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Wednesday, January 12, 2022


Review: ALWAYS by Kris Bryant

 


Book Details

Title: Always
Author: Kris Bryant
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Publication Date: January 11, 2022
Genre(s): Adult, LGBT, Romance, Contemporary
Pages: 264
Bookshop Purchase Link: https://bookshop.org/a/67041/9781636790275
     

Reading Details

Finish Date: January 4, 2022
Format: Digital
Representation: Lesbian
Trigger/Content Warnings: Mentions of death and homophobia


Rating: 5/5

Favorite Quote/Scene: 
The final letter

Review: 
I am very thankful to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an eARC of this book. I do however curse Bryant for the emotions this book caused me (kidding, but seriously she made me cry).

The characters in this book were easily my favorite part of the story. The two main characters had great chemistry and it was fun to watch them grow closer as the story went on. I absolutely loved their interactions with the various side characters, especially Camila's great-grandmother. Even the character we don't see (Peri's great-grandmother) felt fleshed out and her connections with the other characters felt genuine.

I already mentioned that this book made me cry. The emotions in this book were amazing and I loved how they were portrayed. The most poignant emotions for me were from the letters sent between the two great-grandmothers. It just felt harsh and real and true. The emotions also felt like they played a central point to the story and how it was told. The emotions helped move the story along and make me feel even more connected to each of the various characters.

I really liked how this book was paced. Some books move too fast or too slow for me, but this one hit right in the middle for me. The characters were given time to connect with one another and time to learn more about each other and their great-grandmothers' history. None of the plot points felt rushed or dragged out. Maybe a bit rushed at the end, but even then, I enjoyed how it was setup and paced.

The closest thing I have to a complaint about this book is that I wish there had been more time for the relationship between the two to grow. There was a good amount of time devoted to it, both page wise and timewise, but I tend to want more with characters I like.

Now I want to mention the letters. I'm hiding this from my goodreads review, but you can check it out on my blog. The letters were a beautiful mix of joy and heartbreak. The stories they led to the girls learning, even more so. There was clearly a lot of love in the letters. A lot of emotions and connection. But there was also an overshadowing darkness. A hint of what could never be, what never was, looming over the letters. I have to give points to Bryant; they were written beautifully and clearly had a lot of thought and love put into their creation. The letter at the very end of the book, after both epilogues, has officially broken me, however. I don't know if I'll ever be okay after reading that.

If you want a good romance with likeable characters and not too much drama, I have to recommend this book. The story is amazing, the characters are great and have great connection with one another, and the great-grandmother's story is everything I could have dreamt of it.





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