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Forever Is Over
Richie Billingham, a married father of two in his late thirties, is attending a party held in his honour and organised by his wife, Jemma.
Through the eyes of several characters, we are taken back through the lives of Richie and Jemma.
Richie, an Evertonian, is from a large middle class family. His father is a gambler, his younger brother Jim, a constant irritant and his older sister Caroline provides an unusual insight into her romantic world.
Jemma is from a working class, one parent family. As her mother, who she refers to as “Vomit Breath”, is far more interested in partying than parenthood, Jemma establishes a strong bond with her sister, Kelly, until one day their
worlds are torn apart.
Kelly was Richie’s first love. “The Sunny Road” was a name given to the idyllic, countryside setting where Richie and Kelly used to escape. When Kelly disappears, Richie is forced to move on, but several years later, not knowing that Richie is now married to her sister, Kelly writes a letter to Richie. stating her intention to return and suggests they rekindle their romance.
Through the eyes of several characters, we are taken back through the lives of Richie and Jemma.
Richie, an Evertonian, is from a large middle class family. His father is a gambler, his younger brother Jim, a constant irritant and his older sister Caroline provides an unusual insight into her romantic world.
Jemma is from a working class, one parent family. As her mother, who she refers to as “Vomit Breath”, is far more interested in partying than parenthood, Jemma establishes a strong bond with her sister, Kelly, until one day their
worlds are torn apart.
Kelly was Richie’s first love. “The Sunny Road” was a name given to the idyllic, countryside setting where Richie and Kelly used to escape. When Kelly disappears, Richie is forced to move on, but several years later, not knowing that Richie is now married to her sister, Kelly writes a letter to Richie. stating her intention to return and suggests they rekindle their romance.
628 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 11, 2011
96 people are currently reading
566 people want to read
About the author
Calvin Wade
8 books35 followersCalvin Wade was born in Ormskirk, Lancashire in 1971. He studied Economics at Manchester Metropolitan University, graduating in 1992. On graduation, he worked in a record shop for eighteen months to fund a backpacking trip around the world.
Since returning from his travels, his working life has been in the mortgage industry, working for Alliance & Leicester, Yorkshire Building Society and Birmingham Midshires. During this period, he has run five marathons - three London Marathons, one in Liverpool and one in New York. His first London Marathon was run in a fancy dress house where he was narrowly beaten by an apple, a banana and a pear.
In 2006, Calvin wrote a five minute monologue for BBC Radio Five Live entitled, "I Hate Football", which was performed by Johnny Vegas. It first aired in June 2006 and was repeated on a Christmas Day special. "Forever is Over" is his first novel and is now available to buy in paperback and ebook via Amazon.
Calvin's fifth novel, 'Our Broken Fairy Tale' was released in June 2020.
Calvin Wade is married to Alison and has two sons, Bradley and Joel.
Since returning from his travels, his working life has been in the mortgage industry, working for Alliance & Leicester, Yorkshire Building Society and Birmingham Midshires. During this period, he has run five marathons - three London Marathons, one in Liverpool and one in New York. His first London Marathon was run in a fancy dress house where he was narrowly beaten by an apple, a banana and a pear.
In 2006, Calvin wrote a five minute monologue for BBC Radio Five Live entitled, "I Hate Football", which was performed by Johnny Vegas. It first aired in June 2006 and was repeated on a Christmas Day special. "Forever is Over" is his first novel and is now available to buy in paperback and ebook via Amazon.
Calvin's fifth novel, 'Our Broken Fairy Tale' was released in June 2020.
Calvin Wade is married to Alison and has two sons, Bradley and Joel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
December 29, 2021
I had never read anything of this author but I'd been told good things so decided to give it a bash.
It's a long my read but it's perfect if your looking for a book that is going to take you on a journey.
This is the story of two people, from beginning to end. I laughed and cried.
It's not the best written book out there and I felt the end waffled on a bit but it's definitely worth a read.
