Monica Valducci has had a rough adult life. Almost forced to marry a forty-year-old man when she was only seventeen, Monica and her grandmother buy their freedom from Monica's mafia family and flee Texas to Oklahoma. Other than meeting her best friend Emily, Monica has constantly struggled to make ends meet. Following Emily to Colorado doesn't change that.
Gabriel Campos isn't looking for love. He's been burned in the past and doesn't feel love and a partner are in the cards for him. But when he sees Monica walk into a bar, he's drawn to her immediately. Once they realize he's her new boss, however, Monica attempts to steer clear of Gabriel. He's bound and determined to show her what a real man can provide, both in and out of the bedroom.
Monica struggles with her connection to Gabriel while trying to keep her 'friends with benefits' Marcus at bay. But lines are crossed, and soon Monica seems to be targeted by an unknown assailant. Marcus isn't whom he says he is. Monica leans more on Gabriel as they attempt to uncover who is after her. Once she realizes Gabriel is the exception and not the rule, Gabriel won't be letting her go. But will they survive when Monica's past comes back to haunt her?
Forever Mine is a small-town contemporary romance book. It is book four in the Forever Series but can be read as a standalone. It features a struggling thirty-something woman and her older boss, forced proximity, only one bed, and a light mafia twist. Forever Mine features sexually explicit material, profanity, and some content that may be triggering. This book is intended for readers 18+.
If I could give 0 stars I would. Even better, if I could remove the stars of others reviews I would. DNF at 78%. Feeling like booktok keeps playing with me and I swear I’m gonna start blocking people who suggest this crap.
I tried, I swear. I almost finished it. Couldn’t put myself through it till the end. But let’s make a list of reasons why.
1. First of all it is NOT a slow burn, I don’t know why people keep saying this. Maybe it felt that way for me because the first chapter is actually supposed to me in the middle of the book, but starting like that with him basically already in love it’s in no way a slow burn. I mean c’mon he saw her in a bar, kissed her, found out he was her new boss, didn’t interact with her for a long time (because she kept avoiding him) and BOOM, he was in love. How is this slow burn I don’t know, felt like instant love for me, but whatever. I don’t enjoy books where they’re both in love at first sight, I almost always go for slow burn, so this was not for me.
2. The whole mafia vibe/theme at the beginning. What? It felt so out of place, not talked about enough, just something thrown out there to make things interesting and different but it was so badly portrayed that it didn’t make sense. For me it was something they put in the book to make the mc look like strong woman who went through hell, which is fine, love me some complicated backstories and strong women, but it wasn’t developed, like at all, and later in the book (at least where I made it) was another thing to add just cause, I couldn’t empathize at all. Obviously when we read about mafia it’s hard to feel inside the book, because it’s not something people usually knows or have experienced, in this case it wasn’t developed well so I really couldn’t put myself in her shoes.
3. Their interactions. My god they were atrocious. First the insta love made it awful for me, but still I tried to push trough. It was ok at first but like her mafia past, the relationship wasn’t developed so it’s felt off. No passion, they barely knew each other, even what could have been a cute, sweet thing like her learning his language, was just meh.
4. The repetitions. I don’t know Portuguese, so maybe I’m wrong, but are you fucking kidding me? Aren’t there other pet names other than “querida”? After the third time I was already sick of it, but this word is written in this book 199 times. Why? WHY? How could the author write the same thing even 50 times and be like ‘you know what? let’s use it some more’ it’s besides me. I swear I never wanna see this word ever again.
5. The cover. I never comment on this, even when I love the cover, but (and I’m sorry to whoever he is) the man felt creepy and too adult, not in a good way, just a plain ol’ grown up, so not only I had to look at this man who gave me major creep vibes every time I wanted to go back to the book and finish it, but I didn’t feel any attraction towards the love interest because of it. I love cartoon covers because they give me the opportunity to imagine whoever I want, and every time there’s a real person instead I don’t like it, usually I ignore it but this time it just ruined the fun for me.
I wanted so bad to finish it because I hardly ever DNF books and it felt like a waste of my time, I was already at 78% might as well no? No. Kept being boring, cringe and nonsense. I’m sorry I feel this way because I saw a lot of good reviews. I kept going back to this book, gave it lots of opportunities and I waited to get better, I really wanted to like it, but it’s a no for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book was more of a slow burn in the Forever Series, but these two had great tension from the beginning! And when they finally get together the chemistry is HOT! Pepper that with some mystery and a hint of suspense, and you've got a fun page turner you won't want to put down. I finished in one sitting!
