Going Forward

Twenty-Something

by K.M. Galvin

(Twenty-Something Duet, #1)

You may think you know me. The truth is I wasn’t always a good person. Truth is I played in the dark. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. Did a lot of things that many people should hate me for, things that you may hate me for. But one thing I know for sure is that sometimes in order to go forward, we have to go back. And so…this is my story.

When Emily’s parents died in a car crash the night of her birthday she thought nothing could hurt worse. She was wrong. Choice. That’s the difference. They didn’t choose to abandon her, but her friends, brother, and the one person she loved more than life all chose to turn their backs. So Emily made the decision to shut off from life. She chose to find comfort in anyone who’d have her, anything she could drink, any drug that would give her just a moment of oblivion.

But all that changes with two pink lines.

Seventeen and pregnant? Not how she planned on finishing out her senior year. Jason and Declan both coming home? Not the reunion she was prepared for. But life doesn’t wait for you, and so you’re only option is to go forward.


**Recommended for readers 18+

Genres: Romance

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

KM currently lives in Philly with her pup Dwight...yes, as in Dwight Schrute! When not writing, you can find KM in the comment section of her favorite authors begging for early releases or in the kitchen trying to recreate something she saw on Great British Bake Off.

Follow her on IG/ Tiktok/Pinterest @authorkmg

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (10/25/2019)! 🎁

[Echo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that was perfect? So perfect that you were completely blown away with how much you loved and adored it with all of your bookish heart?

So this perfect book that I’m talking about right now?…

Going Forward by the fabulously, crazily talented KM Galvin. This. Book. I. Love. It.

It. Is. Perfect.

Seriously.

I am so grateful and thankful that not only did I get to read this book at all, but that I also was asked to Beta read it. I loved it from the first sentence and I am sooooo glad that I was able to read it as soon as I did.

Reading Going Forward is total book nirvana and I’m starting to believe that that is just a KM Galvin thing. She’s just one of those amazing writers that has the ability to pull me into her story and not let me go.

So, we met Emily in Going Nowhere, book 1, and she was completely adorably awesome. One of my favorite characters of ever and I was jonesing to read her book. I wanted – no scratch that – I needed to read her book. I needed to know her history. How she got to where she was. And what in the holy crap was up with her combustible energy with Declan?? Seriously. I needed to know.

And oh. My. God.

I know now, some of it at least and I loved every single moment of it all.

Going Forward is gorgeous. It’s heartbreaking, and wonderful.

Slight spoilers for Going Nowhere coming up….

Right from the moment Going Forward opens, it hooked me on a level that I can’t really explain. Emily is a senior in high school and after the death of her parents, and the apparent abandonment of her brother, Jason and his best friend, Declan, Emily has hit rock bottom. With drugs, alcohol and sex ruling her life, she’s also trying hard to play the game of pretending to keep the state from stepping in, so she’s doing a lot of lying and pretending and she’s been doing okay, kinda. If you don’t include the whole doing drugs thing. And the sucky boyfriend. And you know, the pregnancy thing.

Yup. Pregnancy.

But this isn’t a woah is me story. This is the beautiful kind of story. Of a girl who had everyone she loved ripped from her life, fell into very self destructive patterns of coping, and then having everything tipped over on her head again in the form of two pink lines. This is where I was blown away.

Simply put – Emily, awed me. I was awed by her and stunned by her reaction to this news. And when Jason and Declan find out. Que tears and complete happy love for all things that is this book.

From beginning to end this book is all kinds of fantastic and one of the best books that I’ve ever read. Period. And I read a crap ton of books, a crap ton. I cringed, I cried (big ugly, oh-my-god-ah! tears), I laughed (out loud), I swooned – BIG time, seriously. One name. Declan. Oooh, but I love Declan. So many times when he was around I was actually getting chills. Seriously! Ah!!

And Jason, what isn’t to love about Jason. I loved him before and this book just made me love him even more. What he does for Emily – it’s seriously the best. Ever. They have the most awesome sibling/friendship relationship of all time.

These are characters that I genuinely care about. All of them. From Emily, to Declan, to Jason and the guys from the band. And far beyond to characters from the next book. I am anxiously awaiting the continuation of Emily’s story. I know Emily’s history, now I can’t wait to find out what her future holds. And I may be holding out for a certain happily ever after.

