Review: Forever This Time by Maggie McGinnis (Echo Lake #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It's been about a decade since Josie Kendrew walked away from her parents, their family-owned theme park, their hometown of Echo Lake, and the boy she was engaged to--her first love, Ethan Miller--after the devastating loss of a ten-year-old girl named Avery. She's called back home after her father suffers a massive stroke and Josie soon realizes three things: some things have changed, others have remained the same, and Ethan is even more enticing at twenty-eight. But rekindling an old romance isn't part of her plan. She's only back in town until her father has recovered enough before returning to her private practice as a therapist in Boston. Ethan is constantly reminded by friends and family that Josie will leave and break his heart once again...but maybe this time around, he can convince her to stay forever with him.
Forever This Time is the first full-length novel and the second release in the Maggie McGinnis-penned Echo Lake contemporary romance series. Ethan Miller was a supporting character introduced in the prequel novella, Snowflake Wishes, and now we've finally got his own second chance romance with his former fiancée, Josie Kendrew. There's a ten-year gap since Josie ended things with Ethan and left everything and everyone she ever knew behind after the devastating loss of Avery, who was partnered with Josie for a Big Sisters program and died of cancer at the age of ten. Josie's decision to leave and her career path later on are all linked to Avery, as well as her own feelings regarding the life she had at home. Ethan is someone I would consider collateral damage, and same goes for the best friend she left too, Molly Bellini.
The writing was at par with such a heartrending story, one that was told in flashbacks to accompany what was happening to Josie and Ethan and the rest of the supporting characters. The love between Josie and Ethan was one that should have and actually did turn out to last. They were both so invested in little Avery that her death broke both of them, though it affected Josie more than it did Ethan and her reaction to it was a reminder of why she needed to get away from Echo Lake and the life she had. Josie and Ethan had to really overcome their respective issues, especially Josie, who wasn't sure if she could take at face value the changes she had seen in her mother and with the town in general and what it represented. These two had to fight for their second chance and they had to make the conscious changes and decisions leading to that.
A strong cast of characters is necessary to bring a story like this to life, and this book certainly had one in spades. Josie and Ethan were two people who had their share of hurt and painful memories, but they had to forgive each other and themselves and let go of everything that was holding them back from truly moving forward, because let's face it, they were both still somewhat stuck on each other. Josie made no excuses for the choices she made because she felt those were the better alternatives for her at the time. I loved how Ethan created Avery's House and how dedicated he was to the purpose of the home as well as how he was with Emmy. I'm interested to see Josh Mackenzie and Molly Bellini get both of their stories as the series continues. I'm definitely hooked on the Echo Lake series and Forever This Time gets five stars. ♥
Release Date: 03 November 2015
Date Read: 05 November 2015
Date Read: 05 November 2015
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