Caleb as the person who renovates and flips houses, they are also engaged and everything seems perfect…or so it seems. Aubrey is focused on the wedding and on her life in general, but she keeps thinking about the high school sweet heart that got away….Pike. He left many years ago and Aubrey hasn’t been the same since, until she bumps into him again and all of her old feelings rise to the surface, both good and bad.
Pike left Aubrey because he also had a plan, he and Aubrey were young and both had ambitions which sadly took them to different states, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t stopped wanting her, or thinking about her. Even though she is with another man, it isn’t going to stop Pike from making sure Aubrey knows how he feels.
This is an emotionally charged book, not only do you have a love triangle of sorts. You also have a somewhat main character Caleb, who is a totally horrible character in my opinion added into the mix. There were times reading the book where you cringed because of what he said or did, as well as times you wanted to just shake Aubrey. Graphic scenes were handled really well, but may be a trigger for some readers. And the heart to heart Aubrey’s mum and best friend, Nora have with her was spot on and you feel yourself rooting for Aubrey to get her courage and strength and make that decision to leave Caleb.
Pike and Aubrey together are a really sweet couple and although there are some difficulties when they meet again and try to forge a relationship, you actually feel Pike fighting to give them a chance and understanding what Aubrey has to work through before she moves into another relationship as well as tell Pike some things that she has kept to herself.
If you love first love romances, you are going to love this book and may even get a tear in your eye at points as well as wanting to get out the boxing gloves too!
ARC received for a fair and honest review.
More of my reviews can be found on my blog: https://thehotmesslibrary.blogspot.com
Forever and All the Afters is a story by K. I. Lynn.This story is way more than I expected. I was riveted, confronted, and captivated by the characters of this twisted tale. The characters were simplistic complication. The story took many unexpected turns, and my attention belonged avidly to this author’s words. A stunning and fantastic delving into the complex workings of a toxic relationship, the healing of a true love, and a happy ending. This story had it all. A well rounded, eloquently penned drama. 5 stars.
5 Stars
This book is one rollercoaster of emotions. Seriously, will hit you in all the feels. Aubrey is engaged to Caleb and excited to be planning her wedding and her future when she runs into Pike, the man she gave her heart to a long time ago. The man who left for college and never came back.
KI Lynn’s writing is spectacular as usual, and even though Aubrey is engaged to Caleb, you can feel the chemistry and love between her and Pike jumping off the pages. This story is the epitome of second chance love stories and it seriously doesn’t get any better than what Aubrey and Pike share. #relationshipgoals
Angela – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher to review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
He promised me forever. Then he boarded a plane for college a thousand miles away and never returned. A decade later there’s a ring on my finger with a promise from a new love. Just as my life fall into place, pretty as the pages of a magazine, my world is knocked over. The moment he touches me everything around me begins to crack, exposing all the lies I’ve told myself. Every glance reminds me. Every touch ignite. Things aren’t how they used to be. Love isn’t easy.
This is the story of Pike and Aubrey. These two were one of the greats. They were each others first loves and they made many promises to each other before Pike left and went to college. A college he didn’t not come home from until a decade later. Now that Aubrey is engaged to Caleb, of course Pike comes back promising her things she doesn’t want to hear. This is a story of first love. A love that never dies. A story of a lady who is in love really with two men. This is the story of how your first love never really leaves your heart no matter how hard you try to kick it out. I thought this book was so beautifully written and such an story that will melt a lot of hearts and ring true for some people. I could so feel the emotions pouring off the pages. I also have to mention that Aubrey has a group of friends that really support her and are really really hilarious!! You are going to love this book. Don’t miss it!
Gah this story nothing like first loves that were always meant to be. Pike is perfect, well besides waiting a decade to come back for the woman he loves but that’s what makes the story that much sweeter. I loved everything about this story Aubrey had an amazing network of work friends and Nora (She was hilarious). My favorite quote from the book sums up the entire story in my opinion:
“I’m in love with you, Aubrey. I’ve never stopped being in love with you.”
This was a wonderful read that I devoured in a day I couldn’t put it down
Oh my! Pike is so swoony. I love how he and Aubrey find their way back to each other in this angsty & intense second chance romance. My heart broke for these two, but Pike made up for the pain. He took care of Aubrey when she needed it most. Raw, heartbreaking & beautiful romance.
