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megwoman25's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
I feel heartless rating this so low because a lot of the book centers around Caroline’s son Dylan who is an amazing little boy and he made me laugh a lot. My heart broke for the situation Caroline was in but loved how she put her son before everything else while trying to give him the best life she could. Justin Stone is a hot, professional hockey player who has a revolving door of women and no worries. His foundation is hosting a month long summer camp for low income families and this is how Caroline and Justin meet. The first day of camp, Justin parks next to Caroline and once he sees her green eyes, he is smitten with her. He also finds out that Dylan is quite talented on the ice and takes an interest in mentoring him. While all that has the potential to make for a beautiful story, the insta-love was just too crazy for me to believe. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he goes above and beyond to be her knight in shining armor. Her car dies, he gives her a ride home and then lets her keep his SUV. Her phone gets shutoff, he buys her a new one. He’s constantly bringing them to restaurants and buying them anything they could possibly want despite Caroline’s pleas for him to stop. He even moves her into his house without her consent. He’s never felt this way before and thinks he loves her yet it’s only been 5 days. For me, it was just a bit far fetched.
This is a SLOW burn romance though (even though it takes place in a month timeframe) and while there are intimate moments shared between all 3 of them as Justin becomes a father figure to Dylan, there is no sex scene until 76% into this book. After they do it, the book speeds up and almost ends rather abruptly. I would have liked for there to be less filler for the first 75% and while I felt like I knew who Justin was as a person and what he stood for, I didn’t know anything about Caroline other than she was a good mom.
So for me, Dylan is the standout in this book but the rest fell a bit short. This does have two epilogues that show what the future holds for them but by then I just was glad it was done.
It should be said I have never read this series before and there are A LOT of family members to keep track of. Even though it was fine as a stand alone, I could see liking this better had I read previous books in the series. The person I was the most curious about was Matthew but I was unable to find anything by this author referencing that relationship much to my disappointment.
I feel heartless rating this so low because a lot of the book centers around Caroline’s son Dylan who is an amazing little boy and he made me laugh a lot. My heart broke for the situation Caroline was in but loved how she put her son before everything else while trying to give him the best life she could. Justin Stone is a hot, professional hockey player who has a revolving door of women and no worries. His foundation is hosting a month long summer camp for low income families and this is how Caroline and Justin meet. The first day of camp, Justin parks next to Caroline and once he sees her green eyes, he is smitten with her. He also finds out that Dylan is quite talented on the ice and takes an interest in mentoring him. While all that has the potential to make for a beautiful story, the insta-love was just too crazy for me to believe. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he goes above and beyond to be her knight in shining armor. Her car dies, he gives her a ride home and then lets her keep his SUV. Her phone gets shutoff, he buys her a new one. He’s constantly bringing them to restaurants and buying them anything they could possibly want despite Caroline’s pleas for him to stop. He even moves her into his house without her consent. He’s never felt this way before and thinks he loves her yet it’s only been 5 days. For me, it was just a bit far fetched.
This is a SLOW burn romance though (even though it takes place in a month timeframe) and while there are intimate moments shared between all 3 of them as Justin becomes a father figure to Dylan, there is no sex scene until 76% into this book. After they do it, the book speeds up and almost ends rather abruptly. I would have liked for there to be less filler for the first 75% and while I felt like I knew who Justin was as a person and what he stood for, I didn’t know anything about Caroline other than she was a good mom.
So for me, Dylan is the standout in this book but the rest fell a bit short. This does have two epilogues that show what the future holds for them but by then I just was glad it was done.
It should be said I have never read this series before and there are A LOT of family members to keep track of. Even though it was fine as a stand alone, I could see liking this better had I read previous books in the series. The person I was the most curious about was Matthew but I was unable to find anything by this author referencing that relationship much to my disappointment.
lmrivas54's review against another edition
5.0
Justin Stone all grown up! A hockey star, based in Edmonton, away from his New York family but happy now that he’s been there for some time. I loved reading about how initially he was so homesick that his parents went to visit him every other week, but he’s now all man, a gorgeous hottie, and heads a philanthropic charity that provides kids the opportunity to practice hockey with the greats. He’s proud and eager to start his new hockey summer camp, and little does he realize that he will meet the love of his life on the first day of camp. Make that two loves, since Caroline arrives with her eight year old son Dylan to the first day of camp and Justin is floored, first with Catherine’s green eyes, and then with Dylan’s incredible talent on the ice.
Caroline is a very downtrodden woman. Pregnant at eighteen, married at nineteen, her husband was the high school quarterback, full of promise and a brilliant future. That future disappeared when he was injured and then addicted to the pain pills. Eight years later, Caroline survives, thanks to her indomitable spirit, working two jobs and living for her boy, and trying to keep her druggie ex-husband away from them.
