Chloe Liese

Buckle up for an emotional journey of hijinks, heartache, and a hot slow-burn in this marriage-in-crisis romance about going the distance to make love last. Aiden I've spent twelve years loving Freya Bergman and twelve lifetimes won't be enough to give her everything she deserves. She's my passionate, tender-hearted wife, my best friend, and all I want is to make her happy. But the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing I'm not sure I can give her: a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, my anxiety's at an all-time high, and I find myself pulling away, terrified to tell my wife how I'm struggling. But when Freya kicks me out, I realize that pulling back has turned into pushing too far. Now it's the fight of a lifetime to save our marriage. Freya I love my cautious, hard-working husband. He's my partner and best friend, the person I know I can count on most. Until one day I realize the man I married is nowhere to be found. Now Aiden is quiet and withdrawn, and as the months wear on, the pain of our growing distance becomes too much. As if weathering marriage counseling wasn't enough, we're thrown together for an island getaway to celebrate my parents' many years of perfect marriage while ours is on the brink of collapse. Despite my meddling siblings and a week in each other's constant company, this trip somehow gets us working through the trouble in paradise. I just can't help worrying, when we leave paradise and return to the real world, will trouble find us again? Ever After Always is a marriage-in-crisis, opposites-attract romance about a sensitive, fierce-loving woman and her resilient husband who has anxiety disorder. Complete with island vacation antics, a sibling prank gone wrong, and a steamy slow burn, this standalone is the third in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.

Ever After Always

Marriage in crisis trope is not written enough!! I really loved this. There were lots of bits of wisdom about long term relationships. What almost ruined it for me are the meddling family members, look reading about big families is just not my thing so I’ll just take that as a bias and not let it affect my rating. 

Also, for a long time Aiden is the only one groveling and that got so frustrating but trust the process and know that Freya puts in the work as well. In the end I was definitely back in love with this as I was at the start. 

Abigail

Marriage in crisis trope is not written enough!! I really loved this. There were lots of bits of wisdom about long term relationships. What almost ruined it for me are the meddling family members, look reading about big families is just not my thing so I’ll just take that as a bias and not let it affect my rating. 

Also, for a long time Aiden is the only one groveling and that got so frustrating but trust the process and know that Freya puts in the work as well. In the end I was definitely back in love with this as I was at the start. 

Nialani Thompson

This book was really good. Rocky marriage stories are always great because they show- in a world full of fictional fantasy, perfect love stories- that it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows. I love the Bergman family, I’m super reading these out of order, so I’m not super in tune with every one of them. Freya is such a great character and I love how strong she is throughout the book. Aiden?? Idk how to spell it, it was an audio book, was such a relatable character, his anxiety was written really well and shows a really good example of it. This book was really fun and I’m excited for the rest of the series

rakshu

Ana Clara Moreno

"Aiden + Freya = 3,650 days, 520 weeks, 120 months,
10 years, 1 ever after always."

menna

If you know me, you’d probably know that the marriage-in-crisis trope is one of my all time favorite tropes! Or basically any time an established couple go through a rough patch and they try to find their way back to each other, because while the happily ever after or better yet, as Freya called it the ever after always is still there but you get to see what relationships are like once you get past that honeymoon phase and i love how real it feels!!!


  I’ve learned that the measure of your love isn’t how “okay” you both are or how quickly you hit the curveball that life throws at you. Love’s true test, the measure of its strength, is its bravery to be honest, its willingness to face the hardest moments and say, Even though there’s nothing to be done, at least i have you.


THAT QUOTE!!! This was one of my favorite quotes in the whole book, because besides the fact that it’s so beautiful!! it simply describes Freya and Aiden perfectly. More towards the end than at the beginning, but watching them go from trying to hide things from the other to protect them to reaching the “we’ll do it together” is so beautiful i loved watching them grow so much!! You can see how much they care and love each other from the start and the fact that them being in a fight never stopped that for them is just aaaaaaaa so beautiful!

Also get you a person who’ll read a book out loud to you and cry with you when the book gets too sad!!!!

I loved the family moments, I love how much the bregman brothers tried to make Aiden feel like one of them and that they are here for him, every bonding day was so hilarious and so sweet!! 


