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A review by sabbygee
A Beautiful Forever by Lilliana Anderson
5.0
This review and more at Sab The Book Eater
Once upon a time, I requested to review a book on Goodreads entitled, A Beautiful Struggle. It was going great up until the story took a whole different path and I was left feeling confused. I liked it but it broke my heart too.
No. Lilliana broke my heart. Not just mine! There were plenty of others who were left devastated!
Okay that was a bit dramatic. Anyway.............. obviously, we were rooting for Elliot. Don't get me wrong, I liked the HEA in the first book but I just can't stand not knowing what happened to Elliot. It was frustrating because Elliot was The One for me and there were so many unanswered questions. So just imagine how I felt when Lilli asked if I wanted to review A Beautiful Forever as well. Oh man, cue the hallelujah chorus!!!
That's basically the backgrounder for all the feels I had with this book. I must warn you that while I try very hard to keep an objective view of this book for the sake of giving an honest and fair review, bear in mind that I'm just way too happy to be reading about Elliot again. Because he's da bomb. And I love him.
So the book starts off with a prologue which is actually the epilogue in A Beautiful Struggle only it's in Elliot's POV this time. It was so heart wrenching reading Elliot's thoughts and how he's still not over Katrina. It was an entirely new side of Elliot because in the first book he was this mysterious, gorgeous bad boy but here, you can really see how his breakup with Katrina and the events after that changed him. From the get go I knew I was going to enjoy the book, simply because Elliot's different now.
What I really liked about this book were all the raw emotions put into it. From the very beginning we all know that Elliot has been through a lot and that he's ready for a change; he wants to find himself again. And then we have Paige, who's broken and has experienced quite a lot that's enough to make her closed off to other people. I also liked that the story's written in their alternating POV; it helped me understand both of them better. If the entire book was written only in Elliot's perspective, I would easily get frustrated with Paige for being stubborn. But since I also got to read her story, I fell in love with her too... not as much as I did for Elliot of course but you get the point. Throughout the story, whether they were happy or sad, the emotions were there and it was so amazing how Lilli was able to vividly show just how much love these two people have for each other. It was a bit insta love in the beginning but I was glad it didn't quite push through. The physical attraction was clearly there but Paige was just too careful that she didn't let Elliot get close early on. It was good though, because that allowed room for them to be friends first so the deeper attraction followed naturally.
I absolutely adored the Elliot Roberts in this book! He's just so different. I mean, he's still the charming Elliot that he was in the first book but here... he's grown. All the tough times he's been through molded him into a better, maturer person. He's fallen madly in love with Paige and he really did everything he could to keep it this time. At some point, specifically around 70% of the book, the story became too painful to read because I felt like Elliot has been through enough and him having to go through hell again was too much. I had to remind myself that the title's A Beautiful Forever and it'll only get better. Everything worked out in the end because he fought for what he wanted, and that was to be with Paige. I can't tell you how happy I was when Elliot told Paige, "Fuck you, Paige. You don't get to decide this." THAT'S MY BOY!!!
Paige is also a memorable character. she's had a horrible past that remains a mystery for most of the book but all throughout you get an idea of how bad exactly her past was. I fell in love with her character because she felt so real every time she shared part of her story. I also love how spunky and strong she was. Furthermore, I think Lilli couldn't have done a better job at creating or picking a partner for Elliot. They complimented each other so well! Even their sex scenes were better than the ones in the other book! I don't know if it's because I'm pro-Elliot but I just think they're better in this one. It's filled with passion and love more than pure lust, get my drift? So even if they weren't as intense as the ones in the first book, I still think they're way better. Anyway, Elliot and Paige - an amazing couple. They were each other's support system and I love how their love story panned out.
I also loved the author's storytelling. I like the overall pacing; some parts were a bit slower than most because it only helped build the story more. Aside from that, I loved how there was still an element of surprise towards the end! I'm not about to spoil it for you because it's cool how the author revealed it. It was one of those, "I can't believe I didn't see that coming!" moments.
I am definitely in love with this book. So in love that I stayed up late last night finishing it even if I was already super sleepy. I had to down a mug of coffee just to stay up because I didn't want to sleep without finishing it and knowing how it all ended. I had my heart broken in the first book, but it was put together again in this one.
I have to say though, I loved that Katrina had a couple of appearances in the book even if they were a bit awkward. I liked her being in the book not because I like her or anything. I mean, I did but I definitely like Elliot more. I just loved that Katrina's appearances only enforced just how perfect Elliot and Paige were for each other. At some point Elliot thought, "It makes me realise how underdeveloped our relationship actually was. We never went beyond meeting friends." EXACTLY. I'm surprised you only realized it now! *rolls eyes* And if a Katrina-Elliot fan would read this, I think it'll also give them closure. I think. I hope so? Elliot and Paige for life!!!
*clears throat* OKAY Moving on..........
I'm rating this a 5.5 over 5 stars. I don't normally give half stars, neither do I give more than 5 stars. But I just had to do it here. The half star is for Lilli... for hearing us (Elliot's fans) out, giving Elliot a chance and telling his story. This is truly a beautiful story and I don't know how I'm going to recover from this. ;)
***I received an Advance Reading e-Copy of this book for review***
This book is based solely on my opinion.
