Forever After: Ever After, #2

By Linda Poitevin

The epilogue you’ve been waiting for!

Wedding bells are in the air, but single mom Gwynneth Jacobs and Hollywood mega star Gareth Connor are finding that the road to matrimony is anything but smooth. Each thinks they’re doing what’s best for the other, but with everything from the paparazzi to an overzealous wedding planner getting in their way, they may have lost touch with what exactly that is.

With Gwyn developing decidedly cold feet over the whole event, can they reconnect with what’s truly important in time for their upcoming nuptials? Or will they have to face the possibility their lives may just be too different after all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Linda Poitevin
• Release date: Feb 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9780991995813

Linda Poitevin

Like most romance writers, Linda Poitevin is a firm believer in happy-ever-afters...especially since she's living her own. But she also knows how hard you have to work at those sometimes, and that's reflected in her stories about people who are as real to her as she hopes they'll be to you. People who live, laugh, cry, and love as hard as they can in this crazy life we all share. In her other-than-writing life, Linda lives just outside Ottawa, Canada's capital, where she is a wife, mom, friend, avid gardener, walker of a giant dog, and keeper of many (many!) pets.

Reviews for Forever After

[literaladdiction · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:*eARC received from the Author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest reviewLet me start out by saying that I don't read contemporary romances, but knowing I enjoyed Linda's writing style, I decided to give Gwynneth Ever After a shot and not hand it off to one of my guest reviewers like I would normally do. I am so happy that I did. The book was fantastic! I couldn't put it down, the characters became instant favorites, and the story was simply beautiful. Gwynneth Jacobs was working hard to put her life back in order after her husband walked out on her and their 3 children. After a simple night out throws her in the path of her dream man, her ordinary life becomes anything but ordinary... To Gwynn's astonishment, Gareth pursues her and almost instantly creates this fairy tale life for not only her, but her kids as well. The problem: it all seems too good to be true, and Gwynn being the very practical woman she is and knowing her family comes first, Gareth has a fight on his hands to convince her to take a chance on him. Gwynn is like any hard working single mother, and it was very easy to relate to her throughout all of the ups and downs of the tale. Gareth is impossible not to fall in love with; he has it all and then some! Gwynneth Ever After was a super sweet contemporary romance that was able to win over a reader who said she just couldn't read Contemp, and left me with nothing but a smile.

[artfullee-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such a refreshing change to read about a relationship in my own age bracket! I really loved this love story. Set in a city far away from the bright lights of Hollywood, we meet Gwynneth and her adorable 3 children. Gwyn has been both parents to her 3 children since their father walked out of their lives and Gwyn has guarded her heart and fiercely protected her family ever since. She has let no one into her heart or home for fear of them being hurt again.
Now throw one Hollywood superstar, namely Gareth Connor into the mix, and the tight hold Gwyn has on the walls around her family and heart are tested.

Gareth too, has had his share of heartache. He guards his heart and his privacy from the prying eyes of the public, finding it hard to trust women's motives, worried that they are only with him because of his on screen persona. What was a chance meeting leaves them both feel a connection so unfamiliar that it throws both of them for a loop. There is a chemistry between them, breaking through their barriers and inviting them to learn to trust and love again.

Gwyn has a great support system in her best friend Sandy and I loved their open and honest relationship. Sandy was there for all Gwyn's relationship breakdown and knows only too well the toll that it has taken on Gwyn and the kids. Gareth is staying in town with his cousin Sean, who has seen the toll fame has taken on Gareth and I also liked their relationship.

I thought the pace was perfect as we witnessed the blossoming of the relationship between Gwyn and Gareth, the doubts and fears that the relationship would work and how they worked through these issues. Overall it was a very sweet, love story, a great book to read at any time.

[graffitimom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3 1/2 stars. A chance meeting with a movie star leads to a romance for a divorced mother of three, but can Gwynneth trust him? The characters were interesting and, even the children, though I felt the ex-wife's turn around at the end a bit unbelievable given the way she had behaved beforehand. Amy seemed remarkably understanding for an eighteen year old. A good, quick read. I have not been compensated in any way (other than being given a copy of this book to review) and my opinion on the book is entirely my own.

[tala2cubs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars
This was a wonderful read for me. It was a great break from angst, danger, mystery or anything else other than slow sweet love. Don’t misunderstand there were issues to deal with, but they were handled without over the top drama. It slowly builds from beginning to end.

Gwyn is raising three children on her own and is a very strong woman that has been badly hurt and betrayed. I really liked the fact that she didn’t fall for Gareth right away. I mean she knew who he was, who didn’t? She put her children first in all things, even over herself. As a mother I get that, but towards the end I wanted to scream at her to get over it and do something for herself. The fact that her ex left her, not to mention the way he did it had left a pretty big scar on Gwyn’s heart. When she finally lets someone in he unavoidably causes her pain and she pushes Gareth away and tells him it’s over.

