Olivia Linden's Forever My Lady feels like a good R&B song. It tells a great story, swells with emotional, and ends with you oscillating between wanting for me and being content with the experience that you've had.
This second chance romance is vibrant, complete with a cast of characters that feel as real your own friends. The love is palpable. It pulsates and breathes between pages, across the spine, and into the air with each page turn. It was also an incredibly quick read as well. Easily something that can be inhaled within a day if you have the time and attention for it. It is that endearing, enticing, and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.
I greatly enjoyed seeing Remy as a male love interest who was transparent and fleshed out. His emotions and intentions were clear. He communicated what he wanted, desired, or needed. There was no guesswork. No arithmetic.
The time and location jumps could be a little confusing, so you'll want to pay attention as you're reading. I definitely would go back and re-read sections just to make sure I was keeping up with whether it was the past or present. I do also wish, in some ways, we explored more of the relationship Chelle and Remy had in the early stages, and in college, to get a fuller picture of their dynamics. That might just be a selfish personal preference, but a reader can dream.
As a "non-romance" reader who is quickly becoming more and more enveloped by the genre, this is another one of those easy read and recommends for me. It centers Black love, without any relative hardship or trauma, and allows our interests to exist in the ideal kinds of spaces that we as actual people should all be able to. Operating in and from love, without restriction or regression.