Name: Forever, Interrupted
Rating: 3.785714285714286 (224 reviews)
ISBN: 9781476712826

Taylor Jenkins Reid

After her newlywed husband, Ben, is killed while riding his bike, Elsie realizes the only family she has left is a mother-in-law she does not meet until after Ben's death, and whom she is instantly at odds with, and must forge a bond with the woman if she is ever going to get over the grief. Original. 35,000 first printing.

A Novel

Forever, Interrupted

Victoria Justice

That is what true love is. True love is saying to someone "Forget about us. We will be okay," when it might not even be true, when the last thing you want is to be forgotten.

Sarah Campbell

Every morning when I wake up I forget for a fraction of a second that you are gone and I reach for you. All I ever find is the cold side of the bed. My eyes settle on the picture of us in Paris, on the bedside table, and I am overjoyed that even though the time was brief I loved you and you loved me. 

Steph

There’s a reason why i can only read tjr’s book once in a blue month cause they absolutely wrecked me. 

michelle

“I could feel that he loved me in a raw and real way, when it's not all rainbows and butterflies, when sometimes it's fear. I could feel his fear in that kiss and I could feel the desperation in his relief. It was intoxicating and it made me feel just a little less alone. The way we felt about each other, it made him do stupid things too.”

Mandie

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo "Touching and powerful...Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn't let go. A stunning first novel." Publishers Weekly Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year's Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn't expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they've eloped. Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met-and who doesn't even know Elsie exists. Interweaving Elsie and Ben's charmed romance with Elsie and Susan's healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there's more than one way to find a happy ending. Don't miss the new novel from Taylor Jenkins Reid, Carrie Soto is Back, out now

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo “​Touching and powerful...Reid masterfully grabs hold of the heartstrings and doesn't let go. A stunning first novel.”​ —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Have you ever heard of supernovas? They shine brighter than anything else in the sky and then fade out really quickly, a short burst of extraordinary energy. I like to think you and Ben were like that . . . in that short time, you had more passion than some people have in a lifetime.” Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year’s Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn’t expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they’ve eloped. Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met—and who doesn’t even know Elsie exists. Interweaving Elsie and Ben’s charmed romance with Elsie and Susan’s healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there’s more than one way to find a happy ending.

I see glimpses of what I like in her other books, but I can also tell this is a debut  

Annabella

I didn’t love this book. For most of part 1 I found myself really disliking the main character for her disregard of others feelings during a tragedy. Through most of the book MC was super self absorbed. Also I really didn’t see the love connection with Elsie and Ben - most of the decisions they made were super illogical and most of all cringey and unrealistic. Susan was my favorite character as she felt the most real (apart from going to apologize to Elsie like why are you apologizing). Not my fave TJR book, but also her debut novel. 

Paige Paul

It’s quite possible this is the saddest thing I’ve ever read and also quite healing? 

it’s just a book about someone going through grief, i didn’t imagine myself in her place at all because i know i would bawl my eyes out. i don’t understand how elise didn’t say once how she wanted to kill herself because i would have said 5 times a hour if my husband of 9 days died. i think im done with grief books for now, i get it, its sad, rip ben, you would have loved the hunger games trilogy 

debbie <3

Abby Elmore

the only other book i’ve read from this author is malibu rising and i’m starting to notice her writing style, she doesn’t write about a plot kinda more like traumas and how the characters are to face them in the future. 

at first i was like… why is this book so long but now finishing it i understand. i love the ending. 

it’s a great read but do i think everyone should read this? not really. only if you’re grieving i guess. 

 it’s a great first book for an author. 3.5 ⭐️

andrea 

the only other book i’ve read from this author is malibu rising and i’m starting to notice her writing style, she doesn’t write about a plot kinda more like traumas and how the characters are to face them in the future. 

at first i was like… why is this book so long but now finishing it i understand. i love the ending. 

it’s a great read but do i think everyone should read this? not really. only if you’re grieving i guess. 

 it’s a great first book for an author. 3.5 ⭐️

This book is straightforward. Different genre from the famous books of TJR (T7HOEH, Daisy Jones). I read those 2 books first so I was kinda expecting the same thing on this book but it really was just straight to the point haha nothing bad about the book. I think it's really a good book for healing and moving on, it's just not my cup of tea. Also it's too angsty for me 😭 but all in all, TJR always convey her stories so well. 

Kate

Kenzi Linton

Normally, I’m okay with chapters switching from one time to another, but I struggled a bit more this time around. I think it’s because in one chapter, Ben was still alive and in the next, he was gone again (not a spoiler, that’s literally part of the plot). My emotions couldn’t keep up with it. While I have read some of TJR’s new works, I think I prefer her older ones more. There’s just something about this book and about OTL that have really spoken to me. I can image myself in the situations more. I like the way they are written more. This book was definitely heartbreaking and a bit hard to read because of the grief it had me feel, but I did really enjoy it.

such a beautifully tragic book. tjr doesn’t have a single book under 4 stars

kels

I really enjoyed this book. I love the relationship blossom between elsie and Susan, which made the book a 4 star for me. This books main message is love does not define time had with someone. It shows how strong a connection can form in very little time and I think TJR did a great job portraying that in this book. 

Kassidy May Gaudet

Briar's Reviews

We need to talk about Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I don't read reviews before I read on purpose. I like going into a book with the summary, a general idea of the overall rating (because if there's 80,000 ratings and the average is one... gotta be bad), and that's about it. Sure, I sometimes see a Twitter comment or two, maybe an Instagram collage, but I don't want to be biased. I want to enjoy the book, especially when it's by an author like Taylor Jenkins Reid. 