At time of posting this title is available on Kindle Unlimited.
It's a long my read but it's perfect if your looking for a book that is going to take you on a journey.
This is the story of two people, from beginning to end. I laughed and cried.
It's not the best written book out there and I felt the end waffled on a bit but it's definitely worth a read.
At time of posting this title is available on Kindle Unlimited.
January 5, 2012
This is a magnificent book. Roller coaster of emotions but I can honestly say this is one of the best books I have ever read. I cried so much at the end, partly because it was a very emotional ending but also because the wonderful Richie Billingham and Miss Jemma Watkinson are no longer in my life. I read this 600 page book within 3 days as I literally couldn't put it down. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. 5 stars is not enough.
February 13, 2016
Forever Is Over is one of those books that begins at the end.
We find out right from the outset that Richie has cancer and he's dying but rewind back to his childhood and that's where the story starts.
Told in an almost journal like way, we follow Richie from his teenage years through to adulthood and we meet a wide variety of characters. Each chapter is a story within the main story from a different character and this a great way to get to know each of them and find out more about their lives and share their thoughts.
Despite the fact that the ending is known to the reader, the story in the middle is a wonderful and meandrous one that will bring back memories if you were growing up in the 70's and 80's. A simple story that is many-faceted and will have you laughing out loud one minute and crying the next.
This book has it all. There's murder, gambling addiction, first-love, sibling rivalry and even football! What more could you possibly want?
Calvin Wade is a gifted writer who has a great ability to make all of his characters so believable you could almost touch them, which for me meant that I was fully immersed in their lives and was living every high and low with them. My only criticism, and it really is a small one, is that I felt it was just a little bit too long and wordy in parts. There were a few places where less could have been more. That said I still enjoyed this book immensely and I would highly recommend it to everyone who likes to lose themselves in an excellent, well written and thought provoking book.
We find out right from the outset that Richie has cancer and he's dying but rewind back to his childhood and that's where the story starts.
Told in an almost journal like way, we follow Richie from his teenage years through to adulthood and we meet a wide variety of characters. Each chapter is a story within the main story from a different character and this a great way to get to know each of them and find out more about their lives and share their thoughts.
Despite the fact that the ending is known to the reader, the story in the middle is a wonderful and meandrous one that will bring back memories if you were growing up in the 70's and 80's. A simple story that is many-faceted and will have you laughing out loud one minute and crying the next.
This book has it all. There's murder, gambling addiction, first-love, sibling rivalry and even football! What more could you possibly want?
Calvin Wade is a gifted writer who has a great ability to make all of his characters so believable you could almost touch them, which for me meant that I was fully immersed in their lives and was living every high and low with them. My only criticism, and it really is a small one, is that I felt it was just a little bit too long and wordy in parts. There were a few places where less could have been more. That said I still enjoyed this book immensely and I would highly recommend it to everyone who likes to lose themselves in an excellent, well written and thought provoking book.
July 9, 2011
Wow, where do I start?
I thought I knew a thing or two about writing, but Calvin Wades sensational book makes me look like a complete novice.
I don't usually "do" love stories, but this one intrigued me, so I thought I'd take a look. I'm so happy I did, I read books all the time, but I was totally gripped by this story, I kept carrying the book around with me in order to read a bit at every given opportunity!
It's not just a love story, if you were ever a teenager (and I suspect you were once) and you've ever suffered the nightmare of teenage angst, dates that went wrong, or parties that got a little out of hand, the beginning of the book is going to take you back there with a vengence.
First it will make you cry, then it will make you laugh, and it might make you squirm a bit in parts, but one things for certain, you won't want to put it down, I certainly didn't!
So I recommend you get yourself a copy asap, and then tell all your friends.
No-one wants to miss out on "the next big thing".
Hope Calvin's got more where this came from![[ASIN:0956827306 Ancestors & Angels]][[ASIN:1456770098 Forever Is Over]]
I thought I knew a thing or two about writing, but Calvin Wades sensational book makes me look like a complete novice.