  Somewhere along the way, you forgot the day you became Freya’s, you became ours, too


I can’t wait to get the rest of the family’s stories. There’s not anyone i dislike or i think has a very surface lever character, Chloe liese makes sure to include snippets here and there of each side character that they feel very real!!

The representation was great!! Especially Aiden’s because it’s the one I can personally speak for. How he talks about anxiety or when he tries to explain what it feels like just made me feel so seen. I loved how he’s surrounded by people who love him and are so understanding without making him feel guilty for it. I also loved Freya’s talks about her body image and her feelings about how she has to be extra vocal about how much she loves her body or other people think that she doesn't like it or trying to lose weight.

The next book is Axel and Rooney’s!!!! I feel like I've been waiting forever for their book!! I'm so excited for it!!!

thanks to netgalley for approving me for the arc!!!

dija

I like the troubled marriage trope a little too much

Jessica Ford

Kasey Montagnat

I’ve loved this series so far! I really love marriage at stake trope really good book and I really loved how this author includes in every story some sort of mental illness or auto immune disease or disability!

I just love Chloe Liese's writing!! I appreciate that the author is very inclusive with certain topics and that she writes about them with care/consideration. Especially in this book, where one of the main characters has anxiety as well as a poverty mentality developed from childhood. The author translated Aiden's struggles in a way where I heavily connected/understood Aiden's mindset with money in a capitalist society. It was interesting to see how this survival mindset is detrimental in a relationship. I also love that the author tackles toxic masculinity throughout the book. Even though Freya is very emotional, her feelings were not invalidated and dismissed as being "too emotional" at all. One of the messages in the book was that feeling your emotions is not a weakness!! YES! Everyone is allowed to cry!! Feel all the feels

I hope there are books for the other siblings esp Viggo and Ziggy!!! I thought Ren was a romantic but omggg Viggo and his appreciation for romance books!!! - "Sometimes, yes, romance has reinforced unrealistic expectations of sexual intimacy and pleasure—however...At least it foregrounds human intimacy and sexual freedom and passion, not just staring into the abyss, waxing philosophical about our inevitable mortality...Romance is about the centrality of loving relationships, and it reminds us that human connection is vital to existence, rather than glorifying egoism or violence or greed. So excuse my genre for not being perfect, but let’s back the fuck up from hypocritically critiquing books that have done a lot more for humanity than slashers and circle-jerk, five-hundred-page, nihilistic tomes.” YESSSS VIGGO

The book has so many good quotes, but here are my favorites:
“Where are you going?” Aiden asks sharply.
My car. Then In-N-Out. Where I will order a large fry and a strawberry milkshake and eat my feelings in the parking lot while cry-singing along to my aptly titled Allllll The Emotionzz playlist. It’s going to be cathartic as fuck. - omg LMAO I LOVE FREYA

“I want to give you everything you deserve. I want to lay the world at your feet.”
“But I never wanted the world, Aiden. I just wanted you.” - AHHHH UGLY CRYING

Aiden's reaction to his first romance book: "Holy shit, I’m reading romance forever."

“I’m saying ‘happily ever after’ doesn’t exist. Not because lifelong love is impossible, but because, as we’ve learned, no couple can live ‘happily ever after.’ People whose love lasts, whose love grows and endures, choose each other in the unhappily ever after, the dark moments, not just the dazzling ones.
We can’t possibly hope to always live ‘happily.’ But ‘ever after’? That we can hope for and choose. Because ‘ever after’ isn’t an idea. It’s a person—an imperfect person who’s perfect for you. You’re that person, for me. You’re my ever after.”
“You’re my ever after, too, Freya. Always.”
She wraps her arms tight around my waist and smiles up at me. “I like that. Ever after always.”-!!!!!! my favorite!!!

Elisa Bieg

I liked the first two books in the series so I had no hesitation in starting this one. I like the premise, a romance novel about a couple that’s already married but having challenges in their relationship. 

I had already met both characters and liked them here too, though I felt like the dialogue wasn’t as sharp and this book was largely missing the slight comedic element present in the previous two. 

