Forever

Empire High #8

by Ivy Smoak

The final book of Empire High.

Genres: Romance, Second Chance, Dark Romance, Humor, Audiobook, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

470 pages, Paperback

Published May 23, 2024

About the author

Ivy Smoak is the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon #1 bestselling author of The Hunted Series. Her books have sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

When she's not writing, you can find Ivy binge watching too many TV shows, taking long walks, playing outside, and generally refusing to act like an adult. She lives with her husband in Delaware.

Learn more about Ivy on:
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Empire High


The Hunted & Light to My Darkness



Made of Steel

Reviews

[Alysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ but rounded up
I was so excited to finally see how Matt and Brooklyns story ends. Well, until the addition of Tanner and Nigel. I didn’t enjoy them in the last book and didn’t in this book either. I actually found myself skimming a good amount of this book just to get through it. It felt like a circus act was happening most of the time. Most of the story seemed to be for shock value and what is Nigel gonna do next? Some of the situations and the dialogue were just ridiculous. Also there is what seems like cultural appropriation when Nigel is wearing a traditional headdress to Thanksgiving dinner….

While I enjoyed Matt and brooklyns story as a whole, this last book wasn’t it for me.

[Lynsey A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sad to say disappointed

I know it’s the writers choice and completely respect it. However feel a little duped as a reader when Nigel and Tanner were introduced and featured heavily. I haven’t read the society since I’m not a fan of the characters and the fantasy like components of their characters. But that wasn’t an issue in the hunted series or empire high series for the most part. These two characters in the last few books have completely taken away from the story. I’ve really struggled to read this book and almost dnf and I never dnf books. But I just couldn’t get over them.

[Rachelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was waiting on this book to see how it was going to end and yes we got the HEA but that’s about as much goodness as I can find in this book and the only reason it got 2 stars…

This series was described by Ivy as Matt’s story but most of it focused on Brooklyn and what she went through, with Matt thrown in here and there. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved books 1-3. It was edge of your seat get me the next one quick level of excitement, however every book following #3 was a disappointment to me.

I didn’t love the Miller storyline generally so it irked me the way so much of the book (and series) was so heavily focused on Brooklyn and Miller and then her loss. I’m not heartless so I do understand the need for closure to move forward but at the same time I just kept thinking ‘can we be done with this now’, this is meant to be Matt’s story.. I do however appreciate Matt’s words to Miller in the sky that he would look out for them. That was sweet.

The wedding..it was sooo anticlimactic. The speeches were stupid, Rob being over the top and the best friend crap that kept being mentioned, Kennedys awkward as hell speech with the reliving of that god awful decision by Ivy to throw Matt & Kennedy together, Nigel and Tanner being weird mystical creatures ,It wasn’t romantic or exciting and I didn’t have a ‘finally’ moment. I was bored with it.

In my opinion - the wedding should have been this momentous occasion for the two of them and it was riddled with forced humour, weird magical side characters, awkward prior entanglements and Miller. I did enjoyed Matt’s vows however Brooklyns were meh.. it was meant to be own vows and she mostly just responded to his and again Miller, it lacked sincerity.

The contracts were skimmed over despite making them such a huge part of the earlier books. Why make them a feature and a huge part of the series to wrap it up like that? Like what was the point?

The kidnapping and Millers death following book #7 cliffhanger. It was a nothing storyline. There was no substance to the explanation. This girl has suffered major trauma’s from her adolescence around kidnapping and this is what we get? The banana king mafia power duel that ends as quick as it started and that’s it?

Tanner and Nigel..soo many references throughout the entire book to things they’ve said or done that are weird with no reasoning. Matt’s internal monologue continuously questioning the weirdness of it..or in Brooklyns case not questioned at all. There was too much what if magical that was not necessary and had no place in this story. If that’s who they are, save it for The Society. Thankfully it was toned down from book #7 because that was just beyond ridiculous. These characters in my opinion absolutely spoiled this series. The provided no substance, just filler words

I felt that this book was just filler, what should have been focused on was glossed over. What should have been given time and attention was rushed.