I don't usually "do" love stories, but this one intrigued me, so I thought I'd take a look. I'm so happy I did, I read books all the time, but I was totally gripped by this story, I kept carrying the book around with me in order to read a bit at every given opportunity!
It's not just a love story, if you were ever a teenager (and I suspect you were once) and you've ever suffered the nightmare of teenage angst, dates that went wrong, or parties that got a little out of hand, the beginning of the book is going to take you back there with a vengence.
First it will make you cry, then it will make you laugh, and it might make you squirm a bit in parts, but one things for certain, you won't want to put it down, I certainly didn't!
So I recommend you get yourself a copy asap, and then tell all your friends.
No-one wants to miss out on "the next big thing".
Hope Calvin's got more where this came from![[ASIN:0956827306 Ancestors & Angels]][[ASIN:1456770098 Forever Is Over]]
May 26, 2016
Wow! This was such a wonderful book. Pretty long (618 pages) but even then I didn't find it a struggle, I wanted to keep reading and I'm sad that it's over.
Great story telling, great characters, and I loved the way in which it was written, from each character's perspective, with new perspectives introduced along the way. All of the references to the 1980s in the first few chapters really resonated with me personally, having been a teenager then also.
A criticism, which is no fault of the author's, are the issues with the spacing in the Kindle edition, which can be somewhat off putting to start with but you learn to live with it as the story progresses, as it's so good.
To me, the genre is not quite chick lit, I would describe it more as great storytelling about characters you can believe in and invest in. Definitely worth a read.
Great story telling, great characters, and I loved the way in which it was written, from each character's perspective, with new perspectives introduced along the way. All of the references to the 1980s in the first few chapters really resonated with me personally, having been a teenager then also.
A criticism, which is no fault of the author's, are the issues with the spacing in the Kindle edition, which can be somewhat off putting to start with but you learn to live with it as the story progresses, as it's so good.
To me, the genre is not quite chick lit, I would describe it more as great storytelling about characters you can believe in and invest in. Definitely worth a read.
March 4, 2018
My Review: OMG, although this book is pretty big (628 pages) and in places it seemed to take “forever” to read, it was simply beautiful. I read it over a couple of days on holiday and sobbed into my sunbed. I experienced so many emotions during this book but above all it will stay with me for years to come. I recommend this book to everyone I know and it would definitely be in my top 10 reads of 2013.
July 21, 2013
Teenage angst, murder, sibling rivalry, terminal cancer ... the story line had real potential, but the execution was dreadful. There are some glimmers of capturing real emotion, but ultimately, all the characters showed little dimension, and in truth the book read like it was written by an adolescent. Not only does the writing need a lot of work, but it seemed clear that no editing was done at all. In fact, I was rather convinced at first that the proliferation of exclamation points was a literary device to illustrate character, based on the high GoodReads rating. Alas, it was not, nor were the poorly formed sentences or curious phrasing. It was incredibly difficult to get through, and I might have abandoned it entirely had I not been curious about the outcome. Unfortunately, while the characters did experience growth, it seemed to happen overnight, just before the book ended, and I felt terribly cheated out of their journey. It wasn't worth the time I invested.
June 12, 2016
Deeply touching
I'm so glad this book was recommended by the Facebook book group. I loved that it took you through every moment of the trios lives until literally the end, and those end words will stay with me for a long time, if not forever. Fab read
I'm so glad this book was recommended by the Facebook book group. I loved that it took you through every moment of the trios lives until literally the end, and those end words will stay with me for a long time, if not forever. Fab read
November 6, 2020
Brilliant read 😭
April 19, 2020
Brilliant
One of the best books I have e ever read. So poignant, funny, sad and heart wrenching. Very highly recommended
One of the best books I have e ever read. So poignant, funny, sad and heart wrenching. Very highly recommended
June 1, 2017
A love story that goes beyond a simple boy meets girl, which normally has me rolling my eyes. A real and honest story of love between husband and wife, between friends and between family. And the best thing? It's not a short book!
