Love Everlasting

Tracey Alvarez

Jun 2019 · Icon Publishing Limited

About this ebook

Can a fun-loving cancer survivor and a man whose heart is hardened by loss ever find their Happy Ever After?

 

Darby Livingston is a survivor. If she can survive breast cancer, she can survive the humiliation of accidently flashing her pink panties to a stranger. A sexy ‘doesn’t believe in fairy tales’ stranger called Reid. Reid is the key to making Darby’s amateur theatre production of Cinderella a success, so she’ll swallow her pride and beg, bribe, or use her feminine wiles to secure his help, because the play's donation to a cancer charity means everything to her.

 

Reid Hudson is used to being judged and ridiculed for his ability to sew amazing wedding gowns for Invercargill’s boutique bridal shop, Next Stop Vegas. Whatever. He’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants in life. But on the list of things Reid Hudson doesn’t want… A) To be roped into costume-making for a cast of wanna-be divas. B) To discover an off-the-charts attraction with the play's Ugly Stepsister, Darby. And C) To fall in love with that feisty and funny woman who has no guarantee of a happy ever after.

 

Along with her terrier side-kick, Duke, can Darby convince Reid that if the shoe/slipper fits, maybe she's The One he's been looking for all along?

Keywords: summer series, summer romance, New Zealand setting, romance novel, romance ebook, romance series, small town romance, romance series, New Zealand romance, contemporary romance, sexy romance, romantic comedy, comedy romance, family saga, boy next door, friends to lovers, heart-warming, sensual, friendship, vacation romance, family life, family relationships, friendship, escape down under, rural romance, friends with benefits, heartwarming romance, sweet and sexy romance, exotic foreign romance, beach reads, summer reads, cinderella romance, heroine with cancer, breast cancer survivor

 

Ratings and reviews

I thought that this book turned out to be a good balance between lightheartedness and heavy hearted. This book is a good one to read on how to handle your fear of being in a relationship that you know might be short from the start. Darby has had breast cancer and is now on the road to being cancer free, but in the back of her mind is the knowledge that cancer could come back at any time. Darby is involved in a production of Cinderella to help raise money for Sunflower House which is a place for women with cancer to stay and recover. Darby thinks that she wants to be with Hugh, Prince Charming, and tries to gain his attention. Then she is asked to meet with Reid and get him to help design and sew the costumes for the production with her help as Darby knows how to do some sewing. At the first meeting with Reid, Darby's skirt splits and shows a little more than Darby would like, but Reid is nice about it and offers her a pair of his sweats while he fixes her skirt. The chemistry between the two builds from there, but Reid backs off some when he first learns that Darby is recovering from cancer, because it hasn't been that long since he watched his mother die from it. Fortunately, one's heart doesn't always listen to one's head and love blooms amidst the fear and second guesses, however for that love to continue to grow each person has to confront their fear and choose whether to battle it or give in to it. Read this wonderful story and see what Darby and Reid decide to do.

I think I've read all the books that have been published by Tracey Alvarez so far and I must admit I've never been disappointed. Her books are like a breath of fresh air in the romance publishing world. The Love Everlasting is no exception. It's a beautiful story about the fear of falling in love and fear of losing someone you love. All the characters are well written and easy to connect with. The story is sweet and captivating. In my opinion, Mrs. Alvarez once again proved how masterful writer she is because putting a cancer survivor as your main heroine and coming out of it without a scratch is an extremely difficult task. I am full of admiration for the author and Darby - Reid couple

Three and a half stars. Darby Livingstone is a veterinary assistant with a menagerie of cats and a dog, she's had breast cancer but her hair is growing back and she going for life full-throttle, including trying out for the part of Cinderella in a local production to support Sunflower House which provides accommodation to cancer patients while they are having treatment at the local hospital. Unfortunately being nearly six foot tall and a bit of a klutz means Darby is more likely to get one of the ugly sister roles! Darby first meets Reid at a wedding, where she mocks him for fending off advances from drunken wedding guests before being soaked in red wine when the brides bouquet ricochets off Reid's glass, just like Cinderella Darby escapes into the night leaving her stained shoes behind. Reid Hudson is that rarity, a straight male wedding planner, his mother died from breast cancer and his BFF MacKenna Jones has roped him into making the costumes for the production of Cinderella, he was going to refuse until he discovered that he would be working alongside the beautiful and charming Darby. I was really enjoying this and then, about three-quarters of the way through it just seemed to run out of steam a little bit, the Cinderella riff kind of wore off and the inability of either character to commit because of their cancer fears became repetitive. However, those were little niggles, this was still a fun, sweet romance between a man who can do it all and a woman who needs someone she can rely on.

About the author

 Tracey Alvarez is a USA Today Bestselling Author living in the Coolest Little Capital in the World (a.k.a Wellington, New Zealand). Married to a wonderfully supportive IT guy, she has two teens who would love to be surgically linked to their electronic devices.

Fuelled by copious amounts of coffee, she's the author of sexy and sweet romances set predominantly in New Zealand. Small towns, close communities, and families are a big part of the heartwarming stories she writes. Oh, and hot, down-to-earth heroes--Kiwi men, in other words. When she's not writing, thinking about writing, or procrastinating about writing, Tracey can be found with her nose in her e-reader, nibbling on smuggled chocolate bars, or bribing her kids to take over the housework. Follow Tracey on Twitter as @TraceyAlvrezNZ or Facebook as http://www.facebook.com/TraceyAlvarezAuthor Her website is http://www.traceyalvarez.com and don't forget to sign up to her newsletter here: http://bit.ly/JR3Asu