⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 rounded up to 4

I enjoyed this book but unfortunately something just felt like it was missing for me. This was my first book by Adriana Locke and I really enjoyed her writing style. I was instantly captivated by beginning of the book, and Gabrielle’s introduction to Jay when she falls practically naked into a bush while spying on him.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I liked that the book explored the struggles of motherhood and the growing pains when introducing a new member to the family or when parents begin dating after separation.

I personally struggled connecting to the characters and for me that’s something I really need to enjoy a book. I also felt like the story was rushed.

I did really enjoy the premise of the story and the writing style so I’ll definitely read another book by this author as this just may not be the one for me.

Between Now and Forever is a new standalone novel by author Adriana Locke.

Gabrielle (Gabby) has moved back to her home town of Alden after a life altering event. She is a single mom to two boys, Dylan and Carter. Apparently she bought herself a fixer upper house.

Jay is Gabby's next door neighbor. He is standoffish towards people and prefers it that way. He is a carpenter by trade and is always working on a project.

Their meet cute is so unique. I had been having a rough time and reading that, I was laughing. It was such a change, but so welcome.

Listening to Gabby talk about her past with Christopher, her ex-husband, will make you wonder what was said or how it was said when he asked for the divorce. Her perception of things, that will come out in a future scene, was sad .

When Jay finally opens up about what happened between him and Melody, you feel anger. I was so mad at her for what she did and how she did it. She is the reason why women get a bad reputation in relationships. Sadly, it caused so much suppressed anger in Jay and a fear of getting involved with another woman, let alone a single mom.

But, somehow, he is drawn to Gabby and her boys. Even with the anger and attitude from Dylan, the teenager, he understands where it is coming from. And Carter just wants someone to be there for him. It starts with the pumper and just grows. And then there is Gabby. After the electrical escapade, the running joke is she is not allowed to do anything electrical.

There are so many emotions in this story. Laughter, tears, sadness, anger, hope and love.

Gabby finds her girl posse. She needs them. To teach her how to live again and to be there in her time of need. Della is a hoot and has no boundaries. Cricket is her cousin and is hiding secrets. And Scottie gives her sage advice that she needs to hear.

Here is hoping we see more of these characters in other books.

This story provided some much needed laughter and tears. Be prepared to laugh and cry throughout the story.Be prepared to want to slap a few characters. And be prepared to fall in love with one little boy.

This book is totally cute and sweet. I really like how Adriana Locke portrayed the single mom trope in this book.

I love this author and this book was so good. So many emotions I felt throughout. I love her style of writing that makes me fall in love with the characters.

This book was a small town emotional kinda feel. Single Mom, recently widowed, 2 sons, and a handsome lone wolf neighbor.

It was a good story, I recommend, it's has tones of hardship and emotional growth. I prefer light and happy mainly, but this was worth the read!

⭐⭐⭐️⭐️/5 Plot
🌶️🌶/5 Spicy
💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾/5 Characters

Between Now and Forever is a beautiful romance between a single mother and her grumpy, but fine af, handyman neighbour.

Gabby is the perfect FMC. She's exactly what you expect a single mother of 2 boys to be like. Jay is a perfectly delicious but guarded due to his past. He's afraid of repeating the love he once had but is making an expectation anyway for Gabby. Watching these two overcome their obstacles was beautiful, but the real star of the show for me was Dylan. His conversation with Jay was so adult and honestly needed. Yes, teenagers can be over hormonal, but he was just scared of losing his family. I loved this story and everything that came with it.

I felt that this title was empty compared to the author's other work. It was uncomfortable dark, and sad. I felt like I was tricked into reading it in that I was expecting a romance with some dark moments, but it was such an all around downer. I appreciate the representation of slightly older main characters,

I had mixed feelings about Between Now and Forever. There were definitely moments I enjoyed, but overall, it didn’t completely click with me the way I hoped it would.

