This review contains some light spoilers (maybe?).

I saw this book being recommended on instagram. I'm on vacation but at the end of the semester, so I've really fallen out of reading for pleasure (it's difficult to want to read anything after reading 200 pages for class). This seemed like a quick read, so I picked it up.

I'm torn on how to rate this book. The writing is very good and kept me reading. It reminded me a lot of Celeste Ng's books. I finished in about two days. But the story itself ended up being rather unsatisfying in the end.

The book alternates between the past and the present, but the two timelines felt so disjointed that I wonder why the author didn't just concentrate on one or the other. The girls in the past and the girls in the present (with a few exceptions) felt like entirely different characters. Poor Andee seemed to have no character and isn't even the hero of her own section her younger sister is (though because she is so boring up until then, I found the start of her section incredibly confusing and had to keep reminding myself which kid had been at camp...).

The girls in the past also don't read like kids. I wish they had been aged up a bit. I think their characters and actions would have made more sense for 12/13 year olds than for 9-11 year olds.

In all, I think this book is best enjoyed the way I read it: quickly and with no idea what you're getting yourself into.

St. John Evernight has lived through his own personal nightmare and has freed himself from Queen Mab of the Fae.  Time has passed and he has embraced his new role as Judgment and sworn off all female relationships.  All of his experiences were cruel and scarred him deeply, but there is one woman who already owns his heart and has since they were children, Layla Starling. Layla never forgot her childhood friend and when she arrives at her guardian's home she discovers him there with Augustus.  She is excited to see him, but he has become a cold and distant man.  His coldness and cruel comments hurt her but she is not willing to give up on the man she has loved her whole life.  

St.John is commissioned by Augustus to protect and train Layla who is coming into her maturity and discovering that she isn't human at all. He thinks that he will be able to keep her at a distance, but the more time together the more he remembers of how Layla was always the women he loved but he fears he cannot give her want she wants, a true husband.  He stands back and watches as she flirts her way through gentlemen all the while aching to claim her.  She villains draw closer to Layla so do Layla and St. John.  

This was very enjoyable.  The struggle St. John has to trust and open up to Layla, and Layla's refusal to give up on him was beautiful and entertaining to watch.  The villain was formidable and the battles were epic.  The side story with Augustus and Lena finally coming together was a nice side plot.  The secrets revealed, the love claimed, and the fates embraced for all involved made for a compelling story.  His sisters and their husbands play roles in this one so it was nice to see how they have been doing.  I very much enjoyed the ending though it did have the feeling of tieing up loose ends as if this is the final book in the series. I hope it isn't. I have enjoyed diving into the Darkest London world that Kristen Callihan has created and I hope there are more adventures to come.

http://witandsin.blogspot.com/2016/06/review-forevermore-by-kristen-callihan.html

Sin Evernight is Judgment, an angel who takes the souls of supernaturals who have gone evil. Before that, he was a blood slave, used and abused in every way possible, and then separated from his family just as he found freedom. Now he’s isolated and apart from the world, save for his mentor, Augustus. At least, he is until his new mission brings Layla Starling back into his life and turns his world upside down. Sin and Layla met as children, forming a bond that no amount of time apart could break. She’s the only person who has ever been his true champion and seen the best in him. And she’s in danger. She’s coming into her immortality, into powers evil beings would hunt her to possess. Sin will stop at nothing to protect her, even if being close to Layla means risking the heart he’s afraid to give.

Kristen Callihan wraps up her dazzling Darkest London series with the oh-so-enchanting Forevermore. As much as I hate seeing the series end, Layla and Sin’s book is an exciting, emotional finale that I absolutely adored.

Layla is a ray of sunshine in the sometimes dark and twisted world of the supernatural. She’s a sweet, adventurous woman willing to fight for Sin no matter what, so of course I absolutely loved her. She’s got spirit, and even when someone tries to knock her down, she bravely faces what’s coming. As for Sin, he’s been through hell and bears the emotional scars to prove it. Yet despite all this, he fights for the side of good. When he learns that Layla is in danger, he doesn’t hesitate to protect her, even knowing what being close to – but unable to touch her – would do to him. He doesn’t want to open his heart, believes he can’t be the man for Layla, and yet it’s clear to see they are utterly perfect for one another. Their romance grabbed my heart and the fantastic chemistry they had had me practically devouring Forevermore. Quite simply, this was an excellent pairing of two characters who complemented each other perfectly and gave the book its heart.

