This post contains affiliate links, meaning I’ll receive a small commission should you purchase using those links. All opinions expressed are my own. I receive no compensation for reviews.

Review: Forever Jack (#2, Eversea) by Natasha Boyd

My Thoughts

The perfect conclusion to an unforgettable modern-day fairy tale.
It’s simply a beautiful love story.

Related Posts: 2014 Favorites, Hollywood Romances, My review of Eversea (#1)

Synopsis

FOREVER, JACK_COVER_R3 A feisty small-town girl and the Hollywood star who broke her heart

An all-consuming love threatened by fame

One last chance at FOREVER

Keri Ann Butler’s life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long.

Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack’s latest tabloid accessory isn’t on Keri Ann’s career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again?

Jack knows he let the only ‘real’ thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until Now.

Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?

My Review

I’m simply in love with this series. It felt both like a fairy tale and like real life. It had moments of heartache and moments of happiness… moments of longing and moments of trepidation as I saw the struggles between Keri Ann and Jack unfold. Eversea ended with a cliffhanger and my heart hurt deeply for Keri Ann after the shocking news that shattered a beautiful relationship just beginning to blossom. It’s now five months later and both Jack and Keri Ann have taken different paths. Keri Ann has flourished amidst heartache, using the experience as a wake-up call to live life and follow her creative dreams. Meanwhile, Jack has endured a much publicized breakup which was subsequently followed by an equally notorious escapade through England where he was constantly photographed surrounded by women.

The hurt that has become a dull ache is suddenly throbbing, however, when Keri Ann unexpectedly comes face-to-face with the beautiful Jack Eversea once more … determination sharp and intense in his piercing green eyes.

He’s come back for Keri Ann.

“Let’s start with something I never told you before. I, Jack Eversea, am … utterly in … love … with you, Keri Ann Butler.”

Old wounds flay open and all the progress made with the impossible task of forgetting Jack suddenly shatters with his words … his gaze … his touch. She’s can’t risk such crippling heartache again. After months of mourning the relationship they had and struggling to get past the betrayal she felt, she’s finally paving her own future. It’s also clear, however, that despite her best efforts, she never forgot him. So much has happened since Jack left Butler Cove. Both of them are irrevocably different and it’s uncertain whether they can rekindle the fire that burned so brightly then.

“I don’t know how to go back to where we were, to what we had… to what we were supposed to be… What we are meant to be.”

Jack is a man in love, however, and he’ll stop at nothing after everything he’s had to endure. Keri Ann doesn’t know the real story of what transpired during their time apart. Jack’s had nothing but time to think about what they had. Think about Keri Ann. He was caged by the memories of their brief, but beautiful time together. He had never been happier. Seeing Jack so in love and so focused on getting her back filled all the crevices of my heart. I didn’t think it was possible, but I fell in love with him even harder. Jack Eversea was a hopeless romantic who’s convinced he found his soul mate in a small seaside town and he’s not about to let her go.

“She called me a man-sized “message in a bottle.” A love story waiting to happen if the right person found me, and if I would only open up and embrace who I am.”

On the other hand, Keri Ann has also suffered redirecting her emotions to focus on her own future. Now that Jack is back, and despite of the feelings she knows he feels, she’s not sure whether she would compromise who she is to be in a relationship with Jack. A life beside him is a life lived under the lens of the camera, under the continuous scrutiny of the public. Is that something she could handle? In addition, would she forever reside in his shadow, known only for being his girlfriend, and not for being the person … the artist … that she is endeavoring to become.

“Who was I without Jack? I needed to be sure now, and I needed to set the boundary now, otherwise I’d always be swallowed up by the tidal wave of who he was, and his life. I’d always only be an extension of him.”

This book is really about Keri Ann’s personal growth. She must figure out what she wants, what’s she’s willing to fight for. Would she follow her heart and be with the man she loves come what may? Would she be her own woman and fight for her career, her future, her own small slice of fame as an artist? Or was there a compromise that would allow her to have it all? Her concerns were valid and I wholly felt her emotional turmoil, particularly as Jack bared his heart and soul, laying it all at her feet for one more chance at a love that could change their lives forever.

“Let me be a part of your life, and be brave enough to be a part of mine. I know you can be, I’ve seen your strength. Please believe in us.”

I’ll say it again… I loved this book so very much. I was consumed by every moment, feeling all the heartache and all the conflicting feelings as if it were my own. It was a perfect sequel in every way and a love story I won’t soon forget.