Once upon a time, I requested to review a book on Goodreads entitled, A Beautiful Struggle. It was going great up until the story took a whole different path and I was left feeling confused. I liked it but it broke my heart too.
No. Lilliana broke my heart. Not just mine! There were plenty of others who were left devastated!
Okay that was a bit dramatic. Anyway.............. obviously, we were rooting for Elliot. Don't get me wrong, I liked the HEA in the first book but I just can't stand not knowing what happened to Elliot. It was frustrating because Elliot was The One for me and there were so many unanswered questions. So just imagine how I felt when Lilli asked if I wanted to review A Beautiful Forever as well. Oh man, cue the hallelujah chorus!!!
That's basically the backgrounder for all the feels I had with this book. I must warn you that while I try very hard to keep an objective view of this book for the sake of giving an honest and fair review, bear in mind that I'm just way too happy to be reading about Elliot again. Because he's da bomb. And I love him.
So the book starts off with a prologue which is actually the epilogue in A Beautiful Struggle only it's in Elliot's POV this time. It was so heart wrenching reading Elliot's thoughts and how he's still not over Katrina. It was an entirely new side of Elliot because in the first book he was this mysterious, gorgeous bad boy but here, you can really see how his breakup with Katrina and the events after that changed him. From the get go I knew I was going to enjoy the book, simply because Elliot's different now.
What I really liked about this book were all the raw emotions put into it. From the very beginning we all know that Elliot has been through a lot and that he's ready for a change; he wants to find himself again. And then we have Paige, who's broken and has experienced quite a lot that's enough to make her closed off to other people. I also liked that the story's written in their alternating POV; it helped me understand both of them better. If the entire book was written only in Elliot's perspective, I would easily get frustrated with Paige for being stubborn. But since I also got to read her story, I fell in love with her too... not as much as I did for Elliot of course but you get the point. Throughout the story, whether they were happy or sad, the emotions were there and it was so amazing how Lilli was able to vividly show just how much love these two people have for each other. It was a bit insta love in the beginning but I was glad it didn't quite push through. The physical attraction was clearly there but Paige was just too careful that she didn't let Elliot get close early on. It was good though, because that allowed room for them to be friends first so the deeper attraction followed naturally.
I absolutely adored the Elliot Roberts in this book! He's just so different. I mean, he's still the charming Elliot that he was in the first book but here... he's grown. All the tough times he's been through molded him into a better, maturer person. He's fallen madly in love with Paige and he really did everything he could to keep it this time. At some point, specifically around 70% of the book, the story became too painful to read because I felt like Elliot has been through enough and him having to go through hell again was too much. I had to remind myself that the title's A Beautiful Forever and it'll only get better. Everything worked out in the end because he fought for what he wanted, and that was to be with Paige. I can't tell you how happy I was when Elliot told Paige, "Fuck you, Paige. You don't get to decide this." THAT'S MY BOY!!!
Paige is also a memorable character. she's had a horrible past that remains a mystery for most of the book but all throughout you get an idea of how bad exactly her past was. I fell in love with her character because she felt so real every time she shared part of her story. I also love how spunky and strong she was. Furthermore, I think Lilli couldn't have done a better job at creating or picking a partner for Elliot. They complimented each other so well! Even their sex scenes were better than the ones in the other book! I don't know if it's because I'm pro-Elliot but I just think they're better in this one. It's filled with passion and love more than pure lust, get my drift? So even if they weren't as intense as the ones in the first book, I still think they're way better. Anyway, Elliot and Paige - an amazing couple. They were each other's support system and I love how their love story panned out.
I also loved the author's storytelling. I like the overall pacing; some parts were a bit slower than most because it only helped build the story more. Aside from that, I loved how there was still an element of surprise towards the end! I'm not about to spoil it for you because it's cool how the author revealed it. It was one of those, "I can't believe I didn't see that coming!" moments.
I am definitely in love with this book. So in love that I stayed up late last night finishing it even if I was already super sleepy. I had to down a mug of coffee just to stay up because I didn't want to sleep without finishing it and knowing how it all ended. I had my heart broken in the first book, but it was put together again in this one.
I have to say though, I loved that Katrina had a couple of appearances in the book even if they were a bit awkward. I liked her being in the book not because I like her or anything. I mean, I did but I definitely like Elliot more. I just loved that Katrina's appearances only enforced just how perfect Elliot and Paige were for each other. At some point Elliot thought, "It makes me realise how underdeveloped our relationship actually was. We never went beyond meeting friends." EXACTLY. I'm surprised you only realized it now! *rolls eyes* And if a Katrina-Elliot fan would read this, I think it'll also give them closure. I think. I hope so? Elliot and Paige for life!!!
*clears throat* OKAY Moving on..........
I'm rating this a 5.5 over 5 stars. I don't normally give half stars, neither do I give more than 5 stars. But I just had to do it here. The half star is for Lilli... for hearing us (Elliot's fans) out, giving Elliot a chance and telling his story. This is truly a beautiful story and I don't know how I'm going to recover from this. ;)
***I received an Advance Reading e-Copy of this book for review***
This book is based solely on my opinion.