As the final book in the series, Forevermore splits its time between Sin and Layla’s love story and the overarching Darkest London world. Augustus has long been an important background player in the series and we get to see the full scope of his planning, along with an unexpectedly powerful secondary romance between him and another familiar face. Fans of the series will also surely be delighted that a significant number of past heroes and heroines reappear for this final chapter, and they add further emotional weight to the tale. It’s difficult to talk about much of the plot of Forevermore without spoiling the joy of discovery for readers. Suffice it to say that Ms. Callihan seamlessly blends love, longing, action, danger, and magic in this beautifully crafted story. So as much as I hate to say good-bye to the intelligent, imaginative world Ms. Callihan has created in the Darkest London series, I’m thrilled that it’s capped off by such a satisfying story.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

While everyone calls St. John Evernight "Sin" he once had a childhood friend see him as a "Saint" instead. After years of being apart, Layla and Sin are about to have a reunion. With destinies that were decided long before they were born, these two are going to prove that fate is only what we make it.
 
"Right." Layla stood. "Precisely. Demons and werewolves and soul-sucking fiends." Her hands were clasped, knuckles white. "Simply another normal day in London."
 
A normal day for the seventh addition to Kristen Callihan'sDarkest London series, which has elements of historical, paranormal, romance, and steampunk. Layla is the daughter of a former villainess in the series, Lena, and has no knowledge of the very real things that go bump in the night. Layla is starting to come into powers and as a very rare breed called "Damnation" her powers are coveted. Layla was a strong character with her forceful personality and will to fight, I really liked her. However, the author had her going in completely blind to all the creatures and storylines from the previous books and never really helps her out; if I was Layla, I would have demanded at least a cliff notes version. Having Layla clueless and unknown to the Darkest London world kept her on the outside of the overall story for me, even when she was the center focus for most of the story threads.
 
Archer studied Sin, who was tense and sullen once more. "I know well there are things of which a man cannot speak. Mistakes that take him down dark roads he cannot escape."
 
Sin, our hero, we have seen before and has a solid footing in the world. As a former secret spy for the fae queen Mab, his sisters (Miranda - Firelight, Daisy - Moonglow, Poppy -Winterblaze) have frozen him out of their lives. When last we saw him, he had finally broken free of Mab and now he is working with Augustus, Final Judgment and the father of the S.O.S. (Society for the Suppression of Supernaturals). Readers have seen Sin forged in the fire and his broody, moody, and not feeling good enough for Layla has real roots, which makes his character heartbreaking and darkly sexy.
 
A blast of heated air brushed over them as his jaw bunched. "So help me…" He took a breath. "You keep pushing me Layla, and eventually I will push back."
She took a step closer, her satin skirts swirling around his legs, the tips of her breasts nearly touching his chest. "So push."
 
Our main couple is Sin and Layla and on the back of Sin's pain and longing, you'll strive for this couple to come together. There are a few reminisces of when they were children to help show their bond but even though it seems their attachment had already been created off page, I really enjoyed how they interacted together. They had a true partnership, never once did I feel one was dominate or submissive to the other, they each had their low and high moments. Layla had to poke and prod Sin at times to help him overcome his emotions of not feeling good enough for her but this only created more spark and burn for their relationship.
 
There is a secondary couple consisting of Augustus and Lena that provides another romance but essentially is a broader means to help the author wrap up the series. While Augustus and Lena made appearances throughout the series, they were always to the sidelines. Here we find out that they were the puppeteers all along. With a great look from mainly Augustus, we see how as Final Judgment he can somewhat see into the future and how he manipulated and set-up all the chess pieces, our characters, to get to the moments in this story. It's a nice way for newcomers to get glimpses into previous storylines and the different supernaturals but mainly a fabulous way for series readers to revisit and gain better understanding to storylines and characters. Lena and Augustus' long, suffering, and enduring relationship was also a nice other side of the coin to Sin and Layla's fresh and young one.
 
And as they took to the night, Sin had to grin. A strange new world indeed.
 
This being the final book of the series, I did feel there were at times that the wholeness of it eclipsed Sin and Layla's relationship (as a reader of the series, I didn't mind), even though I also missed all the varied supernatural character appearances and visits to their haunts. This focused on wrapping up by not singularly concentrating on characters but the overreaching of Augustus. There are enough tidbits given about the Darkest London world, which newcomers could enjoy this book with focusing on Sin and Layla's relationship, but I would still highly suggest you start from the beginning to get the fullest enjoyment. Plus, the whole series is fantastic (Evernight was my favorite). Whether it was Damnation and Judgment having their epic battle, Sin learning to love himself enough in order to allow himself to love Layla, Augustus and Lena finding their way, or a past hero and heroine taking a new path in life, I was captivated by this story and world. This is the last of the series, and was a great wrap-up, but I can't stop myself from hoping that the ending leaves way for this "strange new world" to come to life in a future (perhaps contemporary?) series by this author.