Love You Always

Tyson's Creek #4

by A.J. Alexander

A woman who's waiting for her love to return home...
A man who doesn't believe he deserves her.


I’ve been in love with my brother’s best friend, Brady Thomas, since I was old enough to know what love was. It didn’t matter that he was older than me or that my brother would disapprove, there was no changing the way that I felt about him. I planned to keep my feelings a secret, telling myself it was nothing but a silly crush. Then Brady did the unthinkable, he kissed me before leaving without a word.

That one kiss changed everything. Instead of getting the happily ever after I dreamed of, I spent months waiting for any hint that our kiss meant something to him. That he felt something, anything close to what I feel for him, but the only thing I got was the silent treatment.

Now, a little over a year later, Brady is back in town stirring up all the feelings I’ve been trying desperately to forget. The moment our eyes lock across my brother’s bar I feel the walls around my heart begin to crumble. But I refuse to make the same mistake twice.

If Brady wants a chance at my heart, then he’s going to have to fight for it.

Genres: Small Town Romance, Romance, Found Family, Military Fiction, Second Chance, Forbidden Romance, Slow Burn

310 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2024

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author AJ Alexander has been writing romance since 2018. She loves writing small town romances with found families and all the nosey nellies that help her characters find their happily ever afters! She lives in Arizona, otherwise known as the surface of the sun, with her husband, two daughters, two cats, and a lovable golden retriever.

When she isn't writing you can find AJ reading, binging the latest true crime documentary on Netflix, or binging the latest Korean Drama or Anime that's released. AJ is a cynical hopeless romantic that believes in love at first sight, that bigger is always better, and everything should be put off for a nap.

Come find her in the wild! There's nothing she loves more than connecting with my readers.


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Website: http://bit.ly/AJAlexanderWebsite

Reviews

[Lynn_G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars rounded up to four. There’s a lot of things in this book that rely on some prior knowledge of characters other than the MCs. Much of the prose is exposition, little is action for the first third of the book, and as a standalone I’m looking for interactions between the MCs, which are lacking. It is a brother’s best friend/forbidden love, which I generally like, however here the brother is short on explanation other than concern that the MMC might not return from war alive.
I received an ARC from the author and bookfunnel, and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

[Nadia Latai (Nadiasbookishworld86) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟🩷
Small town
Brother's best friend
Military

Emersyn and Brady fighting their emotions is an Olympic sport. This dual POV in Tyson's Creek is full of corresponding emails ,hearts full of secret pining, and overwhelming love worth wading through. Angst is what makes my reading experience worth turning everything page and LOVE YOU ALWAYS was the 90's love story that made my heart drop. Brady was that man in uniform that made me think of Pearl Habor for some reason & I ate this up !!! If you love 90's nostalgic love stories, small town drama, corresponding emails or love letters for communication, LOVE YOU ALWAYS will be on your tbr . 💋

[Jen Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you for the ARC, AJ!

“I was so worried about protecting her that I broke her instead.”

Emersyn’s first crush. Her brother’s best friend. But Brady kept Emersyn at a distance to protect her even though she’s all he’s ever wanted. Now he’s home and can’t stay away but he’s also consumed with self doubt for his past decisions. He’s never felt good enough for her anyway.

At times I was a little confused. Even though this is an interconnected standalone, maybe it would have helped to read the previous books? I also didn’t feel their connection. I know it existed because I was told so repeatedly but it didn’t grab me. Again, maybe that’s because it was built with interactions in other books and I jumped in late? I’m not sure.

The friend groups were a highlight. They were interesting and supportive. All the tropes are a win for me: small town, military, brother’s best friend, age gap.

“Although falling in love with her wasn’t intentional, it felt natural.”

