A review by ashlightgrayson
Ever After Always by Chloe Liese

emotional fast-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

5.0

I always enjoy romances about married couples because I feel like it gives a more realistic depiction of how romances can play out in the long-run. Aiden has become engrossed in his work and his struggles with anxiety have compounded to cause strife within his marriage with his wife, Freya. both Aiden and Freya have forgotten how to garner intimacy and make each other feel wanted within their marriage. There is amazing discourse pertaining to anxiety and perceptions of body image within the story that are addressed well. There is also further discourse about how coming from a broken home affects a person's handling of relationships into adulthood. The issues presented within their relationship feel genuine and realistic. We get glimpses of what Freya and Aiden in their better moments as well as their worst. What is clear throughout the plot is that they love each other. Both of them are flawed and they are a great example of how the strongest relationships are still made up of imperfect people and require effort to work. There is also a strong focus on the importance of vulnerability and communication within a relationship. The tone of the story is light hearted while still addressing a lot of marital issues that I think people in long term relationships will be able to relate to you. 

Freya's family is also the best, wanting the best not just for Freya but also for Aiden because they consider him family too. I appreciated that there was the acknowledgement that when you marry someone you also become a part of their family. Aiden and Freya's relationship is the focus of the story, but I appreciated that the platonic familial relationships in the story were also given importance. Being married should not diminish the importance of platonic relationships in your life and I think this story drives that point home.

All in all, the characters were likeable and their journey was interesting and nuanced. I would highly recommend it if you like second chance romance with strong familial bonds and likeable characters.

I have friends who have anxiety and have described what panic attacks are like for them. There is a scene in the book where Aiden has a panic attack and it did an amazing job of garnering the realism of what panic attacks can be like despite not having experience with them personally. Despite being very high functioning, Aiden represents how crippling anxiety and panic attacks can be for people suffering through mental illnesses like that. Apart from that Aiden's anxiety medications affects his sex drive. A lot of medications for mental health have side effects and it was nice to see the effect it can have on men specifically. Erectile dysfunction isn't discussed very often in general, especially not in younger men, so it was great to see Freya being so supportive of Aiden when he confessed his struggles with this to her.
 
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