I'll Always Be With You

Lancaster Prep #4

by Monica Murphy

New York Times bestselling author Monica Murphy returns to Lancaster Prep…

Weston Fontaine is the hottest senior at Lancaster Prep.

And he knows it.

He’s gorgeous. Confident. Smart.

Too smart.

Everyone loves him. He could have any girl on campus, except for one.

Me.

I’m a Lancaster, meaning I’m basically untouchable—or so I thought. My family owns this God forsaken private school that I don’t want to attend. But according to my parents, I have to endure my senior year at Lancaster Prep before I can return to what I love the most: ballet.

West doesn’t make my time here easy. He’s arrogant. Crude. Insufferable. He torments me in the worst way, to the point that I can’t stand him. Yet he’s the only boy I’ve ever let touch me…

You see, West and I? We share a secret. On a hot summer night in Paris, we hooked up. And I never do that. Ever. I revealed parts of myself to him I’ve never shown anyone else. He’s seen me at my most vulnerable. I told him my secrets. And he told me his. In Paris, he was sexy. Protective. Even, dare I say…sweet.

Now he’s the villain in my story, yet I can’t help but chase after that feeling only West can give me. Despite our hatred for each other, we somehow burn brighter when we’re together. So what happens when you helplessly fall for the one person you know is bad for you?

If you’re like me, you go ahead and fall for him anyway.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark Romance, Second Chance, High School, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2023

About the author

New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author. A believer in kissing. A believer of love.

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Reviews

[annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My little dancer. I would follow you to the ends of the earth to keep you in my life.”

I can't even express how much I loved this book. I never thought I would read anything from Monica after Whit's story, but here I am! I absolutely adored this book, and it had all the things I wanted in a book. I had a great time reading it, and I'm still amazed at how vividly I pictured every scene and how well the characters were portrayed in my mind. It's quite rare for a book to do that. Although it was a bit long, and some sentences in the character's pov were repetitive, I'm willing to overlook that because of how much I love it. 💕

Carolina Lancaster:
In my opinion, she is the best Lancaster sibling. I absolutely adored her character, God. It was incredibly refreshing to read about a strong and grumpy female main character who had the hero constantly chasing after her. 🤭 I live for her attitude. She was sassy, smart, and a genius. I loved how she never took any nonsense from anyone and always stood her ground. She was a badass. She is a ballet dancer and lived the last 6 years of her life in London. Her character had a lot of depth, and it was heartbreaking to see her constantly plagued by insecurities and being used by others because of her family name. She was secretive, mistrustful of others, and carried her own insecurities and secrets. 🙂

Weston Fontaine:
I can confidently say that he's my favorite Monica MMC. 🫠 He was absolutely the best, I swear. He was the most gentle, sweet, and attentive character. I loved how he relentlessly pursued Carolina no matter what. Man, he was super hot! 🥵. I couldn't get enough of him. Just like Carolina, he had his own deep secrets and made plenty of mistakes that frustrated me, but everyone has flaws, right? He wasn't a jerk, though. He would apologize and acknowledge when he was wrong, accepting responsibility for his actions. In the beginning, he had a different mindset. He desired power at Lancaster Prep and often talked about how hard he worked to establish his dominance because that's what Lancasters did - they craved power. However, his character growth was truly the best. Witnessing his transformation from a carefree teenager to a mature person with responsibilities was one of the highlights of the story. 🥺

"You’re rude.”
“You’re fucking beautiful."

They first met at a club in Paris when West approached Carolina, but she was incredibly rude to him. However, they spent a perfect night in Paris, and it was evident that the chemistry was strong. You can tell that saying goodbye to each other was extremely difficult for them because they finally felt free and had a genuinely enjoyable time after such a long period.

“She sounds like a princess”

And West was completely smitten by her. His pov was filled with praises for her! 🥺💕

“Maybe what happened between us meant nothing to her. If that’s the case… She can go to hell”

Carolina had to spend her final year of school at Lancaster Prep, away from her dance academy. She was incredibly pissed about this, but to her surprise, she saw West on her first day. He told her that he had already graduated, which only fueled her anger towards him, causing her to ignore him and paid him no attention. Lmao, he still chased her though! 😂 This time, they both hated each other as he believed she had already forgotten the time they had spent together. Although I must mention that the enemies-to-lovers aspect was not prominent, and there was no bullying involved. 🤷🏻‍♀️

“I wanted to check up on you. Make sure you’re okay."