“Yes, she’s beautiful, but it’s more than just a physical attraction. I fell in love with her smile, how the room lit up the moment she entered, and her words. She always had the right words or phrases to help me through whatever I was going through.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

ℍ𝕠𝕨 𝕀 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜: ARC E-Book
𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖: Medium
ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪: High
𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕪𝕡𝕖: Happily Ever After
•
𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕟 𝕎𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖: The pacing for this story was perfect! AJ does a great job at making you feel like you’re truly inside the characters mind! the pacing for this book was perfect keeping me hooked the entire time!
𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 ℚ𝕦𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤: “No one said falling in love was easy. If it was, everyone would do it.”
& “I was so worried about protecting her that I broke her instead.”
& “Love You Always, Brady” & “You became my sun, and I gravitated around you whenever I could.”
&
“No one can say who deserves me except for me.”
𝔽𝕒𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣: Chapters 10 & 14
𝔽𝕧𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣: Brady: My guy has been through it mentally. I’m glad he was able to overcome his difficulties and get his happily ever after.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: AJ masterfully continues to build the small town romance world of Tyson’s Creek! The story of Emersyn and Brady is gripping from the beginning! My heart broke for Brady for what he goes through mentally during this book. I can totally see myself in Emersyn with her struggles with having a protective older brother! This was the perfect brother best friend romance I just couldn’t put this book down!

[Sydney B · Rating 3 out of 5]

“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘺𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

3/⭐️
1/🌶️

I loved Emersyn and Brady, I was rooting for them the whole time! I really enjoyed the tension, and how you could feel their connection — even if it took them awhile to get there! I also loved Brady’s letters back to Emersyn 🥰

I would’ve rated this story a 4⭐️, however I felt there were some discrepancies and the story didn’t really match the age of these characters. Brady would be 37 or 38? But he talks and acts like he’s still in his 20s — it just didn’t add up. I felt confused at times.

If you’re just here for the vibes then definitely read this! I love a brothers best friend, when the brother gets all protective and growly then the MMC has to overcome that 🤭 I’d definitely pick up the next book because I’m super intrigued by all the side characters!!

tropes - age gap, brothers best friend, interracial romance, military mmc, found family

[Ali Duggan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last 15-20% of the book made up for the rest of it. In the last few chapters I felt infinitely more invested and captivated in the book than I did at any other point.

I felt like the story was a bit disjointed and was confused and frustrated by that — was Brady gone one or two years? The timeline changed depending on who was talking. I also felt the insta-love in the story was off putting. We are just meeting these characters and right off the bat they’re professing love. Yes, the characters had known each other for years… but we were just dropped into the story at that point. To be honest, the first 80% of the book was redundant as heck. The same plot points and conversations were had over and over and the hooks were not hooking me at all.

I feel like the book would have held my interest if it had started at a different point. If the first half of the book could have been about them years ago meeting- then falling in love - being friends - building that relationship by SHOWING us instead of just telling us. Especially considering truly nothing happened in the first part of the book.

And then, first time having sex together (and for Em, ever!) up against a door? I found that to be unbelievable. Not using protection from either of them? Just didn’t feel entirely true to their characters.

**But most of all for me it was all the discrepancies throughout the book that bothered me the most.** The characters actions & words weren’t mashing up well. Oh and the main characters saying their inner dialogue outloud while alone was v odd to me. I didn’t love the age gap very much… it felt insignificant and unnecessary and just gave me the ick sometimes.

Things I liked — Seth and Bristol. I love the idea of Riggs and Leia if Riggs can get his head out of his ass. (Another thing- why do all the men have their heads in their asses about the woman they are interested in? Brady, Riggs, Beckett… I don’t love that trope if it even is one.) I liked the last quarter of the book and felt like it held my interest a lot more than the rest of it. The dialogue felt more organic and less forced and didn’t take me out of the book as much. More was actually happening and things were moving forward and didn’t feel stagnant like it did the rest of the time.

Overall, would I recommend it? No. It just overall wasn’t for me and I felt like I had to force myself to keep reading or to stay involved. And I hate that! I wanted so badly to love it. I’d love to know what happens with the characters— especially Riggs and Leia. I am definitely open to picking up another one of the authors books in the future and hoping I’d connect better with another one of her books.

