ARC Review: Forever Loved by Deanna Roy {Review+Giveaway}
Forever Loved (Forever Series #2)
by: Deanna RoyPublication Date: Jan. 10, 2014
Publisher: Casey Shay Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 275 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The much-anticipated sequel to the Top 10 bestselling new adult romance Forever Innocent.
“How do I tell the woman I love that I fathered a son with a prostitute?”
After four long years of separation, Gavin has finally reunited with his childhood love Corabelle. She’s forgiven him for leaving her during the funeral of their seven-day-old baby, and also for where he ended up — in Mexico to get a vasectomy.
But a message from Rosa, a prostitute he met the day of his surgery, brings his life to a crashing halt. She claims Gavin has fathered a son, now three years old and living with her cousin in Ensenada. He doesn’t know if he can trust Rosa, who never mentioned the boy before, or if his delicate reconciliation with Corabelle can withstand the shock if it is true.
Corabelle believes their future together is the right thing despite their past. But when she learns of this other child, the one thing she lost long ago and might never have again with Gavin, Corabelle’s faith that her life will ever follow her old dream is shattered. To make things right for Gavin and his son, she just might have to let go of the only person she always believed would be her forever love.
“How do I tell the woman I love that I fathered a son with a prostitute?”
After four long years of separation, Gavin has finally reunited with his childhood love Corabelle. She’s forgiven him for leaving her during the funeral of their seven-day-old baby, and also for where he ended up — in Mexico to get a vasectomy.
But a message from Rosa, a prostitute he met the day of his surgery, brings his life to a crashing halt. She claims Gavin has fathered a son, now three years old and living with her cousin in Ensenada. He doesn’t know if he can trust Rosa, who never mentioned the boy before, or if his delicate reconciliation with Corabelle can withstand the shock if it is true.
Corabelle believes their future together is the right thing despite their past. But when she learns of this other child, the one thing she lost long ago and might never have again with Gavin, Corabelle’s faith that her life will ever follow her old dream is shattered. To make things right for Gavin and his son, she just might have to let go of the only person she always believed would be her forever love.
Forever Loved picks up right where Forever Innocent left off and one of the biggest questions I had at the end of the first novel was whether or not these two would be able to forgive themselves and each other and be able to move on with their lives. Gavin and Corabelle have a heartbreaking history, but there is also a lot of love between these two. Corabelle's actions at the end of the first book certainly made me wonder what would happen next, as it's clear she has a lot of issues to sort through.
This was one of my biggest concerns with this book. I felt what Corabelle did should have played a larger role and made into a bigger deal than it was. Instead, she brushes it off and is going to depend on Gavin's love to get her through. I had a big problem with this because this isn't the first time Corabelle has attempted this particular thing. I felt like he was a huge crutch for her and I just had a hard time believing that everything would wrap up so neatly after all that has occurred. That is not to say Gavin and Corabelle don't have their share of problems in this book, however. New challenges and obstacles pop up that threaten to shatter the fragile thread that binds the two together.
Gavin is definitely a source of strength for Corabelle. I am really glad he stayed true to his nature and his love for her throughout this book. She really is it for him and he refuses to let her go. Gavin left Corabelle after Finn's funeral and made some really bad decisions. He was young, heartbroken, and didn't know how to deal with everything that was being thrown at him. I really like that Roy showed us flashbacks of that day in his POV. Gavin's father is a piece of work and instead of being supportive on the day of the funeral, he continues to tear him down and treat him like crap. Gavin always feared he would follow in his footsteps and become a bad father. However, what he starts to realize is that your parents don't define you and he can choose to be better than his father ever was. Gavin also takes a lot of grief from Corabelle's parents and while most people would be driven away by them, Gavin stayed by Corabelle's side no matter what.
Corabelle as I said, has a lot of issues I felt she needed to work through. Physically, her body is healing after what happened at the end of the first book, but emotionally I felt she still had a long way to go. She is coming to terms with Finn's death and the ending will definitely give you chills by how that storyline is resolved. Corabelle still has a lot of insecurities though when it comes to Gavin. She is terrified he will leave her again and she ends up having an anxiety attack at the hospital, in which she relapses and ends up in the ICU. Gavin hates that he wasn't there, but she needs to start learning to trust in him again otherwise I fear their relationship wouldn't make it. Tina is a great friend to Corabelle and we got to see more of her in this story. I am quite interested in her story, as she went down a similar road as Corabelle. Unlike Gavin, her ex ditched her and there was no reunion for those two. I am looking forward to seeing Roy tell Tina's story next.
Rosa and Manuelito also play a big role in this story. Rosa only cares about her son and wants to be able to provide and take care of him. I felt bad for her, as she is in love with Gavin and he does not reciprocate that love for her. I was a bit wary of Rosa at first and wondered what her true intentions were and if she was trying to trap Gavin. I loved little Manuelito (Rosa's son). He is adorable and is a really tough kid for being able to adapt as much as he had.
Overall, I enjoyed the ending to Corabelle and Gavin's story, as I felt these two have been through so much in their young lives and it is definitely heartwarming to see their story resolve the way it did, even though I felt it wrapped up a bit too perfectly.
Deanna
Roy is a passionate advocate for women who have lost babies. She
founded PregnancyLoss.Info in 1998 and runs many online and in-person
support groups. She is the author of several two-hankie reads, including
Forever Innocent, Stella & Dane, and Baby Dust.
10 comments
This is a series I'm just not sure of.... idk it just sounds so so sad. I've heard some mixed things about this series so I am very torn as to whether I want to read it or not. I'm glad you enjoyed it and was happy with the conlusion, despite its perfectness (is that a word?). Great review Jessica!
ReplyDeleteIt is very heartbreaking. I liked it okay and I'm glad I got to see how it resolved.
DeleteGreat Review Jess. Wow, this story sounds heartbreaking. Losing your son, the man you love having a vasectomy when you want more children, and fathering a kid with another woman? Yeah, I could see that the story would seen unrealistic, and it would bother me too if everything wrapped up too easily. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one friend :)
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
Thanks Lindy. :) Yes, it was very emotionally heavy, which is why it bothered me how neatly it ended. I'm glad they got their HEA, but I don't know. I expected more, I guess.
DeleteGreat Review girl! I think I will be reviewing this one soon and it really makes me nervous, especially now knowing about the ending.
ReplyDeleteThanks friend. I hope you like it a bit more than I did.
DeleteWow! This sounds like a very heartfelt book! I'm going to get the first one and then keep my fingers crossed I win the second one in the series!
ReplyDeleteIt is a very emotional series Suzanne! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
DeleteI totally wrote a comment on this yesterday and it would NOT post! I really agree that Corabelle has a lot of issues to work out. I think her and Gavin have a lot of healing to do but I'm glad they have found their love together. When I read the first line of the synopsis, I was like "WTF?" I think that would be something hard to get over for Cora, considering everything but I'm glad she opens up to it.
ReplyDeleteBlogger has been getting on my nerves lately! I know! The synopsis completely caught me off guard!
DeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.