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caseroo7's review
3.0
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
Always Been You is my first book by Beverley Kendall, but this book is actually the third book in her Unforgettable You series. Each book is a standalone story though with the characters being interconnected. I am glad that I hadn't already read the previous books as it appears to have been quite a wait for this book and I am sure that would have drove me nuts. I have to say that I am really wanting to read Emily and Graham's story next, so hopefully there won't be a huge wait for that book. I have such mixed feelings after finishing this book. There were things that I really loved here and enjoyed thoroughly, and then there are things that I just didn't care for and didn't work for me.
Troy and April have been best friends since they were kids and grew up together. Their families are really close as well, with their parents being best friends also. Though April had always loved Troy as more than a friend, nothing happened between them beyond friendship until one night they slept together and everything changed. April was hurt when Troy acted like nothing had happened and moved on quickly. Trying to distance herself from Troy, April began to see someone else though she still was in love with Troy. But just when April was deciding to really move on with her life, Troy decides that he wants more. But can Troy and April finally take a chance at something more than friendship, or will they ruin everything between them by taking the risk?
Troy and April were all over the place here, and that is a lot of what really sealed the deal here for me. There were times that I loved each of them, and their friendship and connection was clear from the start. But these two were a disaster, and honestly their relationship was a bit toxic at times. They each hated every person the other was with, which was understandable considering that they had feelings for each other. But they went about things horribly here, and they never talked to each other about anything important. When they did have conversations they just seemed to fight and argue, constantly assuming the worst about each other. Even once they finally decided to give things a shot, they continued to jump to conclusions and treat each other terribly. I just didn't understand these two at all. While I wanted to root for these two, I had a really hard time doing that. They had moments that really sold me on their relationship, but honestly those were few and far between.
The other thing that I feel I should point out here is that there is a ton of drama here, and a lot of it was super cliched. The psycho ex-girlfriend and the preppy ex-boyfriend that can't accept that April and Troy were friends only while together and were convinced that something was going on the whole time to the point that they do super crazy things...it just seemed so predictable. The one thing I didn't expect was the random monkey wrench thrown in at 85% through the story that wasn't necessary at all. These two already had so much going on in the angst and drama department that it just seemed to be completely out of the blue and pointless. This book left me exhausted and I honestly think had it not reached the ending when it did that I would have thrown in the towel. I liked these two when they were together and talking to one another, but for the majority of this book they were just too toxic for me to really get behind their relationship. I am really curious about Emily and Graham though and what happened to make them go from being together to hating one another and how they found a way back to each other in the epilogue here. I am really hoping that their relationship is better than that of April and Troy. While I love best friends to lovers stories, this one wasn't my favorite and I don't know that I would recommend this book with everything that happened here. If you are a fan of the series or if this one sounds like something you might like, then go ahead and give it a shot. Not every book is for every person, so even though this one wasn't for me it might be the book for you.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
Always Been You is my first book by Beverley Kendall, but this book is actually the third book in her Unforgettable You series. Each book is a standalone story though with the characters being interconnected. I am glad that I hadn't already read the previous books as it appears to have been quite a wait for this book and I am sure that would have drove me nuts. I have to say that I am really wanting to read Emily and Graham's story next, so hopefully there won't be a huge wait for that book. I have such mixed feelings after finishing this book. There were things that I really loved here and enjoyed thoroughly, and then there are things that I just didn't care for and didn't work for me.
Troy and April have been best friends since they were kids and grew up together. Their families are really close as well, with their parents being best friends also. Though April had always loved Troy as more than a friend, nothing happened between them beyond friendship until one night they slept together and everything changed. April was hurt when Troy acted like nothing had happened and moved on quickly. Trying to distance herself from Troy, April began to see someone else though she still was in love with Troy. But just when April was deciding to really move on with her life, Troy decides that he wants more. But can Troy and April finally take a chance at something more than friendship, or will they ruin everything between them by taking the risk?
Troy and April were all over the place here, and that is a lot of what really sealed the deal here for me. There were times that I loved each of them, and their friendship and connection was clear from the start. But these two were a disaster, and honestly their relationship was a bit toxic at times. They each hated every person the other was with, which was understandable considering that they had feelings for each other. But they went about things horribly here, and they never talked to each other about anything important. When they did have conversations they just seemed to fight and argue, constantly assuming the worst about each other. Even once they finally decided to give things a shot, they continued to jump to conclusions and treat each other terribly. I just didn't understand these two at all. While I wanted to root for these two, I had a really hard time doing that. They had moments that really sold me on their relationship, but honestly those were few and far between.