I just want to say that I loved their relationship. They both had their imperfections, but they were perfect for each other. West was incredibly gentle and attentive. He understood that Carolina disliked physical contact, and he showed great patience towards her. He always respected her boundaries (except for the chasing part, haha). I adored their connection. The scenes of jealousy in this book were both amusing and steamy. It was entertaining to see how they used others to incite jealousy in each other. 💀🥹

“If I’ve been on your mind even half the amount of time that you’ve been on mine, then I’d call you…Obsessed.”

Did I already mention that he was obsessed? 😩 He was completely infatuated with her. He would have done anything for her and loved her deeply. The groveling was super good, and I absolutely adored that. It was nice to see them talk things out maturely, with West taking responsibility for his mistakes and making amends.
Seeing how they both overcame their insecurities and burdens, and the character development was really well done. Carolina's transformation from being reserved to coming out of her shell was portrayed slowly and excellently. Nothing felt rushed, and I cherished every single aspect of it. 🥺💗

Final thoughts: It's my favourite in this whole series. YES MORE THAN CREW AND WREN. (oh, they were mentioned in this one). I still don't really know what to say about Sylvie because I skipped her book. I was intrigued by her character but no one seemed to like her book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Whit was tolerable in this book and I CAN'T BELIEVE WESTON WANTED TO BE RUTHLESS LIKE WHIT. nah why tf? YOU'RE THE BEST JUST THE WAY YOU ARE. 🥺
Also the tattoo scene was super cute. I was so giddy when Carolina discovered that the drawing she had made of her costume on Weston's wrist when they first met was PERMANENTLY TATTOOED. 🫦 (I'm still counting on Monica to give us that scene! )

WHAT I DISLIKED:

* I extremely loathed Sylvia. The worst mother award goes to her! 👺
* Mercedes! 🤬 Nah wtf is this name even and why did she get a normal ending? She was absolutely a piece of shit.
* I thought I'd get Sadie & Carolina's reunion but nah, there was none. I also know that she and Brent are not gonna get their own book (like I predicted), because Arch Lancaster is probably gonna have the last book! 🫣
* A lil ow-scenes. Nothing serious though! 👻

FAVOURITE LINES: ✨

What are you doing?”
“Tasting you. I want to taste every inch of you."

“You had her on your lap at lunch.”
“And I had my fingers inside you right after. She’s not the one I want.”

“I want to keep this.” “It’s yours.”
“Do you give up your possessions this easily all the time?” “Never.”
“Are you saying I’m special?” “Yes.”

“I like to watch.”
“Watch what?”
“You. Everything you do fascinates me.”

“I’ll give this girl anything she wants.
All she has to do is ask.”

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus}]

Me seeing pink pointe shoes on the cover and clicking 'want to read' without having read the rest of series.

I'm in the mood to read books with ballerina fmc's.
Also, wanted to read this book for TOO LONG!

[Kursed Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever the good girl, Carolina Lancaster indulges in a night of revelry. Her night collides with Weston Fontaine’s, who’s on a European vacation before senior year. Agreeing to keep it as just one night, she’s taken aback when he waltzes into her American History class at Lancaster Prep.

The way he wore her down with his sweet persistence and her interest disguised as aloofness. Their unspoken commitment and loyalty despite the distance. While, at times heartbreaking, West and Carolina’s romance is what dreams are made of!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Burn: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Darkness: 🤍
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Range of Emotions: 🥵🫣😡😊😍
Ending: 💗 {HEA}
POV: 👫🏻 {Dual}

🗂 Genre: Contemporary Romance

✨ Tropes: Academy, Bully, Coming of Age, One Night Stand, Rich AF, Second Chance, Virgin h

💋 Kinks: Finger Licking Good

⚠️ Warning: This steamy read will leave your panties wet and reaching for BOB.

🚩 Safety Squad: OW Drama (Mild)

📣 Type: l'Il Always Be With You is part of the Lancaster Prep series, but can be read as a standalone. While no other books need to be read in order to follow the story, reading prior books will enhance the experience.