And the ending..was just meh. It just ended. Did she have the baby, was it a girl or a boy? Why was there no epilogue? Surely you wouldn’t be spoiling future planned series by wrapping this up. Tell me they’re happy, that they dance around the kitchen..give me something but the blah end we got.

Honestly it felt like Ivy was meshing The Society and SGR and thought ‘that will do’, with no care to the story or characters she built in books 1-3. The contrast between start and finish was world apart. Ivys writing had changed and not in a good way, which is a shame.

I’ve read a lot of Ivy and unfortunately this is the end of the Ivy train for me. Her writing is now so far removed from Hunted and EH that I can’t support any longer.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that was painful, but at least it’s over. This started out as a favorite series, but ended as a “wish I’d never started it.” The last few books are so drastically different from the first few. So frustrating! I won’t be reading anything else by this author.

[Stacey Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I truly loved the beginning of this series. Books 1-6 were great. This series went off the rails in book 7 and 8 with the introduction of Tanner and Nigel. They both should have stayed in the society series. There’s a reason I only read the 1st in that series with no plans to continue it. I don’t like Tanner and Nigel. They were a huge detriment to the last two books in this series and totally took away from what could have been an amazing end to what started out as an amazing series. This book was a mess and Matt and Brooklyn deserved better.

[Marilyn Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad this series is finally over. It started out great, I liked the first 4 books. After that it all went downhill. I don’t like Nigel and Tanner and their story lines. They ruined the whole story. What Ivy needs is a professional editor that can pull the story together and not drag it out with nonsence. I am glad there was a happy ending but 4 or 5 books in the series would have been enough.

[DME · Rating 1 out of 5]

Welcome to the Tanner and Nigel circus, the ruination of Rob's character and the final nail in the coffin to the Empire High Series. Did we have Blackface jokes? yes we did. Did Nigel wear an authentic Native American Headress to Thanksgiving that he said was very old and, therefore most likely a cultural artifact? Yes, he did. Was the Maid of Honor thinking about how the groom went down on her in an elevator during her MOH speech? It sure seemed that way. And was Miller brought up way too much for us to feel like Brooklyn was even remotely ready to move on? Well, yes he was! I could go on and on the way this author does, but I will spare us all and just say I sincerely regret ever starting this series, I'm wondering if the author was kidnapped by aliens and a disgruntled adolescent changeling was left to finish the series. The saddest thing is this series has left me very skittish when it comes to contemporary romance books and recommendations from anyone but my most trusted book friends. But the good news is it's over! (Cheap shot to your readers not providing an epilogue, expecting them to have to read The Society for what they end up having but typical as most of us readers have now learned) Anyway, to my fellow regretful readers, the only good thing that came from reading this series is meeting some of you! So cheers to it finally being over!

[Laura Turner · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this as I wanted closure only. Tanner and Nigel do not belong in this series as some paranormal addition. I don’t read those genres and never would have picked up the series with them in it. I generally loved the story up until Ivy added them. This book was silly and stupid to be frank. I am not trying to be mean, Ivy took something that was serious and made it into almost a joke at the end. Tanner and Rob arguing over being Matt’s best friend got old and stupid. You never see actual 30 year old men act that way. Maybe a joke or two but the CONSTANT back and forth about it just made it silly. Glad it’s done, but it was definitely my least favorite book in the entire series.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

While i was glad to see matt and brooklyn get married and get pregnant, it just feels like this should of been the book after matchmaker and left all the other stuff out, like miller kennedy urgh and the word skeet that word makes me feel it's wrote by a teenage boy. Please use a different word. Its gross. This was the last book i will ever read by ivy. Had to drop my rating to 1 i honestly hated it rob is supposed to be 32 and has not matured in 16 years even Jacob was more mature than him. It ruined the series for me i will not be reading another book by Ivy she's clearly lost it.

[Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 30% - i agree with people saying loving the start of Mathew and Brooklyn’s story but the last few books I can’t. I told myself i wanted to see the happy ending but after reading 30% of this and just can’t stand the absurdity of the chacters and storyline. I am in agreement when someone said” I wished I’d never started this book”. Sorry

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted more.

Review day of Book Release:
I would have loved to give this 5 stars. In reality I would be giving this 3 stars but I cried a few time when Uncle Jim was mentioned and that got it to four.

Ivy has a ton of books written out of chronological order. With that being said I haven't read the Society books (I know there were no spoilers in it really though) and with the way that this book ended... it left me half full. Like the story wasn't completed. (Another reason for the not 5 star review)

Did I enjoy the book? Yes.
Did I read it because I felt obligated to finish the series? Also yes.
Would I reread this series? Nunca.

I felt the pace that Matt and Brooklyn went overall once she was back was ridiculous. (Hence the wanting 3 stars) I'm glad they got their HEA.

Review day after now that I have had time to let it sit and fester:

Most of what I said above is true. Except I think I will be changing my star rating to 2.5 (so I'll just change it to 3)

I thought about the entire series and where its at now and I felt that everything has changed. Yes we had 16 years between the "setting/time frame" of the before and after.... but with the edition of Tanner and Nigel it seemed wrong. I don't know the story of Tanner/Nigel since I mentioned about I havent read that series.... but so much was impossible or made to seem okay.

Spoliers.... just FYI. Matt suffered for 16 years. (dont lie he did... he only wanted Brooklyn...) adn when he finally has her back, somehow... it was okay that his friends kiss her? and yet all the wives thinks its okay? (just to clarify I also havent read the men in manhatten series yet either so I dont really know the vibes between Mason/Bee or Rob/Daphne) This was disgusting in my mind. and had me thinking WTF Ivy.... (yet Brooklyn was okay with it as well.... or at least didnt say something to them... just gross.


I did say above that I felt the storyline wasnt complete.... and I felt that it was done on purpose. To make you read her other series. I read the hunted series first and felt that the series finished with a good HEA. I no longer want anything from those characters or have any other questions. However Ivy has connected all her series so you know and she has said " they show up in x book later on" or In a post I saw in her group "do we find out if Bea is..." (cutting it off so no spoilers...) Ivy says "you find that out in The Society #ThisIsWar (The Society book 2) 😉 That series is like one big crossover" literally copy pasta. I felt she didnt complete Empire High so you would have to read The Society Series to get your actual HEA for the EH characters.

I understand interconnected books in a series even interconnected series too. But the way that this was done felt icky and gimmicky.

Will I eventually read the Society? Yes, because I'll eventually forget about EH and try it and then probably get all upset again over the OTT stuff that happens.
Do I think this series ended on a good note? Not really. There was so much that didnt make sense for this series because I felt the authorw as trying too hard to make sure that EH and The Society overlapped, she lost the plot. the book could have been halved and probably would have been better.

[book cub · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ivy tried too hard to do a crossover/bridge with “the society” series. it had that wacky “humor” mess and left matt/brooklyn a lackluster conclusion. i skimmed the whole book, which is sad with the 7 books worth of material. all this build-up only to be left incredibly dissatisfied. "happy" scenes work when it is well-earned and conflicts are truly resolved. Instead it was filler weird scenes that didn’t fit the story development. some things were addressed but in an unfulfilling way. the series kept getting extended and the writing only got worse. the wedding and hea are not memorable. too much effort to involve nigel and tanner than the supposed main character (matt).

[Lou Loves Literature · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's taken me a long time to figure out my rating and review of this book.

Let me start by saying the one star is for matt and brooklyn finally being together and a family with Jacob and one on the way.

Now that's out of the way, I'll say how utterly disappointed in this book I was.
8 books. 8. And YEARS of waiting for this happy ever after, and what do we actually get?
A bucket load of nonsense with characters that give nothing to the story and frankly shouldn't even be in it, and the characters we've known and loved for years not being themselves at all!

