Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Ever After Always

Such a lovely and heartwarming marriage in trouble story. Since this is the third book in this series and this couple has played a significant part through the series so far, it was more poignant for me when their marriage started to crumble. I already had a strong connection to Freyda and Aiden and wanted them to fight for their marriage as well as fight for their individual happiness.

There’s no denying that Freya and Aiden love each other. As is the case with all humans, their past molded who they are today. That’s wonderful in some ways. They are both caring, sturdy, and passionate people. But where Freya is also very confident and outspoken, Aiden is not. He grew up poor and feeling left behind. Something that, no matter how much she sympathizes with, Freya cannot fully understand. Which means she doesn’t know what to do to help her husband get out of his head.

This story deals with anxiety and other mental health issues, as well as some pros and cons of the medications used to help with these issues. It is so real and raw. These are not easy things to talk about, even with your best friend you’ve been married to for years. I applaud the author for including the good the bad and the ugly to show us the beauty at the end.

One of the beautiful things about this story is the way the Bergman family reminds Aiden, over and over, that he does have a large family…them. He may have grown up with just him and his mom against the world, but he’s been in their orbit for over 15 years and is their true brother and son no matter what. A couple of the brothers do some really unforgivable things to force this couple back together, but they also use romance books in a wonderful way. As an avid romance reader, I loved the romance book discussions.

Through Aiden and Freya working on their marriage, there are some parts that are two steps forward and one step back for them. That was another thing I appreciated about this story. There was not one magic scenario that made all of the angst and hurt feelings disappear. They had to do the work. Both of them. As we see when Freya admits she’s not as confident as she lets on, even with her husband.

Even with the missteps of the brothers, I loved this book. It is emotional and engaging.

Content Warnings

maxinesf's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

bookwormbullet's review against another edition

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challenging emotional lighthearted reflective slow-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

4.0

Content Warnings

middle_name_joy's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

xeniba's review

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hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

3.0

As someone who’s been married almost ten years and has experienced a significant rough patch or two (and also has severe anxiety, along with other mental health diagnoses/neurodivergencies), I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the read, but when I actually think about the details of the story, I get a little frustrated.

Aidan supposedly has been in talk therapy for YEARS…did he really not talk with his therapist about what was going on with Freya and his app and his anxiety and sex drive? And then after one session with the marriage counselor he starts trying to make an effort? That just didn’t sit well with me. Or Aidan really needs a new individual therapist.

Other minor quibbles…I’m from Kailua and we do not refer to
most highways by their numbers. When I read that they merged on to “61-S” I legit put my book down and looked up wtf road that was because I wasn’t sure. Then I texted my sister who also had no idea because literally we only call it Pali Highway. I drove the Pali almost daily, if not multiple times a day for years and genuinely had no idea what it’s number was.

Lastly, the new pendant Freya has made said 3650 days. That’s not how many days are in 10 years. There are two leap years in a decade, so it should be 3652 days (hi, can you tell I’m autistic?). I feel like that’s something that Aidan would have at least noticed, since he’s such a stickler for numbers and accuracy and stuff.

Content Warnings

buttermellow's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

madsmcw_reads's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

Guys, at this point Chloe Liese can literally do no wrong for me. I fell in love with Freya just as I have the other Bergmans. I loved that this book focused on keeping the romance after the happily ever after and putting in the work to keep your relationship strong. The anxiety representation was SO well done and I loved that it was the male main character that struggled with it because I feel like we don't see that enough in books. Gosh these books are just so good and I can't believe I waited so long to read them.

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