Review: Forever Series by Deanna Roy

Reviewer's Rating: 5

5.0Overall score

A wonderful, heart wrenching series that will stay with you.

Forever Series
Contemporary Romance / New Adult
Casey Shay Press
Reviewed by ButtonsMom2003

Forever Innocent By Deanna Roy

Released January 5, 2014

Book 1

USA Today bestselling series

“Our baby died on prom night, and nothing was ever the same again.”

Corabelle doesn’t feel like any of the other college girls. On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.

Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.

When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.

A very emotional book.

This was a great book even though it dealt with very heavy subject matter. Once I started reading it was difficult to put down so I could get some sleep. You could feel the pain and angst that Gavin and Corabelle were feeling; I was pulling for them all the way. This book doesn’t exactly have a cliffhanger – there is a HFN (happy for now) but it did leave me wanting to find out more about Gavin and Corabelle. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Forever Loved By Deanna Roy

Released January 8, 2014

Book 2

“How do I tell the woman I love that I fathered a son with a prostitute?”

After four long years of separation, Gavin has finally reunited with his childhood love Corabelle. She’s forgiven him for leaving her during the funeral of their seven-day-old baby, and also for where he ended up — in Mexico to get a vasectomy.

But a message from Rosa, a prostitute he met the day of his surgery, brings his life to a crashing halt. She claims Gavin has fathered a son, now three years old and living with her cousin in Ensenada. He doesn’t know if he can trust Rosa, who never mentioned the boy before, or if his delicate reconciliation with Corabelle can withstand the shock if it is true.

Corabelle believes their future together is the right thing despite their past. But when she learns of this other child, the one thing she lost long ago and might never have again with Gavin, Corabelle’s faith that her life will ever follow her old dream is shattered. To make things right for Gavin and his son, she just might have to let go of the only person she always believed would be her forever love.

Forever Loved is the heart-wrenching conclusion to Gavin and Corabelle’s passionate story.

Wonderful, heart wrenching, will stay with you.

This is the second book in The Forever Series and you will want to read the first book in the series (Forever Innocent) before you read this one – and it will be so worth it.I couldn’t put this book down; it was so compelling and the heartbreak that Corabelle and Gavin suffer before getting to their HEA was so believable and real it was almost painful to read. Rest assured – they do get to the HEA.

This book fills in some of the details that were missing from Forever Innocent (although I didn’t feel anything was missing when I read that book). It gives us more insight into was happened to both characters during the time right before and right after the funeral.

If you’ve already read Forever Innocent you won’t want to miss this book. While I felt that Forever Innocent was a great book with a HFN (happy for now) this book gets you to the HEA that these two young people deserve.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Forever Sheltered By Deanna Roy

Released July 20, 2014

Book 3

Tina would rather sew up her girl parts with dental floss than go on a second date with a man. She’s been dumped enough to know not to get attached.

But when Dr. Darion Marks comes into her art therapy room to ask a favor for a special patient, Tina recognizes the haunted look he buries beneath his stoic professionalism. So rather than be forced to ditch the handsome doctor after a single night, she decides not to date him at all.

So how exactly DO they end up half-naked in Surgical Suite B?

Dr. Darion has a lot to hide. His baby sister is the only family he has left, and he’s not leaving her treatment to some incompetent hack.

But now he’s breaking every hospital rule imaginable. He lied about his sister so he can manage her care, and now he’s banging the art therapy teacher between patient rounds like a fraternity boy at a keg party.

Nobody believes this can end well, not Tina’s friend Corabelle, who is overcoming a tragic history much like Tina’s, or even pink-haired Jenny, who thinks sex with strangers is good for your metabolism.

But Dr. Darion and Tina have one thing going for them – a fierce passion for each other that just might obliterate all their doubts, and solve all their problems.

Forever Sheltered includes many favorite characters from Forever Innocent and Forever Loved, as well as the much-anticipated wedding of Gavin and Corabelle.

Wonderful – made me laugh, made me cry.

Forever Sheltered is the third book in The Forever Series but it can be read as a standalone without any problem. You might get a bit more enjoyment out of it if you read the first two books before this one (they are great books) but you won’t be lost if you don’t.I love books that make me feel things and this one certainly did that. The story is told from alternating POVs which was perfect for this story. Tina has had a difficult life but she has persevered and is coming out on top. She doesn’t do relationships but there’s something about Dr. Darion Marks that gets to her. She feels he’s hiding something and wants him to trust her enough to tell her about it. Dr. Darion has a difficult relationship with his father and this influences his behavior and why he’s keeping a secret from Tina.

This book has just the right amount of angst. It’s not a dark story but the road to their HEA isn’t really smooth; the epilogue was perfect. The heat level between the h & H is up there but I wouldn’t call it too graphic; there are no F-bombs.

I loved every bit of this story and it’s my favorite book in the series so far. It was hard to put down but I had to get some sleep! I’m looking forward to reading books for the other supporting characters.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Forever Bound By Deanna Roy

Released July 28, 2015

Book 4

Jenny is a girlfriend-for-hire, the platonic kind.

