Building Forever

The Rebuilding Year, Book 3

By: Kaje Harper

Narrated by: Gomez Pugh

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Four years ago, Ryan and John decided they'd wait to get married until it came with full legal equality. Now, thanks to the Supreme Court, that historic moment has finally arrived. But 300 miles separate Ryan's hectic residency from John's busy campus job. With a son in college, a daughter choosing her future, and a rambunctious Irish Setter needing attention, planning a wedding isn't simple.

Of course, even the most perfect ceremony can't solve all their problems. What does it take to build forever?

©2017 Kaje Harper (P)2018 Kaje Harper

it was good

it was good but to short i would love if it was longer and what happened to the kids later

I'm so happy right now!

Welcome to your happily ever after - well almost. It's been four years since we left the guys in Life, Some Assembly Required. Ryan is off doing his residency two hundred miles away from John and his family - his heart and soul. Their time consists of stolen moments in hotels in the middle, lots of Skype sessions and phone calls and even more longing.

As mentioned, it's been four years and the Supreme Court has finally made a ruling on same sex marriage. Which means it's finally time for Ryan and John to tie the knot. Since Ryan is away it's up to John and Torey to plan the small shindig.

Something that I love about this book, or series really, is that nothing goes according to plan or as expected - life always happens. Everything from accidents messing up schedules, late flights, cars that break down and a dog deathly afraid of thunderstorms. It's Murphy's law all around and I loved it.

In the end though the whole family are gathered to see them get married and celebrate their happiness. It's the ending we've been waiting for, a snippet in time showing us that years down the line Ryan and John are still as much in love as they were in the beginning.

Gomez Pugh did a wonderful job narrating this book. He drew you into it from the very start. All the feelings of the characters shone through so clearly; the love, longing, frustration and everything else that they felt during these few hours. He brought them all to life in a very nice way.

Building Forever is an mix between "Where are they now" and an epilogue. We get to follow our guys in the weeks leading up to the wedding, but when it's all good and done you don't get that The End feeling. Don't get me wrong, the series or their story is in no way incomplete or lacking, and I honestly believe that this should be the end of the series. That doesn't mean that Ryan and John's lives are ending - they are just off to live life. And that's where we leave them - living life, figuring out where to go next.

A copy of this book was generously provided by author the in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Great ending

this book is a great close to Ryan and John's love story. I really loved it.

Sweet ending

First I’d like to point out that our very own Karrie Jax did this cover! Woooooot!
The third book in the series. It sounds like it’s the last book – and felt that way – but I’d love to see more from these guys!
They do finally get married and it’s so sweet!
We get a bit of the history of their struggle as the Supreme Court makes it’s decision as well as a feel for what a life apart is like for these two guys.
It’s definitely not a standalone but I highly recommend it to fans of the series.
5 of 5 stars
Audio

As I’ve said before I’m a big fan of Gomez Pugh and yet again I was impressed by his narration. This is a fun story with very little actual angst and Gomez does a nice job carrying this tone throughout.

Gomez’ voice is really easy to listen to and I find myself eagerly listening but yet not necessarily focusing on his narration – in other words – perfect for an audio book narrator!

Highly Recommended!

5 of 5 stars

We want book 4

The 3 books where outstanding
We need the 4 th book. This book would make a great movie.

Thanks to the red Gomez as he made each man feel like he was a man.

Just discovered this author

So happy to have discovered Kaje Harper! This series is tremendous and I binged all 3 back to back. I’m with everyone else. This would make a great TV series or movie.

The narrator was also new to me and I really liked him a lot. Enjoy the books!

I fell the emotions

When the author describes the joy at Supreme Court ruling which allowed marriage for all, I felt the joy. When Ryan loses a patient, I felt the sadness. Kaje Harper does a great job in this book of making me feel what her characters feel.

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

Loved this short "day in the life" type scene of John and Ryan's forever. I enjoyed getting to see where their lives have changed and how they have dealt with it.

Gomez Pugh will now always be John and Ryan to me!

Lovely low angst family found

A wonderful finish to a great story. Ryan and John are the sort of guys you want to be friends with or at least be neighbors. Warm, friendly, kind and very much in love. After four years of putting up with all sorts of road blocks they get their well deserved HEA. And if I may say, good riddance to that awful ex wife. Uggg!

How to find a happy ending

I snagged this audio the day it was released and binge listened books 2 and 3. I remembered where book 1 had left off and seamlessly moved back into the world of John and Ryan. This book begins on an interesting note (a nice invective not suitable for children), but the sentiment is one I share. The struggle for marriage equality has been one I’ve watched the United States struggle with for years. Canada made same-sex marriage legal over ten years ago and it was accepted fairly quickly and has never been relitigated. My gay friends have all the same rights that I do and I’m grateful for that. Every time another country legalizes same-sex marriage, I quietly rejoice. When the Supreme Court of the United States pronounced that all people, regardless of who they loved, deserved the rights and privileges associated with marriage, I did a little happy dance.

Many of my American friends did more than just a little dance – they partied.

Which brings me to Kaje’s third book in the ‘Rebuilding’ series. Several years have passed and Ryan is in his residency three hundred miles away from John. They spend as many weekends together as possible in a motel between Minnesota and Wisconsin. And as much as they’ve wanted to legalize their union, they’ve held off, wanting only to celebrate once all Americans have that right. When it happens, they start planning their wedding.

This book has a lighter tone than the previous two because there are no more secrets. The men are open and honest with their relationship. Proud even. They’ve settled into their lives and John’s two children from a previous marriage, Mark and Tori, are also finding their way in the world. Ryan is a great stepfather and the love is so clear. A love I wish everyone was so lucky to have that much love in their lives. Oh, and the dog. Must remember the dog. An Irish Setter rescue who has his own sense of how to live his life and it doesn’t always fit into the proscribed life John and Ryan are trying to set up.

As the synopsis suggests, getting married is definitely a challenge for the two men and I spent the entire book rooting for them to succeed.