Gareth is in town for a reason no one can know, and he sure didn’t expect to fall for anyone. That was before he sat next to “Gwynneth with 2 ns” during a local play. He was let into her life slowly and he wasn’t leaving. He had to fight Gwyn’s reluctance at almost every step, but he did. After he realized he had found the love of his life, it all gets away from him. The reason he’s in town becomes known. On the evening news no less, and Gwyn feels betrayed and lied to. Gareth fights, begs, and anything else he can think of to get Gwyn to let him back in, but despite knowing the truth and why he couldn’t tell her she of course says no. Gareth, not knowing what else to do gives in and books a flight to leave town. Of course that isn’t the end of the book, but I will not spoil that for you.

I loved this amazingly sweet love story, especially the fact that it took it’s time to build up to the conclusion. They got to know each other and Gareth came to know Gwyn’s fears and insecurities enough that he could mostly work around them. Don’t get me wrong the attraction between them was obvious and intense from the beginning, but they took it slow. I felt for Gwyn as she faced and worked through her excruciating fear of the pain of loss and living through it again.

This is a stand-alone, no cliffhanger! I wouldn’t mind more of Gwyn and Gareth though.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.


Darker Passions

[sharonr53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gwynneth Ever After is a fun romance with a hint of a Cinderella theme. Gwynneth Jacob is an architect who goes to a theatre to do a drawing of the stage set for a friend. She meets famous movie star Gareth Connor in the private balcony she is using. They speak when she drops her materials but Gwynn beats a hasty retreat. After meeting again in the parking lot when her car battery dies, Gwynn agrees to go out for coffee with Gareth.Although there is a strong attraction between them, Gwynn tries to keep Gareth out of her life because she knows that a relationship between them could never work. She has small children, lives in Canada and isn’t a raving beauty. Gareth sees a hardworking, loving and attractive woman who he would really like to know better. He enjoys her and her family and wants to spend more time with all of them. Gareth has a big secret that is the reason he has come to Canada for a vacation and would pretty much confirm all of the fears that Gwynn has about their relationship. When it all hits the fan, both Gareth and Gwynn have to decide whether they can let go of the past and move on or stay in the safe zone and not get hurt again.I enjoyed the lovely interplay between Gwynn and Gareth and between Gareth and Gwynn’s children. Both characters are initially so sympathetic that when their issues start to surface, we can still root for them to be together. The secondary characters are necessary to the story and even the villainess of the story turns out to be ok. This is a great summer read especially when written by an author known primarily for dark urban fiction.

[gpangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Gwynneth Ever After by Linda Poitevin is a 2014 Michem publishing publication. I was provided a copy of this book by e reader discovery review book club in exchange for an honest review. This is a cute, feel good, love story that made me smile. Gwynneth ( with two n's), is a single mother of three and Gareth is a famous Hollywood actor who meet by chance and strike up a friendship. But, the last thing Gareth expected to happen while he was hiding out at at his cousin's home in Canada, was to find himself falling in love with Gwyn, and her children too. But, Gareth is carrying a heavy secret around with him and when things start to become real with Gwyn, he can't tell her the truth, which of course will come back to haunt him. As for Gwyn, she has her hands full with three kids.. enough said. Their father simply walked away, leaving Gwyn and the kids behind without a backward glance. While she keeps her head up most of the time, she still harbors resentment and fears being hurt again. She would have trouble in any new relationship with a man, but a famous Hollywood movie star? It goes without saying that the road could be a rocky one for Gareth and Gwyn. I am always delighted to see women past their twenties in a romantic lead ( although one character referred to Gwyn as middle aged, but she is only in her thirties) and Gwyn came across as a normal person with routine issues we can all relate to, especially when it comes to raising kids. She is also a strong woman working hard to put her romantic and relationship disappointments behind her, but her situation was very hard, and one can't fault her for having a moment or two of doubt or panic. Although Gareth is a movie star, he doesn't behave like one, meaning he's not self absorbed, or an egomaniac. In fact, he is quite loveable and watching him interact with Gwyn's children was very bittersweet. I loved the slow build up in the relationship between two gun shy people from vastly different worlds. I'm not a big fan of stories with small children featured in them, but Gwyn's children were adorable, adding another layer of enchantment to the story. This story is a low key romance novel, with some minor angst, some understandable issues with trust, and some stop/start moments along the way. There is nothing overly dramatic, nothing too heavy, no lump in the throat moments, and is pretty light fair, but it's classy and oozes with understated charm and overall was quite a delightful story. 3.5 rounded to 4