While under contract with her movie director boyfriend, glamour has ruled. Designer gowns. Red-carpet premieres. And, of course, seeing her face in the tabloids.

She loves tabloids.

But her reign has come to an end. Her sugar daddy has fallen in love — with someone else. Her contract is over and tonight she has to end it publicly by making sure the paparazzi “catches” her with another man.

She just has to find the man.

Chance has been hitchhiking across the US, playing and singing for tips. This is the life he’s always imagined, and the farther he gets from his disastrous family in Tennessee, the better he feels.

An unexpected invitation to sing with an indie blues group at a movie premiere party gives him a sweet taste of fame. As a bonus, a beautiful girl with pink dreadlocks only has eyes for him.

But the collision between Jenny and Chance is more emotional and intense than either of them expected. When the scandal hits the news, Chance’s family finds him, pushing him to come home and face his demons.

The night has even more consequences for Jenny. She needs to find Chance, but nobody knows anything about him, not even his last name.

Her journey takes her across the country and into the disaster Chance is running from. But she can’t give up on him, because what neither of them realized is that sometimes a single night can be the beginning of forever.

I loved Jenny’s story.

I won’t restate the book’s blurb because it summarizes the story much better than I ever could. The story is told from alternating points of view and I love that in this type of book.Sparks fly between Jenny and Chance and they have one mind blowing night together. When pictures from that night hit the tabloids and internet Chance decides to take off again; he and Jenny didn’t even exchange last names.

When Jenny goes to Chattanooga to look for Chance she finds out why he left home and learns more about the person he is. While parts of the story seem somewhat unrealistic this is romantic fiction and I read it for what it is – a way to escape reality and this story allowed me to do that for several hours of reading pleasure.

I’m not really doing justice to this book with my review; sometimes it’s hard for me to really describe why I like a book. All I can say about this one is that once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down.

I have loved all of the other books I’ve read by Deanna Roy and this one is no exception. If you like her other books you won’t want to miss this one. If you read this one I’m sure you will want to read her other books as well.

♥♥♥♥♥

O Factor: Spicy

Forever Family By Deanna Roy

Released February 19, 2016

Book 5

Happily Ever After isn’t a destination.

It’s a journey.

The FINAL book in the emotional USA Today bestselling Forever series.

CORABELLE
Most days, I’m fine. I’m married to a hunk. Seriously. He rides a motorcycle, works in a garage, then studies for college on the side. And makes my toes curl, well, you know how.

But a long time ago, when we were young, something really bad happened to us. Bad enough to break us up.

I thought marriage would make things right. And it’s been happy. But something’s missing. The one thing we always wanted, but lost.

And my best friend just got it.

JENNY
I know everybody envies my life. I’m a little wild. I hang with celebrities. I got married in the back of an ambulance by a rock star. And the baby girl who arrived at the end of that lights-and-siren ride is definitely a bundle of joy.

But my life isn’t as easy as it looks. With my husband about to hit big with his first album, and every two-bit floozy in the music industry hanging on him, I really need my best friends. I can’t get through this without them.

TINA
There is entirely too much misery in the world to manage the sparkly pink explosion that is Jenny and her baby. I’ve got so much on my hands already with my art mentor so close to the end. And Darion expecting our wedding to actually, well…happen.

I know the stories tell you that happily ever after is what comes when he pops the question and you say yes.

But life is really messy. And sometimes your horse-drawn pumpkin takes off at full gallop for a cliff.

That’s where I am. And that’s why I had to leave. Because before I can get to the big finish, I have something else I have to do. A bit of business I should have taken care of long ago, but I was only a teenager then.

I can only hope that by the time I get it done, I haven’t lost everyone I care about. Because when you’ve spent your whole life running, you forget that what really matters is your family.

FOREVER FAMILY can be read as a standalone novel, although it is best after learning the history of the girls in the other four books of the Forever series.

A perfect ending to a wonderful series.

The Forever Series concludes with Forever Family. I have read and reviewed each of the 5 books. My first review here is for the last book, below that I’m also giving you the reviews I wrote for the other books in this series.I discovered Deanna Roy’s books a little over 2 years ago when I purchased Forever Innocent; I’ve been a huge fan of hers ever since – no matter what name she writes under. (She is also JJ Knight and Annie Winters.)

Forever Family reunites us with Corabelle, Jenny and Tina and brings us up-to-date a bit on what they’ve been doing. As the book blurb says, you can probably read this as a standalone but I think you’d really be missing out if you don’t have the history for each of these women. (There’s a boxed set for the first three books that will save you some $.)

While each of the earlier stories came to a very satisfying conclusion for me, I loved reading this book with additional information about these characters. There are parts of this book that will tear your heart out but it was worth every tear I shed while reading this book. Tina’s story was the most compelling for me – she really goes through a lot – but I enjoyed reading about all of them.

Deanna seems to have a knack for touching on all emotions, which is my favorite kind of book to read. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next now that this series is finished.

I almost forgot – the men in this story are pretty wonderful, too, especially Dr. Darion.