The characters’ challenges here were just as valid as those in previous stories, but here I sometimes felt like the dramatic moments were a bit too… manufactured, so to speak. And some of it had too easy a resolution, making it look like it was just added in for extra drama. There were a lot of elements to create the impression of overwhelming pressure, and I get that; but if you’re going to include that much, then you have to be willing to explore it all properly, and I feel like this book failed there a little bit. 

I didn’t hate it, but I found it a relatively uninspiring read, even on audio, with good narrators. So I’m giving it 2 1/2 stars  but without prejudice, as a definitely plan to give the next one a chance when it comes out.

Katie

But Ever After Always is Freya and Aiden’s story and it is *chef’s kiss* and I can’t gush about it enough. The anxiety rep is spot on (from someone who has it, Chloe described it perfectly) and the body issues that Freya deals with is also spot on! 🥰

It’s a marriage in crisis/second-chance romance that will sweep you off your feet and have you rooting for Freya and Aiden and the whole Bergman bunch 🙌🏻

A whole five stars and then some ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Inês Filipa

i will start off by saying that this was probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. 
and that goes in hand with the clear tendency that chloe liese’s books just keep getting better and better. 

i loved aiden and freya - together and individually. they were both genuine and empathetic, which played an important role in fixing their marriage. 

i felt their struggles and often found myself tearing up by how overwhelmed their story made me feel. 

not once did i doubt their love for each other. it was beautiful. 

and again, the family.. i keep laughing and laughing so much. 

i cannot wait for the next book!! 

5-stars ✨

macy

aidenfreya have my heart, i love a marriage in crisis book❤️‍🩹

aidenfreya my parents, i’m actually their first born <3

“We can’t possibly hope to always live ‘happily.’ But ‘ever after’? That we can hope for and choose. Because ‘ever after’ isn’t an idea. It’s a person—an imperfect person who’s perfect for you.” Her eyes search mine as she gives me one soft, tender kiss. “You’re that person, for me. You’re my ever after.”


Again, Chloe Liese did such an amazing job with this book! This was my first marriage in crisis book and god I couldn't put it down, I want what Aiden and Freya have, even though they had to fight to get there, it was such an excellent journey and I just love them so so much!! And the family moments we get to see?? AA I NEED TO BE A BERGMAN TOO PLEASE IT'S A NEED NOT A WANT AT THIS POINT!
This series has truly become one of my comfort series ever and thank you so much Chloe for writing such beautiful stories and Aiden and Freya didn't disappoint!
Now with that last scene of Rooney and Axel IM TRULY EXCITED FOR THEIR BOOK!! Bring them on!
Oh and the willaryder and renfrankie crumbs we got to see? Just priceless, too perfect!! Also I can't wait for Oliver, Viggo and Ziggy's books, I bet it will be as good as these too and they are such interesting characters, I can't wait for them journey and for them to fall in love!! 
Everyone go read this series ASAP!!


  “You’re my ever after, too, Freya. Always.”



  “It’s a choice, a belief. I choose you, my ever after, believing our love will sustain us, always. Ever after always. So, there. Take that logic, Mr. MacCormack.”

catia

Viktoria A

I loved this book. This is a book that revolves around a married couple trying to save their marriage - which is something I have recently started to like a bit, since you get to see that even after you have been married you are still going to take and need to be affectionate and show the other person who you feel or the marriage will easily break. This book is one of my favorite run the series so far - my favorite is the second book as of now.

Flavia Louise

Third readthrough took my heart away again.

Upping this to 4.5 stars upon reread and eagerly waiting for book 4. :)

Ok this was very good as expected. And yes I am sad there are no more books in this series yet. :(

Jamie Trenholm

Marissa Lepe

Ever After Always has my heart. This book was one of the most emotional and heart-wrenching reads I have ever experienced. 

This book follows Freya who is the oldest of the Bergman Siblings and her husband Aiden, as they reach a tough point in their marriage. Freya who is a fierce lover and very expressive of her feeling and Aiden who is not as open with his feelings, expresses them in different ways have to try to work on their marriage while they are on a family vacation and keep her parents from finding out they are struggling. This book was heart-wrenching but also humorous as her siblings get involved to help her out. This was such a great book and a great read.

