Reviewed by Cheryl
TITLE: This Time for Always
AUTHOR: Andrew Grey
PUBLISHER: Andrew Grey Books
LENGTH: 114 pages
RELEASE DATE: 22 June 2021
BLURB:
Police officer Finnigan Pettaprin’s life is his job. He’s driven to be the best, always. Past relationships have largely been heartbreaking, so he keeps to himself. The last thing he expects is for a near-disastrous car chase through town to bring him in contact with Mark, the one who got away.
Mark Wallace hasn’t had the best luck in life. He managed to get out of Chicago with his freedom and his son, Lonnie, and needs help. Finn is the one friend he knows he can count on for a temporary place to stay, and possibly more. He’s hoping for a new start in a new town with a new job, but with his parents threatening to try to take his son, nothing is easy.
Finn takes Mark in and helps him get his life back on track. Along the way, the two men grow closer as they realize that what they both have always wanted is now in reach. But the intersection of Mark’s past and a string of local robberies threatens to upend the small family they are just starting to build and could give Mark’s parents the ammunition they need to destroy everything.
REVIEW:
This is such a sweet book. The author has a talent for writing children. Sometimes they can come across too sickly-sweet, but this time he’s got it spot on. Lonnie is adorable and as four-year-old as can be. He brings with him playgrounds, toys, Cheesecake Factory and a whole load of pure feels.
Mark and Finn couldn’t be more different. Finn is stable and solid, Mark vulnerable and lost, but they fit. They are both fully fleshed, well-rounded, and unique. They have very different voices, and they stay true to themselves throughout. Even though the book is short they manage character growth and development.
The secondary characters are far less well drawn and almost hit the point of caricature at times. Mark’s mother is almost Disney-villain in her dastardliness. Maybe she went a wee bit too far, but then that’s what people do sometimes.
My only criticism, if that’s what it can be said to be, is that things happen very fast, especially considering Mark’s fragile and vulnerable condition. In mere days, they’re in a relationship, living together and within six months they’re a family. It’s perfect for the story though, so I simply mention it and move on because I love this book. I love the way Finn scoops up Mark and Lonnie and makes a family for himself and them. I love the way they all fit together and how Finn stands against the world to protect them.
This is very much a feel-good story and is short enough to be read in one sitting, with a fluffy blanket and a mug of coffee. So, make yourself comfortable, get a tissue for the ending and dive in to something warm and soft and satisfying
RATING: 
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