When Justin appears in her life, wanting to get close to her, she’s naturally reluctant. With years of bad luck, alone and reliant only on her hard work, she doesn’t like to be beholden to anyone, she solves her own problems. What she doesn’t know is that Justin shares the caveman personality inherited from his father, and he leads her a merry chase, dissolving all her problems, jumping over all her obstacles, and winning over her boy, with love, sweetness, compassion, empathy, generosity, and just plain tenacity.
There are some tear-jerking scenes, when the despair overcomes Caroline and you want to cry with her. But Justin always knows when she’s down and he’s always there to ease her burden. She’s hard to convince that there’s finally someone who wants to help her and love her, but Justin is determined. Dylan is a sweet and precious little boy who is always hungry, always eager to get on the ice and play. He impressed everyone with his talent.
I loved this story, loved all the characters and love it even more when the whole Stone gang rushed to Edmonton to meet Caroline and Dylan. I admired Caroline because in the face of the biggest adversities, she cries, dries her tears, and says “it’s another bump in the road”, and forges on. Admirable and respectable. I loved Justin’s “sweetheart” opening to sentences, which meant that he was going to ride over her complaints and convince her (by trickery) on doing things his way. He’s the perfect boyfriend!
Lovely story, entertaining, emotional at times, angsty and funny others, and totally, utterly lovely. Dylan is a beautiful little boy who breaks your heart when you see how he’s absorbing the love and attention that Justin bestows on him, and how he returns that love multiplied. This story really moved me and delighted me!
Caroline is a very downtrodden woman. Pregnant at eighteen, married at nineteen, her husband was the high school quarterback, full of promise and a brilliant future. That future disappeared when he was injured and then addicted to the pain pills. Eight years later, Caroline survives, thanks to her indomitable spirit, working two jobs and living for her boy, and trying to keep her druggie ex-husband away from them.
When Justin appears in her life, wanting to get close to her, she’s naturally reluctant. With years of bad luck, alone and reliant only on her hard work, she doesn’t like to be beholden to anyone, she solves her own problems. What she doesn’t know is that Justin shares the caveman personality inherited from his father, and he leads her a merry chase, dissolving all her problems, jumping over all her obstacles, and winning over her boy, with love, sweetness, compassion, empathy, generosity, and just plain tenacity.
There are some tear-jerking scenes, when the despair overcomes Caroline and you want to cry with her. But Justin always knows when she’s down and he’s always there to ease her burden. She’s hard to convince that there’s finally someone who wants to help her and love her, but Justin is determined. Dylan is a sweet and precious little boy who is always hungry, always eager to get on the ice and play. He impressed everyone with his talent.
I loved this story, loved all the characters and love it even more when the whole Stone gang rushed to Edmonton to meet Caroline and Dylan. I admired Caroline because in the face of the biggest adversities, she cries, dries her tears, and says “it’s another bump in the road”, and forges on. Admirable and respectable. I loved Justin’s “sweetheart” opening to sentences, which meant that he was going to ride over her complaints and convince her (by trickery) on doing things his way. He’s the perfect boyfriend!
Lovely story, entertaining, emotional at times, angsty and funny others, and totally, utterly lovely. Dylan is a beautiful little boy who breaks your heart when you see how he’s absorbing the love and attention that Justin bestows on him, and how he returns that love multiplied. This story really moved me and delighted me!
taniamg's review against another edition
5.0
Justin and Caroline!!!!!! With little Dylan!!!! What a beautiful story; so emotional and loving. Caroline was the epitome of a strong hardworking single mom and did anything for her son Dylan. Justin has the heart of gold. He was smitten by both Caroline and her son from the first day he met them. He tried his best to not fall for her but he couldn’t help it and he couldn’t help not helping her with her struggles. Caroline was as humble as can be and tried her best to not let Justin in but he was so nice and persistent. It took A LOT for her to open up. She had so much going on that poor girl that my heart broke for her. She deserved Justin and his family loved her and her son. I loved their entire relationship and loved everything about them. I loved that Caroline was still humble after everything.
math_chan's review against another edition
5.0
Justin est le dernier enfant de Cooper et Parker Stone, le fils de la légende du hockey. Petit, il avait tout, c’est pourquoi il a créé une fondation pour donner des cours de hockey à des espoirs dont les familles n’ont pas les moyens. Caroline a été mère à 17 ans, abandonnée par le père de son fils qui est un drogué, elle doit faire face à tous les obstacles que la vie dresse sur son chemin. Elle cumule deux emplois pour permettre à Dylan, son fils de huit ans, de pouvoir se rendre au camp d’été de la fondation Justin Stone. Pour ce dernier, le coup de foudre est immédiat, il le sait, c’est elle et il fera tout pour l’aider et lui montrer son soutien mais aussi envers Dylan qu’il trouve exceptionnel pour son jeune âge.
