Always and Forever (ePub)

This was a very enjoyable follow-up to Sweet Revenge, with a strong and surprising conclusion to the main mystery. The switching between Olivia, Abigail, and Diana's points of view kept things feeling fresh and moving along at a good clip. The link between John and Juan was subtle enough that, despite the hints, I didn't catch it immediately, even though it was obvious from the get-go that John was a scammer. I appreciated how the use of spells and magic wasn't overdone. They were woven in naturally and treated as just something that lingers in small pockets from cultures lost to history and not used as some kind of superpower. The pacing of the story was on point, with balanced focus on the different elements as they were developed and built up. It was nice to return to the farm and to experience life in a horse rehab center, as this setting is just very vividly described and feels like a wonderful place, despite all the things that happen there. It was also nice to see that Badr and Diana were still progressing together, though his unexpected departure at the end left me wondering what the heck happened,! I continue to appreciate the prickly Charlotte, and how different she is from Diana, and how that both creates tension but makes sense in the context of the success of the farm. The tension ramped up in a satisfying way, with Olivia desperate for more and more money, and Diana's confusion about how it all fit together feeling very real and relatable. There was a real feeling of suspense with the climax, since Diana, and me as a reader, care so much for the farm that the prospect of Olivia stealing sorely needed funds kept me hooked to the page. A lot of what I enjoy about these books is just slipping into Diana's life as director of a beautiful place, doing good work with horses, and enjoying the beautiful landscape, so to feel like that was threatened (and by a good if misguided friend!) made for a compelling story I wanted to finish.