Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Love Always
AUTHOR: Riley Hart
NARRATOR: Michael Pauley
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2019
LENGTH: 6 hours, 58 minutes
BLURB:
Nathaniel Montgomery can’t escape the pressure to be perfect, to be smart, to be successful. To live the life chosen for him – one that doesn’t include being gay.
Wren Cunningham lives on the streets and does what it takes to survive. No one has ever given a damn about him, so he works with the cards he’s been dealt and pushes his dreams aside.
Fate steps in when Nate and Wren meet when they are 18. They have one week to live how they want and to pretend everything they hope for is within reach. What they don’t expect is to find exactly what they need in each other…or to fall in love.
But sometimes, love isn’t enough, and goodbyes are inevitable.
No matter how much time passes, Nate and Wren never forget. They always find their way back to each other, and that helps them make it through. It’s never been a question of if they want each other. Their love is constant and never fades. Love Always.
They’ve spent their whole lives dreaming about their future together. To have a fighting chance, they’ll need to find a different kind of strength – learning to love themselves first.
If not, their next goodbye will be their last.
REVIEW:
When Nate and Wren were 18 they met and fell in love. They fell fast and they fell hard. Early on they knew the other was the proverbial one, but the obstacles between them seemed insurmountable. They lived in different worlds. And after the most fantastic week they had to part ways. But that week haunted them both for years to come.
My favourite part was by far the first. Where they first met, that intense week they spent in LA. Falling in love, starting to hope for more for themselves. Dreaming of a future that seemed impossible. That week gripped me, made me invested in both of them and their story. Because you were there for it. You were right there exploring, getting to know them, wanting to find a way for them to be together. But the inevitable happens and they are parted. Years go by before we meet again, and this is also where I detach a bit from the story. I didn’t mind the separation or the time frame of the story. I kind of liked it, but I wanted to be there for some of it. To feel it, but I never did.
On the one hand I loved the story, on the other I felt like it could have been so much more. There was so much potential to add much more depth, make us go through the rough times with Wren and Nate instead of being told about it after it happened. It made us, or at least me, detach a bit from the story. It didn’t impact me as much as it could have, as it should have. The tough times were glossed over, which made me appreciate the good ones even less. And for the most part, it’s those rough times that drives the story, they are the root cause for all of it, so to not be there for any of it was a bit off. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no way we could have been there for everything – that would have been a brick of a book, but it would have been nice to have been there for at least some of it.
Once again Michael Pauley showed us his talents as a voice actor. Not only does he have a really great voice, he also adds such passion into his words that you can feel the emotions the characters go though. I especially liked the first part of the book, where Nate and Wren got to know each other, the pull they felt. Watching them fall in love. Pauley really brought it to life and made you a part of it. And by distinguishing between the different characters with different voices it’s always easy to follow along and knowing who’s speaking. Just like always it was effortless.
Love Always was a beautiful story and I did have a great time listening, yet at the same time I also whished for a little something more. Still, it’s a nice read for anyone looking for a love that can stand the test of time.
RATING: 
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