Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Always Have, Always Will
SERIES: Boughs of Evergreen: A Holiday Anthology (single stories available separately)
AUTHOR: Amelia Mann
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 84 Pages
BLURB:
Jay thinks official commitments aren’t necessary in a relationship. For the last fourteen years, he has loved waking up beside Gabriel, watching their two adopted kids grow up – even enjoyed painting the fence once in a while and paying his part of the mortgage on their New Jersey home. To Jay, that’s a family. No papers or ceremonies will make their relationship better than it already is…though Gabriel has a different opinion.
Their lives are turned upside-down a month before Christmas, when he collapses in the plumbing aisle of the store. In the aftermath, Gabriel discovers that Jay’s only legal next of kin is his long-time absent father, and later Jay has to confront the painful memories of growing up, and the real truth behind his parents’ divorce.
But perhaps now Jay might be ready to give Gabriel a Christmas gift he will never forget.
REVIEW:
In Jay’s opinion, his life is pretty much perfect. He has a partner who he is still crazy in love with after fourteen years and together they’re raising their two beautiful kids. They even have the obligatory dog to round out the picture of domestic bliss. Yep, if you asked Jay, he’d tell you that his life couldn’t get any better. So when life throws him a curve ball, he’s less than prepared to deal with it.
Maybe it was fate, or just plain dumb luck, that sent Jay to Walmart on his day off after he decides he needs to unclog a shower drain. Because if he had been at home alone, he surely would have died when a blood clot from his damaged heart causes him to have a stroke and lose consciousness amongst the plumbing fixtures. From there his perfect life begins to fray and he’s forced to reassess beliefs he’s held on to for most of his life.
First and foremost I feel I should point out that although the timeframe of this book is the month leading up to Christmas, and it was originally published in a holiday anthology the story doesn’t really have a “Christmas Story” feel to it. And if I’m being completely honest here then I can admit that I was actually relieved. If you’re anything like me then you are probably reaching (or already at) the point where you don’t want to see another Christmas story until next December.
I love the way this book began, with Jay’s collapse in Walmart. Yes, I know how heartless that sounds! But this book is written in first person from Jay’s perspective and I thought that the author did a brilliant job of stirring up my emotions as Jay lie on the floor dying. His panic and his fear and his drifting into happy memories were saddening and very well done.
So obviously, the beginning of the story is packed with medical drama, and as I know nothing about any of that, I’m just going to assume that the author didn’t make any huge medical gaffes that are going to leave some readers foaming at the mouth. She seemed to know what she was writing about.
From the medical issues, the story moves on to deal with some family dramas that Jay’s stroke brought to the surface. The fact that Gabriel and their children (who legally are solely Gabriel’s children) were not allowed into Jay’s room at the hospital because Jay and Gabriel aren’t married was obviously cause for concern. But this isn’t a marriage equality argument, it’s simply Jay being a stubborn ass and insisting that marriage is unnecessary. When his long lost father arrives on the scene we start to really understand where Jay’s beliefs stem from.
In general I’m not a fan of books featuring established couples because (as I’ve mentioned in reviews before) messing with characters who are already supposedly living their happily-ever-after doesn’t give me faith that their relationship will survive beyond their second HEA either. However, despite Gabriel and Jay not seeing eye to eye on one very important topic their love for each other and their relationship are never in question. In fact my favourite part of the story was when Jay is in hospital and Gabriel asks the nurse if he can sleep beside him. The connection between the two men was, in my opinion, the most well written part of the story.
Thinking back on it now, I can’t believe how much story the author successfully fit into eighty-four pages. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for more books written by Amelia Mann.
RATING: 
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