The last part of the book brought this up to a 2.75 rating for me.

[Allegra Brown]

3/5⭐️ 1/5🌶️

Love You Always is my introduction to AJ Alexander’s writing.

Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me.

-> The storyline has promise but I just felt like not much really happened except the same recurring scene of him screwing up and get forgiving him.
-> The prologue had me so excited, but then I just found the book repetitive and uneventful. The first 60% was Brady saying he was going to change and be better but doesn’t follow through. Meanwhile, Emersyn kept accepting whatever he gave her.
-> Also, the timeline changing from 1 year to 2 years to 2 plus some years was confusing. Also “before I was deployed” was mentioned a lot but when? It was just hard to follow at times.
-> There was also alot of internal dialog that wasn’t really necessary.
-> More character interaction could have help the storyline develop organically.
-> Side characters definitely added to the book. Emersyn’s girl gang was a definite plus for me.

I can get behind an age gap book when the characters are written well, this was not one of those books for me. Emersyn acts her age but the 16 year age gap felt odd since Brady seemed so immature. This age gap also felt odd to me since Brady was are when Emersyn was born. He was there for everything and then bam…he loves her more than a little sister.

-> I also enjoy a good spicy novel, but there were only 2 spicy scenes that weren’t all that spicy.

Tropes:
Small Town Romance
Brother’s Best Friend
Age Gap (16-17 years)

Honest review written in exchange for an eARC from AJ Alexander.

[Nicole D'cruz (kiwinikilovesreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed Brady and Emersyn’s story! All my small town romance besties are going to love this one! The only reason why this is a 4.5 stars is because I was getting antsy at the slow burn lol but overall a beautiful story that had me tearing up in parts. Thanks AJ Alexander for kindly sending me the arc to read and review 😊

[Katie Boulay · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨review✨

Okay so I’m obsessed. I loved how real and rough this romance was! This had me feeling all types of ways which is something I love about romances. @ajalexanderauthor beautifully told this second chance/brother’s best friend/ age gap romance. And it’s so real!! For those that don’t think they have it figured out yet, it’s so relatable.

-military
-brother’s best friend
-second chance
-small town
-age gap
-friends to lovers

[Kristen McClellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I reaaaallly wanted to love this one. In the beginning I was loving it but it got super repetitive. The first half of the book is the same scene played out in 9 different ways. We learn about one moment only from the past and are only told they’re in love with each other. Everything is off page and we have no backstory so it was incredibly hard to relate to either of the main characters. Brady seemed more like a 20 year old than late 30s man. He was what 37 or 38? He gave off zero mature vibes, he ran at any sight of confrontation. Honestly he just pissed me off so bad 🤣 Beckett was weirdly protective of his sister. Sophia was the middle man of everyone’s issues, I felt so bad for her. Emersyn would have been more like-able if her and Brady just communicated to each other literally just once. And she’s utterly obsessed with him, but he continues to hurt her, then it’s just all fine and dandy? The whole story was hard to relate to.

2.5⭐️ rounded up.

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emersyn has been in love with her brother’s best friend Brady since she was old enough to know what love is. It didn’t matter that her brother would disapprove or that he was much older than her but Brady does the one thing that will change everything. He kissed her and left without a word. A year later, Brady comes back into town and started stirring up all these feelings in Emersyn but she refuses to make the same mistake twice. If Brady wants a chance at her heart, he’s going to have to fight for it.