So I read the book and then looked at the reviews and OMG... why so mean? From my understanding, this was one of Taylor Jenkins Reid's first books. Everyone is degrading her for the book being "bad" (which it's not) and how her other books are better. Which... you know... over time your writing should get better. This book isn't bad and was beautifully written, so reviewers... stop being jerks. Seriously. And do some research about when this book was read before saying she's gone "downhill" when this is one of her first books... written before Daisy Jones, Carrie Soto, etc. Geez. Louise.

Anywho, I enjoyed this book but it's so darn sad! It really was a book that made me more sad overall and killed my empathetic soul. Elsie deserved better. Life can suck so bad sometimes. Her husband dying after a week of marriage? Crappy. Not cool. 

Now, does that make the book bad? No! Not at all! Taylor Jenkins Reid displayed a pretty honest viewing of grief. I haven't lost a husband, but I know when I lost my Dad I felt similar feelings to Elsie - being alone, not wanting to get rid of stuff, saving their smell, feeling completely misunderstood, etc. It hurts and it sucks BIG TIME. I felt this book really hit that nail in the coffin well. 

For me, this book was awful though. I don't do well with sad books - even if it has great theming and things can get better. It made me super depressed and for me as a reader, my books are an escape from the crappy times. I do give Taylor Jenkins Reid all of the love though because the book is so well written and such a gem. I highly recommend it if you can tolerate sad books. I, alas, just can't. 

I did finish the book. It was a hard read for me but I did it! It's beautiful. It's heartbreaking. It's haunting. Loss sucks. The romantic chapters were so good and sweet, but the sadness made it hard for me to read them. 

Overall, fantastic book by the always wonderful Taylor Jenkins Reid. I'll obviously be picking up more books by her, but man... books need a "SUPER DEPRESSING BOOK TRIGGER WARNING" so poor Briar doesn't almost cry herself to sleep.

Three out of five stars - due to the sadness in this book.

FOREVER INTERRUPTED PA

Ben and Elsie’s love is something most of us can only hope to experience in our lifetime. I felt so sad for Susan having lost her husband and son. 

TJR’s writing is so so good and had me hooked. I loved the dual timeline and the fact that the chapters weren’t too long. Will definitely be reading more of her books 

Ben and Elsie’s love is something most of us can only hope to experience in our lifetime. I felt so sad for Susan having lost her husband and son. 

TJR’s writing is so so good and had me hooked. I loved the dual timeline and the fact that the chapters weren’t too long. Will definitely be reading more of her books 

Krystyna 

I decided for my first Taylor Jenkins Reid book that I would start with her debut. I am so happy with my decision. I wanted to see how her writing progressed and I wanted to start with her first book. I have nothing else to compare this one to so I get an unbiased opinion on this one, so to speak. I fell in love with her writing. I have no idea how she made me care for characters within the first chapter but she did. Her writing is beautiful and I know that it has developed even more over time. This story was heartbreaking and beautiful. Surprisingly, what made me tear up in this book, in addition to the main characters story, was Mr. Callahan. I loved the characters. I really enjoyed being able to see how Ben and Elsie's relationship developed through flashbacks that were triggered by something that was happening on the present timeline. Really the only complaint that I had with this story was the insta-love factor. Normally, I don't like insta-love and will knock off a star but it just didn't bother me as much in this one. Also, while reading this book I found out that it is being adapted into a movie. So, I am looking forward to seeing that. I will definitely be reading all of her books. She is one of my new favorite authors!

I may be completely biased to this book bc I’m also in a stage of grief but I just didn’t like it. It was good but also boring and just dull. I genuinely didn’t even fully read the last couple of chapters, skimmed them really, and I didn’t miss much by doing that. I think the entire book can be skimmed, a really disappointing read from TJR in my mind, I wish I had liked it more.  

Melissa Clark 

Ashley

When Elsie heads out on New Year's Day for a pizza, she never expects to meet Ben. She also never expects to fall into a whirlwind romance that results in marriage after 6 months. Nine days later, Ben dies, and Elsie faces her new mother-in-law in the hospital, meeting her for the first time after Ben never mentions Elsie to his mother at all.

This book is a masterpiece at storytelling. We get a dual storyline, following the 6 months after Ben's death, with flashbacks to the 6 months Elsie knew Ben. The interwoven storyline and the emotions it instils are miraculous.

I will never cease to marble at TJR's ability to write romance. Here, we have a story where we know it ends in heartache, but TJR has the ability to unravel the most beautiful love story that has you so invested you don't want to believe it doesn't end happily.

The characters feel real and flawed. The plot feels elaborate but believable, and the writing is exquisite.

I'm starting to feel like I will never feel let down by TJR, as her debut, is almost immaculate.

When Elsie heads out on New Year's Day for a pizza, she never expects to meet Ben. She also never expects to fall into a whirlwind romance that results in marriage after 6 months. Nine days later, Ben dies, and Elsie faces her new mother-in-law in the hospital, meeting her for the first time after Ben never mentions Elsie to his mother at all.

This book is a masterpiece at storytelling. We get a dual storyline, following the 6 months after Ben's death, with flashbacks to the 6 months Elsie knew Ben. The interwoven storyline and the emotions it instils are miraculous.

I will never cease to marble at TJR's ability to write romance. Here, we have a story where we know it ends in heartache, but TJR has the ability to unravel the most beautiful love story that has you so invested you don't want to believe it doesn't end happily.

The characters feel real and flawed. The plot feels elaborate but believable, and the writing is exquisite.

I'm starting to feel like I will never feel let down by TJR, as her debut, is almost immaculate.



If you’ve lost your love recently, maybe wait on this one. If it’s been awhile, or you haven’t yet, be prepared for teary eyes many times. It’s a scenario nobody wants to happen, but her journey to being “okay” is lovely. 

Forever, Interrupted A Novel

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