February 27, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The constant change of character perspective makes the book a very good read and at times I couldn't put it down as I was desperate to know what happened next. The book, apart from being funny and exciting, does have a more serious side to it; cancer and its effects on the lives of the sufferer and their family. This element of the story made the book even more touching and likable as, behind the slightly far fetched story lines of the various characters and the funny parts there is a serious side to the novel which is very much part of many families reality. It is this aspect of the novel (along with the subtle details and information about British culture throughout the different decades) which truly allows the reader to be able to relate - and for many people also on a personal level. This is by no means a joyous novel with a fairy tale ending but it is a great read. Finally I feel that the novel is not dissimilar to 'Me Before You' by Jojo Moyes so if that book caught your attention with its heartbreaking but very touching story line, this one may just do the same.
June 22, 2016
I really enjoyed this book but I think I might have loved it if it had been a third shorter. It was nice to take a trip down memory lane and I could relate to all the 70s and 80s storylines but ultimately it just took too long to reach the conclusion, particularly knowing from the first chapter where we were headed. The details say it was re-formatted in June 2015 but it is riddled with typos and formatting issues which were the reason I didn't finish it at my first attempt to read it. I read it this time after a strong recommendation from a friend and I'm glad I did. I liked the author's style so I may read his other books.
dnf
March 12, 2012Big potential with story, but started so sad- so I am going to halt 1/2 way through. (Although I did cheat and read the last chapter and it is a big time sobber) The story is based in England and I really struggled with all the inside jokes and slang. Every chapter was from different characters point of view, therefore it jumped around a lot on the timeline.
I think if I read this when I was in a different mood I might have been able to finish, but it was sort of depressing knowing the ending in the first chapter.
It has received very good reviews on Amazon.
I think if I read this when I was in a different mood I might have been able to finish, but it was sort of depressing knowing the ending in the first chapter.
It has received very good reviews on Amazon.
June 2, 2013
A brilliantly written story. The author’s frequent use of analogies were both clever and helpful in bringing the reader closer to the subject he was conveying. I found it most comforting in the fact that like Calvin, I share a passion for sports, particularly English football, and popular music, in which he refers to both disciplines on several occasions. Also, I am of the romantic persuasion and this love story certainly tugs at the heartstrings. In British speak, it ticks all the right boxes!
April 30, 2014
When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue, but it been such a roller coaster of a ride. At times I laughed out loud at Richie, and Kelly's antics. Then there was Jemma and her story. What a mix, this was a sorry of Richie's illness, and a serious one at that.
Even though I am from down South, we still used some of these terms. This is more of an awareness book, but it is quite long.
At the end i cried you cannot read it in public.
I would recommend it to everybody. I have already downloaded the next book, can't wait to read it.
Even though I am from down South, we still used some of these terms. This is more of an awareness book, but it is quite long.
At the end i cried you cannot read it in public.
I would recommend it to everybody. I have already downloaded the next book, can't wait to read it.
February 1, 2013
Brilliant! Loved reading a book from my obscure home town of Ormskirk! Characters were warm and familiar, one of my fave reads of 2012. Dont read in public, this book does cause emotional distress!!!
February 24, 2013
Loved it.
Written from many different people's views this grabbed me straight away. I felt I knew all the characters, just brilliant
Written from many different people's views this grabbed me straight away. I felt I knew all the characters, just brilliant
June 3, 2013
Fantastic read..can't wait for his next book..!!