I read the Hunted Series and the Men Of Manhatten series before empire High was born, so we are already in a well established world with characters that are like good friends.
EH 1-3 was an amazing addition to that world, giving us the background of the guys, and why matt was the way that he was with James, and penny etc.

Matchmaker was OK.. yea show what matt been doing to try to settle down, yet failing coz he still loves and wants brooklyn. Fine.
Even to the point that I didn't mind tanner so much in that one coz matt needed 1 friend that wasn't married and settled.
Nigel.. no.
I actually thought he was a bit amusing back then, even if still unnecessary.

Runaway.. I was a Miller fan, so this book was everything I didn't know I needed, and I sobbed my heart out.

But then EH6-8... if you took out all the utter nonsense with tanner and nigel, the totally unnecessary kidnapping at the end of 7, and all the filler... these could have EASILY been 1 book.

Tanner and nigel have ruined this series for me.
As far as I'm concerned, if you have a fully established world and set of characters that have only ever been contemporary, you do NOT introduce supernatural elements/characters half way through a series, just because you want all of your books to cross over.
Tanner could have still been a small side character as a friend of matt, without all the rest of the crap. It would have still been a cross over, without ruining an entire series. Especially for people that don't read PNR etc.

I also think a lot of nigels behaviour has been downright disturbing.
I can tell you now, if a grown man had behaved with my child, in my home, the way he did with Jacob in matt and brooklyns home, I would have had the fucker arrested.
It was completely inappropriate the majority of the time.
I mean who in their right mind thinks its OK to sit naked on someone else's kitchen counter, just because a CHILD did?!
Who thinks it's in any way appropriate to have strippers at a camping place where there are children, and talk about it infront of a child?!

Hell. No.

And don't even get me started on Rob!!
I have been in love with that character since he appeared in the Hunted Series, and then in Third Chances, and in the first 3 EH books.
He was my book husband.
But Rob in EH8... the most annoying man-child I've ever seen!
I can tell you now, the Rob we've gotten to know and love in all those other books would never, EVER, have ruined Brooklyn and Matts rehearsal dinner. He would never have threatened to ruin the wedding instead if brooklyn didn't go along with his prank.
He just wouldn't have.
He was like a completely different person.

None of the OG characters seemed the same, like they were just thrown in for name sake, and the real focus was on nigel and tanner.

I'm gonna have to stop my rant there otherwise it'll never end.

Needless to say, I have never, ever been this utterly disappointed with the ending to a book series.
And let's face it, it hasn't even actually ended because if you want to know if matt and brooklyn have a boy or girl, you have to read one of the society books etc.

It's ruined Ivy's work for me now. I won't be reading anything else of hers, and it's a massive shame because she used to be one of my favourite authors.

[lynette desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prematurely giving a review because I’m not even 20% in and I’m already close to shelving it as dnf. The fact that there are jokes about black face and LGBQT just isn’t sitting right with me.

Expanding on my review after I’ve finished reading the book in its entirety.
My rating and my initial sentiment is still the same. Out of all the books in the EmpireHugh series, this one by far was my least favorite. I feel like Matt and Brooklyn did not get the ending they deserved. We didn’t get the ending that we deserved. When I first discovered this series two years ago, I fell in love with these characters and the story. It was intriguing and made me love them. But the end, I’m disappointed. This book could’ve been written after Matchmaker. I feel like Ivy prolonged this series to make more money as Runaway, Homecoming and Exposed were filler books and not necessary, but onto the review of Forever.
I have so many problems with this book. Like others, Tanner and Nigel ruined this series for me. I understand the author likes to mingle her series to make a multiverse, but the fact that Tanner & Nigel are very much apart of the fantasy genre and this series was decidedly not from the beginning just threw off the whole premise of the series.
Even though 16 years have passed, Brooklyn has decidedly not grown over the course of 8 books. She laughs at all if Nigel’s inappropriate comments and antics. The dialogue in her head seems childish and for me has been the most unlikable FMC I’ve read in while. In the end, I felt like Brooklyn did not deserve Matt.
Lastly, Rob had a character/attitude transplant. How he acted in this book was drastically different from the the last few books showing them as adults. He was the most annoying character and I couldn’t get over him declaring “I’m Matt’s best friend” almost every time he popped up in the story. Sadly I think this is the last I will read from this author.