🛑 Be Advised: My Goodreads shelves are … explicit in both senses. As such, they could be considered spoiler-y.

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS

I’ll make your life a living hell, if that’s what you want.”
“You already have,” she whispers.
“Right back at you, babe.”

I was unreasonably obsessed with Things I Wanted to Say, But Never Did. Like OBSESSED. And I was desperate for another couple that would give me similar vibes of Whit and Summer, so figures that his younger sister would check the box. I was yearning for angst and hate lust and this book delivered on every single thing.

I can’t get you out of my head, and it fucks with everything I try to do. Every decision I make. You fucking haunt my thoughts, Carolina.”

This is an enemies to lovers turned second chance romance and man did I devour this book. I mean, I DEVOURED this book. It gave me all the feels from rage to swooning and I couldn't get enough of it.

If there's one piece of advice I can give you is don't read it as a standalone. Could you? Yes. Should you? It just won't be the same unless you at least read Promises We Meant to Keep first. Just trust me on this one. You'll thank me.

Carolina is the youngest of the Lancaster brood. She's also lightyears different from her brother and sister. She's standoffish and almost cold at first glimpse. But beneath the hard exterior is a girl that never felt comfortable around people or emotion. Her psychic mother may have a bit to do with that. All Carolina wants is a career in ballet. Everything she's done has brought her to this pivotal moment. Meeting a boy who takes her breath away wasn't on the agenda. Neither was spending one unforgettable night with him and her parents forcing her back to Lancaster prep and out of her beloved ballet school for the school year. The very last thing that she expects is for the mystery boy to be the new ruler of Lancaster prep and to hate everything about her.

Now West wasn't quite the bully that Whit was but he was definitely up there. But beneath every mean barb and sharp look is an insecurity and deep rooted lust for the girl who acts like she doesn't remember him or care about him in the very least. I loved the push and pull between these two. I loved that Carolina gave as good as she got. And I loved the way that West was absolutely powerless against her. My only quibble is how long they were separated before reuniting, but I also understand. And that reunion and the way West worked for her melted my cold black heart.

You scare me.” I open my eyes, wishing he knew just how badly he does. “I don’t know if you deserve me.” “I don’t.” He dips his head, his mouth brushing against mine when he speaks. “But I’m going to work hard to prove to you that I do.”

I loved everything about this book. The emotion, the angst, the romance, the steam, and especially West and Carolina. Easily one of my favorite books in the series and I cannot recommend it enough.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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[kina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Miss monica writes characters that you love to hate and i'm here for it 👏🏻

Hated west in part one. (Keyword: past tense)

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very entertaining until the H decides to disappear for 2 years. This is the day after he takes the h virginity by the way.
Anyway, he left to be with his Dad because he was dying of cancer.
Ok, grieving and feeling overwhelmed. I can accept that. He had a lot on his plate.
So tell me why when he sees the h again (2 years later), he’s dating another chick? Mind you, he says he couldn’t stop thinking of the h. What a bunch of bs.

This is when the story went downhill for me. I could accept he had to leave with no goodbye, text, or smoke signal. But, for him to be dating someone else and him saying that he hasn’t stopped thinking of the h during the 2 years apart?
You’ve got to be kidding me.

The icing on the cake? The h takes him back so easily. Like it literally takes a few flowers and a dinner. 🙄 “cause you know his touch is the only one she can stand”
Then be alone! I was so pissed because I thought it was going to be a 4 star instead of this crappy Hero and a dumbass h.

Anyway, I’m probably one of the very few that found the H to be a selfish brat. But he was SO not my kind of Hero.

[NMmomof4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Opinion Breakdown
The Good: The premise, the very beginning, and the steam.

The Not-So-Good: The end. The connection to the characters.

The Bad: The attempt of having the H be a bully type character when they meet again at school. Also the mushiness and mom drama towards the end.

