Forever & Always

The Ever Trilogy, Book 1

By: Jasinda Wilder

Narrated by: Piper Goodeve, Gabriel Vaughan

Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Ever,

These letters are often all that get me through week to week. Even if it’s just random stuff, nothing important, they’re important to me. Gramps is great, and I love working on the ranch. But…I’m lonely. I feel disconnected, like I’m no one, like I don’t belong anywhere. Like I’m just here until something else happens. I don’t even know what I want with my future. But your letters, they make me feel connected to something, to someone. I had a crush on you, when we first met. I thought you were beautiful. So beautiful. It was hard to think of anything else. Then camp ended and we never got together, and now all I have of you is these letters. S**t. I just told you I have a crush on you. HAD. Had a crush. Not sure what is anymore. A letter-crush? A literary love? That’s stupid. Sorry. I just have this rule with myself that I never throw away what I write and I always send it, so hopefully this doesn’t weird you out too much. I had a dream about you, too. Same kind of thing. Us, in the darkness, together. Just us. And it was like you said, a memory turned into a dream, but a memory of something that’s never happened, but in the dream it felt so real, and it was more, I don’t even know, more RIGHT than anything I’ve ever felt, in life or in dreams. I wonder what it means that we both had the same dream about each other. Maybe nothing, maybe everything. You tell me.

Cade

©2013 Jasinda Wilder (P)2014 Jasinda Wilder

OH WOW-heart wrenchingly beautiful. Be prepared!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I have to say this has turned out to be a fav! BUT there's a catch...I can never listen ti it again. It had me laughing, smiling, crying, bawling, and all around emotional ride that I'm sooo happy I took. This series has a TON of stuff going on that grabed me, dragged me down deep into its depths and when I realized what was about to happen I couldn't turn back. There is a beautiful, sweet romance built from an innocent place of two pen pals.

At 15, they both go back home from camp to live their lives and all of the trials and tribulations their families entail. Luckily, with the turn of events they each go through, they both know that with a simple pencil & paper, or paintbrush and canvas, they have their friendhip to reach out to for support. Over time, they both realize how much that support has carried them through some of the hardest times their young lives could hand out.

Now living in an adult world of their own, they still keep in touch, still share their most innermost thoughts, and still provide eachother with a distant strength that they both need on soo many levels just to survive the next day.

So what happens if they were to see eachother now.....

Any additional comments?

Grab a tissue, its worth it

Good but many sad moments

This is a well written story but requires your patience as it drags out the story line to force the next book. Steamy in the romance department once the author got to it. Too many sad moments for my taste, but probably realistic nevertheless .

Great book

Where does Forever & Always rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great book, getting tired of waiting for book #2 though!

What did you like best about this story?

I love Trilogies... The theory is that the story goes on and an like you're visiting with friends... But I am tired of waiting for book 2... may need to lose this friend and get on with life, find new ones.

I'm not crying, there's something in both my eyes.