So after one of my longer reviews, my conclusion is this. Go read this book. Just go and 1-click it and read it. Like now. Seriously. It’s perfect. Lovely. Beautiful. Stunning. Hilarious. Sad. And completely awesome. And Emily. Emily’s going to blow your socks off with how incredible she is. Seriously, I’m in awe over this chick. I wish she was real cuz’ we could so be besties.

Go read it!!

Rating: 5 Stars (but I would so give it 10 if I could, heck I’d give it even more!)

Originally posted on Me, Myself & Books

[LA Spiez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is usually the part of my review where I add a quote from the book boyfriend to the girl he's in love with. Sometimes it's beautifully romantic, sometimes it's asking for forgiveness and sometimes it's just plain heart breaking. Could I have found a quote from Going Forward to start my review? Absolutely...but this isn't your typical book boyfriend story, so I wanted it to be a little different.

Senior year should be the highlight of any seventeen year olds life, but for Emily Scott it's anything but. Both of her parents were killed in a car accident that she survived. She's got a brother Jason, but he just hangs around just long enough to get guardianship so she doesn't go to a foster home. Then being only twenty one himself he leaves to go on tour with his semi famous band. Only checking in at random intervals to see how Emily is doing.

Trying to numb the pain of her parent's deaths and her brother leaving her, Emily turns to sex, drugs and alcohol. Strangely enough, the people of the town she lives in turn a blind eye to the "orphan girl". Not out of cruelty, but because it's almost like a don't ask, don't tell situation. Emily would probably have continued her downward spiral except one night, she takes a random pregnancy test she finds at someone's house. She sees those three pink lines and that's when the story really begins.

Obviously, the baby's daddy is not interested in having anything to do with a child. Finally taking a phone call from her brother Jason, she blurts out that she's pregnant and after almost a year, Jason comes home.

Jason and Emily spend a lot of time feeling guilty for the things that they have done and the things they haven't done. The two of them have never come to terms with their parents deaths. They've never spoken about it, have never properly grieved so their reunion is bittersweet at best.

Jason tries desperately to make up for all the time he's spent away from Emily. Plans doctor's appointments, reads her pregnancy books, and becomes kind of a hovering helicopter brother. At first their relationship is strained. But, it's clear that they love each other and Jason decides to prove to Emily he's never going to leave her again.

Then there's Declan Malloy. The opening quote should have belonged to him. Emily has been in love with Declan for ten years. He's Jason's best friend and has tried to keep Emily in the friend zone. Declan is somewhat of a mystery and Lord knows my fingers are crossed that we're eventually going to get into Declan's head. (Right K.M.?? Right??) In his head, Emily is Declan's girl. On the outside Declan sends mixed signals to Emily and he basically tears her apart. She tries to push him away and he keeps coming back. Declan calls Emily "mo chroi" all through the story. (Google it. I did)

Jason, Declan and the other boys in the band are amazing to Emily during her pregnancy. They take care of everything she needs, make plans for the future and make up for the pain they've caused each other. Jason and Emily rebuild their relationship and help each other heal.

I can't lie Moving Forward brought me to tears. But they were good tears. The relationship between Jason and Emily is strong even though it seems shaky at times. The attraction between Declan and Emily is evident and you know if they get together, they will be explosive in the bedroom. Their make out chemistry alone is steamy.

Personally, my book boyfriend in Going Forward is Jason. Black, mussed up hair, bright green eyes, tall with a panty dropping smile...yes please. And guess what?? He's getting his own story!! I can't wait!!!

I'm giving Going Forward a five lip smack review. It really is a beautiful story about being able to move forward after going through some really horrible life events.

ARC read in exchange for honest review

[Cassia Brightmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you have to feel like you are at the end of your rope, that you have sunk into the lowest part of despair, before you can truly begin to find your way back into the light. There are situations that break us, that leave us feeling as though life as we knew it is over and destruction is the only choice left. This book begins in just such a way for Emily Scott, and I found that it was detailed in a relatable way. Who hasn’t felt like this at one point or another? Emily’s story and her struggle through her sorrow, her loss was one that touched my heart. Finding the courage and determination to stand up and get her life back on track are characteristics that endeared me to her, that and her sassy, smart ass flair. She is a force of nature, and I loved that about her.