Overall: The first part of this book? I mostly enjoyed it. While I did find the author's attempt at making the H a bully type character confusing and a little cringey at times, I did enjoy the silly high school peer and relationship drama. The rest of the book is where I really struggled. They are separated and then reunited again and this is where it took a sharp turn downhill for me. The fact that it was a 2 year separation was pretty ridiculous when we get the reasoning for it. Then it was super mushy and even repetitive in the inner thoughts. Then the crazy h's mom drama was frankly weird and it felt disconnected from the rest of the story. I guess if I was asked for one word to describe how I felt at the end of reading this, it would be confused 😵‍💫

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Carolina and West's story. They meet in Paris the summer before their senior year and connect instantly. Then when Carolina is forced back to the states to attend school, they meet again but they butt heads instantly. There are some typical high school drama, some big life events, and some sexy times...and they get a HFN ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between and POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Alright. This is split up into two parts. The flow of the first part was so much better for me than the second where I was bored and struggling to finish.

Instalove: Kind of IMO, but they don't identify it as love at the time. Not nearly enough feeling development for me tbh.

H (Hero) rating: 3 stars. West. I liked him at some parts, but I still struggled with him at times.

h (heroine) rating: 3 stars. Carolina. I liked her smarts and self confidence, but I also felt like she behaved in confusing ways and I didn't really connect with her.

Sadness level: Low, no tissues needed

Push/Pull: Yes they both push away (h more so) and I'd say the main pursuer of the relationship is the H

Heat level: Hot. They have some hot tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: Yes both mcs use other people to make each other jealous (H more so)

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: Yes They are separated for ~2 years, and both claim to have no other partners during this time.

Possible Triggers: Yes Loss of a parent (on page), child abuse (off page with sibling), borderline eating disorder (h on page), and the h was a virgin (on page)

Closure: This ends in an alright place and with what I would call a HFN ending they are engaged but I felt it was focused more on side characters (I'm guessing from the previous and future books of the series) and not so much on these two.

Safety: This one should be Safe for most safety gang readers

- Does Not have cheating
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
- Does have both the h and H pushing away
- Does have a separation between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse by mcs
- Does Not have a HEA ending

[nina ★ ⸝⸝ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝑴𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” 🩰

i'll always be with you is pure perfection. i love the world monica has created for the two of them. it couldn't be written any better.

carolina is a character i could identify with very quickly. she is the youngest of the lancaster siblings and constantly plagued by fears and insecurities..until she met him. weston fontaine.

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”

— 4.75 stars ✰

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a real shame how much I did not enjoy this book, especially since I LOVEEEE 💕AMKIYL 💕 and was looking so forward to this...

(EDIT:
Was I on crack when I read this? Is there something wrong with me? Why am I the only person to not like this book?)

Let's start, shall we?✍️✍️✍️

1) There was a major lack of chemistry between...(what even were their names?) Ahh... West and Carolina. I hardly felt any tension or even love between them, and did not like them as a couple. I know it's bad when I'm around 3/4 way through the book, and honestly couldn't have given two hoots if they ended up together.

2)West gave off major beta male vibes... Just fucking GO after the woman if you want her! Stop pussying around!!

3) I'm sorry....but - he danced around the girl he supposedly liked, then completely ghosted her for two whole years because he was so ~busy~ taking over a company...

WHAT?!?!?!

Since when has a real Hero ever given up the woman he likes for a job he hates?

I want the hero to feel devastated that he hurt his woman, I want him to GROVEL and try his best to make up for hurting her! But his lack of communication was conveniently brushed under the rug, and she took him back almost instantly. Ugh.

2 years!!!!

Thay really killed any potential affection I had towards West. Especially since my Crew (from amkiyl) would have NEVER done that.
He would have gone to the end of the earth to keep his girl by his side.

Numero 4) Who the fuck was Madeline? It's never properly cleared up. (If that even was her name🙃)

Supposedly, West didn't have time to speak to Carolina, but conveniently, had time to speak with this lovely lady...but of course~nothing happened~😡😡

Overall, West was a puny-ass, beta-male, weak little motherfucker, who was too scared to go after the girl he so called "really likes".

And Carolina started out as such a strong, kick-ass character, yet she really fell apart a couple of chapters in, and was so boring she almost put me to sleep.

Side note:
(-She also never made 1 proper friend throughout the whole story. There was one sort of friend, but that relationship is never fully developed, and isn't mentioned often. When I want to read a book- I want to see character growth and development, but I saw none of that here. I want to see a few lovable characters sprinkled in here and there, but again, that did not happen.)


