First and Forever is book two of the Heartache Duet, and it's aptly entitled so—HEARTACHE. My heart definitely ached.
Well into the first couple of pages my chest already hurt and I was already crying! Jeezus! I had to double-check my menstrual cycle calendar just to make sure I'm not just being an emotional basket-case because my period was coming at me like a wrecking ball...
Connor and Ava's relationship is a prime example of Murphy's Law. I was like, oh gaaad! Can't these people catch a break for a second??
I was so emotionally invested from the outset and it's like every d@mn time I feel hopeful, something sh!tt¥ comes up and I'm like, please stop it! I can't, I can't. But apparently, I have a martyr and masochistic side I didn't know of, I forged on and hurt along with the characters and cried—oh boy, did I cry. I looked like a fu€k!ng goldfish but it was cathartic... then the phrase "hurt so good" suddenly popped in my mind and yeah, I'm so weird.
I seemed more sane when I wrote the review for book one, but right now I have so many thoughts running through my head... and I'm sorry I'm rambling like a lunatic but I can relate to the hopelessness you know? I felt it right here, in my heart. There are days when it feels like life is punching the daylights outta you—and yes, most times it feels like it doesn't ever let up... but there is always a reason to hang-on for another day.
This book will make you realize that family is very important... that keeping secrets is like holding an atomic bomb... that it's okay to accept help... that despite all the trials and tribulations, we should still all be grateful to be given the chance to see the sun rise and the sun set and being surrounded by the people we love...
The pacing was great, the characters were awesome... and the plot twists... man the plot twists—I definitely went for a spin on the emotional rollercoaster in this one... I just wished the epilogue was longer or farther into the future... It's probably just me, but I'm a huge romantic sap so I needed a longer epilogue, lol.
It's not an easy-read, but it's so worth all the emotional upheaval you'll go through. It's truly inspiring.