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Jordan and Hope have been best friends their entire lives. A three year age gap never mattered to them – they always remained inseparable. Jordan spent his whole life protecting the little girl who called his father Uncle Derek, and Hope spent her whole life adoring the boy with the green eyes.
From slumber parties to camping holidays the pair have always been together, enjoying each other's company, guiding one another.
But then, at thirteen, Jordan's mother moved him back to his hometown of Addyson, his whole life, his future, was transformed. Taken away from his father, his hope, Jordan spent the next few years completely closed off.
When the time comes for Jordan to finally return to Thirteenth Street, Hope discovers something is very wrong...

Author's Note: Always is the second book in the Carter Kids series. It is a novella with a cliffhanger and sets up the premise to Hope and Jordan's story, Inevitable.

Due to its explicit content, scenes of abuse, violence, and moderate bad language, Always is recommended for mature readers.

Series in order:
Treacherous
Always
Thorn
Tame
Torment
Inevitable
Altered

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

144 people are currently reading
2490 people want to read

About the author

Chloe Walsh

62 books31.9k followers
Chloe Walsh is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of The Boys of Tommen series, which exploded in popularity on TikTok, Goodreads, and Amazon. She has been writing and publishing New Adult and Adult contemporary romance for mature audiences for over a decade. Her Tommen series has been translated into multiple languages around the world, finding bestselling success in several countries. Chloe focuses heavily on the mental health dynamics of her characters, shining a light on important, real-life topics that are close to her heart. Heavily influenced by her own real life experiences, she pens tearjerking, and often harrowing narratives, giving another perspective to, often, unspoken everyday issues. Chloe hails from West Cork, Ireland, where she continues to reside with her family.

Represented by Caitlin Mahony of WME - for business queries contact: cma@wmeagency.com

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5 stars
891 (42%)
4 stars
654 (31%)
3 stars
413 (19%)
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98 (4%)
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42 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
Profile Image for ❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books.
2,634 reviews10.9k followers
September 3, 2019
ALWAYS

ALWAYS: is a New Adult Romance novella in (Carter Kids #1.5) series by author 'Chloe Walsh.' Spoken in 'Dual POV's' and is divided into 'Two Parts.' This is a glimpse into Hope & Jordan's story.

I cRaZy LoVeD tHe FiRsT bOok in this series and couldn't wait to jump into this novella..

This was short and sweet and I'm not really sure if it was really needed, though it did give us a wee bit of insight into their undeniable friendship, which started back when they were toddlers, but things slowly started to change when his mother remarried, but he always promised Hope that he would ALWAYS come back for her, which he kept each holidays. We also had a glimpse into his toxic home life, and her FINALLY giving herself to him.

I fed off Hope Carter's positivity, and I lived her for smiles. Being with Hope took the pain away; numbed the voices in my head; made me feel like I had a life worth living because I had her.
- Jordan 18

To him being a douche bag and ending everything they had..Which aided in Hope running away with her tail between her legs licking her wounds with her new bestie Teagan..

I was surprised to learn in this that these two had actually tied the knot? So I'm hoping as this series progresses that, that situation becomes a lot clearer? Because there was Noooo mention of that anywhere!!

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Profile Image for Steffi De Ceuster  ♥.
1,393 reviews123 followers
February 16, 2017
Okay so I'm giving this review a new shot because I've calmed down and am more reasonable.

This was a great short story about the past and present from Hope and Jordan.. I really liked Jordan, now I absolutly hate em.. So Walsh is going to need to do a hell of a story to love/like him again.. Because now it isn't possible, I'm too effin mad to write a good review! Keep your thumbs up to support my mental health, because this could make me lose my mind..

For the ones who want to know why I'm so mad here is the spoiler, but be aware it will ruin your reading if you want to read it. Or if you don't mind a spoiler. I'm sorry for my rambling, but I needed to get that of my chest.

On the brighter side it means Chloe Walsh is a fantastic writer. Because otherwise I wouldn't be so damn mad about the whole situation.
Profile Image for Manda King.
65 reviews2 followers
June 26, 2015
I don't get it..? This book was supposed to be a prequel to Hope and Jordan's book. She said that this novella was to explain why Hope left The Hill and what happened between them so we knew what happened before the time jump. Except this book explained nothing. This book did absolutely nothing give you more questions as we got absolutely no information other than things we already knew. It's like she wrote this novella, then decided to cut out all the important parts so it made no sense. And based on the assholeness of the hero, I'm not even sure I want to read their book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ☆ Cosmic's Library ☆.
207 reviews5 followers
July 25, 2025
"Hope Carter, I've been yours since I could comprehend what you were or how significant you would be to my life."

