Well, the cover is beautiful, the title interesting and blurb quite captivating. And I won't say that the book was uninteresting, however it wasn't for me. I love mature love stories, and this story is about a mature woman but I didn't feel the chemistry between the characters —their connection seemed a bit shallow. The writing and dialogues are quite straightforward. The opening scene is way too similar to the opening of a very popular book. If you have read it, you know which book I am talking about.

I really wanted to like it but sorry it didn't work for me.

3.5 stars

Hart and Alessia first meet in Italy, but their story spans many locations as they try to determine if a relationship between them is possible.

The characters and story were interesting, and I definitely wanted to keep reading to see how they overcame the obstacles they faced. The pacing and development felt a bit rushed in some places, but I still enjoyed the book overall.

This book was different but so cute! Alessia is concentrating her time on her non profit work. Hart wasn’t someone Alessia thought she could see herself with. They had immediate chemistry but Alessia didn’t allow herself to think anything could happen. I liked how Hart pushed her. He wasn’t pushy, but let her know he was interested. It didn’t have to be anything more than the now but they always had a good time together. I enjoyed their journey and was glad Kendall released a new book!

A Beginners Guide to Forever is Alessia Moore and Hart Fitzgerald Winthrop’s story. This is an age gap, contemporary romance. Alessia is 12 years older than Hart.

So, this isn’t the usual type of romance that I like. (I know, I know that’s reverse discrimination on my part) I love books that have men older than the woman. But it’s usually not so much for the reverse.

It took a little bit for me to get into this book, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying reading this book and it left me with good feelings at the end. That is why I will continue to explore books with a reverse age gap. (The FMC being older than the MMC) This book was 4.5 Stars for me.

Ms Ryan brings us her easy to read and love characters in Alessia and Hart. A fun, meet cute as they are both at a fork in the road. An easy read with a fair bit of ups and downs as the story unfolds.

Alessia is busy trying to educate the underprivileged in Africa. A passion that was born form travelling the world with her father as a child and meeting the locals. This is hard and focused work that keeps her pretty busy and travelling all over.

Hart is well educated and trying to decide what his passion in the world should be. Tired of the typical women who only want his family money or something from him. He wants someone who sees him and not his fortune.

The sparks and interest is there from the beginning but there is one big obstacles that stands in the way. The big age gap keeps getting in the way. What will people think? Will they find a way to sort through the gap?

Grab your copy and find out.

*** Advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review. ***

si j'ai beaucoup aimé Alessia et Hart, il m'a manqué la petite étincelle pour me trouver complétement embarquée par leur histoire. Ils sont touchants et attachants, j'étais curieuse de voir la manière dont il allait la convaincre de sauter dans le vide avec lui mais elle m'a parfois agacée et je l'ai trouvée un peu molle même si on comprend aussi ses doutes et ses peurs, tout comme ses envies et son besoin d'avancer. Peut-être parce que le sujet de l'horloge qui tourne n'est pas l'un de mes préférés mais en tout cas, le dénouement est vraiment chouette et on les quitte tout de même avec le sourire. Une lecture agréable et dépaysante !

I went into this book genuinely excited. A romance set against the backdrop of international charity work in Kenya? A competent, driven heroine in her late thirties? A reverse age gap with a sweet younger man? That’s practically a custom order for me. But unfortunately, this didn’t land the way I hoped it would - and the more I read, the more uncomfortable I became.

Let’s start with the depiction of international development. I’ve spent most of my career in this space, including years working in education in East Africa, and the portrayal here felt far removed from reality. The glamour of jetting off to donor meetings with billionaires, designer handbags, and last-minute travel upgrades isn’t the fantasy most people associate with the nonprofit world - it’s a complete invention. But worse was the lack of understanding of how things actually work: an unqualified foreigner stepping in as headteacher? Absolutely not. Kenya has educational standards and structures that don’t disappear when there’s a staffing issue. It's not all bad, but overall the book does a disservice to real local professionals by romanticising this kind of white saviour narrative.