I was gifted this beautiful pr box for Love You Always that releases today so Happy Release Day AJ!!!!! Now on to the book, I love me a good small town romance because the found family is everything and this one nailed that. The FMC and her besties are everything and I just want to be friends with them all. I will say they are probably lucky I’m not cause I would have went all Carrie Underwood and smashed up Brady’s car. Brady does come back and redeem himself and makes a TON of character growth throughout but it was definitely a battle. As prior military, I can understand a lot of Brady’s inner battles and some of the decisions he made even if I don’t like them lol. I really enjoyed the writing style and felt like it was super easy for me to get invested into the drama of everyone’s life and can’t wait to see what comes next for the people of Tyson’s Creek!

[Veronica ReadsandRecreation · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went into this with no prior knowledge of the characters from the series, and it was no problem at all. There is enough exposition and internal dialogue to get everyone up to speed and really drive home the yearning, regret, hope, and self-doubt that fuel the narrative between Brady and Emersyn (love that name, BTW!). Theirs is a bumpy story with several missteps, and, man do they fight those feelings! Their chemistry is fantastic, though; I only wish they spent more time together. That said, the core sense of love (and fire!) when they do makes that HEA all the more satisfying.
Tyson’s Creek sounds like a nice place to settle down; I definitely want to read the rest of the series.

Tropes: Dual POV, age gap, brother’s best friend, military, small town.

I received this ARC from the author and BookFunnel; all opinions are my own.

[Erica Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brother’s best friend is a quick way to win me over every time. Add in a hero who’s home from the military and I’m a goner. I love how Brady and Emersyn love is one for the ages. We know how Emersyn has always felt, she wears it on her sleeves and doesn’t hid behind it. She emails him the whole time he’s away and deployed even.

Brady is one who grips your hearts and pulls you through it with him. He waits til he’s out to go after what he wants. Luckily Emersyn makes him put in some work.

I love their journey and their story. It has its ups and downs and will take you along for a wild ride. I love this town and the others we meet along the way and want more Tyson’s Creek immediately and will have to go back and read some of the others stories.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a sweet read.
It didn’t have a lot of depth but it was easy to read and lovely.
A MMC who gets in his own head so much and can’t get out of his own way. It was interesting seeing his evolution.
The FMC felt quite shallow in terms of character development unfortunately.
All in all, it was a nice read and a good way to spend an afternoon with a lovely HEA.
It was light on spice so if that’s your jam, this might be a good fit. The dirty talk actually felt a bit out of place and seemed to come out of no where so I skimmed those few lines after the first one.
I actually really enjoyed reading about the side characters as much as the main ones so am really looking forward to the next book in the series now.

[bookloverness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read for me. I always devour AJ Alexanders books.
Brady and Emersyn have been in love since forever, but her brother Beckett comes in between them. Then Brady leaves for deloyment and doesn't talk to Emersyn for two years. He comes back, gets a second chance, and totally messes up again! Brady, my man, I was mad at what you pulled, but they get there happy ending, so all is good. This book is a military, brothers best friend, second chance, age gap, and my favorite small town. This whole series is one of my all-time favorites.

[K Webz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love You Always has a little more angst than I would have preferred. Brady runs, not once, but twice when he let his insecurities take over. Brady eventually gets his head out of his a$$ and shows tremendous character growth.

Emersyn, I love the group of friends she has. She has been in love with Brady for years and no matter how many times he messes up, she gives him a chance. Her brother, who is Brady’s best friend, tends to be a little too protective of her and feeds into Brady’s insecurities.

[Julie Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is a frustration roller coaster, the angst, Brady, and more Brady! At the same time I did not want to put it down, throw the kindle, yes.

A small town, brothers best friend, military story. The characters do develop through the book, a great addition to the series.

Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

[♡°°Mercedes°°♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 Stars ⭐️

The premise and plot were there, but it fell short for me. I love a good brother's best friend trope, but it didn't come together like I would have. Love You Always also has the age gap trope, which I'm on the fence about in general. Overall, I felt like the same thing was being said over and over, just in different ways throughout the book.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫🌶️
💭My thoughts: This book was cute, I think the friend groups were easy to love. Every girl needs a friend like Sophie! The brother Beckett was a bit annoying, and omg the MMC Brady was getting on my nerves! This whole book was relateable in the way that some men are just clueless. The fmc Emersyn had a great support system and it helped her patience the two years she waited for Brady but I don’t think she should have been emailing him everyday and sending him care packages. After the first week or two of no contact I would have stepped back so fast. I know it’s because he just was insecure and didn’t express himself the best but he was THIRTY EIGHT. I wish she got to have more fun and experience life instead of waiting for this guy that didn’t know what to do with her once he had her. I also didn’t get to know them all that well only little details. I feel like I knew more about the friends in the group than the main characters themselves. Although it did make me want to go back and start the series from the beginning, I just know this one won’t be my favorite.

[Brittany Secor · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

"Falling in love with her wasn't intentional, it felt natural"

I absolutely gobbled this book up. It was a short and sweet book that had so much love and intention written within it.

This is a story about Emersyn and Brady and how love can conquer all..if you are willing to do the work for it

Tropes:
- Age Gap
- Insecurities
- Virgin
- He falls Harder

[Liku Leonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC E-Reader Review: I’m not usually a fan of multiple POVs, but I appreciate that this one wasn’t at alllll confusing (goes between 3 povs and up to four 🫣). 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4) because imo, the huge (HUGE) age-gap trope could’ve been handled a bit better, I kept tryna get into the taboo-love trope, but I just couldn’t get there. Like other readers, I wanted to love it so bad, but there were tender moments that got me. The line “”I love you, Emersyn Grace Carter. The all-consuming, forever kind of love, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”” Had me 🥹🥹🥹😩

I also wanted more spice. Turn up the heatttttt PLEASE. Some of the love quotes/dialogue is cheesy head-over-heals telenovela type of writing (which is not at all a dig, I actually lovedddd it). I want another book! I would happily read the sequel and honestly, will be rereading to warm up the upcoming chilly winter. I’m also a sucker for a happily ever after 😩

*I received this e-book in return for an honest review. I would honestly recommend it, and would buy it*

[Marnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot forbidden best-friend’s-little sister romance!!!

In LOVE YOU ALWAYS book 4 in Author AJ Alexander’s I Love You Series, it was Brady and Emersyn’s turn to get their HEA. Hidden feelings, mis-communication, personal insecurities and one mean-as over-protective older brother meant the road to true love wasn’t easy for them. And in true AJ Alexander style, it got hot and rocky fast!

I love interconnected series, and even though LOVE YOU ALWAYS can stand on it’s own merits, we’ve met both Em and Brady in the earlier books, so I suggest you do yourself a solid and start at the beginning with BEFORE I LOVE YOU.

Brady is a marine, meaning that his best friend, even knowing the depth of Brady’s love, absolutely believes he is unsuitable for his slightly younger sister Emersyn. What gutted me was Beckett telling him would never be worthy enough for her. Typical older brother trope, I’ll grant you, but Beckett was nothing short of cruel and I really didn’t like the man.

I identified with the hero’s lack of confidence and struggled with the heroine blaming him for not fighting hard enough for her love when he didn’t feel worthy of her love in the first place!!

Ok, now having got that off my chest I’ll now clarify that his actions in being true to his lack of confidence absolutely and completely broke Emersyn’s heart. He smashed it completely, in my mind even stomping it to dust by virtue of seemingly ghosting her. When he’d gone on his year long tour, hearing Beckett’s words before he left, he never replied to a single letter she wrote him, thinking she’d move on and find someone worthwhile for her. Yep, she was broken-hearted for sure. She didn’t know, however, that he had committed each word of her letters to heart, but never in the whole of that 12 month’s acknowledge to her that he’d received and read them.

He soon learned that a simple heartfelt sorry wasn’t going to repair the damage and he was going to have to fight for a relationship with her.

And, it wasn’t until he received similar but lighter treatment in return did he realise the harm he’d done to her heart. In this, Ms Alexander clearly, succinctly and beautifully communicated the depths to which Emersyn had been hurt.

