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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Review: Forever by Karen Ann Hopkins







Forever
Series: Temptation #3
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Published by HarlequinTEEN
Pages:336
Source: Publisher via Netgalley








All I want is my happily-ever-after.
That's all I've wanted since meeting Noah Miller.
From the day we met, the world has tried to keep Noah and me from being together, but now that I'm carrying his child, no one will be able to tear us apart. Or so I hope. But Noah and I have made some mistakes along the way, and the consequences are impacting the people we love. Worse, there's a storm on the horizon, and it's sure to cause serious devastation.
If we can get through this, we'll finally be Rose and Noah; a family, forever.
But first we have to survive the road ahead. And happily-ever-after is a long way off.

My Thoughts


When writing my reviews of Temptation and Belonging, I found it difficult to share my thoughts about the books without revealing too much. It is the same with Forever. So this is my warning: This review gets a little spoilery - so read at your own risk.

 As soon as I finished the last page of Belonging (book 2) I wanted to know how Rose and Noah's story was going to play out. Throughout the series, I had conflicting feelings about whether they should be together or not. I love a happily-ever-after, but I am fine if it doesn't happen for the main characters too if it suits the story being told. Honestly, when I started Forever, I could see the story going either way, but then the title wouldn't be accurate. So I knew how it was going to end, and realized that the getting there part was what really mattered.  

 Like the other books in the series, Forever is told in multiple points of view of Noah, Rose, Sam, and now Sarah, Noah's younger sister and Rose's friend. Adding this new perspective lets readers know how Rose and Noah's Amish/English relationship affects everyone else in the community. In Belonging, Sarah and Rose built a strong relationship as Rose tried to become Amish. She became a prominent character, so it seemed right to know more of story from Sarah's perspective.

Just as in the other books, Noah and Rose are initially kept apart until Noah makes a drastic decision for the sake of his relationship with Rose and also his family. There wasn't as much of the dramatic push and pull of Noah and Rose's relationship as in the first books and I liked that. Instead, there were new experiences for them to deal with as Noah steps out of the Amish community and begins living among the English. It was really interesting to read how he dealt with being away from the lifestyle he was accustomed to just as Rose had in Belonging. This was something that I had an issue with in the previous books and I was glad to know of the sacrifices Noah would make for Rose.

There were some pretty intense moments in Forever that had me completely on edge. In the book description, there is the statement "there's a storm on the horizon" and there is, literally. Without revealing what happens (other than there is a storm), I do want to say that Hopkins's description of how the storm builds and progresses is terrifying and made me anxious while reading it. And then the aftermath of the storm, just devastating.

When a series comes to an end, there can be a lot of expectations if the book will end the way that you want it to. I try to not take that approach and ask "is this how it is supposed to end?" With Forever, I would say that the answer is yes. With all of the anticipation and the will they, won't they, should they, shouldn't they, Forever ended perfectly. 

I really enjoyed reading this entire series for the writing, the characters, and all of the questions that I had while reading it. I was originally hesitant to start this series because of the Amish storyline (which I realize now is completely stupid of me), but I'm glad that I didn't overlook it because I would have missed out on a wonderful story, an incredible reading experience, and an author whose work I love more and more with each book.  

 

Disclaimer:  I requested and received this ARC from HarlequinTEEN via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.


Forever Blog Tour-Wide Contest

We have lots of exciting prizes, so make sure to follow the tour for more chances to win every day! Up for grabs is both a $100 Amazon Gift Card and a $50 Amazon Gift Card, plus copies of the following Harlequin TEEN titles: Heartbeat, The Queen’s Choice, White Hot Kiss, Anything to Have You, Secret Diamond Sister and Grim. Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada.
 
 
 
 
Other Books in the Series
 
 
Temptation
Book #1
 
 
Belonging 
 
 
About the Author
 
 A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.
 









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1 comment:

  1. Karen HJanuary 30, 2014 at 7:36 AM

    Thanks for your review. I loved your new word 'spoilery'...funny.

    ReplyDelete

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