Always and Forever

By: Lyn Denison

Narrated by: Jenny Walters

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Shann Delaney, singer, songwriter, and single mother, has struggled to get her life and her career on track, and now, everything is coming together for her. Ten years ago, she had left home after arguments with her father, and she'd never returned. But it wasn't just family problems that had caused her to run away. Shann had fallen in love with Leigh Callahan, the girl next door, but Leigh had broken Shann's young heart and let her down when Shann needed her most.

Then Shann's sister, Liz, asks her to return home to help out while Liz and their father both recover from surgery. Shann is torn between wanting to be there for her sister, reuniting with her father, and not wanting to take the chance that she could see Leigh Callahan again. However, she felt her son, Corey, deserved to know his family, and Liz assured Shann their father wanted to mend fences with Shann. And as to Leigh Callahan, well, she was happily married with a family of her own.

So, with reservations, Shann heads home to Brisbane. And the girl next door.

©2006 Lyn Denison (P)2022 Lyn Denison

A beautifully narrated classic!

Singer/songwriter Shann Delaney returns home to help care for her father while he and her older sister are dealing with some health issues. Shann has avoided going back there for a decade after falling out with her father and having her heart broken by the girl next door. In her late 20s, she's just starting to break through in the Australian music scene and is enjoying some success, but she is nervous about the emotional turmoil that she will undoubtedly face. She also has a son, Cory, that has never met his grandfather and Shann is anxious how he will react to the child. At least she doesn't have to worry about running into her childhood love Leigh since she has since moved out of town with her husband and children, so that's a plus. But when she is enthusiastically welcomed back by Leigh's younger cousin Angie, a now-VERY attractive woman who was only 15 years old the last time she saw her, sparks fly in a way Shann never saw coming.

One of my favorite things about this book is how well Denison wrote the chemistry between Shann and Angie from the moment they reconnected. But it wasn't just sexual because they knew and cared about each other growing up - albeit in different ways. And while this is a romance, there are so many other things happening. Family dynamics, a trauma that altered the course of Shann's life, professional growth and success. The relationship between Shann and her precocious son Cory is also wonderful. There's also a little Easter egg in this book with a cameo from two characters from one of Denison's other books, Dream Lover.

The paperback version of this book had been sitting on my shelves since 2006 and before we had such a huge number of sapphic releases to choose from I would pull this one off the shelves and re-read it. So I was beyond excited when Lyn Denison decided to produce all her books - classics and new releases alike - on audio and I'm thrilled that she chose the uber dreamy Aussie narrator Jenny Walters to do this one. Walters really brought the characters to life and I'm eternally grateful to have yet another way to enjoy an old favorite. It's held up quite well over the years!

If you are looking for a new narrator with a swoon-worthy delivery, I urge you to listen to this and some of Lyn Denison's other releases that Walters does. Everyone I've convinced to listen to any of these have fallen in love with her work too!