[Dana Proctor]

Let me start by stating that I really enjoyed the first few books. But these last 2-3 got worse with every one. I DNF this book at chapter 23. I just couldn’t do it. It was so immature and ridiculous and also pointless. I was cringing from the start. It felt like some teenage girl was writing this. Thankfully, my girl Hanna finished it and said “don’t waste your time”. Thanks for taking one for the team, Hannie!😅

[k · Rating 3 out of 5]

was soooo excited for this but it honestly felt rushed/incomplete. for the last book it doesn’t seem like we got enough closure about matt and brooklyn and their future, like hello where is the epilogue????

also wayyy too much nigel/tanner. don’t get me wrong, love them, but in their series not this one. i would honestly be so confused if i hadn’t already read the society. the magical/supernatural powers are fun in the society, but feel out of place in this series. takes away the realism.

overall i felt like the author paid more attention to connecting the other series than the actual plot of matt/brooklyn. again, love the other characters but ill read about them in their respective series.

[Hanna Parham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just not good. It read like a *really* long epilogue and not in a good way. Only for it not have a years later epilogue at the end like wtf. Seriously I had to keep reminding myself that these characters were supposed to be in their 30’s because most of it was so immature. I would’ve DNF’d had I not been so invested in the series overall. Books 1-5 were SO good but just went downhill after in my opinion. Very curious about Tanner but highly doubt I’ll read anymore Ivy Smoak books for a while 🫣

[Becky Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings

I have mixed feelings about this book. Parts of it I loved and parts of it I hated. I still don't understand why the magical Niles and Tanner were added to this series. They weren't in the books in the begining. They change the whole atmosphere of the story. There were very funny parts non the book and I laughed out loud. Love that Matt and Brooklyn finally got their happy ending.
Rob got on my last nerve with the I'm the best friend and his stupid pranks.
Brooklyn annoyed me with always referring to Miller and I !liked Miller but she just was way over the top sometimes.
Over all the book was okay.

[Lollie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel so disappointed that this last book was written so poorly. I have loved this series up to probably book 6. Nigel and Tanner really irritated me in this book and I found them very unnecessary. I skipped a lot of pages. It’s as if an immature teenager wrote some of the chapters.

[Nicole Hill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some spoilers!
















I want to start out by saying these characters and stories used be some of my absolute favorite. I feel like the first 3-4 books of this series were so heartfelt. I really struggled to get through this book! I almost DNF’d it but I wanted to officially finish the series. I loved empire high from the beginning and all of the main characters that intertwined from the Hunted series. This book really felt like the story and the main characters got lost. I feel like there were some really great parts throughout the book, but get lost with some of the strange events of the book. There seemed to be a lot of things that were thrown in there just for filler, that didn’t make sense with the actually story. And the pudding prank at the rehearsal dinner….just why???? I am really happy that Brooklyn and Matt finally get a HEA and even though I REALLY REALLY loved Miller I felt like the book emphasized more on Brooklyn’s love for Miller than Matt. Tanner and Nigel had a VERY big part of this book and it took away from the main character’s story, and Rob turned into a totally different character. He has always been the funny character but this really was a lot even for him. I wish there would have been an epilogue too so we could have a little piece of what happens after they are finally together.

[Desiree · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a train wreck!

16 years is too long of a gap.
Tanner and Nigel were COMPLETELY unnecessary and took so much away from how great the story could have been. I found them extremely annoying and weird.
Wtf was up with Rob? And why did she ruin his character?!
Where was the development in their relationship? You can’t go from 16 to 32 and pretend everything is just right back to how it was. Unrealistic imo.
And what about an epilogue?? I just read 8 books and you can’t even tell me how their future looks!!! W.T.F.