First let me start by saying I adored this. It was a very good read. In fact I stayed up all night reading it. But there’s one issue I have and before I get into it let me just scream SPOILER!!!
Okay are they gone? Okay I HATE Aubrey. I hated her from the first couple of seconds and I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until she sees Pike again that I started to like her. And in the end I truly loved that character. As you read this you’ll probably get what I mean. Her fiancé is an ass, she’s still in love with her high school boyfriend and her life isn’t as amazing as it seems. You start to see the cracks pretty quickly and realize they’re not just cracks they’re damn craters marked with red flags. I personally have been in bad relationships and I know first hand you don’t see the signs until it’s almost too late. Much like what happens to Aubrey.
All in all I love this story. But more importantly I love the message it gives up. Not everyone sees what’s going on in their life with clear eyes. Sometimes it takes someone else. Someone who has walked into the picture to truly get you to see things clearly. And most importantly that sometimes your first love doesn’t just go away.
Aubrey and Pike have been in each others lives for ever. They were high school sweethearts. But time and distance were not kind to them. Ten years later, Pike is back. And he wants Aubrey. Only problem is, Aubrey is engaged to another man. Pike is determined to prove to Aubrey that he his the right man for her. But will it be too late?
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
If you want a great second chance story … here’s your story.
Pike left Aubrey when he got on a plane for college. Only problem was he never came back… cue my anger!
Pike started to build his career. Once that was done he came back … meanwhile ….
Aubrey is happily engaged to Caleb but once she sees Pike … uh oh!!!!
This book has emotions being thrust at you from left and right.. it’s raw. It’s emotional. And so good.
My heart can finally relax! This book, wow, it’s hard to put accurate words to this book. I can say that you won’t want to put it down until the very end. At first glance you’ll think this book is a love triangle, which made me nervous. I don’t do love triangles. But this book is not that. And in order to get that full understanding you really need to read it. Pike and Aubrey were made for each other. They have years of separation to deal with, along with fears and a manipulative and controlling fiance. There is no cheating, though there is a kiss or two before hand. My heart broke for Aubrey way to many times. It broke when she ran into Pike that first time, it broke everytime Caleb would say something rude, and it broke when Caleb finally showed his true self. I just wanted to shake her and wake her up! This book is written mostly in Aubrey’s POV but we do get a chapter here and there from Pike’s POV and I loved that little inside to what he was thinking and feeling. This book was emotional all the way to the end. I’m glad Aubrey and Pike finally get their HEA with each other and that Aubrey had a great support system to ease her healing. She definitely deserves her happiness! *I voluntarily read an advanced copy of this book for my honest and unbiased review*
I absolutely loved this! I pulled an all-nighter to read this book and it was worth my time.
When Pike went off to college in New York all the promises of “forever” he said to Aubrey was just words that left her devastated. It took time for Aubrey to move on from her first love. Years have passed, finished college and proud owner of Designs With Hart, an interior design company. But when it comes to the affair of the heart, she’s now engaged to Caleb. A man who won’t leave her. She did move on or that’s what she tries to convince herself every day. But something unexpected happened…
“…how in the world would the two of us end up at the same place at the same time? I draw in a ragged breath as heat surges through my body. One man in my entire life made me feel this way. Only one.”
Pike’s here. Why did he come back after all these years? To get Aubrey back? But she’s not the same girl he left years ago and I’ll stop there because I don’t want to spoil anything for you.
Forever and All The Afters gave me all the feels as I uncover more about these characters. This book has romance, passion, angst, and love with all its complexity. K.I. Lynn always impressed me on how she writes and this story absolutely blew me away. It’s a complete story and a beautiful book to be lost in. A must-read from this author.
Well this book brought out more emotions in me than i thought it would, well one emotion in particular and that was anger. Some of the situations in this book had me so angry and wanting to hit someone but Pike balanced that out.
Pike and Aubrey have such a connection that it’s hard to ignore.
Their history with each other and even after all the years is still very much part of them both.
Pike i bloody loved so hard.
He knew what he wanted and he was going after it no matter what and who gets in his way.
Aubrey i loved her and wanted to shake her at the same time but it’s not her fault she was dealt a few bad hand of cards and she tried to work through it.
I really liked this book and i loved the relationship between Pike and Aubrey and also i loved Aubrey’s friend Nora she was a hoot!