FOR NEVER & ALWAYS

Childhood friends turned exes are reunited at the inn of which they're now part owners.

Hannah Rosenstein spent her youth traveling the world, and the only place she felt at home was in the Adirondacks with her best friend, Levi "Blue" Matthews, whose parents worked at her great-aunt's business, Carrigan's Christmasland. Since she became one of the owners of Carrigan’s, she's helped reinvent the place as not just a holiday destination but an all-year-round inn and event space. When Levi—now a globe-trotting celebrity chef—returns after years away, he brings back all Hannah’s memories of how they fell in love and then fell apart. She wants him to transfer his shares in Carrigan's and leave, but when an important bride discovers he’s there, she wants him to cater her wedding. Although Levi always felt stifled and out of place growing up at Carrigan’s, he now desperately wants to win Hannah back, so he makes her a deal: He’ll help with the wedding, and in the meantime, she’ll go on a series of dates with him. Much like its predecessor, Season of Love (2022), this story focuses on introspection and identity—Levi is demisexual, Hannah has anxiety, and both are working through emotional trauma. Although these elements are deftly crafted, the plot feels underbaked and conflicts overly drawn out, which leads to the story losing tension and momentum. Interspersed flashbacks fill in Hannah and Levi’s backstory but further disrupt and slow the pace. Fans of the first book may enjoy this return trip to Carrigan’s, but newcomers could be overwhelmed by the abundance of side characters.

Thoughtful representation marred by a sluggish plot.