Always by Sarah Jio

Ballantine Books (February 7, 2017)

MY REVIEW:

Torn between the man she now loves and the man she once loved and never forgotten

Written with alternating chapters between the past and the present seamlessly giving a good flow to the story.  In the past, you read about the budding relationship between Kailey and Cade. Reading this made the chapters that focused on the present more heartbreaking. I mourned the loss relationship along with Kailey and was anxious to see what happened to Cade to take him from the successful man he was to the confused, unresponsive homeless man on the streets. The love story aspect of this book is believable and well-written, heartbreaking and sweet. An emotional ride as you witness Kailey’s struggle of her current situation of planning a wedding to the ideal man while just discovering that her one true love, once very successful, is now a homeless person. Written that both men clearly loved Kailey; one needing her help to recover and the other ready to build their life together, what a complex situation to be in and a difficult decision to face.  This was a captivating read and a page turner. My first read by this author and I look forward to reading her other books.

What prevented this from a 5 star rating is some unanswered questions/events that weren’t explained. (spoilers):

Why James was avoiding Kailey and then his sudden change of heart and offering to help was odd.  Another issue I had was what really happened to Cade? Was he attacked again after being denied access to James party, was he attacked when he was with his homeless friend, Ivan? Who checked/signed him out of the hospital?

ARC provided via Netgalley

BLURB:

A gripping novel about the kind of love that never lets go, and the heart’s capacity to remember, from the New York Times bestselling author of Blackberry Winter and The Violets of March Enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with her fiancé, Ryan, at one of Seattle’s chicest restaurants, Kailey Crain can’t believe her good fortune: She has a great job as a journalist and is now engaged to a guy who is perfect in nearly every way. As she and Ryan leave the restaurant, Kailey spies a thin, bearded homeless man on the sidewalk. She approaches him to offer up her bag of leftovers, and is stunned when their eyes meet, then stricken to her very core: The man is the love of her life, Cade McAllister. When Kailey met Cade ten years ago, their attraction was immediate and intense—everything connected and felt right. But it all ended suddenly, leaving Kailey devastated. Now the poor soul on the street is a faded version of her former beloved: His weathered and weary face is as handsome as Kailey remembers, but his mind has suffered in the intervening years. Over the next few weeks, Kailey helps Cade begin to piece his life together, something she initially keeps from Ryan. As she revisits her long-ago relationship, Kailey realizes that she must decide exactly what—and whom—she wants. Alternating between the past and the present, Always is a beautifully unfolding exploration of a woman faced with an impossible choice, a woman who discovers what she’s willing to save and what she will sacrifice for true love.

BOOK LINKS:

Amazon: Always: A Novel

Tunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/always/id1125799589?mt=11

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/always-sarah-jio/1123772313?ean=9781101885024

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/always-64

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Jio is the #1 international, New York Times, and USA Today bestselling author of eight novels. She is also a longtime journalist who has contributed to Glamour, The New York Times, Redbook, Real Simple, O: The Oprah Magazine, Cooking Light, Woman’s Day, Marie Claire, Self, and many other outlets, including NPR’s Morning Edition, appearing as a commentator. Jio lives in Seattle with her three young boys.