Miller deserved a HEA. 😭💔

[Ashley Berry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book, and unfortunately this just did not do it for me. I loved this series, and Brooklyn & Matt’s story as a whole, but this book was just lackluster and average. I also don’t understand the addition of Tanner and Nigel and their “fantasy powers”. I could do without them completely. I also felt like multiple parts of this book were extremely immature and ridiculous. I had hoped for so much more in this book.

[Sam Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to this book but sadly was not impressed. Unfortunately, I skipped through a lot of it to get to the end. I wasn't a fan of Nigel and Tanner been seeing a lot in the book. I would have liked an epilogue of all of the untouchables finishing it off.

[Betsy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What is Ivy smoking (no pun intended) that gave us these last four books, including Tanner and Nigel. I’m done with Ivy. Too many recent books have been weird and horribly written. What’s the real Ivy, the hunted series of all this!?

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE this author and this series. I was slightly disappointed with the book. It was very slow paced and alot of it seemed to be them trying to fix the past by reliving it. Rob was super annoying but way over the top. Brooklyn crying about Miller (whom I loved) just was fustrating! Overall, I felt like the story was going no where.

[Stacey Kern · Rating 3 out of 5]

HEA finally…

*spoiler alert*

I’m sad to see the end of this series but glad that Matt and Brooklyn finally got their HEA. Some parts were great but there were a few things I found disappointing. I cried at the wedding - it was perfect. However, Nigel and Tanner were overkill again and I feel that it really overshadowed Matt and Brooklyn. I get that Ivy probably wants to set these characters up for the Society series but I just wish it was toned down a bit for this final book, to really give these two the ending they deserved.
I also felt like it written without much structure and had some really random chapters thrown in, like the best man games, which just felt like rambling page fillers.
I also wished it ended a few months further along as I wanted to meet the baby. Maybe she’ll cover that briefly in Society but it won’t be the same not from their POV. I felt like some of the unnecessary page fillers could have been removed and the story extended with an epilogue covering their first baby.
Lastly, nothing shocked me in this book as the Society series spoiled the marriage and baby news, which we didn’t know about at the end of EH7. so I was really annoyed at that. I think it ruined it, which is really frustrating when you’ve invested so much into a long series. 💔

[Brandi-Lynn Weiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally!! We get book 8, & sadly the conclusion to Empire High. I laughed & cried a lot w/this book. The roller coaster of emotions I went on throughout this series was crazy. I felt all the emotions- happy, frustrated & angry (a lot of that in the middle of the series), heartbroken, devastated, relieved, excited & happy again! But I always had faith in Ivy to deliver one hell of an epic finale! And she did. I’m not giving any spoilers away- so all I’ll say is the heartbreaking moments were worth it. It was great to see everyone together. I loved Nigel & the humor he delivered & I had tears in my eyes during the vow exchange. I was literally crying when Brooklyn was reading the letter f/Miller. I loved Miller, he was the sweetest, & I thought he was amazing for Brooklyn at that moment. And if there was no Matt I definitely would’ve wanted him to be her HEA. But there was a Matt & I was rooting for him & Brooklyn since the very beginning. But it was still really emotional to see how much Brooklyn still missed Miller. Brooklyn & Matt will forever live in my heart, as will Miller.
Thank you Ivy for concluding this series beautifully & I loved your message in the end of the book- “broken hearts keep beating”.

[Cynthia A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book so disappointing it lacked substance it was all over the place the story never flowed. And what made it worse the pudding prank surfaced again. Really!!!

[Minimalist I Think · Rating 3 out of 5]

not the ending i was hoping for

Loved this series as a whole but definitely not the ending i was expecting regarding the plot. To me it just seemed a bit all over the place, i feel like the ending of them getting married & having a kid could have just been a part of the 7th book instead of being dragged put into a 8th book. The 8th book was a little boring, i put it down 3 times over the course of 3 days because i just wasnt that into it. I Loved the first 7 books! & i like ivy smoak books, just not this one.

[Ofra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the end was anticipated but except for Jacob, I didn't like it much... 8 books on one couple is too much 😬😬