Offff. Anyways, I'm knackered. This book really took all the energy out of me.

[Vee · Rating 1 out of 5]

‘I f**ked up’. I think this is said about 50 times from the MMC. I don’t think I’ve ever hated a imaginary man this much.

⚠️This review is just one massive SPOILER. You have been warned ⚠️

So these two characters met in Paris and hooked up, before going their separate ways. However, some other plot twists occur and she is suddenly starting at his school. Firstly, he starts being mean to her because she doesn’t acknowledge him, as soon as she sees him. Maybe because he lied about who he was and told his friends they hooked up. Then he goes out with her, before essentially breaking up with her. He was laying it on her pretty thick.

Then he gets her back and suddenly discovers that someone has filmed them in a compromising position. You would obviously tell her about this video, but no he doesn’t do that that. He not only doesn’t tell her who filmed it (which he also found out), he has sex with her and tells her in the morning WHEN IT HAS JUST BEEN RELEASED. He uses the drunk excuse, which is poor and then after all this says that ‘they don’t really know each other that well’.

My hatred for this man was all consuming at this point, but somehow it gets worse.

Then he begs her for a second chance, leaves school and never returns. Yes his father was ill, but he knew he wasn’t coming back and lead her on further. Knowing full well that she would have to deal with the sex tape drama alone. She is then pretty much forced to move schools. He could have sent a text for f*ck sake.

I’m currently 70% in, he hasn’t seen her in 2 year and shows up at her brother wedding with a DATE. He then proceeds to laugh at everything she says like she is over reacting. 2 YEARS. Now he’s in London and alluded to the fact he has a girlfriend, when he doesn’t. What would a rational woman do in this situation. She goes out to dinner with him. She is acting like a doormat.

I don’t think I have ever hated a MMC more tbh. This man is a walking red flag 🚩🚩🚩 He was only 18 when he left, but I don’t think that can excuse him being a total dick.

On a better note, ‘A million kisses’ by this author is a great book and you should definitely read it. ( It’s honestly shocking this is written by the same author)

I don’t know if it necessary needs to be said, but I didn’t finish the book 🙈😂

[crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfection. absolute perfection. monica knows what’s she’s doing with this lancaster prep series! it’s like they get better and better.

i absolutely adore this world and these characters. carolina is so different from her siblings and you just relate to her so much. and west oh my gosh.. CREW 2.0 CREW 2.0 WEST IS SUCH A SIMP I LOVE HIM. these two were so sweet, i love this book so much.

[Kakala 🍉🍉 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish there was a zero star option

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. For two reasons:

1. I thought the Lancaster Prep series was over after the third book, Promises We Meant To Keep. But I was so excited when Monica announced this book & to find out we’re getting one more!
2. I wasn’t overly impressed with Promises We Meant To Keep. I struggled to finish that book. While it was good, it just wasn’t for me. I did love the first two books though.

With all that being said, I really LOVED this book. I was hooked from the very first chapter. I felt the connection between West & Carolina immediately & I feel like that’s rare. Normally you have to build up to that but it was there from the first night they met. I was actually tearing up reading the scene where they have to say goodbye to each other that first night.

We first met Carolina in the previous books, she is the youngest Lancaster sibling. She has been overseas attending the London Dance Academy for the last few years when one summer night in Paris she meets West. West Fontaine attends Lancaster Prep — the school owned by Carolina’s family — back in New York.

When West first sees Carolina dancing in a night club in Paris, he is immediately drawn to her. Despite her being incredibly rude to him, he chased her all night. They ended up spending that night together roaming Paris. Knowing they had this undeniable connection they couldn’t explain, saying goodbye that night was incredibly hard for both of them.

Expecting to never see her again, West is blindsided when Carolina shows up at Lancaster Prep for their senior year after getting into trouble with her parents for her actions overseas. Carolina was under the impression West had already graduated, needless to say she was shocked as well to see him again. But seeing each other again doesn’t quite go as expected…

I liked that this book was a little less “bully-ish” than the others. The way West cared for Carolina was so so sweet. Even though I think West really grew as a person during their time apart, I do wish Carolina would have made him grovel a little more towards the end but I loved their story regardless. I think this one just might be my favorite of the series. I already can’t wait to read the next book when it comes out.