I've been waiting for their story since reading the Broken Series. Im so ready for more! 😍
Profile Image for ౨ৎ els.
245 reviews5 followers
January 2, 2025
[3.25⭐️]
for such a short novella this was a very good book. i feel like i can’t rate it any higher for the sole purpose of it literally being under 100 pages. i really liked jordan at the start but then everything just suddenly changed…i need answers. now!! also how the hell is chloe going to end the book like that. i’m excited nonetheless to see how their relationship unfolds. and also how noah and teagan are going to progress as a couple.
January 3, 2025
Reading this novella I realised the reason a lot of people are not a fan of the Carter kids series is the fact they haven't read the broken series, I 100% think you have to read that series first there were a lot of references that you could have missed in the first book, such as cam's murder and Kyle's farther being a dick. But with this book it would make no sence without the added context that Hope and Jordan grew up together and the context that we have from that series
Profile Image for the.bookish.kingdom.
521 reviews19 followers
November 9, 2024
I read this one after the 4th book in the series and I think it makes more sense this way… but it doesn’t add something new to what we already know. It’s supposed to be Hope and Jordan’s story but I still can’t stand him she doesn’t deserve something selfish and egotistic and I really hope she would end up with Lucky❤️‍🩹😭
Profile Image for Teelah.
327 reviews6 followers
March 14, 2021
Yep, this one was good. A great addition to the first one, and it whetted my appetite for the next book about Hope and Jordan.
106 reviews
June 28, 2023
Im intrigued. Wow all of Chloe’s books are so emotionally charged and angsty
Profile Image for Saskia 'follow my shoes' Smith.
1,121 reviews
July 20, 2015
Cant stand it. From what i read I expected it to be a continue on from Noah and Teagan as their story is far from finished, and when I got this book it was based on their friends, Noah and Teagan got one mention in a whole single sentence? wtf. I am not one for spin offs, when people start ding this it gets me confused, finish one set of characters stories before staring another.
Profile Image for J's Booktock.
40 reviews1 follower
January 1, 2026
Chloe Walsh truly knows how to write—and exactly how to emotionally wreck her readers. This novella in the Carter Kids series may be short at just 97 pages, but it’s absolutely packed with gut-wrenching emotion that kept me hooked until the very end.
Hope and Jordan’s story unfolds in two parts: the past and the present. In their past, Jordan grows up in a difficult home with his mum and stepdad, while Hope is his constant—always there, always waiting. As time goes on, Jordan convinces himself that he’ll only hurt Hope and that she deserves better, leading him to break her heart.
Fast forward seven years, and Hope is traveling home for her parents’ anniversary party, hoping Jordan won’t be there. Unfortunately (or brilliantly, on Chloe Walsh’s part), he is. Not only that—he arrives with his fiancée, whom he plans to marry on Hope’s birthday. Yeah… that one hurt.
At this point, I can honestly say I don’t like Jordan very much and have little patience for him—but I’m trusting Chloe Walsh to work her magic and hopefully redeem him as their story continues.
I’m also really excited for the next book, Thorn, which follows Noah and Teagan’s story.
⭐ 3.5 stars — rated slightly lower only because it’s a short novella, but I thoroughly enjoyed every page. Thank you, Chloe, for the emotional damage. ❤️
Profile Image for Raj.
321 reviews52 followers
September 7, 2017
Escape into My Reads Book Blog

Hope and Jordan’s short story gutted my emotions for real! This story was packed with angst, heartache, sadness, darkness, young love and regrets. Hope and Jordan’s love felt so palpable my heart hurt for them, feelings so raw, damaged and heart aching it was hard for pain not to consume my emotions as I read this beautiful intro into Hope and Jordan’s love story.

Jordan and Hope have always been in each other’s lives and the love they share is gentle, patient, heart-warming, full of love, longing and belonging, but Jordan has secrets he holds back from Hope that inevitably break her heart, dreams of their future together squashed under the weight of Jordan’s dark past.

The author wrote this story with so much anguish and emotion flowing through it’s pages that it was hard to read, but it was also right up my street as an angst lover. I thought I could survive onto my next read but the cliff-hanger was even worse leaving me in a state of ‘oh hell I can’t breathe” I felt such a desperate need for Hope and Jordan’s full standalone book to already be available to read!
Always #1.5 makes a great addition to the Carter series, and I am now left counting down the days until Inevitable releases at the end of September.
Profile Image for LecturesdeJenn ☾.
356 reviews60 followers
May 22, 2025
“ 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝙸'𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚎𝚛.”

