Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Forever after all. Na zawsze mimo wszystko

Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Possessive MMC, Billionaire Romance
FMC: Elena - loves her mom more than anything; will do anything for her
MMC: Alec - doesn't "believe in love"; greatest ambition is taking over his grandfather's company
Intimacy: explicit

Summary
Elena's mother is in a coma and she has run out of money to care for her. Her father won't give her a cent, and the rest of the family can't fathom why she spent her entire trust fund keeping her comatose mother alive over the years. When she decides to sell the only thing she has left, she runs into Alec, the older brother of a dear friend. Alec's only concern is getting control of his grandfather's company. However, he must be married before that happens. The two strike up a deal: Alec will pay Elena's mother's medical expenses and Elena will be a dutiful wife without any hopes or expectations of love and romance.

Thoughts
I have read this story multiple times and each time, it hits me in the gut. Alec and Elena are such a good pair. There's nothing I love more than an "I don't believe in love" guy being flabbergasted when he finds himself very much in love. There are many satisfying scenes, I'm thinking of one in particular ala Pretty Woman, that had my petty side jumping with joy. The plot with Elena's mom never fails to make me emotional despite already knowing the conclusion. Catharina Maura really has a knack for writing characters you will immediately connect with and root for long after the last page. As an aside, I need more Lucien and Elliott!!!

A few of my favorite quotes:

His eyes are on mine, and the way he’s looking at me right now is how I always imagined he would in every single dream I’ve ever had of him. Like I’m someone he wants, and not just some kid that follows him around everywhere. Like I’m desirable.
“Oh, he’ll care,” I whisper, “and you will belong to me. It’s not just your body that will be mine, Elena. It’s your every thought, your every dream. Your entire future is mine.”
I see the tears pooling in her eyes and grab her hand. Seeing tears in her eyes, f***. I can’t stand it. “I know it isn’t the same, but you have me now, Buttercup,” I say involuntarily. She looks at me and nods. “I do. I do have you,” she says, her eyes never leaving mine.
“What is it you want, wife? If it’s within my power, I will give it to you.”
“I’m giving you all I can, Elena. All I am. All that’s left of me.”
“Baby, you deserve every single thing you set your eyes on. I’m going to make it my job to give you everything, even the things you don’t dare ask for.” “Alec,” I whisper. “All I want is you.”

Content Warnings

bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

culzean's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

ariana_m's review against another edition

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 stars rounded up.
Was this cheesy? Yes. Was this pretty cliche at times? Yeah. Was this dramatic? Yes. Was this slightly cringy? At times, yes. Did I still eat it up? Absolutely.

I wanted to go through this book and just give Elena a big hug and then go to Alec and slap shit out of him lmao. He irritated me so badly at times in this book. I had a very love/hate relationship with him in this lol. This was also an emotional rollercoaster and not in a good way. On one page they're making out and then you click to the next page and they were arguing. To me the story didn't flow that well at times. I mean the story was moving along but it was kind of choppy? It was still a pretty good read nonetheless.

Content Warnings