Always by Sarah Jio is romance’s version of What Would You Do mixed with some seriously awesome 90’s nostalgia. It’s not the type of book I typically read as it involves a love triangle, but that triangle was handled so well and so differently from other fiction that I’ve read that it didn’t bother me at all.
Kailey Crane has it all–she’s getting married to Ryan, who is basically a Disney prince in three dimensional format. She’s a successful reporter for Seattle’s Herald. She has a best friend, Tracy, who loves and supports her. So you know this is all going to go to shit, right?
Kailey is enjoying dinner with Ryan–they’re at a fancy restaurant, he’s called ahead to make sure they have her favorite wine, he’s being generally wonderful and attentive. Kailey has been working on a series of articles for The Herald on Seattle’s homeless population, so when they exit the restaurant she notices a man sitting on the street that she might have otherwise overlooked. Kailey is shocked when she recognizes the man–her ex, Cade McAllister.
Always jumps back and forth between the late nineties when Kailey and Cade met, and the “present day,” which is 2008. When Kailey met Cade he was the co-owner of a successful music label, Element Records. There is so much mid-to-late nineties music nostalgia in this book. Cade and Kailey meet at a Mazzy Star concert. She names her dog Eddie after Eddie Vedder. Tracy and Kailey sigh over the members of Soundgarden.
Cade and Kailey’s romance last three years, but by the end Cade seems to be struggling. He’s not getting along with the co-owner of Element records, who was once a friend. Kailey has reason to suspect Cade is getting blackout drunk, maybe even using drugs. He might have cheated on her. As his behavior gets more and more erratic, Cade pulls away from Kailey until one day he vanishes altogether.
It’s almost ten years later that Kailey is ready for another serious relationship. Kailey is an orphan who was raised by her grandparents. She has fought her way to the top of her career. Her fiancé, Ryan Bennett, is the scion of a wealthy and successful family. Ryan is handsome, and loving, and very rich. Ryan is her Cinderella story come true.
So when Kailey finds Cade, now homeless, non-verbal and with no memory of who he is, her overwhelming need to help him starts a domino effect. Kailey lies to Ryan–she doesn’t tell him that she’s helping Cade or that they had a prior relationship, and the more time she spends with Cade, the more she remembers and misses the man she loved. It’s an interesting twist on the love triangle plot–rather than two men fighting to save the heroine, she’s fighting to save one and hold onto the other.
I also thought Always did a good job of addressing homelessness in general. Kailey’s reporting for The Herald has given her new perspective and empathy into Seattle’s homeless epidemic. The novel addresses the preconceived notions and prejudices that homelessness is about addiction or laziness, rather than more complex issues like mental health care. Cade was a millionaire before he disappeared onto Seattle’s streets, and an ER visit confirms that since then he’s suffered some sort of traumatic brain injury. It’s also clear that there’s no one reason for Cade’s situation, but rather a myriad of complex social and medical issues.
Always is in first person from Kailey’s point of view, which worked great for fleshing her out as a character. I felt less comfortable with Ryan or Cade, though. In many ways Ryan felt like a cliché–the perfect hero who doesn’t have much depth or nuance. Similarly Cade (before his change in circumstance) read so much like Ryan that they could have been interchangeable. I think rather than real people, Ryan and Cade represented an abstract choice for Kailey–the perfect life without worry or thought (Ryan) or a fuller life that’s sometimes hard, but also more self-aware (Cade).
I was curious as to how the book would handle sex, especially since Cade has no real memory of his past which could get icky really, really fast–but it’s a “sweet” romance that really doesn’t focus on Kailey’s physical relationship with either man.
I liked Always because I liked the heroine and I liked the twist on the love triangle storyline. I felt that the heroes weren’t particularly unique or memorable though, which kept me from fully engaging in either romance. If you’re looking for something a little more thoughtful, or you need to jump back to Seattle’s nineties music scene for awhile, then this book will work for you. If you want an in-depth, steamy romance, then Always will likely disappoint.
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Thanks!
Can someone spoil for me who the heroine ends up with? My main issue with love triangles is that a lot of the time I feel like the wrong choice gets made and spend most of the book rooting for the wrong person and end up feeling pretty dissatisfied with the book, even if it was well written.
I second Allie’s request.
I third it
Thank you Elyse!