Hey hey hey, bibliophiles! Happy Friday! This is my first official review post on the new website! I hope you’re all enjoying your time here! Like I said, it’s a work in progress. I plan to update and modify things on a fairly regular basis, so eventually you’ll see more on this site.
Anyway, I want to get to this review because my latest read slaughtered what little bit of a heart I have. The very generous and lovely Lindy Dale gifted me a copy of her newest novel, Always & Eternal, and I could not seem to get to it fast enough. I had a feeling this book would kick my ass and I was absolutely right. Let me explain.
I’m stunned by this story. Absolutely and utterly stunned. I had a feeling I knew which direction this book was going, but my tattered emotions didn’t want to quite believe what could come to fruition when it came to Aiden and Eloise.
Aiden Fisher is a child of abuse. His father and older brother are in jail for the murder of his sister, and what’s left of his family is in shambles. With one older brother left, and a sister who does her best to be his protector, Aiden quickly becomes the latest punching bag under the family roof.
Eloise Fairchild is the daughter of wealth and status, but things aren’t always what they seem. A verbally abusive father and an alcoholic mother, Eloise finds herself very much alone in a world of splendor and fortune.
Both in search of love, affection, and simple companionship, so it’s serendipitous that these two bump into each other. Their connection is strong and immediate, but they still take time to let a deep bond form.
Star-crossed from the start, these two have hopes and dreams to be together no matter what life throws at them. Aiden is hell-bent on breaking into the music scene and covering up his tortured past while Eloise finds solace and peace in her dancing. Her dream is to be Australia’s prima.
Time, however, is not on their side. Circumstances force the couple take a year apart to try to be their best selves before they are worthy of each other and begin an old journey anew. It’s the universe that seems to have other plans once they eventually make their way back to one another. When demons fight their way to the surface, the couples’ moment of bliss is jeopardized.
Will they sacrifice their dreams and each other, or be ruined forever?
This story read like poetry, had references to a few of the classics in literature, music, and performing arts, and absolutely broke my heart. I went to bed with a heavy heart having finished this one. What a roller coaster!
My Final Rating: five out of five stars