And so I smile at him, and the darkness that has been so apart of me these past months gets smaller

Emily’s life changed with the discovery of two little pink lines. At 17, motherhood is not something she was planning on. Especially less than a year after the staggering loss of both of her parents. When her older brother abandons her, she is left on her own to deal with her pain. And the choices she makes are not the smartest ones. This was the part of the book I had a little trouble with. For Jason to leave her completely alone for as long as he did, I felt that leaned more on the unbelievable side given how much he cared about his sister. While his actions are explained in the book, it did take me some time to connect with his character due to this. Emily’s character had the uniqueness to have me laughing like crazy at her inner conversations with herself and crying over her heartache all at the same time. I thought it was commendable the way she immediately stopped her bad behaviour upon learning that she was going to have a child. Reaching out for help, showed that she was not beyond redemption, and that is what made me fall in love with her right off the bat.

There is no end in life, only change and choice

Declan Malloy. Ohhhhh Declan….can you just feel how Irishly sexy he is without me even saying it? Because you should, he is one manly man, and a scorchingly hot one at that. His relationship with Emily is a frustrating one, he spends more time thinking he knows best for her than actually letting them experience any kind of real connection. I wanted to shake the stupidness out of him more than once, shout at Emily to get over her stubbornness and push the two of them together. Love has a way of making you think you know what’s best for someone, when really all they need is to have their feelings returned. That was definitely the case with Declan and Emily, and the more her feelings were rejected, the more it played on her insecurities. The chemistry between them is explosive, but is that enough to push them through the pain?

Maybe life is moments measured in degrees of pain. Maybe that’s all I’ll ever know

I enjoyed this book, it touched me and parts of it I felt were speaking directly to me. Insecurity is real, and once it takes a place in your head, its very hard to overcome it. Emily is a strong girl, but will the love she struggles to rebuild with what’s left of her family be enough to push her forward? I loved this author’s writing style and I will definitely read more of her work.

xo Cassia
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[Cocktails and Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was something about GOING FORWARD that absolutely blew me away. The heartbreak of Emily and her brother Jason, along with their determination to fix what was broken between each other and themselves had me glued to this book.

Emily Scott had spent the past year losing herself to alcohol, drugs and meaningless sex, all in an effort to momentarily feel something. In the year since her parents death and anyone else she cared about leaving her, she made choices that could have and probably should have destroyed her. But when a pregnancy test taken on a whim changes her life, it's again Emily's choices that change the direction of her life.

I don't know how to say this other than, poor Emily. She was hurting and feeling abandoned by everyone (and she really had been) when she discovers she pregnant. She needed someone, anyone, to prove to her that she was loved and that she was worth sticking around for. But I was happy that she did reach out when her world suddenly started spinning in a direction she wasn't (at that moment) capable of dealing with on her own. No matter how mad she was at her brother and his best friend, Declan, for leaving her, she knew she needed Jason and reached out hoping he'd come.
Jason didn't disappoint. Everyone handles grief differently and his was to run away. He knew what he did was wrong, but didn't know how to fix it. But when Emily needed him, he abandoned his own dreams to come home. He became Emily's rock, something she desperately needed. She knew he struggled with what he did to her, but he proved to her that she was important and he was always going to be there. You couldn't help but love him and you could almost watch him change into a man anyone would be honored to know.

Then there was Declan. He's Jason's best friend, but he's the one person Emily needed (more than Jason) and who broke her on a deeper level. It's obvious Declan has issues. But it's just as obvious that despite hurting her repeatedly, Declan loves Emily. Even when she doesn't think he's there for her, he's in the shadows doing what he can for her.

I am so looking forward to what's to come next in this series. Having read this prequel first, Jason's story is next, which I can't wait to read, but it's Emily and Declan who I'm really looking forward to. I know Jason's going to be OK and he's going to find that woman Emily said was going to be very lucky to have him. But Emily and Declan have so much left unsaid. So much that needs to be worked out, that I'm hoping we don't have to wait too long to find out what happens with them.