Jennifer is a new author to me so I wasn’t totally sure what to expect, but OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I could not put my kindle down once I had started. This was a beautiful rollercoaster of emotions I am so glad I didn’t miss out on.
I missed out on the previous books so I quickly remedied that and downloaded them all. These characters welcomed me with open arms, they allowed me to walk beside them as they walked the path to a beautiful HEA.
Gabriel. Holy smokes this man is H.O.T!!! He literally has it all; total dominant alpha male with a beautiful heart and a protectiveness that made me wish I was his HEA. This is a man with a strong moral compass. He has a steadfast belief in right and wrong. Protecting those who need it is second nature to a man like this. I’m darn sure my ovaries imploded on several occasions as Gabriel’s sweetness and caring nature wrapped itself around me.
Monica. What a strong and badass woman!! She survived and thrived despite the treatment of the people who were supposed to love and cherish her. She has such a huge heart, my heart aches for her. Pain and baggage from her past has coloured the way she sees things, and that in turn has affected her ability to see true goodness when it’s in her path.
It was beautiful to watch her relationship with her friends. I loved her interactions with Em and Liam. What I most loved about a Monica is her deep seated need to protect the people she trusts enough to allow through the wall she’s built around her heart. She would do anything for people she considered family.
Watching Gabriel and Monica weave their way through the rocky minefield to finding each other was heartfelt, beautiful, sad, heart aching and a whole host of other emotions that did everything to ensure that these characters wouldn’t be forgotten as the final page was read. These characters walked into my heart and don’t plan on leaving.
The chemistry between Gabriel and Monica was electrifying. It jumped from the pages and created so much heat I was afraid my kindle was going to self destruct!!
Jennifer Williams is a truly talented author and I absolutely adored the world she created. I have downloaded the previous books and will definitely be purchasing further books.
Can’t recommend highly enough!! This book deserves way more than 5 stars. Totally addictive and compelling.
Independent reviewer for B3, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 4 in the Forever Series. I have not read books 1-3. I did not feel I missed anything, other than putting together the clues that were dropped for the previous 3 couples. They all play a huge part here, is all. I would, time allowing, go back and read the other three books. I will certainly try to make the time.
Monica has been hiding for some time, after running from an arranged marriage at the age of 18 to a much older man her father promised her to, when she was just 11 years old. Finding a place in the world in Colorado, she finds some peace. That is, until she meets her new booss and her friends-with-benefits dude starts getting a bit weird.
I really rather enjoyed this.
I loved that Gabriel knows very quickly, that Monica is his, but he waits for her. He makes it known to Monica that he wants her and that he will wait. He doesn't always play fair, but when Monica makes the decision that Gabriel is HERS, she doesn't either.
I knew that Marcus was up to something, and once the penny dropped with me, it was fun watching all that unfold. That it went a slightly different path was beside the point. I was very surprised by Monica's father at the end, I really was!
It's got some darker bits, but it's all kinds of smexy too! Monica and Gabriel have chemistry, that much is obvious right from the start, but that it burns brighter as the book progresses, and that we have to wait for the main event, made a much smexier read, and I loved it.
First I've read of this author, I'd like to read more.
This book was amazing and had some of my favorite tropes. Office romance? Smexy age gap, anyone? Helloooo!
I started reading this and wanted to call in sick to work and read until I was finished, but alas, that is apparently frowned upon. But you better believe that every single break and even during my lunch hour, I had my Kindle in my hands just to get a few more words of Jennifer J. Willams' brilliance.
Monica went through a lot in her younger years. I mean, good grief!!! And I absolutely adored her grandmother. She was absolutely my favorite side character. But I digress... back to Monica, the FMC. This woman. This woman, y'all! She is so flipping strong and sassy, and I wish I could hang out with her in real life. This author had Monica jumping off the pages!
And let me tell ya. I'd like to jump INTO the pages of this book and get me a little taste of Gabriel. Whooooweee! That's one hot man right there. Dominant, protective possessive... he was all the dang things. But most of all, he was loving. The way he loved and cared for Monica had me swooning in my drawers. What was even more beautiful was watching Monica learn to trust him. To LET HIM care for her.
GAHHHH! Had me in puddles. I won't speak to which kind, but... you know...
Jennifer J. Williams has written a fabulous series, and this one only made it better. I'm excited to see more of Monica and Gabriel in future books.
I'd like to also add that this book was so well written and edited. I'm easily distracted by errors and typos, and my eye didn't twitch a single time while reading this story. Jennifer, give yourself and your editor a raise!