The other thing that I feel I should point out here is that there is a ton of drama here, and a lot of it was super cliched. The psycho ex-girlfriend and the preppy ex-boyfriend that can't accept that April and Troy were friends only while together and were convinced that something was going on the whole time to the point that they do super crazy things...it just seemed so predictable. The one thing I didn't expect was the random monkey wrench thrown in at 85% through the story that wasn't necessary at all. These two already had so much going on in the angst and drama department that it just seemed to be completely out of the blue and pointless. This book left me exhausted and I honestly think had it not reached the ending when it did that I would have thrown in the towel. I liked these two when they were together and talking to one another, but for the majority of this book they were just too toxic for me to really get behind their relationship. I am really curious about Emily and Graham though and what happened to make them go from being together to hating one another and how they found a way back to each other in the epilogue here. I am really hoping that their relationship is better than that of April and Troy. While I love best friends to lovers stories, this one wasn't my favorite and I don't know that I would recommend this book with everything that happened here. If you are a fan of the series or if this one sounds like something you might like, then go ahead and give it a shot. Not every book is for every person, so even though this one wasn't for me it might be the book for you.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
landragraf's review against another edition
5.0
I've waited over a year for this book and it was worth every minute of the wait. Kendall continues to impress me with her ability to weave non-cliche New Adult tales. There's twists and turns, plenty of angst, and a good dose of hot and sexy between characters April and Troy. These best friends know how to heat up the sheets.
gerireads's review
3.0
3 stars!
Oh man, I'm really conflicted about this book. On the one hand, I liked the angst very much. Plus it's a friends-to-lovers story, which I loved but there are a few things that really kept me from rating this higher. I don't know if it's a case of having too high expectations or something else.
Anyway, Troy and April's story has been laid out over the course of the series. They grew up together and are the best of friends until their feelings changed. Suddenly, there was more. April thought -- and readers were also led to believe this -- that her feelings for Troy weren't reciprocated especially after they slept together and Troy acted like the biggest douche in the world afterwards. Since then,Troy and April's relationship became an unhealthy cycle of pushing and pulling.
Now, I both loved and hated this part because duh, angst. On the one hand, I could totally understand April's feelings for wanting to move on with another guy and forget Troy. But I couldn't understand how hard she clung to Colin despite having lukewarm feelings for him. I would have rather have her not date anyone else while still keeping Troy at a distance. But yes, her feelings were understandable.
Troy though is another story. He absolutely has no reason (I don't think they were good enough to be honest) to treat April the way he did. He pushes her away over and over again and it went on for far too long. By the time, he wised up and decided to pursue her, my patience was shot.
To be fair, their relationship wasn't all bad. I genuinely think they belonged together but man, they tried my patience so many times it was hard for me to enjoy their togetherness.
Nonetheless, they had some good times. They had things to work through but they were pretty solid. But then towards the end, another conflict arose, which added so much drama to the story. And frankly, I really didn't care for it. I knew that thePlayboy thing was a Chekhov's Gun waiting explode so that when the conflict concerning Troy's dad happened, I knew where it will go basically.
Again, that was a bit out of left field because I really didn't care about their family drama, I'm sorry to say. I didn't really know them and I felt no connection to them whatsoever. I wanted to focus on Troy and April and that conflict, the way it was made to affect them somehow, felt contrived to me.
But that is just my opinion. I know it sounded like my feelings for this book were overwhelmingly negative than positive. It's not. I loved Troy and April from the very moment they were introduced in the series. Their friendship was everything and their chemistry was off the charts hot. But I just couldn't ignore those little issues.
Overall, an okay angsty read. I recommend that you read the other books in the series before starting this one. Although this can be read as a standalone, there are aspects of their relationship that wasn't highlighted here but was present in the other books in the series.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Oh man, I'm really conflicted about this book. On the one hand, I liked the angst very much. Plus it's a friends-to-lovers story, which I loved but there are a few things that really kept me from rating this higher. I don't know if it's a case of having too high expectations or something else.
Anyway, Troy and April's story has been laid out over the course of the series. They grew up together and are the best of friends until their feelings changed. Suddenly, there was more. April thought -- and readers were also led to believe this -- that her feelings for Troy weren't reciprocated especially after they slept together and Troy acted like the biggest douche in the world afterwards. Since then,Troy and April's relationship became an unhealthy cycle of pushing and pulling.
Now, I both loved and hated this part because duh, angst. On the one hand, I could totally understand April's feelings for wanting to move on with another guy and forget Troy. But I couldn't understand how hard she clung to Colin despite having lukewarm feelings for him. I would have rather have her not date anyone else while still keeping Troy at a distance. But yes, her feelings were understandable.
Troy though is another story. He absolutely has no reason (I don't think they were good enough to be honest) to treat April the way he did. He pushes her away over and over again and it went on for far too long. By the time, he wised up and decided to pursue her, my patience was shot.
To be fair, their relationship wasn't all bad. I genuinely think they belonged together but man, they tried my patience so many times it was hard for me to enjoy their togetherness.
Nonetheless, they had some good times. They had things to work through but they were pretty solid. But then towards the end, another conflict arose, which added so much drama to the story. And frankly, I really didn't care for it. I knew that the
Again, that was a bit out of left field because I really didn't care about their family drama, I'm sorry to say. I didn't really know them and I felt no connection to them whatsoever. I wanted to focus on Troy and April and that conflict, the way it was made to affect them somehow, felt contrived to me.
But that is just my opinion. I know it sounded like my feelings for this book were overwhelmingly negative than positive. It's not. I loved Troy and April from the very moment they were introduced in the series. Their friendship was everything and their chemistry was off the charts hot. But I just couldn't ignore those little issues.
Overall, an okay angsty read. I recommend that you read the other books in the series before starting this one. Although this can be read as a standalone, there are aspects of their relationship that wasn't highlighted here but was present in the other books in the series.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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