The premise had a lot of potential — I really liked the emotional weight behind the story and the themes of second chances and healing. Adriana Locke knows how to write heartfelt scenes, and there were a few that genuinely touched me.

That said, I struggled a bit with the pacing and the connection between the main characters. At times, their chemistry felt a little forced, or maybe just too quick for me to fully believe in it. I wanted more slow-burn, more tension, more time to see their relationship really grow.

The female lead was likable, and I appreciated her strength, but I found myself wanting more depth from the male lead — some of his decisions didn’t fully make sense to me, and that pulled me out of the story a few times.

This wasn’t a bad read by any means — it just didn’t leave a strong emotional impact for me. But I know a lot of readers will love the family dynamics and the emotional second-chance romance vibe. So, while it wasn’t a favorite, I’m still curious to read more from Adriana Locke in the future.

This story hit me right in the heart. It’s emotional in all the best ways — soft, deep, and full of healing. Gabbie and Jay’s connection felt so real, like you could feel all the pain and love between them. I loved how the story didn’t rush anything, just let them grow and reconnect naturally. And the small-town setting? Gave it all that extra warmth. It’s one of those books that quietly stays with you after you’re done.

Adriana does it again with another fun, heartfelt romance with just the right amount of spice. Jay && Gabby were perfect for each other. They each had their own struggles && the other person complimented them perfectly.

Single mom of two, Gabby, finds herself back in her hometown after years of being away. Just like any small town, most things stay the same but some things change. More importantly, the people who live there. Moving onto the same street as her cousin, Gabby finds herself in quite a hilarious situation when spying on the hot neighbor. Just from their meet cute you can tell there’s chemistry between these two. I absolutely loved watching it unfold throughout the book.

Adriana has some of my favorite meet cutes to date! Her characters are always genuine && relatable too. Gabby was an amazing single mother trying to date with two boys. But Adriana also didn’t shy away from the struggles that that comes with that. This book was cute, quick, steamy && filled so many fun quirky characters! As with every Adriana book, I hope to see more from this world!

This is my first book by Adriana Locke and I loved her writing style. The inner monologues in each POV is funny, real and raw… had me laughing and getting teary. The tension, the banter, the grief and pain they both carry, the healing they find if beautiful. The children are so relatable and the way grief is portrayed for the kids but also for the adults was approachable and real. It pulled me in…so good!

🌶️🌶️🌶️

apologies for the delayed posting of review links. I thought I already had.

Such a fun romance. Definitely a summer read!! I’d def read this again it wasn’t a top ten book but a good book nonetheless

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

I wanted to like this title, and I did in parts. I did like Gabrielle and Jay as a couple.

My issue was that there was too much going on outside of them as a couple that I felt I couldn't keep it straight and it made me feel like all of the subplots were mostly unresolved.

The ending of the book felt rushed and unfinished and I honestly didn't believe the progression of the characters from the end of the book to the 2 months later epilogue.

I'm unable to recommend this title.

Sweet!

Between Now and Forever is a single mom, grumpy/sunshine, small town standalone romance.

Gabrielle (Gabby) returns to Alden, after years away. Now a single mom of two teen boys and recently "widowed" of her ex-husband, she just wants to get her life in order where she feels most supported.
Curiosity brought her to a wobbling deck, seeing something interesting, ending up falling in the bushes below....not such an appealing introduction to her hunk of a neighboor...wrapped in a towel, flashing bits and flesh!
Jay Stetson is a carpenter living in town for three years, reserved, liking his life exactly how it is and seemingly immune to women's charm, but not to his neighboor's.
A beacon of female attention, Jay was reluctant, carrying a grief of his own, he kept things simple and temporary, but couldn't ignore Gabby's spark and for the very first time since in Alden, he was considering the fall.

Light, funny and sweet, although a story of grief, it's mostly about knowing that in a difficult time of sadness, hurt and vulnerability, understanding and support are key as well as the notion that there is so much to live for, friendship, connection and love.
This is tale of two people wanting so much and coming to a point in their lives where expecting something might as well be a dream. But, if you want a dream to come true? You work for it, hard! And, so she did....