Tropes:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Prep School
- Opposites Attract
- Old Money
- Bad Boy/Good Girl
- He Falls First
- Boy Obsessed
- Virgin FMC
- Second Chance

5/5⭐️
2/5🌶️

[Steph ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Tandem for gifting me with a copy of this book and hosting the readalong.

I started out with this book thinking it was a little juvenile and wasn't particularly enjoying myself, however, once we got to Lancaster Prep and the games began with West and Carolina, it really picked up. I think Monica has been really clever with this book, the way we go from insta-love to enemies to lovers and then to a second chance romance all in one book is amazing and something I haven't seen done before. I don't usually enjoy second chance romances as much as other tropes but this one was done really well.

West and Carolina's character arcs were the thing I was looking most forward to, and they did not disappoint. This book spans over several years and I really enjoyed that factor, it really worked with this story. I'm looking forward to picking up the rest in the series.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous YA/NA romance from M Murphy!!

They are SO dreamy....ugh, West!!! I LOVE him, and Carolina's character development is PERFECTION!!! Their story will take you from the streets of Paris to Lancaster Prep to the ballet theatre in London, and back to Manhattan. I loved every second of it.

If you loved A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime by this author, then you'll love this book!

* PROOFREAD *

[mimi brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

is this what happens when you give mediocre authors fame? like they become more mediocre? i hated million kisses in your lifetime. i mildly tolerated the first book which is too long and irrelevant for me to remember. this one was just simply mediocre, and without a strong romance to fall back on, i don't know how and why the readers will read this book

[davina · Rating 1 out of 5]

the lancasters suck (minus wrencrew) they are not a likable family like AT ALL 😭😭😭 like wdym you think your mom is abusive to Sylvie and then do nothing??? i just read Sylvie's book earlier today and i didn't enjoy it either but I'm glad she ended up with someone who did the deed at the end of her book bc her actual family could not give two flying fucks.

the first half of this book when they were at school was good and then went downhill after their conflict. like what was the point of the two years you could've just ended it when they were at school no progress at all just vibes.

[Flor ❁ (HIATUS) · Rating 2 out of 5]

another second chance romance where the angst element is LOST

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m just obsessed with this world 😫

[Melluvsbooks]

DNF @ 2% - the h is insufferable - she’s pretentious and bitchy and SMOKES. Gross. Her attitude about people looking at her bare tits that she is displaying for the world at a night club is just 🙄🙄

Not my jam.

[Beckee❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my fave Lancaster Prep novel, after barely hearing a squeak from Carolina the whole way through we finally get her story!

[Joana (joanasbookshelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

my goodness. this book this book this book! 💗🩰 I have no words, I loved this one so much.
I think I might have a new fav in the Lancaster Prep series (please don’t tell this to Crew and Wren).

I’m so in love with West and Carolina, I just can’t wait for everyone to meet them. their story and their relationship are perfect. their connection and chemistry are off the charts. I loved that we could see them grow. I love how they each other so well. this was just an amazing story.

the spice in this one is incredible. West is everything 😮‍💨 but the romance and their small moments were truly the best part of their story.

I can’t stop thinking about this one. I’m obsessed.

Thank you Valentine PR and Monica Murphy for the ARC for this book.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my god! I have been waiting for this one!!

I’ll Always Be With You is the fourth book in the Lancaster Prep series, and it follows West and Carolina’s story.

It’s a Second Chance, Opposites Attract, Prep School Romance.

I seriously couldn’t get enough of Carolina and West, I fell in love with them from the first chapter!

I’m convinced that I’ll never get bored of the Lancaster universe, I just love the whole old money, prep school aesthetic!

I also loved seeing so many of my favourite characters back again! And that ending was everything I could’ve wanted!!

Thank you so much to Monica Murphy and Valentine PR for providing me with an ARC of I’ll Always Be With You, I had such a fabulous time reading!