4✨

Oh, I knew it. I knew i was gonna love Hope & Jordan’s story.

Ever since book 1, I've loved the colorful, sunny, sweet, funny, loyal and fiercely protective character that is Hope. She’s so strong and vulnerable at the same time. She’s this little bubble of life that you can’t not love.

I love Jordan and his intriguing side, hiding secrets that can rip your heart to shreds. I love the way the author reveals only a few elements of his past, making us want to dive into his story and get to know the real Jordan. I already love him so much and his story makes me want to cry even though it was only a novella.

This novella was so beautiful, tortured and tormented. And I can't wait to read their entire story. It doesn't happen often, but I have a feeling I'm going to love the secondary couple more than the main one (even though I love Noah). This is the first time in 3 books that I've felt all the sweetness, brutality, tenderness, hope and love that I loved so much in Chloe's writing in her Boys of Tommen series.
Profile Image for LoveBooks .
262 reviews161 followers
December 23, 2023
📚"Always": A Brief Peek into Hope & Jordan's Story🌟
"I love you," I told him again. "Always."💖

Tropes:
✔ Friends to Lovers
✔ Romance
✔ Unexpected Marriage

📖💭My Thoughts:
This novella packs a punch in a short read, giving us a peek into their epic friendship-turned-romance. From childhood pals to something deeper, their journey's got all the feels. 😊❤️

But hold up, there's a surprise! *Drumroll* Yep, they're actually married! 🤯 But here's the thing: I need more deets on that bombshell! Hoping the series spills the tea on how that happened. 🍵💍

Despite the short length, "Always" sets the stage for what promises to be an emotional rollercoaster. Can't wait to see where their story goes next! Bring on the feels and the answers! 🌟💕🎢

My fav Quotes:
1) "So what do you need in your life?" "Hope." He smiled. "I need you."🤗
2) "Not until you're eighteen," "I won't touch you until then."👏
3) "All she did was fall in love with my husband."💔

Profile Image for sara.
68 reviews
February 2, 2024
My Hope. We're soulmates😊💗. My Hope Carter. Her and Jordan were so cute but I'll never ever forgive him for what he did to my Hope, for hurting her heart so much that she can't trust anyone with it. He turned my Hope, my sunshine Hope into someone hopeless and scared and broken. He did that to my Hope and watching her like that broke my heart, watching her become a stranger to the family she loves so much broke my heart💔💔. And when I found out that she was married to him for seven years and he just left her it....

Anyways, I love Hope and her brothers relationship. Even though she's older than them, they're still so protective of her. And Hope with Kyle is literal perfection. She's always calling Kyle over-protective and manipulative but she still loves him so much. I can't wait for Hope and Lucky's book. She deserves the best happily ever after. I just love her so much and I want, no I need her to be happy. She's my little boo💗💗💗
Profile Image for Calleigh.
457 reviews30 followers
March 4, 2024
jordan + hope
spice rating: 🌶️

⚠️check trigger warnings before reading⚠️

hope and jordan were childhood friends, but their friendship turned into more over the years. suddenly, jordan finds himself moving far away to live with his mom and her new husband. after years apart, jordan and hope reunited, but jordan isn't the same. this is the story of love lost and a prequel to hope and jordan's story in Inevitable (book 5 in series).

takeaways: childhood best friend, friends to lovers, age gap (3 years), rape, "Keychain", teenage marriage, girl obsessed, ducati, heartbreak, abandonment, parents' anniversary parent, reunited, second chance, fiancé, divorce papers

thank you chloe!
157 reviews
June 14, 2025
Finished this when I couldn’t sleep. Novella so very short and quick. A few thoughts:

- very similar to gibsie and Claire and their story. I felt like I was reading about them the entire time
- why did we not get an understanding of where the nickname keychain came from??? The point of this is backstory lol
- in treacherous, hope was 19, and in this book the plotting took place at 18. Just an inconsistency that bugged me throughout
- why couldn’t this be a full length book?? More details and understanding of this relationship. I didn’t feel invested in them the way I do Teagan and Noah, and it’s likely because there is no depth
- I was super busy wondering about T & N the entire time
- the marriage thing was confusing too

I like these characters and this series but this one felt like it left more questions than answers. Why not a full length book??
Profile Image for Cassidy.
682 reviews
April 9, 2023
okay so hope and jordan are childhood friends to lovers but of course in miss walsh fashion she throws a wrench into the love and now they haven’t seen each other in seven years, he has a fiancé AND hope and jordan got married before he left her. so ima just trust the process.

