4.25 stars, 2 chili peppers. As the dedication says, this one is “to the moms. The ones who struggle and the ones who don’t” and as a mom myself WOW does this book hit home on multiple levels. This is about a 40 year old stay at home mom who feels under appreciated and stretched too thin, who suddenly looks at her life and realizes she lost herself to motherhood and being a ‘good wife.’ June tells her husband she wants a divorce and decides she needs to find herself again - but now suddenly her husband, Camp, is finally showing up. Can June trust that this will last or should she pursue a ‘free’ life she thinks she wants?
The first quarter of the book really resonated with me and i was truly sucked in - SO many relatable lines in this book! I also really liked how the author was able to show us moms how easily we are influenced by podcasts and social media (“we don’t know them, they don’t know us, but we let them dictate what we [should do/read/how to act/how to feel/what to buy]”. I absolutely loved the boxing scenes!
However i was a little infuriated by June sometimes, as it felt very 1-sided since she never really told Camp how she felt and what she needed over the last 18 years. And Camp never really took accountability for his part.
Even so, i think that every wife/mother would benefit from reading this book, as it will reveal something you could do differently in your marriage that will ultimately help (or something you should limit/not do!).

**personally, i think in order to really like this book you would need to be a parent, otherwise you may find it hard to relate to/enjoy the book.
*TW - miscarriage

Thank you to Ashley Manley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The love story of all love stories!! Thank you Ashley Manley (Im your newest fan now!) and Netgalley for this ARC. I am so grateful.

Wow... where do I begin?! I feel seen!! As a mother, as a partner, as a friend, as a lover... SEEN. Every mother needs to read this one! Easily 5-stars.

Manley writes in a way that pulls you in and feels like you are living inside of the story. I don't think I have felt like that in a long time while reading. Also when was the last time you laughed out loud at a book? This book brought the laughs, the spice and the truth. 📣 Again, this one is for the mamas! 📣 I felt all the things and YES... I cried at the end. I might have cried at the beginning too? I mean... that dedication!

Anyway... This is for sure mom group required reading. A work of art and so much more than a high school sweetheart romance novel. I will recommend it to forever and back.

Review posted to Goodreads 3/21/25.

I just finished Forever & Back by Ashley Manley, and wow—I am SO happy I stepped outside of my usual "safe" genre for this one. Even though I’ve never been married (and on the edge of divorce) with three kids, I felt every single emotion June went through. Her struggles with feeling "plain" hit me hard, and the way this book explored the quiet sacrifices in a marriage was just so raw and real.

And Camp… oh my god. Watching him put in the work made me so emotional. He has been completely in love with June for every step of his life, and as soon as he realized what was breaking her, he tried to fix it. It just broke my heart how much they both gave up for each other without ever saying it out loud—no wonder a rift formed between them.

And then there was Lyra’s speech. I knew she was going to write about June, but the second she started reading, I still teared up. Seeing how Lyra viewed her mom, even when June felt so "plain," was absolute perfection. This book was emotional in all the best ways, and I’m so glad I took a chance on it.

This was fantastic! In a way, it was like I was reading about myself. There were so many aspects of this that I felt in my own life. It was very emotional, and so good. It was written wonderfully, with characters I could really relate to. It was absolutely fantastic, and I loved every minute of it. It was funny, relatable, sad at times, and just so great. There are no words for it. A range of emotions for this one, especially as a mom and wife myself. I feel like it brought light to everything that moms do, and sacrifice, and I am grateful for that.
Fantastic read, it is definitely not one you want to miss out on.

Forever and Back features June, mother of three, who has been married for 17 years and after feeling like the last priority by her family, decides she wants a divorce and to start over. This is by far the best marriage in crisis book I've ever read. This is a must read for every mom out there and is a raw look into marriage and how you can lose yourself along the way. This is an easy 5 stars for me! Also be prepared - you will need an entire box of tissues on hand for these!

This book shows us what it's like to be a married mother and to be reaching a point where you feel like you need a break, a chance to be yourself again, who you once were before marriage and children... there's a resentment she feels towards her husband and it's getting intense...
I liked the concept of the story and the way it makes you think about life... but there were some very unbelievable moments too - like how the head teacher treated the children, it just doesn't add up, so I was never fully immersed... but it was an enjoyable read.