[Not Another Damn Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite Lines or Quotes:

"Jason, they're never going to know him. They're never going to be in any more family videos. They won't see me graduate or either of us get married. They won't see you have children. They're missing so much." I sob and the realization of these lost moments are all tiny deaths.


NADBB was asked to review this book and it was one of those books that intrigued just from the cover, but I probably wouldn't have taken a chance on. Which would have been sad, because it is a beautiful book

Synopisis:

This book is a prequel to Going Nowhere, but can be read before or after the other book, which is handy for the reader.

Our story centers around Emily. Her parents die in a car crash the night of her birthday. It pretty much destroyed her. As teens are apt to do, decision and choices were made that set her on a collision course away from anyone who might truly care and and towards a path of destruction.

But decisions have consequences. Emily's results in a teenage pregnancy. But once consequences are revealed and reality sets in how will Emily move forward?

The Review:

The Good: You know that hidden gem that you find that you weren't expecting? That moment when you find a twenty dollar bill in a long forgotten jacket pocket? This book is that. I wouldn't have bought it. Seriously. I just wouldn't. I would mark it down as not my type of book and leave it at that. I would have been wrong. There is so much to love about this book. A sterling example is the quote we used above. For the first time we have a book that could have most of the character lines as favored quotes. But take a minute and read that last line:

I sob and the realization of these lost moments are all tiny deaths.

Freaking phenomenal. I want 1/2 of the potential and talent this author has.

The Bad:

Can't find it. Ain't even going to try.

The Rating:

4.99 I want to be a hard ass, I can't. Crap 5.0

[Victoria Tinemoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult review to write, but then it was a difficult book to read. First, there's the subject matter. A seventeen year old girl becomes an orphan and then is abandoned by her older brother. She falls into drugs, alcohol and lots of hookups. Then she discovers she's pregnant. The story is told in first person POV, and you feel the pain Emily is going through.

The story is well written, but I have a number of problems with it. When Emily discovers that she's three weeks pregnant, no one - and I mean No One - ever suggests that she has alternatives. Now, I know that many girls don't feel abortion is right, but when NO ONE, not the councilor, or the doctor, or even Emily ever even mentions her alternatives, I wanted to throw the book across the room. But I can't afford to replace my Nook.

The second problem is that the middle of the book was drawn out soooooo long. I really didn't need to go through all nine months of angst.

But the major issue is that Ms. Galvin needs to get an editor. When I pay for a book, I expect it to be a finished book, not a first draft. If she had simply sent it through a spell and grammar checker, many of the issues would be resolved. Unfortunately, like many independent authors, she seems to feel that I should pay for her unfinished manuscript. That is a pity, as I enjoy her writing.

[Jacqueline Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going Forward: A Prequel was a coming of age page turner. Emily Scott's teenage angst and real life turmoil will grab the reader until the very end. Teenage pregnancy is very relevant in society today and K.M. Galvin's take also entwines the abuse of drugs and other triumphs and tragedies young adults face when growing up. What sets this story apart from the rest is the use of language and adult scenarios that plague our teenagers. The ending was a very pleasant surprise leaving the reader wanting more.
What I Did Not Like:
There wasn't anything that I did not like.
What I Did Like:
The co-mingling of teenage angst with young adult triumphs and trials. The protagonist never gave up despite all the obstacles she faced. Any woman reading this story will understand the message and will be able to face any obstacles.

Jacqueline D. Thomas
A&RBC Reviews
5 Stars=Non-Stop Page Turner

[Alwaysreadingbooks - Reading Drinking and Relaxing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book because I understood how Emily felt, although I didn't agree with a lot of the things that she did I could understand why she did them. Emily lost her parents in a wreak and also in the process she lost the only two people who meant anything to her. Tragic strikes Emily and she realizes that the way she was living was not going to cut it so she changed her life and the way that she looked at things. This was a wonderful book about realizing what you are worth and that not all tragic things that happen to you makes you have to spiral out of control. I thought that I was going to be on the fence about this book but from the very beginning I was hooked and didn't want to put it down. I'm glad that I got to read this now I wanna read the next book in this series and see what happens with Jason

[katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this in a day

I loved it! It was so nice getting the backstory to the first book. I don't know if there's a 3rd book but I know for sure I wanna read it. If nothing else we all must find out what Declan's tattoo is.