June 13, 2017
This is one of those stories that stays with you. If you enjoyed “Edward” and “Ove” then this may be your sort of story.The story of a group of youngsters mainly focussed around Richie his girlfriend Jemma and her sister Kelly. An emotional tale taking them from primary school through to married life. Characters that come to life through the pages with events that are traumatic for those involved and those around them. Some very wise words: “Its the weak that bully because they’re scared. Something scares them, something they don’t know how to cope with. They lack the intellect to adapt so they resort to physical force. The physically weak though, may not be weak minded and they start thinking about things- about how in the end they will triumph over physical force”. Wow, I am reeling from reading this. I knew how it was going to end and like all those good films it still made me cry but so worth it. A wonderful, brilliant book.
June 8, 2017
Quite a big read this one, but I absolutely loved every minute of it, a truly lovely read, the characters were great and easy to love and get to know, this is a big fat recommend to my usual ladies and of course my Auntie Lyn x
October 11, 2020
A really good read!
June 14, 2024
Richie has terminal cancer and his wife, Jemma, has arranged a party for him to see all his friends and family for one last time all together... We then go back to Richie and Jemma at school and the story builds from the beginning. It's a long book - 600+ pages - but I was gripped.
September 20, 2017
Cried buckets - really enjoyed this book, would recommend highly :)
February 3, 2018
What can I possibly say about this book? It had me feeling so many emotions. I would say it's one of my top ten favourite books to date. Thank You Calvin. XX
September 3, 2012
If you left school in the mid 80's, had children in the 90's and hit a few bumps along the way this book will speak to you. The book is written from the perspective of several different characters. Amazingly it works without being disjointed. You get to see several different peoples perspectives on the same thing. Although it is ultimately about someone who is terminally ill it manages to not be a depressing read. At times funny, other times tense and very heart warming. Not the sort of book I normally read but I enjoyed it. Contemporary and British to the core.
January 1, 2013
I received this book from a free offer on Amazon and it was the first book that I read on my new Kindle Fire HD.
This is not the usual type of book I would instantly read however the story line interested me and also the fact that it was based around an area where I was brought up.
Reading the book brought out all kinds of emotions in me from laughing to crying and to thinking about the future and remembering the poast. I would really recommend everyone to read this book, it is a real page turner and I hope that Calvin has more to write about
This is not the usual type of book I would instantly read however the story line interested me and also the fact that it was based around an area where I was brought up.
Reading the book brought out all kinds of emotions in me from laughing to crying and to thinking about the future and remembering the poast. I would really recommend everyone to read this book, it is a real page turner and I hope that Calvin has more to write about
February 26, 2020
What an incredibly moving and multi-layered book dealing with human frailty at its most raw; the book explores family, love, strength, loss and fear. It caught me in a way that I did not expect and held me completely in its power until the very last word.
June 20, 2013
Brilliant Book! Kept me engrossed the whole time reading it!
The fact I grew up in Aughton/Ormskirk helped alot as I was able to picture a lot of the places mentioned and relate to a lot of the things going on.
You really get the feeling you genuinely know the characters and you start feeling for them throughout their problems.
Recommend this to anyone it has an appeal to both men and women, with love triangles, football, gangs, gambling etc.
Looking forward to the next book!
The fact I grew up in Aughton/Ormskirk helped alot as I was able to picture a lot of the places mentioned and relate to a lot of the things going on.
You really get the feeling you genuinely know the characters and you start feeling for them throughout their problems.
Recommend this to anyone it has an appeal to both men and women, with love triangles, football, gangs, gambling etc.
Looking forward to the next book!
April 5, 2018
this is the second book ive read by this author I can't believe how fantastic he writes lt feels so.real I forget it's a story.
this is such a wonderful story starts at the end but then takes to the beginning of two wonderful life's of riches billingham who as cancer and gemma watkinson what an emotional roller coaster I could not put this down I will be diffently reading another one of his book when I've recovered from this one they are just so emotional
this is such a wonderful story starts at the end but then takes to the beginning of two wonderful life's of riches billingham who as cancer and gemma watkinson what an emotional roller coaster I could not put this down I will be diffently reading another one of his book when I've recovered from this one they are just so emotional
Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews