Forever With You Review: Stephanie

Book: Forever With You
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Wait For You
Standing: Book 5
POV: 1st person by Steph, past tense
Setting: Plymouth Meeting, Philadelphia. Modern day.
Genre: NA romance

Source: Physical copy
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 384
Release: September 29th, 2015

Favourite line: "No one expects you to deal. This is something tragic, girl. Happens all the time, to people all across the world. Doesn't mean it sucks any less. And it doesn't mean your pain is any less."

Rating: 4 stars

In the irresistibly sexy series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout, two free spirits find their lives changed by a one-night stand… Some things you just believe in, even if you've never experienced them. For Stephanie, that list includes love. It's out there. Somewhere. Eventually. Meanwhile she's got her job at the mixed martial arts training center and hot flings with gorgeous, temporary guys like Nick. Then a secret brings them closer, opening Steph's eyes to a future she never knew she wanted—until tragedy rips it away. Nick's self-assured surface shields a past no one needs to know about. His mind-blowing connection with Steph changes all that. As fast as he's knocking down the walls that have kept him commitment-free, she's building them up again, determined to keep the hurt—and Nick—out. But he can't walk away. Not when she's the only one who's ever made him wish for forever . . . (Goodreads)

                          ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭

A powerful book, dealing with themes that we often like to kick under the rug.

If you've read the previous books before, then you'll know that Steph has made both appearances beforehand and a reputation for herself, generally involving the protagonist getting jealous about Steph having been...involved with the love interest in the past. Yes, readers might initially group her as being one of the those girls, but this book completely blows that stereotype out of the sky. Because everyone, everyone, has a story.

Stephanie is fresh out of collage, having moved to Philadelphia to take an assistant job at Lima Academy, a training centre for mixed martial arts. She has a plan, involving steadying her life and income so that she can travel the world, and hopefully find someone who loves her as much as her parents loved each other. She's also a firm believer in one-night stands, no strings attached. And though people may have mixed feelings about that, she makes it perfectly clear to us that this is a part of her lifestyle, something that does not affect her overall life.

Nick has been a reoccurring character in both Stay With Me and Fall With Me, one who is often shown as a generally good guy but hard to understand, full of secrets. We get to see a completely different part of him in this book, and like all the other books, get to understand his background and the troubles that are harbouring down on him. Like Steph, he too is part of the one-night stand club. But when after meeting Steph, things start going in other directions for both of them.

Steph and Nick are thrown together in an completely unforeseen situation, one that completely alters their futures. For Steph, said situation is something straight out of a nightmare at first, but after coming to terms with it, becomes a journey of trust and discovery alongside Nick. Nick was the perfect guy in this book, supportive in every way and knowing that he needed to figure out his baggage in order to face the future alongside Steph. Nick's home story isn't pretty, but then again, none of theirs is, and we get to understand just why he never seems to warm up to Calla in the other books. On a side note, the problems Nick is going through with his grandfather is something that I can relate to very much, and it's nice, even if sad, to know that there are people out there who are experiencing the same difficulties.

This is the first book I've read in regards to a topic like this, and it's a little raw around the edges. Some parts were a little predictable (though it made it no easy to bare when I found out I was right), and I would have preferred a little more character growth from Nick. I found Steph to be a little all over the place, but given her situation, I doubt I would fare much better. It wasn't perfect, but then again, it's one of the first books addressing this topic in such a way, so it's bound to be a bit rough around the edges.

Much like her other books, this book addresses some very realistic problems in this world. No one walks away from a situation like that unscathed. This issue is something that numerous women today are going through, something that hasn't really gotten as much attention as it should, especially positive attention and outcomes. We need more books like these to help change the both the stigma and the doom-and-gloom mindset other people have about these situations. There are people who ultimately crash and burn, but there are also others, like Steph, who are able to find the strength to come out all right in the end. We need to look past our own prejudices and stereotyping of people to offer help to those who need it. After all, it's only with a strong support system that these people are able to pull through.

"A tragedy is a tragedy, no matter what, but it doesn't weaken us. It makes us stronger. It took me a long time to figure that out."

Regardless, I want to applaud Jennifer L. Armentrout for this book. This book was clearly no easy thing to write, and I admire her bravery to write this. There are events in this book that numerous people can relate to, things that aren't normally discussed but really should be. Unexpected changes in life, new additions to families, mental deterioration, and what I found to be most important of all, just not being okay with what's happened. This book really got me, and though it's a situation I'd never want to be in myself, I'm glad it's out in the world for others to read about. People like Steph do exist out there, and after reading this, I won't ever look at those people the same way again. Everyone has a story behind it; some are lucky, others aren't. People who aren't need all the support from us they can get, but they won't get any if we're too busy being prejudice against them. We need to keep an open mind about things, and help others when they need it the most.