A love story which will make you smile and cry

KJ tells stories about life with all the ups and downs that reality offers us. Sometimes life is not easy and isn’t particularly fair. That’s when we ask ourselves, why me? There are many tragedies happening all the time, but when it hits you and your loved ones, it’s a whole other story and the world around you collapses. The Forever and The Now is such a story, it makes us laugh and cry. It is the wonderful love story of Bron and Kate, but also one that breaks our hearts.

Told from Bron’s point of view, we primarily follow her on her journey to great happiness with Kate. From Bron’s perspective, we get to know Kate well too. They have a few hurdles to overcome but even a storm doesn’t let them fall overboard. At some point, they have to fight for their love and for themselves, and they know what they can win if they don’t give up – nothing less than their forever and also their now.

Bron (42) has had it relatively easy in life so far. She has a wonderful, helpful, and loving family, and a job she loves. She is out and proud and never faced a problem with it. She’s just not sure if her big love in life really exists – until a smoothie explosion changes her life. When she runs to the aid of Kate (48), who gets a smoothie shower thanks to a careless mad man, she immediately senses that she has met someone special. Kate may be a successful businesswoman, but her personal life is currently in a downward spiral. The meeting with Bron, on the other hand, is a real highlight, despite smoothie-soaked clothes. They build a friendship, in which feelings develop after a certain time, but which go far beyond that, and when they decide to follow their hearts, they learn what it means to have found their partner for life.

We all know that this story will not have a happy ending, but despite the tragedy, it is a very beautiful one. A story that can strike any of us and that will leave none of us cold. We laugh with Bron and Kate, we suffer with them, we rejoice and we cry. In other words, KJ makes us feel.

The characters are very well developed. I liked both MCs from the beginning. Bron, the occasionally somewhat clueless and sometimes endearingly awkward art teacher, with a sense of humor and propensity to swear. Bron’s family is a jewel, they are supportive and fun, everybody with such a family can consider themselves lucky. Kate, on the other hand, has no idea what it means to have a loving family, only what is expected of her. An ex-husband who turns out to be an idiot doesn’t help either. So she sticks to her job, where the praise is great, even if the relationships with work colleagues are only superficial. Despite everything, she never loses her sense of humor.

I hope that many of you will read this book but I suggest that you find yourself in a good emotional place, otherwise, it may be a bit too much. But it is definitely worth it. Just make sure you have enough tissues ready, you will need them. My heart broke for Bron and Kate. I am one lucky woman, to be with the love of my life for over 20 years, and I hope we have many more years together.

The bottom line of the story for me is, when you have found your person, enjoy and cherish every moment, be mindful and take nothing for granted.
Thank you, KJ for this great and emotional story.

ARC provided by the author to LezReviewBooks.com in exchange for an honest review