On top of that, the religious undertones really threw me. Prayer and divine timing weren’t just part of the character - they were woven throughout the story in a way that, to me, felt preachy. If you're not religious, be warned. It certainly made me feel uncomfortable.

The baby storyline also rubbed me the wrong way. Alessia’s entire arc felt dominated by her fear of missing her reproductive window - to the point that her otherwise impressive achievements were sidelined. Hart, the MMC, is lovely (if absurdly named), but I found myself feeling he was pushed into parenthood more by pressure than shared desire. And the romantic chemistry? Honestly, I didn’t feel it. For all the setup, their connection lacked spark.

Having said all of this, there were moments of charm, and the author’s intention to show women doing meaningful work at any age is admirable. But calling 37 “middle-aged” and defining fulfilment through motherhood really undermined the message.

Sadly, this one missed the mark — well-meaning, but ultimately frustrating. It's a 2.5, rounded up to a three-star rating for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Alessia has a dream of building a school for girls in Nairobi. When the Winthrop family makes a sizable donation towards her project, she meets Hart, the son of her benefactor's donation. When sparks fly between the two and Hart makes his intentions of getting to know her clear, Alessia is thrown. Hart is twelve years younger than her but she feels happy with him. This was a quick and satisfying read. I adored the storyline and the epilogue and felt this was the exact kind of book I needed in between all the thrillers I have been reading of late. I was lucky enough to listen to the audiobook while I read my ebook and loved the immersive reading experience.

Oh my gosh, I absolutely adored this! It’s an opposites attract romance, but with a reverse age gap. Get ready to swoon, squeal, and fall head over heels for these two as fate keeps bringing them back together. But guess what? They decide that right now is all they can handle…until their relationship becomes so much more!!

This is Alesia Moore and Hartford Winthrop’s journey to an HEA, and what a beautiful journey it is, as it takes the reader across the globe as these two savor every moment when fate brings them back together again.

Alesia Moore is the founder and director of Renewed Promise. She has been putting everything else of her life on the back burner as she raises money with her foundation to build a girls school in Nairobi. But she worries that she has sacrificed the wrong things, and that she isn’t who or where she wants to be. Or that none of what she has done will be worth it in the long run!

“Anyway, he wrote this line in one of his books that essentially asks”—I clear my throat—“you’ve sacrificed your entire life to be who you are today. Was it worth it?”

“Hart” Hartford, is twenty-five years old, twelve years younger than Alessia when they meet. He is a billionaire who is handsome and has every girl falling at his feet…But not the beautiful, mature Alesia. He is taken by her passion and her goals.

These two may be at different stages of life, but their relationship was a whirlwind of sizzling romance and friendship that blossomed into a beautiful romantic adventure with an international twist.
And I didn’t want to put it down!!

Yay, She’s Back!!! I missed this author while she took time away from writing. Can’t wait for the next story!

I received an early copy from the author and this is my honest review.

2.75-3 🌟 I had such high hopes for this book. I was excited to read about a FMC that was a little older and had more life experience. I feel like Alessia was a stronger character in the beginning of the book and was a different character as the book went on. She was obsessed with the age gap between her and Hart and not in a good way. Girl your job keeps you so busy that you can’t even think about starting a family. Have a little fun for a bit. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the main characters the more they were together. The transition of time felt kinda choppy so that might be why I felt that way. Also one thing that really got under my skin was her best friend saying “have some fun” then “you should think about what you are doing, don’t waste your time” and back to “do it, you run when things get hard”. The flip flop was a lot between her bff and even herself. This might just be a me thing but I feel like the story started feeling a little immature towards the middle end and then it was just all wrapped up without really feeling like the core problems were resolved. Honestly this didn’t really feel like a Kendall Ryan book. I have read several of her books and enjoyed them but this one was just off for me.

Tropes:
💖Age Gap
💖Billionaire

Thank you NetGalley, Kendall Ryan, and Brilliance Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews.