from NOLA504NERDS blog
Last week I finished ‘The Ever Trilogy" by Jasinda Wilder, and I haven’t stopped crying since. Let’s start with the first book, Forever & Always. This book takes you by complete surprise. "Forever & Always was joyful, heartbreaking, breathtaking, angsty, hopeful and sexy” (The Book Blog, 2013) "Each page bleeds emotion, heartbreak, tragedy and a deep-seated need for connection. This story is a journey." (Vilma's Book Blog, 2013) I’m trying to find the words to describe this book but can’t come up with anything better than what The Book Blog and Vilma’s Book Blog stated.
It starts out so sweet and innocent.  Just 2 young pen pals struggling in their crazy worlds.  Both experience things too tragic and sad for teenagers to ever go through.  Through their struggles and tragedies, they had each other’s letters for support and guidance.  Through the letters, they built a lasting love full of trust and loyalty. The kind of meaningful, significant, and unwavering love that we all long for.  The amount of pain these 2 have to go through in life is staggering.  Jasinda Wilder does such an incredible job making you feel every ounce of that pain along with Ever and Cade.  Your heart breaks for them.  Your heart also aches for them to find each other again.  You spend most of the book experiencing their growing connection through their letters to each other.  It’s magical.  When they finally meet again, it’s like everything in the world falls in to place.  Life is great again.  But the ending.... As much as I love Jasinda Wilder’s writing, I cursed her for hours for nearly giving me a heart attack.  I’m so glad the next books were already out because I don’t think I could’ve survived without them.  I mean, you kind of knew there would end up being a cliffhanger. But this one was not expected. Jasinda Wilder’s writing style never disappoints.  I’d first become obsessed with Jasinda’s stories when I read her Fallen series last year.  I didn’t think she could possibly make me feel any more emotional turmoil than I did for that series. Man, was I wrong!  Her stories flow so effortlessly.  They’re well written, beautiful, emotional, and unforgettable.  I full on ugly cried at the end of this book.  Not just a few tears.  Full on wailing and sobbing in the office bathroom then stuffing my face with strawberry Poptarts and Starbucks.  Some people don't like books with tragedies or the reality that comes from such. I think it speaks volumes to what a successful storyteller the author is to make me feel such personal turmoil.
As far as the narrators - This book wouldn't be as emotionally charged if it wasn't for them. They delivered the script with such enthusiasm. They were emotionally connected to the characters and convincingly brought them to life. This audiobook series wouldn't be the same without them.
5 Ugly-Cry Stars!
 ~~~~~
For the other 2 books in the series:  I’m not going to review them because there’s no possible way to do that without major spoilers.  I may review them on Goodreads and Amazon though.  I will say this… I think people were way too harsh in their reviews. I think sometimes people forget that these are stories and if it were reality it would play out much differently.  Books 2 and 3 make you feel confusion and intense anger.  Book 2 especially questions your moral compass and sanity.  Your mind almost can’t comprehend everything that’s happening in book 2.  It screws with your emotions unlike anything I’ve ever read before.  To quote another reviewer, “It is also the most at war I have ever been with my morals and my conscience whilst reading a book. I still don't know what to make of my feelings, if I'm honest. I don't know whether I'm okay with the direction this book took. I don't know whether I understand, whether I accept it, whether it's okay or whether it's totally wrong. I know, this all sounds very cryptic... but I just can't give you any more information because you need to experience this all for yourself to have any chance of judging these characters fairly.” (Smitten’s Book Blog, 2013)  The thing I highly suggest/recommend that you remember when starting book 2 [without spoiling it] is consider from a medial point of view the logistics here.  If this were real life, things would be completely different and the story would’ve ended in the first few chapters.  Keep that same mindset as you enter book 3 and appreciate the journey for what it is. I hope you all enjoy this unforgettable trilogy as much as I did.

Great story, Male narrator all wrong

What made the experience of listening to Forever & Always the most enjoyable?

I loved the story. It was different and kept my interest. I drive one hour each way to work and having this story to listen to always made the drive go by quickly.

Would you be willing to try another one of Piper Goodeve and Gabriel Vaughan ’s performances?

I loved Piper Goodeve and have since listened to other books she has narrated. Gabriel Vaughan read well, however he just didn't seem right for the part. The book describes a masculine, cowboy type (later on) and Gabriel seemed too feminine (no offense). I want to read the next books in the series, but I can't listen and imagine the character the way he's described and hear Gabriel's voice.... it's confusing. So, I will definitely read them, but I won't download the audio versions.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. The story was great, however I struggled with the male narrator.

What a story!

I so much enjoyed Jasinda Wilder's Alpha series and looked forward to more of her books. She did not disappoint. The plot grips you and holds you. She is becoming one of my favorites! Can't wait to continue this series.

Good read but

Good book but why not leave something to the imagination . I would have liked it better without all the details.

Powerful and Memorable Forever and Always

I LOVED this audio...the story line is a good one and the characters are, for the most part, believable. Caden and Ever's lives are forever and always connected through a clever and skillfully crafted idea. I must admit to getting a bit weary of the angst and the 'overdone' letters (too many...we got the idea early on) but the story of how they met as teenagers, went their separate ways, only to stay connected over many years is quite well done and quite lovely. I still contend, as I have for many of the YA/NA books, that teenagers do not have the emotional maturity that is granted them by so many writers...however, given the events in both Caden's and Ever's lives, they maturity is slightly more acceptable. The book does progress through time as does their relationship and when they finally meet again, it is explosive and wonderful. Be forewarned, the book has a cliffhanger ending that will have you screaming for the second installment of their story. The second and third books are not out in audio yet but should be soon. You may want to read some of the reviews of those final two books of the trilogy before pursuing. The problem is not with Ms Wilder's writing skills at all. She is a gifted and powerful mind. It is the story.

As for the narrators/readers, I love both of these folks. Piper Goodever and Gabriel Vaughn read the wonderful Wilder books Falling Into You and Falling Into Us. Ms. Wilder and Audible know a good thing when they hear it and this book is no exception.

This is a very worthy listen...just be aware that there is a price (emotionally) to be paid at the end of this book and with the next two. I read/scanned them and wished I hadn't.

Rarely Do I Give 5 Stars

Would you consider the audio edition of Forever & Always to be better than the print version?

I haven’t read the print version. Book 2 is not available in the audio format and when this happens I just wait for the release. With this book I can’t possibly wait for the audio version. This book was so good I will be actually reading the print version GASP!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cade is my favorite character. You can’t help but feel immense sorrow for him. No one should encounter so much turmoil especially so young. He sees himself as weak when actually he is very strong. Not many people could have carried on the way he did. When he finally was about to break he reached out to the one person who knew everything about him instead of taking the easy way and simply feeling sorry for himself and make reckless decisions.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene is when the reconnect. The writing is done so well I could feel the intensity of their reconnecting. I felt like I was there watching them have this intimate and joyous reunion.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn’t cry but only because I don’t think a book could ever bring me to tears no matter the devastation. If I were an emotional person I could have cried through half the book so I can definitely see a person having extreme emotion towards the story.

Any additional comments?

This book is best I’ve read in years. It takes the reader through so many emotions. It’s sad and I mean sad but it also makes you smile. Should you get this book, most definitely!

Other books not here; have bad reviews in places

This first book was good, though I hate the cliffhanger endings that authors are putting in multi-part books now. I enjoyed the story very much. I love the relationship between Cade and Ever. It was very emotional both happy and sad and the ending was just gut wrenching.

The multi-voiced narration didn't really do much for me, but it wasn't too much of a distraction either. I felt like Piper Goodeve could have done a better job. The way she pronounced certain words drove me up a wall for the first half of the book. Either I got sucked in and didn't notice or she got better as time went on.

However, when I found out that the other 2 books weren't on Audible, I started poking around to see if they had been published, then started looking at ratings on Good Reads. Both the next 2 books are rated very low. So I started reading some of the reviews and with those, got spoilers.

I won't spoil for anyone cuz that's not fair; but for myself, I don't think I can continue with the rest of the series knowing what's going to happen from here. If I'd gone blindly into the rest of this series I'd have been really angry. Now at least if I do choose to read, I won't be blindsided. I don't usually encourage people to look for spoilers, but in this case it might be something to think about.