“I’m toxic,” I rebut. “He’s toxic. Together we’re venom. A beautiful cancer."

I know the words and feelings I have for Haley Jenner's For Keeps, For Always are inadequate, but my word, this book broke my heart open.

Both Henley and Brooks are absolutely perfect, but each so damaged by their pasts together, and for Henley that complete lack of love as a child. Being treated as a possession, only wanted when each parent could use her to harm the other, that pain was absolutely visceral.

The passion they share for each other, and the world around them, while still being so toxic to each other was hard to read. I could see how beautiful they'd be together, but I couldn't see how they'd end up together.

"How does one know how to be happy when they’ve never been shown it? How does one even know it exists?"

There's always the reasoning that adults are, well, adults, and they should own their behavior, mistakes, etc. But how do you own it if you were never shown what happiness was in the first place? How do you find it, if you don't even know what you're looking for? 

I wanted so much for Henley to lay down her guard, and her pain, but that lack of trust for anyone is so recognizable to me, and in me, it is da** hard to work around it.

There were definitely times between 75% and 93% where I swore at my e-reader, cussing Haley Jenner to the sky, hoping and praying that Brooks was going to learn his own lessons, stop holding things over Henley's head while wondering if this was just going to be a "happy for now" type of ending. But they never give us the hard without rewarding the reader in the end.

The angst, the back and forth, the pain all mixed with the beauty of their words, the beauty of the locales seen, the heat (dear lord, the HEAT!!!), and that gorgeous, perfect ending make For Keeps, For Always  one of my top 5 reads for 2021. All the stars for Haley Jenner's gorgeous new book!!

💜🍃Grab your copy of FKFA here:🍃💜https://books2read.com/u/4EPZMe

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