Alessia is trying to do “good” in this world by helping other women. She realizes that her life has gone by so fast that she’s now in her 30’s and not in any kind of relationship. She meet Hart and she’s not sure if they can be together because of the age gap between them.

Both characters are wealthy, while Alessia lives less extravagantly. The spur of the moment jet setting that took place in this book felt unreal.

I really wanted to love this story and I loved the beginning. Alessia escaped to Florence, Italy after a break up and runs into a man, Hart, who she has a great conversation with. She never expected to see him again, but fate has a way of making that happen.

While I enjoy age gaps where the fmc is older I felt like that was the main focus when it comes to Alessia. She just couldn’t get over their age gap (she’s 37 and he’s 25 when the story starts). It really only seemed to bother her and no one else and it was a fact that was repeated a lot throughout the course of this story. With fate and the meetings between Alessia and Hart plus the chemistry they had there was so much potential and I felt like this story just kind of fell flat overall. There were bits and pieces I enjoyed, but it also felt like things were missing. I also wanted more of their relationship.

Overall, I enjoyed this story but it left me wanting more.

This book is a tender and heartwarming romance that speaks to every woman who puts her dreams before her heart. Alessia Moore is fierce, focused, and beautifully flawed: a woman who built a purposeful life in Nairobi, only to crumble in the presence of Hart Winthrop, a younger man who sees beyond her armor. Kendall Ryan doesn't just write a love story; she writes a reckoning. The chemistry is electrifying, but it's the quiet moments, the vulnerability, the fear, the longing—that linger. This book reminds us that love doesn't always arrive on time, and that sometimes the bravest thing to do is to let it in. A moving and empowering read that left me breathless and filled with hope.

I love romance books that span counties and and time, and A Beginner’s Guide to Forever is definitely one of those. Alessia and Hart meet for the first time along together when Alessia overhears one of Hart’s phone calls, and while they connect they do not do anything with that until Hart randomly shows up to Alessia’s foundation meetings, after that, these two travel the globe while fate and determination brings them together over and over again. Alessia is roughly 10 years older than Hart and Hart is a billionaire, leading to some large differences that Alessia struggles to get over, however she is always willing to go along and cannot say no to Hart when he is determined to get to know her.

Hart is a complicated man, he is used to being given and asking for what he wants, girls want him cause he is rich, and yet he feels like he is struggling to understand his place in this world. He doesn’t have his life together but he knows he wants to date Alessia and gives it his all. Alessia wants a baby, she wants a family, and is terrified to ask Hart to give that to her immediately as she knows he is still younger and the pressure to have kids will be at the top of their relationship. I found her fears to be so reasonable but I also loved how much she waivered and fought them. They prevent her from doing what she wanted but she did react differently as a result and it was a nuanced way to place a character’s fears center stage in a story!

I loved this book so much, I adored it and never wanted to stop reading it!

⭐️⭐️ (2 stars)
Kendall Ryan’s A Beginner’s Guide to Forever sets out to tell a hopeful, globe-trotting romance between two people at very different life stages—Alessia, a 37-year-old nonprofit founder committed to building a better world, and Hart, a 25-year-old billionaire’s son determined to step out of his privileged shadow. On paper, it’s a compelling setup with the promise of emotional depth, real-world stakes, and rich opposites-attract chemistry.

Unfortunately, this novel didn’t quite work for me.

While I appreciated the focus on Alessia’s philanthropic mission and the attempt to address the age-gap dynamic from a female-forward perspective, the execution felt uneven. Alessia is written with admirable ambition and strong ideals, but her internal narrative fixates so heavily on age and timelines that it begins to flatten her character. Rather than feeling empowered or self-assured, she often comes across as insecure and reactive—traits that might have been compelling if explored with more nuance.