I loved their story as a novella, but as a book it was stronger. I’ll admit frustration at times due to the repetitive nature of Brady and Emersyn’s actions, but there was so much depth to LOVE YOU ALWAYS in it’s full form.

As previously mentioned, the pretty big blow-fly in their ointment was Emersyn’s hellishly overprotective big brother Beckett. He’d been waving the best-friends-little-sister card pretty damn hard, almost to the point that I began to actively dislike his overbearing and hypocritical backside. Luckily, a feisty Sophie, Emersyn’s best friend has been created as the perfect crack in his armour and I’m looking forward to seeing the clash between those two when they get their book gets released!!!!
4.5-fight-for-her-heart-Stars🤎✿✰

#fbombromancereads #mumsalwaysreading #bookblogger #bookreviewer #marnsreads #marnsj

[Sherley's Reading Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating: 3.25 /5.0
Spice: 2.5 / 5

"Even when we were apart, all I could think about was getting home to you so we could start our lives together. Please tell me I'm not too late."

I was really excited to read this one. Brother's best-friend, age gap, forbidden romance...these are some of my favorite tropes and I could not wait to get into the story.

I loved the prologue and after reading it, I was doing the happy dance. It was really good and drew me in and I could not wait to see how the story would progress. Unfortunately...I was a bit disappointed. Overall, this book was just ok. It was a VERY SLOW BURN and things did not really get going until about 65% into the book. Before then, a lot of the story was repetitive and there was a lot of internal dialogue but little actual communication or true interaction between the FMC (Emersyn) and the MMC (Brady). This was a little frustrating because I felt like the characters talked to everyone else about how they were feeling instead of just talking to each other.

As far as the characters...I left the story feeling nothing for them. Emersyn was a sweet girl. She seemed a little naive but she was ok. Brady...I did not like at all. He was much older than Emersyn but his actions were that of a teenager. I don't want to spoil it, but I was over this guy by the end of the book...this was the first time I was hoping for a non-HEA story. I wanted Emersyn to find someone else because Brady was not it.

Lastly, although this book is supposed to be a standalone, there were a lot of other characters that I was confused about. I had not read the other 3 books that came before so I was confused about who these people were and what was going on as far as their storyline. It kind of weighed down the story for me. I wish there were more scenes and interactions between the FMC and MMC vs all of the other secondary characters. I think it is important to read the preceding books in this series for a better reading experience.

Although this one was not for me, I do think that others can find it enjoyable.

What to Expect:
1. Small Town
2. Military
3. Age Gap
4. Brother's Best Friend
5. Forbidden Romance
6. Unrequited Love
7. Interracial Romance
8. Love Letters
9. First Love

[Mostly Bookish Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I love you, Emersyn Grace Carter. The all-consuming forever kind of love, and I'll spend the rest of my life proving it to you"

Title: Love You Always
Rating: 💙💙💙💙
Author: AJ Alexander

Reasons you can't miss this:
🌟Age gap
💙 He writes her letters! 💌
🌟Brother's best friend
💙Toddler Dance class 🩰
🌟Interracial Romance - BWWM 
💙 Short king in the house!
🌟Ex-military 🪖
💙 She's loved him forever
🌟Meddling family (and friends)😉
💙Interconnected stand alone

Emersyn who’s waiting for her love to return home …
Brady who doesn’t believe he deserves her.

I’ve been in love with my brother’s best friend, Brady Thomas, since I was old enough to know what love was.  It didn’t matter that he was older than me or that my brother would disapprove, there was no changing the way that I felt about him.  I planned to keep my feelings a secret, telling myself it was nothing but a silly crush. Then Brady did the unthinkable, he kissed me before leaving without a word.  

That one kiss changed everything. Instead of getting the happily ever after I dreamed of,  I spent months waiting for any hint that our  kiss meant something to him. That he felt something, but the only thing I got was the silent treatment.

