Book Review: Forever With You by Londra Laine

Blurb:

Kelly Brooks Montes is only nineteen years old and just starting college in New York City when tragedy strikes, and he becomes a single dad to his toddler brother. Four years later, Kelly and his baby brother, Jaylen, are doing well, though Kelly leads a double life to make ends meet. He’s a high-level administrative assistant by day and a racy go-go boy by night. Between raising his brother, dancing, and trying not to run afoul of his new boss, Kelly doesn't have time for a boyfriend. Even if he did want a man in his life, a past trauma makes him question whether he can ever trust a man with his body or his heart. But then Kelly receives an unexpected but steamy birthday kiss from his boss, a man he was sure hated him, and he begins to wish for things he knows he shouldn't.

Andrew Whitman knew from the moment he held Kelly's hand that the man was special, and it both annoyed and terrified him. Kelly makes him feel a little out of control and Drew is a highly controlled man. He has to be to keep his sexuality a secret from his father, a conservative politician. And he is OK with that. He has a perfectly good, mutually beneficial, life plan with his best friend, Lex. A long time ago, he'd made his peace with the fact that he'd never find a man worth turning his life upside down for. Then he ends up with his capable and gorgeous assistant under him on top of his desk, and his life plans change. Drew can't seem to get out of his own way when it comes to the quiet, sexy, and surprising single dad, but he can't stop himself from falling for Kelly and his sweet baby brother. And just when it seems that Kelly has worked through his past hurts enough to let Drew into his body and his heart, manipulative family and words unspoken threaten to tear them apart. But after getting a taste of a life he never thought he could have, Drew won't let anything tear his fledgling family apart. 

***Please be aware that this book contains a flashback of and several references to sexual assault that may be triggering to some readers.***

Todd's rating:

 Wow. Getting through the first 25% of this book was... rough. To the point of me considering DNF'ing it. Repeatedly.

The way that Drew kept thinking of Kelly honestly made me feel dirty, like I needed to take a hot shower, and the sooner, the better.

Drew just kept pushing and pushing, even when Kelly was obviously on edge, then having these inappropriate thoughts that made me want to toss him into a dumpster and slam the lid.

Plus, the entire story is told in third person point of view, which drove me ape shit.

I mean, it's Kelly's chapter, for example, and I kept hearing, "Kelly thought this" and "Kelly did that", which got insanely old and felt like something to endure from the first to the very last page.

I never felt at ease with the third person tense, much like listening to Suede refer to himself as "Suede" on Project Runway back in the day.

And last on my list of niggles were the "info dumpy" sections, where huge chunks of history were tossed at you like a three-inch thick stack of napkins at the top of a Jack In the Box drive through food order. They were just THERE for you to take in all at once. Gah!

AND YET...


I loved Kelly from the start. Mostly. And I ended up loving Drew even more than Kelly, if I'm being honest.

I also loved the 7 year old little brother, Jaylen, but actually wished the story had more of him on-page, instead of him constantly nodding off and needing to be put to bed.

The main drama toward the end with the father definitely got my blood pumping, but I felt the deceit regarding Drew's best female friend was a bit over-played for what it actually turned out to be.

I'd rate this story at around 2.75 stars, but really wish it had been written as first person POV, as I think that hearing "I felt" vs. "he felt" would've come across as more HEART-felt as I made my way through the book.

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