Hart, meanwhile, is undeniably sweet and supportive, but his motivations feel thin. His attraction to Alessia is framed less around emotional compatibility and more around her stability, maturity, and disinterest in his wealth. While those are valid foundations, I struggled to see what truly connected them beyond surface-level admiration. As a result, their romantic arc felt rushed and lacking in genuine chemistry.

The novel also leans heavily on telling over showing. Repeated discussions about the age difference overshadow more interesting elements of the story—such as the foundation work in Nairobi, which is full of potential but underdeveloped. The third-act conflict is predictable and hinted at so early that its resolution felt anticlimactic. Supporting characters, like Hayes and Mia, read as more plot devices than fully formed people, and some scenes (particularly involving Hart’s past relationships) veered into caricature.

That said, the writing is accessible, and fans of low-conflict romances with aspirational settings may find this an enjoyable read. It’s a sincere effort to tell a different kind of age-gap romance—one where the woman is older and in control—but for me, the emotional core never fully came together.

Final thoughts:
A promising concept with good intentions, but the romance lacked spark and emotional payoff. I wanted to feel more—more connection, more depth, more growth—but instead, I felt like I was observing a relationship rather than being pulled into it.

Normally, I find Kendall Ryan's work quite enjoyable and was very excited that she was publishing once again, but this book, unfortunately, wasn't my favorite. With them being apart and traveling back and forth it felt like they stayed the same and left little room for them to grow or develop in a way that I found meaningful. Alessia seemed to perseverate on their age difference versus all of the ways that they worked well together, and Hart was happy to allow her to focus on their age difference. I was also caught off guard to find that this was a closed-door romance, a style I typically don't read or enjoy. While I appreciate the author's writing style in general, this particular story just didn't work for me.

I so wanted to like this book, as I have really enjoyed the authors writing in the past but this book was so different to what she usually writes. I felt it to be very slow paced. A bit too sweet, repetitive and religious too for my liking unfortunately.
The characters I didn’t feel a connection to either. I really struggled with this book but what I didn’t particularly enjoy may be just the book you do!

A Beginner's Guide to Forever by Kendall Ryan is a delightful slow burn, age gap romance.
I really enjoyed these characters, fun story and swoony romance! I was so excited when I got an advanced readers copy. This book was so much fun to read. I didn't want to put it down.

Thank You NetGalley and Montlake for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Hart was definitely the standout for me: mature, kind, and emotionally open despite being younger. He really brought charm and warmth to the story. Alessia, a strong and successful nonprofit leader, struggles with their age gap and lets her doubts get in the way. At times, her reactions felt overly harsh and repetitive, which made it hard to connect with her. Still, the message about finding love at any stage of life and following your purpose was uplifting. The story tackles real world issues while staying romantic, even if some parts felt rushed or resolved too easily.

A Beginner's Guide to Forever by Kendall Ryan takes us all over the world with the adventure of Alessia and Hart. Reverse age gap is a hard trope to land and Kendall Ryan definitely took a risk.

I loved how Alessia's career as the lead of her own Non Profit provided some amazing locations and each location had a role to play. She met the Winthrop heir Hart Winthrop during a vacation in Florence where they were both trying to escape something..she didn't know their paths will cross again in Nairobi during a presentation to his family. They have a connection but she is sceptical and afraid because of their very different life states.London. California. Napa Valley. Maldives. Aspen. Hart keeps on trying to prove himself and she keeps on pushing him, till she cannot. I loved Hart. He could have been a spoiled billionaire bad boy but he is an extremely nice guy Sweet charming caring compassionate. Everything

I had the problem with Alessia. She is supposed to have a very unique and powerful career. Unfortunately, that's where her confidence begins and ends. She let their 12 year age gap under her skin despite Hart trying to assure her at every step. She is wallowing in self pity that's completely unnecessary. Hart didn't deserve her harsh reactions and steps. Her friend and family judged Hart just by his age and money..without even meeting her. It became repetitive to the point that I could no longer ignore it as just heartache. The ending was forced and way too easy. I didn't feel the chemistry at all.

I reviewed an early copy voluntarily