Author: JLynn Autumn
Synopsis: 10 years ago Jenna's life changed forever when she watched her brother Ricky die in a race accident. No longer the outgoing party girl who spends her weekends racing the quarter mile strip, she spends her days battling anxiety and tries to just get by. The nightmares still come and the only person who has ever been able to save her from the nightmares in her dreams and the nightmares in her reality is Marco. When she was 12 and he was 16, he was her brother's best friend. When Ricky died four-years later, Marco become her protector. Now 14 years later, they have been debating the should we or shouldn't we and have to decide if their friendship can survive the relationship they both crave.Marco has loved Jenna since he was 16 and she was 12. When Ricky died, his mom had Jenna move into their house because she had nowhere else safe to be. Marco held her every night when the nightmares came for the next year. The friendship has always felt like it was destined to be more than just a friendship, but the timing was never right. Can their 14 year friendship survive the relationship trial he asks her for? Will this week long trial be what they need to finally make things work or will they lose each other in the process?
Anyone who knows me knows that sweetheart romances aren't my thing. I'm not a huge romance reader in general (unless it's dirty, LOL!), but JLynn has a gift for creating real, relatable characters and giving voice to the normal world we live in. Full of ups and downs, her books, like It's Always Been You, give the reader humans who are struggling with real-life triumphs and trials. Jenna's characters is one of the best examples of a woman living with anxiety that I have ever read. What, in reality, is the story of 2 people who know each other finally accepting their attraction and love, reads like they are your old friends. You know where it's going and want them to get there! It's impossible not to root for them.
Is the book going to sweet enough that you'll have a tummy ache? Yes, but it's like eating candy- you know that the ending is super sweet and yet you have to keep unwrapping and eating. It's too sweet for me, but at the same time, I can't help but smile when I think back on it. If you are a lover of sweetheart contemporaries, then this book (and the Woods Lake series) is for you!
