Always Her

by Alexandra Delancey

[Angie]

Always Her is a super short--probably too short--novella about Jack and Elise. They went to high school together, but haven't seen each ither in four years when Elise goes to the bar where Jack now works. Jack recognizes Elise even though to two had been in very different social circles. Elise definitely remembers Jack, because she had a huge secret crush on her. Elise can't believe they're in the same city, at the same school, and that she might finally have a chance with the girl of her dreams. Too bad Jack assumes Elise is straight.

I loved the premise of Always Her, but the actual story was kind of boring and all of the good stuff was crammed into the ending. Most of the beginning is just Jack hanging out with her friends and her girlfriend. I liked getting to know Jack, but none of these scenes held much interest for me because they didn't add to the romance. On the other hand, I quite enjoyed Elise's chapters because she's finally coming to terms with her sexuality. She's been trying to make it work with her boyfriend because that's what her father wanted before he died, but Elise knows that she can't. She's gay. She's not ready to come out to everyone, but she is ready to finally stop being someone she's not.

Once Always Her finally gets to the point, I did start enjoying it more. But things do happen very suddenly and without any kind of build up. It goes from Jack and her friends and Elise's pining, to marathon sexy times! What about everything in between? I didn't get any sense that Jack was that into Elise, because she just brushed her off as some straight girl she use to know. It was very fast, but this is a very short novella. Perhaps if the earlier pages hadn't been wasted on unimportant stuff.

I did like Always Her, at least Elise's chapters and the ending. I do wish it had either been longer to let Jack's feelings develop more, or if the beginning had been more focused on that rather than on unconnected scenes.

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