Representation and Tropes:
grumpy sunshine, marriage, mental health struggles, anxiety

Shannon Thomas

I was really intrigued by this one! The Bromance Book Club is a real favourite of mine so the comparison to that was one aspect that drew me in. Inclusivity was the second. 
As someone who’s lived with generalised anxiety disorder for five years (probably more as it’s been five years since it was diagnosed) I’m always all ears to see how people portray it in literature. The same goes for autism, I have a younger brother who has ASD and my BA Hons dissertation was written on the depiction of ASD in contemporary fiction.
Now, I’m not a professional on GAD or ASD, everyone experiences GAD differently and since I’m not autistic myself, I can only see it from an outsiders perspective who’s done a lot of reading on ASD and who deals with their own GAD on a daily basis, but I think Chloe Liese handled both topics amazingly. This is the first book of Liese’s I’ve read and I’ll be reading more, especially after learning that she is autistic herself. A common stereotype surrounding ASD is that people who have ASD lack imagination, I myself know that’s not true, but I’m ecstatic to see an own voices autistic author writing fiction, using their imagination, figuratively kicking the butts of every person who’s ever said those with Autism or Aspergers don’t have an imagination.
While I hope to see a book about Ziggy in future, I love that her autism wasn’t a main focus in the book. No one tiptoed around her, she was forthright in explaining sensory issues and when she did, no one reacted, Freya even mentally thought about how proud she was that her sister owned her sensory issues. More than anything I just loved that Ziggy wasn’t an autistic character, she was a character with many attributes and autism just so happened to be one of them.
Again, I can’t speak for everyone with GAD, but I resonated with so many of Aiden’s feelings and thoughts. When I’m struggling with my anxiety I tend to keep it all in until it results in either a huge panic attack or numerous people close to me becoming frustrated and upset at my lack of communication. Not necessarily because they don’t understand my anxiety, but because I don’t communicate that it’s my anxiety making me distant.
I love that this wasn’t just a romance book. I mean, it’s a GREAT romance book. It tugged my heartstrings, made me laugh, made me cry, there were se exceptionally steamy moments, but it’s so so so much more than a romance book.
I read this as a stand-alone, but I’ll be going back and reading the first two Bergman brothers books for sure!

Nash

I started listening to the third installment of The Bergman Brothers, in this case “sister”, and I seriously considered to just not finish it. It seemed to go on and on about the same issues and at a certain point I wanted to strangled them both. I managed push through and… I am so glad I did it. This story is about some of the issues that married couples can face. It slapped me in the face in some parts and like I always say, gave me some perspective. 

It is a sweet romance novel, that’s for sure. 
There’s not a lot to say about this one. 
It will warm your heart without question. 
This series is one I would recommend just like it was recommended to me. 
You just need to read it.

Anika | @chaptersofmay

I was drawn to this book because of how much I enjoyed its prequel, Always Only You, and the "marriage in crisis" trope in The Bromance Book Club. There's something about that kind of happily ever after that is especially heart-warming to read.

Freya and Aiden are married, but falling apart. Their love runs deep, but stress and insecurity has put distance between them. A Bergman Family vacation takes them to Hawaii, where they must figure out if their “ever after always” is worth fighting for. 

Chloe Liese writes with an honestly that’s both touching and uplifting. Even though the characters are on the brink of collapse, there’s a warm and hopeful tone to the narrative that I really appreciated. It encourages you, as a reader, to route for Freya and Aiden’s marriage. 

The characters are diversely complex. Aiden's anxiety was a really interesting layer to his character and I love the way Liese portrayed his mindset. Like many people who were raised by struggling single parents, he has a constant fear of financial uncertainty. His mental state wasn't wrapped in an extensive paragraph of psychology jargon, but represented in a realistic and relatable manner. The same goes for Freya’s insecurities around her image. And alongside that, the author breaks down toxic masculinity and its effect on men today. But every depth is explored with sensitivity that makes it enjoyable to read.

Marriage and commitment is a major theme in this novel, and it's broken down really well. Imperfect people will always clash at some point, but the author does a great job at balancing the voices in this novel. Both Freya and Aiden have strengths and flaws, and I could see both sides without leaning one way or the other.

While I did find the pace to be a little slow in the beginning, the trip to Hawaii and the charm of the characters ended up making Ever After Always an endearing and engaging read. 

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Ever After Always

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