Lately, I’ve been in the mood to branch out from my usual genres and attempt something new. I have been reading a lot of fantasy and dystopian novels and it was time to switch things up. I heard about First Came Forever from a Danielle over at The Introverted Book Nerd, you can see her review here. What topped everything off was Annie was asking for reviewers in my one Facebook group! I jumped on the opportunity to read it.
I’ve never tried romance because I felt like too much mushy gushy things and sex was not all that appealing to read about. I was wrong! I took a chance at reading this books and I’m so glad that I did.
First Came Forever
Author: Annie Woods
Series: The Angelheart Saga #1
Genre: YA Romance
Publication Date: August 31, 2017
My Rating: 4.5 pens!
Goodreads Synopsis: First love. A promise of forever. A lie that changes everything.
Backpacking with her high school friends, Erica Lindell’s life takes a thrilling new turn. Meeting the fascinating Sasha Ailes, she can’t help but fall completely and irrevocably in love with him. When he feels the same way about her, Erica finds herself drawn into a fairytale love story that will set her life on a new direction. But Sasha has kept his true identity a secret. Finding out who he really is, Erica must overcome the betrayal and make the hardest choice of her life. Can she give up her own dreams to live in his world, or leave and lose him forever?
First Came Forever is an enchanting, heart-wrenching story about finding true love and the devastating consequences it can lead to. What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Topics and Triggers: First love, travel, lust, high school, relationships
Purchase Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Book Depository
I was provided a paperback copy of First Came Forever from Annie Woods in exchange for my honest review.
First Came Forever follows Erica on her summer vacation where she is on a backpacking trip with her friends. Along the way, she meets the mysterious Sasha who is clearly hiding something. But she falls fast for him. Once she learns his secret, everything changes, but will it change Erica’s mind to be with him?
This book was full of romance, tension (sexual and otherwise), really played on my emotions as I read through this book. So here is my review of First Came Forever!
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Relatable Characters
As I got to know the characters more I found that I had a lot in common with them. It was nice to feel that others go through similar situations. I know this is fiction, but most of the time I read fantasy and dystopian books. I’m not used to this!!
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The Characters
Okay, so I’m going to try and not repeat myself here. But, I absolutely love the characters in this book! I like how real the characters come off. It is nice that each character holds their own unique personality and quirks that makes me enjoy them even more. The intense emotions the main characters feel shine through in the writing, and I found myself rooting for each character the whole way.
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Romance / Tension
I don’t know how many times I’m going to say this in this post, but I’ve never read a flat-out romance book. This book had equal parts tension and romance throughout, but not too excessive where it would be classified as X-rated. Everything is kept on a PG level, with nothing too explicit. That’s what made it all the more amazing. I was able to fill in the blanks that the author did not state, and I just love it!
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The Twists!
Just believe me on this one that the twists are amazing! I didn’t see any of them coming and boy was I shocked! I’m not going to say anything else about this. However, I think you really should read this book to find out what I’m talking about!
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The Friends
Erica has friends in different countries, and her friends from Sweden just didn’t work for me. I never felt a connection with them. Their characters are flat and not well-rounded at all. They do appear at the end and I did like them a bit more, but it was only slightly.
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Italicization of Non-English Words
This is mainly just a pet peeve for me. Randomly italicized words. At first, it seems like only country-specific words are italicized, but then random words are italicized for no reason. They are not thoughts, so I do not really understand why they are italicized.
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Why is Sasha not open?!
I may have an issue with the name Sasha in all honesty. . . I mean I just finished The Last Man trilogy by Tobias Wade with a character of the same name (you can see my views of him in my review by clicking on the name of the book). Besides the beginning secret, that is revealed not far into the book, Sasha seems as if he is hiding something. It truly bothers me that this always comes off, and I could never see his true intentions toward Erica. Did he really like her? Or??? If he just would communicate it would have made everything easier for both of them.
First Came Forever is a great introduction to the romance genre! I fell in love with each of the characters and their quirks. And I really enjoyed all the romance and tensions that the characters feel. This book was extremely hard to put down, and I actually finished it in a record amount of time for myself. I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy today!
Purchase First Came Forever today on: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Book Depository
Thank you again, Annie Woods for providing me a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review!
Have you ever dreamed of being a real-life princess? What extremes would you go to for love? Let’s talk in the comments below!
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Great review Jenn now I am really intrigued by this book after reading your review, I might need to check it out one day. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome post and for putting this book on my radar.
I hope you do! It’s honestly so great! 💕
Now I want to read it more 😍
I hope you do! Let me know if you like it! 😄
I’ll 😀
Yes! Italicization of non-English words KILLS me! Glad to know it’s not just me! LOL! Thanks so much for linking up to The Monday Review!!!! 😀
It’s definitely not just you! Thanks for stopping by! 😄
Wonderful review, Jenn! 💕 So glad you liked it! I always love when my recommendations are successes! 😃
Thanks!! ❤ and thank you for the recommendation! I most likely wouldn’t have picked this book up without your review! 😄
In that case, I’m happy you read my blog! 😊
Your blog is pretty awesome! 😊 I’ve found a lot of good books on it! Now if only I had the money to buy them 😅
Aww! Thanks! And I know, money is always an issue for me!
Good thing there is always a back stock on my shelves of books that have never been read!
I love this style of reviewing! Great review. Something I will emulate. Not a romance fan either but this review made me interested.
Its a very good book! Definitely recommend it even if you’re not a romance fan because its not overpowering with the romance.