J’aime toujours autant l’univers de Natasha Madison et c’est avec un grand plaisir que j’ai replongé dans la grande famille Stone. Justin est un condensé de son père et de son frère mais il cache mieux son côté mâle alpha et surtout il est plus rusé pour faire accepter des choses à Caroline. Au même titre que les autres hommes Stone, il est déterminé et travaille pour obtenir ce qu’il désire. Caroline n’a vraiment pas eu de chance dans la vie mis à part son fils qui est son moteur, elle enchaîne les malchances. Justin lui apporte son soutien de façon intelligente et mature. Ils sont adorables tous les deux. Caroline est une battante et elle se relève constamment, elle donne tout pour son fils Dylan qui est un amour de petit garçon. J’ai été ravie de revoir les héros des tomes précédents qui avancent dans leurs vies. J’aime la plume de l’auteure et j’ai lu ce roman rapidement en passant par plein d’émotions. J’ai eu ma larme à l'œil, j’ai rigolé et j’ai fondu devant ce trio. La famille est toujours un point central des livres de Natasha Madison, qu'elle soit de cœur ou de sang. J’espère que la suite va être traduite car cette saga vaut vraiment le détour. Si vous n’avez pas succombé à Natasha Madison et que vous aimez les univers de hockey avec des familles qui se mêlent de tout, foncez !
J’aime toujours autant l’univers de Natasha Madison et c’est avec un grand plaisir que j’ai replongé dans la grande famille Stone. Justin est un condensé de son père et de son frère mais il cache mieux son côté mâle alpha et surtout il est plus rusé pour faire accepter des choses à Caroline. Au même titre que les autres hommes Stone, il est déterminé et travaille pour obtenir ce qu’il désire. Caroline n’a vraiment pas eu de chance dans la vie mis à part son fils qui est son moteur, elle enchaîne les malchances. Justin lui apporte son soutien de façon intelligente et mature. Ils sont adorables tous les deux. Caroline est une battante et elle se relève constamment, elle donne tout pour son fils Dylan qui est un amour de petit garçon. J’ai été ravie de revoir les héros des tomes précédents qui avancent dans leurs vies. J’aime la plume de l’auteure et j’ai lu ce roman rapidement en passant par plein d’émotions. J’ai eu ma larme à l'œil, j’ai rigolé et j’ai fondu devant ce trio. La famille est toujours un point central des livres de Natasha Madison, qu'elle soit de cœur ou de sang. J’espère que la suite va être traduite car cette saga vaut vraiment le détour. Si vous n’avez pas succombé à Natasha Madison et que vous aimez les univers de hockey avec des familles qui se mêlent de tout, foncez !
bookmaniacforever's review against another edition
5.0
⭐️ 5 "Awww, Those Stone Men" Stars ⭐️
Awww, this story!!! I’m still reeling from all the swoon factors this novel offered me! I’ve been a fan of the Something So Series / This Is Series since the start! Each new book with the Stone family is a real treat because I adore all those characters! Natasha Madison crafted such an amazing universe filled with humour, emotion and sweetness! This Is Forever might be my absolute favorite – tied with Something So Irresistible – in both series!
Justin Stone is a real charmer and I loved him so much! He’s a star on the ice, but outside he’s very engaged with the community helping young underprivileged hockey players with his summer camp. I was smitten with him pretty fast when he took an early interest in little Dylan and his mom Caroline. He doesn’t judge them for being poor and struggling. He goes to great lengths to help them and it’s so genuine! Justin certainly has a big heart. As much as his soft side is alluring, he’s also very similar to his alpha protective father and brother. He’s definitely a Stone man when his woman is concerned!
Speaking of Caroline, I was really in awe of her resilience. She’s making the most with what she has and only thinks about her son’s happiness. Dylan is truly a lucky boy to have a mother so invested in his well-being and devoted to make his dreams come true. I enjoyed the fact that she doesn’t take advantage of Justin’s generosity that easily, showing signs of pride! The thing is that Justin Stone is really irresistible and their chemistry is so perfect that the fall is unavoidable.
I felt that even if their romance is a whirlwind, developing in a span of a couple weeks, it looks so real and beautiful. They share something really special and their scenes put butterflies in my stomach from the gorgeousness of their love and the passion it produces.
Dylan is so cute and his relationship with Justin so lovely. Some of the moments they share are so adorable and endearing! This boy is quite matured for his eight years of age, accepting the little joys and not demanding too much.
I can’t finish this review without mentioning the Stone family! They take a big place in this book, when they all go to Justin’s for a part of the summer. We get to see all of our favorite characters; Parker and Cooper, Matthew and Karrie, Allison and Max, Zara and Evan, Zoe and Viktor, Vivienne and Mark, and the children. It caused a lot of hilarious and touching instants where we witness all the love and support they have for each other.
Seriously, This Is Forever was everything! There isn’t a single instant of this story I didn’t utterly adored! If you’re looking for a lovely romance that will leave you with stars in your eyes and give you lots of smiles, don’t search too far because This Is Forever is all that and more!
** ARC received in exchange for an honest review **
gusta_nan's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
4.0