I would've wished for a more angsty, not so safe approach to the plot and even though the friction was there, it felt rather simple and, I might say, pacific. I wanted a bit more of emotional resistance, feel it in my bones, to vicariously experience the conflicts, the resolutions and the conquer of happiness.
Nevertheless, it's a great holiday read, with witty shenanigans, mag theories and fruitful advice, after all there is always someone who knows best!

DNF this book for now! Hoping to go back to it in the future because the characters were entertaining and very likeable. I do think I will enjoy this book when the time is right because I do like the authors writing, but its not for me at the moment! Thank you for the eARC!

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
2.5/5 🌶️🌶️

I rather enjoyed this single mom romance! Gabrielle was funny and resourceful. I liked how honest she was and how she wore her heart on her sleeve. Also enjoyed how handy she was! A capable woman is always a win in my book. Jay really shocked me because I usually love a grumpy MMC right away but it took me a little longer to like him. But once we started to peel back layers and going into the basement 🤭 I was sold!

I wished this one was a little longer as I felt like a lot of their relationship was told instead of shown to us once they finally decided to be together.

Overall, I recommend this one to lovers of small town romance, single mom romance or strong female lead! Thank you to the publisher and author for a copy of this story for review.

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down once I started reading it. I was hooked from the very first page and fell in love with these two right away. The chemistry and attraction between these is amazing. This book keeps you on your toes as you are reading because you don't know what is going to happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an ARC of this book.

This was a quick and easy read. We follow Gabrielle, a single mom to two boys who has just moved back to the town where she grew up to try to move past the death of her ex-husband and father to her sons. Her grumpy carpenter neighbour, Jay, witnesses and helps her after she falls off her porch in just a towel. They find that they can’t stay away from each other and their story goes from there.

Personally, I thought the kids played a bigger role in this book than I would have liked. Her oldest son is a “jerk-face” for most of the book, and she kind of seems like a pushover. Her younger son is cute, but pushy. I think both boys were written sort of unrealistically.

Overall, this was a cute read with good chemistry between our hero and heroine.

Gabby's going through a tough time in her life: her ex just died unexpectedly, her two boys are suffering through their grief, and she just wants to start over. She moves back to her small hometown, planning to work on her fixer-upper new home. While gawking at her new neighbor, she falls through the railing and into the lilac bush in only her towel, forcing said neighbor to help her out. What should have been a great meet cute however turns sour with his grumpy vibes that don't invite friendship and especially not flirting. She gets the hint to stay away, but the same can't be said for her 7 year old son Carter.
Jay knows better than to get involved with the single mom next door after being broken by his past. Although he can't forget the way she looked in that towel, it's best to stay away. But her son Carter keeps coming over asking questions, Gabby keeps putting herself in danger with her home renovations, and her older son Dylan keeps giving him suspicious looks as if he can read Jay's dirty thoughts. He's already in way over his head.
This was a sweet small town romance with a grumpy mmc and a slightly overwhelmed but still sunny single mom fmc. The friend group in this book is amazing and hilarious. There were so many laugh out loud moments in this book, but also some almost sickeningly sweet moments with the kids and Jay. I like how being together helped them work out some of their issues with the past. Overall I really liked this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Single mom Gabrielle just moved into a new house that needs a lot of work done. When she spots her hot next door neighbor, she wanted to see him better. So she went to her balcony but leaned over too far and flipped over. Meeting her neighbor was not in the way she thought would happen, stuck in a rose bush with a towel.

Jay is a grumpy guy who has burned in his last relationship. He has no desire to date, especially another single mom. Pushing Gabrielle and her youngest son away as best as he could, didn’t work. They kept showing up and then he kept showing up.

Tropes:
Single Mom
Next door neighbors
Grumpy/Sunshine