I just finished this book and all I have to say is READ IT!! I am crying with hope, with nostalgia, with love, with everything. This book will pull on your heartstrings and give you an emotional cleanse about motherhood, marriage, and raising children. This is a must read.
Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this novel.

June Cannon feels like she has lost herself in motherhood and marriage. She has put her dreams on hold to raise her family, but she has had enough. Her 17 year old daughter thinks June's life is "simple", her twin four year old boys are running wild as usual, and her husband, Camp, can't ever make it home for dinner. June gives Camp a 3 month deadline. They will fake the happy marriage until their daughter graduates. Then it's over. But will June learn to love her current life or will she find the life she thought she missed?

Absolutely loved this. The end had me crying. June's experiences felt so real. Struggling to be seen as a person by her kids. Struggling to find herself outside of motherhood and find her passion again. Rediscovering her marriage. These characters and this story show that life can chip away at us. Sometimes I wanted to shake June. Tell her to talk already! Talk to Camp, talk to your best friend, anyone. But motherhood can get lonely and you can start feeling so disconnected from everything. Loved the relationships and reading the journey she went on. Will definitely be reading more from Ashley Manley.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I don't always love marriage in trouble books, but this one was definitely an exception. It gripped me from the start and I flew through it in less than a day.

This book was relatable, raw, and heartfelt. It had moments where I wanted to cry, laugh, and bang my head against a wall in frustration. I liked how honest the look into a marriage was and how easy it can be to lose yourself in the everyday monotony.

June was in such a messy mental space for 2/3 of the book. I’m a few years beyond her stage of motherhood, so I could relate to a lot of her frustration, but the out of the blue ultimatum she gave Camp was tough to get behind, as were the numerous miscommunication (or lack of) scenes. That said, the way social media and outside advice is woven through the story is on point in today’s culture. Even though some surprises weren’t surprising, they were still wonderful. The ending was so endearing and redeeming. Even with June’s off the rails character arc, I was invested in their story from beginning to end.

Forever and Back targets the (mostly) thankless monotony of motherhood and how a mother’s personal identity gets pushed to the back burner until the kids are grown. Manley tells June and Camp Cannon’s decade-spanning relationship and the imbalance of self fulfillment in their marriage.

This book hit close to home for me. Like June, I was an artist before becoming a mom and like June’s art, my art is also in a bin in the garage. I heard June’s arguments, I felt June’s feelings and frustrations. I loved that June’s bestie and counterpart, Scotty, was a single independent woman whose juxtaposed lifestyle still allowed her and June to help each other with their relationship struggles.

I highly recommend this book for any burnt out mothers feeling stuck in the day-to-day. I also felt silly for finishing this book and closing it only to realize the colors and design of the cover was part of June’s artwork.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wildflower Books for the advances reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First of all, I loved that this was about a midlife woman in a bit of a love crisis as she is reassessing how she got here. How is she always the one that everything falls on? The kids, the homework, the chores, the laundry, the meals, the school meetings, the kid fights etc. Meanwhile, her husband breezes in and out of the house doing his work and baseball to his enjoyment.

Let's pause.

I think a lot of women get this stage.

We then follow June as she has finally had it, and wants a divorce. We watch her navigate the next steps in life and honestly, I loved it. It felt so real. I totally got June. I rooted for her, I felt for her, I cried with her. And you know what? The book was good. It didn't let me down, it didn't necessarily go the way I wanted, but it went the way that it should, for June. It felt like I was June's best friend or a level of voyeurism on my side regarding her story.

There are some spicy scenes for those of you who want to know.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the gifted e-ARC.

Damn…I definitely didn’t expect to cry reading this one, but here I am, sobbing at 2 am. Honestly, I think every mom would benefit from reading this book. It’s heartbreaking, beautiful, painful, and brimming with intense emotions—there’s tension, lust, disappointment, rage… It’s like being caught in an unrelenting cycle of feelings where, if you’re not careful, you could easily drown.

The book’s exploration of whether moms can be more than just their title was so raw, and I found myself really feeling for all those women out there just trying to survive motherhood. There’s no guide to it—no matter how many books, so-called experts, or unsolicited pieces of advice they get, nothing can truly solve all the struggles that come with it.

