After a childhood traipsing around the world, Hannah has finally found her home as the co-owner of Carrigan’s All Year. But her mind is still on Levi—her first love and, thanks to some posthumous meddling by her late aunt, new business partner. Levi left Carrigan’s four years ago with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, but now he’s returned to win Hannah back. Things don’t exactly go as planned though and now he only has a few months to convince Hannah that he’s changed and they are meant to be together.
From the moment I read SEASON OF LOVE, I knew I needed Hannah and Levi’s love story and I was absolutely delighted to find that we’d be getting it in this book. Levi’s presence is constantly felt at Carrigan’s despite him not physically being there and it was clear there was a lot more to their story that needed to be explored.
Don’t let the cartoon cover or the fact that this is a romance novel fool you—there is a lot of trauma explored in this story. Helena tackles tough topics with compassion and grace, validating experiences and reminding us that, despite how it feels, we are never alone in our pain. I found myself relating way too much with Levi, oftentimes highlighting things he said and sending texts to my friends wailing about how it was exactly me. There were so many lines where I felt horribly attacked and wildly validated and it made the reading experience that much better.
All the characters spring off the page with their strong personalities and their interactions are such a joy because of it. In addition to all the character work Helena did in the first book, she also utilizes flashbacks in this one to flesh out Hannah and Levi’s characters even further as well as shines some light on other characters. The relationships between characters also shine, eliciting all the warm and fuzzies.
One of my favorite things about this book is that our main characters actually act like adults and have honest conversations. They do the hard thing and take time to really listen to each other and talk things out—even go to counseling and therapy!—and it’s a beautiful example of how to develop healthy relationships.
Despite the heavier moments at times, I had such a blast reading and falling even further in love with the Carrigan's crew. It is abundantly clear that Helena has a deep love for these characters and this setting—and we get to reap the benefits of that love (hopefully for many more books to come!)
FOR NEVER & ALWAYS by Helena Greer is available now and you can pick up a copy here. While you’re at it, don’t forget to pick up the story that introduces the Carrigan’s crew, SEASON OF LOVE.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop affiliate link above, not only will I receive a small commission (which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you), but you will be supporting indie bookstores as well! If you prefer Amazon, visit my Amazon storefront and click on the list titled "2023 Book Recommendations."