This is book #4 of the Forever series but can be read as a standalone. Monica Valducci has not had an easy life. Her father promised her to one of his men when she was 11, even though he made sure that nothing happened until she turned 18. She witnessed her father murder this man, then made her leave the family with her grandmother and made both of them give up their inheritance. She has been with a series of bad men and the most recent one seems to be the worst. He seems clingy and stalkerish to begin with, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Her boss, Gabriel, is attracted to her immediately, but he's willing to give Monica time to sort out her relationship and her feelings for him. When things go really, really wrong, Monica needs Gabriel more than ever. Will they be able to survive when Monica's past comes back with a vengeance?
5 stars 4.5 steamy kisses book #4 in the Forever series
small-town romance, age gap, boss/employee, protective alpha hero, Portuguese-speaking hero, Italian mafia princess heroine, troubled pasts, instant-attraction, slow-burn romance
MY FAVORITE for sure! Oh, Gabriel is my book hubby. I loved the storyline but when I got to chapter 10 I was like yep nope this is gonna be read all the way and so hours later yep I was in love with a patient dirty minded/talking protective alpha named Gabriel. Slow-burn romance kills me because I'm impatient lol but it was worth it ya'll!!! The author really has blossomed as she continues in her writing career and as I mentioned before book 5 and 6 now please and thank you!
This is the fourth book in Jennifer Williams series however I have not read books 1-3. Monica is part of Texas’ La Familigia however thanks to a caring grandmother she is saved from a life of being married to man 20 years older and also not very nice. She moves to Oklahoma and then on to Colorado where she meets Gabriel a older man but a suave and kind sole who is instantly smitten but very patient to have Monica figure out exactly what they are to each other. Throw in some deceit and lies from some ancillary but important characters to Monica’s story and sex lots of hot and steamy sex and you have a wonderfully written book.
Gabriel is definitely going be your favorite in this Forever Series. He’s so dreamy and possessive that in Chapter One he’s everything you are going to need. Specially when he said “I can also confirm she is not sleeping with me, Marcus. Not for lack of hoping on my part, though,”. Ahhhhh!!! I love him! Omg obviously he trumped Owen in that moment. Monica is the perfect match for him and Gabriel is all Monica needs in her life. All the sweet endearment from both sides are swoon-worthy. This book was freaking amazing. The tension and suspense *chef kisses*. You need this book ASAP it’s the really a spectacular age gap romance. (I want to be he’s querida).
This book. Read it for the characters alone Monica and Gabriel. After Monica stopped fighting their attraction for one another, I melted. Monica is such a strong woman - she has survived so much and thrived. The friendships she has cultivated will be for life. Gabriel. The words that came out of this man’s mouth are addictive.
“The next time Monica sees my d**k, it will be right before I f**k her senseless.”
He would do anything for Monica, we all need someone like that in our life!
I loved the outcome of this story, so well rounded.
Loved it. The story line for Gabriel and Monica was so hot. I loved Monica’s back story. All of the characters and the plots were well written. I can’t wait to read more. I loved Jennifer’s writing style. I’m Italian so I loved part of the book had the beautiful Italian language in it. I love books with mafia in it.
I’ve loved reading snippets of Monica in the other books and her story did not disappoint. I loved having a touch of mafia in this hot small town romance. Gabriel is the perfect complement to Monica and this storyline was incredible!!
I really enjoyed this book about Monica and Gabriel. This small town contemporary, boss and employee romance was so good. I enjoyed the little bit of push and pull, suspense thrown in, to make a really good book.
This was so dang good!!! I have loved every book of this series!!! This is an age gap romance that has a super hot mmc and a strong fmc. The spice and passion that come from these two is phenomenal!!! She can deny her feelings but that does not make them anymore real!!!
Do you want a strong as everything FMC, smoking MMC, with a little age gap romance happening? Then you really need Gabriel and Monica's story in your hands and a block of time to dedicate to this story.
Really liked this book by Jennifer. Gabriel was super sweet and heartfelt, and knew exactly what he wanted. Monica was such a strong heroine, especially with her past. Super excited to see what comes next!
I could not get enough of this book!! Monica’s story was worth the wait. She went through so much to find a love of her own. She deserved it too!! Loved this one!!
Monica was too stubborn. I just skimmed the booked after they got together. I know it was a slow burn but having to deal with her not being able to stop having a relationship with Marcus was annoying. “She doesn’t know why she can’t just end it or why she just couldn’t block him”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Absolutely loved...couldn't put it down. I have been waiting for this story for so long and I'm so glad it lived up to my expectation. I loved Daddy Gabriel and Monica!!!