June’s journey was stunning to read. She’s a complex, flawed woman trying to figure out who she is outside of being a mother, all while grappling with whether it’s worth fighting for her relationship with her husband. And even if it is, can she still bloom into her own person in the process? It’s a beautiful, painful journey, and it’s one that will stay with me.

Thank you NetGalley for this wonderful book, I was so excited to receive an advance reader copy. I am a big fan of Ashley Manley and this book did not disappoint. It is so relatable to feel lost in a marriage. I loved how this story brought that struggle to life, worked through the conflicts, personal growth, and depth of a long lasting marriage. It left me with a sense of hope, and a sweet reminder that love is worth the fight.

This was a book written for mothers, and she did an outstanding job! I related, almost a little too much, to some of the things going on in June's life. How she feels as a person, a wife and a mom and just feeling as if you lost yourself along the way when life takes over. I laughed and teared up at times while reading. It was a great book, but a little on the heavier side.

Spiciness: 2/5 🌶️

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the ARC!

The dedication in this book was beautiful, and it made me so excited to read it.

Unfortunately, I did not like June at all. I didn’t root for her. I felt that she was selfish, immature, and unaware. There were so many ‘I-I-I’, ‘well-well-well’, and ‘you, you, you’ comments throughout the book that made me cringe as well. I get having an impassioned speech, but June worked herself up just talking. I’m not sure if these were supposed to serve as an endearing stutter, but it didn’t work for me. It just made me want to scream at her: USE YOUR BIG GIRL VOICE!

I understand that people (myself included) can be drawn to comparison, and I feel like the author did a good job of showing June losing herself into the task of being a parent, trying to gauge how she was doing, and wanting things for herself. I just didn’t like her. I thought she was a jerk to her husband, and she went about things in unnecessary ways. Of course, I am sure if she handled it like an adult, it wouldn’t be a book. So there’s that.

When I read though, I want to like my FMC. There were a few times her behavior was such that I almost threw in the towel.

The last 10% of the book made up for June. The author did a fantastic job circling back and closing loops. She kept her characters consistent, and while I didn’t necessarily wish June a happy ending, she showed growth.

I’m giving this book three stars. A star for good writing and editing. A star for closing loops, and circling back, and a star for the dedication.

•Struggling marriage
•High school sweethearts
•Second chance romance
•Love triangle
•Slow burn

4/5 ⭐️
2/5🌶️

This one is for the mamas. Burnt out, struggling, under appreciated or overlooked. I wasn't sure how I'd like the whole love triangle bit with a marriage and family on the line but it turned out better than I could've imagined. The whole story felt very raw & real. Excited to read more of the author's work.

Thank you to Ashley Manley & NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book sucked me in right away as I could so easily identify with the main character, June. How she feels as a mom, a wife, a person, and just feeling as if you lost yourself along the way. Not only could identify with June, but some of her thoughts had me laughing out loud due to the relatability. I was torn while reading how I wanted this book to end, but I think it did end in the appropriate way and wrapped it up nicely. I am crossing my fingers that the duet focuses more on June's best friend, Scotty!

Recently I have been hearing rave after rave review for Ashley Manley’s books and I’m here to say this was even better than I expected. This book is about June a mother to a teenager and twin 4 year old boys. She’s a SAHM and feels unseen in her marriage and by her children.

This is one of the most relatable books I’ve ever read regarding motherhood and marriage. All moms need to read this novel. She perfectly captures the tough parts of marriage and motherhood. I loved her sense of humor about motherhood and mommy culture. I did find some of June’s actions cringy at times. There were times I found Camp annoying and other times I thought he was hot. I loved the ending and will absolutely be buying a physical copy of this one. A favorite for sure.

I was so delighted to get an EARC of Forever and Back. A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Ashley Manley for the copy.

Shewww this book hit hard! If you are a mom and have been through the trenches.. this one is for you! As a mom of 2 littles myself - I related on so many occasions. This book had me laughing, crying, cheering the characters on, and feeling like I was a part of the Ledger community.

This story follows our girl June and her journey through self discovery. She is a mom FIRST. Always. But what about her herself? Ashley Manley takes us through a journey of learning about ourselves, how to balance it all, and most importantly how to love forever and back.

I was up so late feverishly turning the pages to see how June and Camp’s story ended. If you need a mom friend - pick up this book and join June on her journey!

Thank you so much @netgally and @ashleymanleywrites for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!!