Quotes:

"I'm gonna catch you, Jordan Porter."
"And I'm going to let you, Hope Carter," he said with a smile.

I'd been born hers. Sometimes I wondered if I'd been put on this earth for her solely – because I sure as hell began and ended with her.

Profile Image for lavenderrare.
25 reviews1 follower
May 2, 2024
What do you mean that Hope and Jordan were married? Honestly, I kind of liked Jordan in the first book. I mean he was good. Then obviously, he broke Hope’s heart. I mean, I knew it was gonna be like some miscommunication or something like that. But firstly he left her and I was very much okay with that. I mean he had issues going on in his home. It’s fine. Now like after seven years, I guess, Hope again meets him at her mom’s birthday party. Now surprise surprise, Jordan is engaged to a girl named Annabelle. Now, this was a shocker, obviously. But then came the biggest shock of my life. Jordan and Hope were married. And then this guy has the fucking nerve to fix his marriage date with his new girlfriend on Hope’s birthday. I screamed. Like fuck him. I don’t think how Chloe could write a second chance romance for them. I mean he’s getting married to his girlfriend. It’s not just that Annabelle is his girlfriend. He’s getting married to her. He proposed to her. This is not a small thing. Oh my God, I hate him. I don’t think I could read his book. Hope told him please don’t marry, and I was begging her to not say it because no, she deserve so much better. She actually deserves so much better than the piece of shit, that guy is.
I literally cried for hope. And people that I cry for, I take them very seriously. Since I don’t usually cry while reading books.
Profile Image for Dani.
296 reviews12 followers
December 16, 2024
Finally something on Hope and Jordan. Although this is just a novella leading up to present day, I really enjoyed it. The bond between them is so special and it is so obvious how badly Jordan is struggling. Bless Hopes heart, she is kinda dumb like her mom but she has such a big heart and I can't help but love her. I feel for her so much and couldn't imagine my first love being with Jordan given all he is going through and how he is treating her. Ugh. The angst between them is so intense. I really can't decide whether I love or hate Jordan. The jury is out on that one for now.
Profile Image for Jenna Andrews.
47 reviews
May 20, 2025
i am so so so mad with this book. like from reading the first one we know that jordan and hope aren’t together at the end but you’re telling me this man. showed up. after 7 years. at HER PARENTS PARTY. ENGAGED TO ANOTHER WOMAN. AND PLANS. TO GET MARRIED. ON. HER. BIRTHDAY?! at this point i don’t care about why he left originally and i don’t care about his reasonings bc you have to be the worst kind of terrible to do that to someone you claim to have loved your entire life. jordan is dead to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bluebamboo.
377 reviews
February 20, 2018
From this book:

"Can you do what you’re told,” he snapped as he stalked towards me, getting in my personal space. “For once in your goddamn life?”
“Why break the habit of a lifetime?"


...Hmmm. I’m pretty sure I read that passage originally in Fifty Shades of Grey.

Busted!
Profile Image for Jade.
40 reviews
September 4, 2024
What a novella!!!!!

You are now telling me there are three more books until we get back to Hope and Jordan’s story. My poor heart. The only negative about this novella is the placement of it in the series and having to wait three freaking books to get Hope and Jordan’s story. Also so confused, because the Jordan that was in the past vs the precent Jordan seen like two different people, he better have a good reason for what he did because my girl Hope deserves better.
Profile Image for Amanda Anderson (Beauty.and.the.bookies).
1,467 reviews71 followers
February 15, 2019
Whoaaaa daddddy

I am in LOVE/LUST with these kids dude! This novella was about Hope & Jordan and their beginning. Even though I am head over heels for Teagan & Noah, I am all about some Hope & Jordan now too and CANNOT WAIT to see what happens with this engagement...like holy hell THEY GOT MARRIED?? What?? When? Ugh my heart cant take it
Profile Image for Larissa Rye.
1,392 reviews18 followers
July 11, 2019
I can’t wait to read more of Jordan & Hope’s story!

This little teaser has me anxiously wanting to read through Noah & Teagan’s books so I can get back to Jordan & Hope. When I read book one, I always wondered what sent Hope running with Teagan. This novella sure surprised me though with its revelations. Can’t wait to continue with this series!
Profile Image for Chloé Owsianicki.
18 reviews
June 15, 2025
I felt like Hope and Jordan’s relationship/friendship should have been explained/ showend way more, because now I feel no connection to them since we only read like 30 pages about their past. When we jumped to the current timeline the book was a bit better. Anyway I still want to continue the series
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews

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