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

✨Prep School
✨Enemies to Lovers
✨Good Girl & Bad Boy
✨He Fell First / Boy Obsessed

•Dual POV
•Stand-alone, but part of Lancaster Prep series

“Je serais toujours avec toi” - The representation of this in the book was EVERYTHING. 💖🥹

Carolina & West meet in Paris one night and they have this instant connection with one another. West knows who she is and is enthralled by her. Carolina doesn’t open up to people and doesn’t let anyone touch her, but yet, she doesn’t feel that way about West.

After that night one summer in Paris, they are reunited back at Lancaster Prep. West continues to push all of Carolina’s buttons, but secretly Carolina enjoys it. They have this connection with one another and this pull towards each other that can’t be denied. They try to take things slow between them, as they are both new to relationships.

Unfortunate things happen and time passes them without seeing each other until one day they run into each other. West knows he made a mistake and wants Carolina back. & let me tell you that man GROVELS for her. It is so cute to see!

I loved the relationship between Carolina & West. They brought out the best in one another. Carolina always kept her feelings hidden, but West made her feel safe and loved. And the tattoos! 😍 After reading one of the earlier scenes, I had a feeling what was going to happen with that and I was so happy to find I was right. But then add in Carolina’s tattoo and I was DONE! ❤️

Favorite Quotes:
C: “I never thought I did. No one makes me feel as if I’m worthy of anything like you do, West.”
W: “I want to give you the world. Whatever you want, whatever you need, I want to take care of you. Be with you. Will you let me?”

[Mads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before reading this review, bear in mind that I bought this book solely because it had pointe shoes on the cover.

The negatives. I found Carolina’s character to be incredibly annoying. At rare occasions ALMOST relatable. It felt as though her entire character was that she was cold and closed off. She was also very self centred which got irritating. After hearing for the 100th time that she has “got this” and that’s she’s so awesome because she’s a Lancaster, I kind of wanted to smack her. Like we don’t care about ur surname babe. ALSO, half the time she would be complaining about not being able to do ballet because she’s not at her school anymore AS IF THEY LITERALLY DIDN’T BUILD A WHOLE DANCE STUDIO ON CAMPUS FOR HER. She needs to be humbled.

I also found West to be a bit annoying yet I found that I could sympathise with him more because he was often left running after Carolina because she was giving him such mixed signals for most of the book.

Their relationship. I don’t think reading anything has infuriated me more. Also I’m pretty sure that whenever the plot line was going nowhere the author decided to just slot loads of smut into it.

The positive. I thought that the book was quite well paced and written in a way that was easy to read. That meant that the book was quite quick to finish.

I can understand how this book would be some peoples thing, just not my kind of read :)

[Travelogged Blogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You’re rude,” she barely whispers, her voice hardly making any sound. “You’re fucking beautiful,”

I loved this book so much! It was so cute. West was an asshole at first but I loved how he fell for Carolina and then became a softie. Carolina was cold, brusqe and closed off but the vulnerability in her POV made her so endearing to me. Both Carolina & West kept their secrets but when they eventually learned to trust each other, the build up of their relationship became so very lovely and the significance of the title made sense. Overall, this was a wholesome book with some mild amount of drama, the plot wasn't that grand but I enjoyed reading about this couple.

Thank you to Valentine PR and Monica Murphy for providing me the ARC in exchange of an honest review

[C.K.]

I'll have to get some safety info before deciding to read this. The synopsis sounded intriguing. I used to take ballet so I like a story about a ballerina. The synopsis made me think a little of Grease where Danny and Sandy had a sweet summer romance. Then, she came to his school and he was a jerk to her.

In the synopsis it says the H was the only boy she let touch her. Was she a virgin when they got together? Was she sexually abused before that? Were they with other people after their time in Paris together? I like both people to be celibate while apart. Second chance romances are iffy for me. I hope H didn't start whoring after his time with her in Paris.

[ABookishBae - Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book more than I originally thought I would.

West and Carolina meet in Paris, both from rich as hell families, who share a beautiful night together.. with the assumption they’ll never meet again.

Fast forward to senior year at Lancaster prep.. their story really begins to unfold.

It was a very cute, heart warming read, and there was enough spice in the book to keep me hooked.

[Kenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love West 😌

[Hannah Kirk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just don’t understand how every book in the series is the exact same characters and romance. Like nothings different……