Review: Always by Sarah Jio

Always by Sarah Jio

Published: February 7, 2017

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Format: via publisher

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

While enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with her fiance, Ryan, at one of Seattle's chicest restaurants, Kailey Crane can't believe her good fortune: She has a great job as a writer for the Herald and is now engaged to a guy who is perfect in nearly every way. As they leave the restaurant, Kailey spies a thin, bearded homeless man on the sidewalk. She approaches him to offer up her bag of leftovers and is stunned when their eyes meet, then stricken to her very core: The man is the love of her life, Cade McAllister.

When Kailey met Cade ten years ago, their attraction was immediate and intense everything connected and felt "right." But it all ended suddenly, leaving Kailey devastated. Now the poor soul on the street is a faded version of her former beloved: His weathered and weary face is as handsome as Kailey remembers, but his mind has suffered in the intervening years. Over the next few weeks, Kailey helps Cade begin to piece his life together, something she initially keeps from Ryan. As she revisits her long-ago relationship, Kailey realizes that she must decide exactly what and whom she wants.

Alternating between the past and the present, Always is a beautifully unfolding exploration of a woman faced with an impossible choice, a woman who discovers what she's willing to save and what she will sacrifice for true love.

My Thoughts

I’m not a real sap when it comes to romance but this one really got to me. It’s the story of Kailey and her fiance Ryan who are happily in love and one night out she sees a homeless guy and then notices that he looks very familiar he is none other than her ex-boyfriend Cade. Cade and Kailey had “it” from the start, their love was intense and passionate but something happened and it ended suddenly leaving Kailey to always wonder what exactly happened to Cade.

Going between the past and now we see their story. We see how they met and how their love was. We see how there was no denying they were meant to be. In the now we see Kailey and her relationship with her fiance and how while she does care for him she could never really love him, she has only loved one man in her life and that was Cade. So when she sees him she is determined to find out what happened to him and why is he homeless. She wants answers as to why he left and broke her heart all those years ago. She soon realizes that this isn’t the Cade she knew years ago she knows there is something wrong and wants him to seek help and figure out what is wrong. After they find out whats wrong she wants to be there for him but keeps it all a secret from Ryan. Soon she must make a choice and either pick Ryan or Cade and while its hard she knows what she must do.

I loved this story way more than I thought I would. Not only did I love the love story but I always loved how it did focus on homelessness and how people just see them as invisible people. I liked how the author brought them to the forefront and addressed the issue. This was first Sarah Jio novel and it definitely won't be my last, I am so glad I chose this as my first. It's a love story I soon won't forget.