Brady is back in town stirring up all the feelings but I refuse to make the same mistake twice. If Brady wants a chance at my heart, then he’s going to have to fight for it.

Thankful to receive an ARC of Love You Always and now I want to move to Tyson's Creek!! This story had it all!!! Emersyn and Brady went through alot to get to HEA but it was so enjoyable to be part of the journey. We get dial POV while Brady is deployed after leaving Emersyn without a word. How they overcame obstacles to communicate the love for each other was both frustrating (in a good way) and heartwarming.

The side characters from interconnect stories are 👩‍🍳💋

[Sunny Shelly Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emersyn has always had a crush on Brady, her older brother's best friend. There is a wide age gap between them (15 years), but eventually, Brady stopped looking at her like a little sister and began appreciating her for the young woman she was becoming. But because she was his best friend's little sister, Emersyn was hands-off. Plus, he'd always felt like he wasn't worthy of her affection. But now that he's retired from the military and back home, Brady has decided he is all in to winning her heart.

I felt like I was dropped into Love You Always in the middle of a story. There were a lot of pieces that I'm guessing happened in other books by AJ Alexander, because I felt like I was missing background points and the relationships between some of the characters. Love You Always is an interconnected standalone, but I really think in this case that having read the other books would have helped.

That said, I was still rooting for this couple to get together. At times, I thought that Emersyn, at 22, presented more mature than Brady did at 37. He kind of screws things up with her over and over again, and I was starting to get whiplash. I thought that the concept of this story had a lot of potential, but the execution could have been better. There was a lot of telling happening (and A LOT of inner dialogue from the main characters that seemed like... filler?) but not much in the way of showing. The repetitive back and forth between Emersyn and Brady dragged on until the last 15% of the book, and I would have liked to have seen more interaction between the characters. Definitely more of them as a couple.

Overall, I was just hoping for a little more out of this story. I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.

[Fairy’s_Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Stats:

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3/5)

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️(2.25/5)

Tropes: Best Friends Brother, Small Town, Age Gap, Military Romance

Publisher: Tequila Sunrise Publishing

Review:

Good Things, shall we? I think the concept of the book is really good, I enjoyed the story. I think for the right reader, who is looking for a short, fluffy, small town romance, with a very sweet happily ever after. I also think its very relatable. I also like the military aspect. I typically don't read this trope, but I really enjoyed it. The small town vibes were also *chef's kiss*. The best friend's brother trope was written very well. I like that the brother was actually involved more too. Also, can we hear it for great female support systems? I love Emmy's friends, seriously I want great as friends as she has.

Now on to the bad things, First off, Brady, the male MMC creeps me out just a bit. The way he describes Emmy is almost like he is entitled to her, which is good, in some cases, but it's not written well. Brady character depth also can fact into this. He seems very one-dimensional, even though the author tries to make it not seem so. He doesn't actually change, he makes promises but doesn't keep them, he constantly mess up when he says he was going to be better, etc, but we don't actually see it on page....

Secondly, I wish the side characters weren't as interesting. I was more focused on the side characters and their stories then I was on the main couple, and it seems like the author was as well, especially towards the end.

Third, the smut was written okay. It wasn't the best but wasn't the worst I have read. I wish there was more passion and detail in it, just a smidge.

[Ria Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ex-Military, age-gap romance

She does it to me every time and she's done it again with LOVE YOU ALWAYS. AJ Alexander pulls me into her books with her use of emotions, entertaining characters, and relatable storylines. LOVE YOU ALWAYS is an age-gap, ex-military, brother's best friend, small town, first love romance which brought out all the feels.

Emersyn Carter and Brady Thomas were always destined to be together, unfortunately an older brother and best friend, the military, and battles with emotions become obstacles in their pathway. Both Emersyn and Brady are hot messes, while there are genuine feelings between the two, their actions don't necessarily back them up. After returning from his deployment Brady is determined to gain a second chance with Emersyn. He says he's changed, but when he gets his chance, he stuffs up once again. Can Brady get his act together and win the woman of his dreams? Will Emersyn be able to forgive him for breaking her heart twice?

