He’s the bad boy quarterback, one scandal away from being traded.She’s the squeaky-clean pop star with a morality clause hanging around her neck.And they can’t keep their hands off each other.Cassian Ellis fell in love with Gigi Cavanaugh when he was fourteen. But he couldn’t have her. His mentor — her dad — promised to take him out of detention and all the way to the pros. The price: stay away … to the pros. The price: stay away from his daughter.
But Gigi was embedded in his soul — there was no distancing himself from her. And, senior year in high school, in a moment of desperation when he couldn’t take all the want and love and lust, he ended things in the worst way possible.
Now, nine years later, he’s forced to do charity work to clean up his party boy image.
And guess who’s working right alongside him?
Gigi can’t believe her bad luck. She’s on the same Dreams Come True tour as Cassian Ellis. And, with the press recording their every move, she has to pretend to like the man who tore out her heart and stomped all over it.
But Cassian couldn’t be happier since he never stopped loving her. And he’s determined to win her back. Only, someone’s leaking photographs, and headlines about the bad boy quarterback corrupting the squeaky-clean pop star could sink both their dreams.
Can their love overcome all the world has put between them?
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This is the 5th book in this awesome series and is Cassian and Gigi’s story. Cassian is a bad boy quarterback who is sent to do charity work in order to prove his image, and Gigi is a squeaky-clean pop star. These two have not seen each other for 9 years, and the chemistry between then is intense. This is a beautifully written tale which is filled with angst, heartbreak, emotion, and love, which lead to a heart-warming 2nd chance. I was intrigued and hooked throughout, and I highly recommend for all readers.
This was a second chance romance with heart wrenching moments and a lot of back and forth for my taste, I wanted a little more from the characters, than what I got.
Cassian Ellis was a football star in high school but had to make a very difficult choice – the girl of his dreams or the chance of being a football star. He chose football knowing that if he chose the girl she would likely give up her own dreams to go wherever he went.
Gigi Cavanaugh has become a member of the successful group the Lollipops but lately she is struggling as the group is in jeopardy of losing their contract due to the behavior of one of the members. She hates that she is forced to sing other people’s music and has no chance at creativity but is also aware that losing this contract may mean losing her future opportunities.
When a compromising picture of Cassian is sent out to the press his coach forces him to go on the Dreams Come True tour to get a better name for himself. He is shocked that Gigi is on the same tour and he wonders if this is his opportunity to reclaim the only girl he ever loved.
Yet with both of their careers on the line and both needing to stay as far away from bad press as they can – how much are they willing to sacrifice for love and second chances?
This was a great book with some awesome twists and turns to keep you wondering who was behind the bad press.
I liked Cassian and I felt bad that he was given a bad reputation from the incident at the hotel when he and Dean were truly just trying to help Amie. I didn’t think he was a bad guy at all but the press portrayed him a certain way and he didn’t do anything to dispel it as he never had a serious girlfriend.
I liked Gigi but I hated that she had settled with her music and become a puppet to her boss Dale. She was singing someone else’s music and was forced to live like the label wanted her to and she lacked the ability to use her own creativeness towards anything. Her parents ran the Dreams Come True tour and I liked that they forced her on it and also how mad she was when she saw that Cassian was on it too.
There was still so much chemistry between Cassian and Gigi right from the beginning but Gigi was worried as she knew how he was portrayed by the past and she was also concerned about his relationship with Amie. I loved how determined Cassian was to show Gigi that he would do anything for her but she was super concerned about her own reputation and what being linked to Cassian would do for her career.
I loved Gigi’s intuition and how she was super concerned about people using Cassian in the wrong way. She knew the way women acted when they wanted something from someone and she could see that Cassian was being used even if he didn’t see it himself. It made me happy when Cassian realized he needed to put Gigi’s feelings first and made a decision to protect himself but it ended up backfiring a little bit on him.
I was so mad that both Gigi and Cassian were having to make super tough decisions regarding what they wanted with their careers and their personal lives. Cassian was willing to make quite the sacrifice but it was also apparent that he was being used by someone he trusted.
I was so mad when Cassian figured everything out but it was also too late for him with everything that occurred because of an incident and he lost Gigi. I hated that he had been so trusting and it cost him what he loved the most. Through that I loved that Cassian was able to get himself back focused on the game and he was really able to figure out what it meant to be a leader and he was determined to be the best leader out there.
The very end of the book was awesome and I was so happy that both Cassian and Gigi discovered they could have it all if they were working with the right people and following their own path! – By Rebecca
IT WAS ALWAYS YOU is the fifth instalment in Erika Kelly’s contemporary, adult CALAMITY FALL erotic, romance series. This is NFL quarterback Cassian Ellis, and musician/pop princess Gigi Cavanaugh’s story line. IT WAS ALWAYS YOU can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Cassian and Gigi) IT WAS ALWAYS YOU follows the second chance romance between twenty six year old, childhood best friends NFL quarterback Cassian Ellis, and musician/pop princess Gigi Cavanaugh. Nine years earlier Cassian Ellis and Gigi Cavanaugh were entering their final year of high school; childhood best friends whose relationship was about to be destroyed by betrayal, secrets, and a father’s need to protect the daughter he loves, and the young man he always thought of as a son. Fast forward to present day wherein both Cassian and Gigi have made a name for themselves in their respective careers but too much bad press, and paparazzi photos forces our couple onto a Dreams Come True Tour, a foundation for at risk and sick kids. What ensues is the rebuilding friendship and relationship between Cassian and Gigi, and the potential fall-out as old habits die hard for our story line hero.
Cassian Ellis has a reputation as a playboy both on and off of the field but compromising photos threaten Cassian’s career, photos he knows were set up in an effort to destroy his career. Working alongside the woman he has never stopped loving finds Cassian struggling to be the man he knows Gigi still loves, a man whose life is spiralling out of control. Gigi Cavanaugh desperately wants to move beyond the pop princess lifestyle but her contract for one more album forces Gigi to stick with her label, a label that is all about appearances and perception. Discovering she has never stopped loving Cassian Ellis is bittersweet when he tells her the truth about what happened years before. Unable to let go of the past, Gigi battles between head and heart with her feelings and emotions towards our story line hero.
The relationship between Cassian and Gigi is a rekindling romance; a second chance romance for two people pulled apart by good intentions that all ripped their heart, and crushed their souls. Cassian is desperate to prove he is worthy of Gigi’s love but someone is just as desperate to prove Cassian is not the man he is supposed to be. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
We are introduced to several of Cassian’s teammates including Xander Wilder, and Dean Maddox; cheerleader Amie Clover; musician Grant Banner; as well as Gigi’s father Coach Tyler Cavanaugh. A couple of the previous story line characters make a cameo appearance in the story line epilogue.
IT WAS ALWAYS YOU is a story of family, friendships, betrayal and love. The premise is engaging and captivating; the romance is heart breaking and emotional; the characters are colorful, energetic, and animated. IT WAS ALWAYS YOU is an imaginative and flirty story of second chances.
This book was full of every motion you could ever feel. From heartache, anger, happiness, and love you will get it all. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish this book without my own heart breaking in the process. I absolutely loved this book, as well as, seeing to main characters so vulnerable it will tear your heart out. There were moments when I wanted to jump in the book and slap both Gigi and Cassian, but they proved you can conquer anything with true love.