LOVE YOU ALWAYS was another terrific addition to the Tyson's Creek series of interconnected standalones. I loved Emersyn's girl gang, they were an absolute riot, every woman needs friends like them. While I enjoyed this story there did seem to be a few timeline inconsistencies, but they didn't affect the overall storyline. I'm looking forward to more from AJ Alexander.

Read and Reviewed for Reading Is Our Satisfaction

FOUR STARS

[Erin Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨🔮🌞🌕🍄🌕🌞🔮✨
ARC REVIEW

Love You Always - AJ Alexander

4.5/5⭐️
3.5/5🌶️

✨✨✨✨✨✨
This book I binged!! This book was truly beautifully written and I was pulled in from the start. Finished in one day because I just couldn’t stop myself! While absolutely loving this one it also made me emotional. I felt so bad in my heart for Brady and what he was struggling with on the inside. All he wanted was to love Emersyn but that little voice in his head was making it so hard! Emersyn definitely felt like a very relatable character. The way to overprotective brother she has to deal with and he oversteps sometimes. I loved the little dance class part! I’m so glad Brady and Em got their HEA because ooo my heart was hurting along the way for them!

Overall such a great read! And I hope we get a book for the brother! I just feel like there is so much more to him I need to know!

📚📚📚
If you like to read:
- Age Gap
- First Love
- Brothers best friend
- Found family
- Interracial romance
… You should definitely check this out

📚📚📚

Thank you so much for sending me a copy for an honest review in my own words.

✨What’s your favorite song right now?

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[Britney Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sad but sweet brothers best friend to lovers book. Brady and Emersyn’s love story is definitely a long journey but don’t worry, they get their HEA.

Brady has been in love with his best friend’s little sister for a few years now, but he is worried how to tell her. With getting ready to head out on his final deployment, he doesn’t really know when or if he will come back. So how is he supposed to tell her his true feelings and leave. He doesn’t want her to miss out on her life as she is almost 20 years younger than him, so she has her whole life ahead of her. So he does the one thing he thinks will help, leave without saying goodbye.

Emersyn, this girl. She was fun to read. She had her moments but I mean Brady had more than her, where I was like COME ON! But I get where she was coming from. Brady was giving her so many mixed signals. She finally took the reins and went to tell him she is in love with him before he leaves but her overly protective brother had to ruin that moment.

I gotta say, there was a lot of back and forth that kinda got in the way of the story but these two finally got everything together and figured out their issues, mostly Brady, and got the love story they always wanted!
I do want to say the love emails and letters he finally wrote to her had to be one of my favorite things in this book!
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4️⃣⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
7/10 recommendation

[Yvette Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love You Always: A Small Town Brother’s Best Friend Romance by AJ Alexander is book four in the I Love You series. I’m so glad to be back in Tyson Creek, I love this town and all of the people in it. If you love age gap, brother’s best friend, he writes her letters, interracial romance, ex-military, meddling by friends and family, dual POV, short king in the house, interconnected stand alone then you will love this book.

I love how we are getting Brady and Emersyn’s story, we are also getting Seth and Bristol’s story. His POV finding out Seth just learned he’s a dad and how Bristol kept it from him. For a brief moment I was living their story again. Alexander did a great job with the story line and plot. She wrote these characters so well that I feel like they are my friends as well. This never ending, unconditional, unwavering friendship group is anyone dreams friendship. Love You Always is a story of love, forgiveness, friendship, family, and learning to love and accept yourself. No matter what you are going through in life YOU MATTER and YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH. Don’t let anyone ever make you feel or put in your head anything different. Thank you to AJ Alexander for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. I cannot wait for Love You Never Riggs and Leia’s story.