Marriage-in-crisis romance highlights relationship realities and mental health struggles

     Chloe Liese is back with the third installment in her Bergman Brothers series, Ever After Always, which is available today (Jan. 12th)! However, instead of seeing one of the Bergman boys navigate love, we see their sister, Freya, and her husband (the matchmaking professor, Aiden) navigate their marriage that’s falling apart at the seams.
     Aiden has spent twelve years loving Freya Bergman and twelve lifetimes won’t be enough to give her everything she deserves. All he wants is to make her happy, but the one thing that will make her happiest is the one thing he’s not sure he can give her: a baby. With the pressure of providing and planning for a family, his anxiety’s at an all-time high, and he finds himself pulling away, terrified to tell his wife how he’s struggling. But when Freya kicks him out, he realizes that pulling back has turned into pushing too far. Now it’s the fight of a lifetime to save their marriage. But, as if weathering marriage counseling wasn’t enough, they’re thrown together for an island getaway to celebrate Freya’s parents’ many years of perfect marriage. Despite Freya’s meddling siblings and a week in each other’s constant company, this trip somehow gets them working through the trouble in paradise. But Freya worries that when they leave paradise and return to the real world, will trouble find them again?
     This might be my favorite Chloe Liese book to date! It was steamy, funny, sad, and just really lovely to read. Liese really makes an effort to portray the ups and downs of a marriage and how relationships develop and change over time. Freya and Aiden’s relationship isn’t defined by single moments, but instead a culmination of the years they’ve spent together. The way they try to work on their marriage and remind themselves of the love they have for one another is so eye-opening to read about.
     This book gave me major Bromance Book Club vibes! The way the other Bergman brothers try to help Aiden and the major love of romance novels some characters have was so entertaining to read about. Also, the steaminess and sexual tension in this novel makes this fabulous novel even more binge-worthy and fabulous!
     Additionally, the way Aiden’s anxiety is conveyed makes this “invisible illness” really seen. The way he tries to work through it and how it affects his and Freya’s marriage made this novel even more real in it’s portrayal of mental illness. Liese has always done a fabulous job of highlighted underrepresented illnesses, disabilities, and characteristics in her novels and this one is no exception.
     All I can say is to go read this book (which is a great standalone) and the entire Bergman Brothers series and bask in the amazingness that is a Chloe Liese Romance! You won’t regret it! And if you don’t believe me, then check out my reviews of the first two books in the series Only When It’s Us and Always Only You as well!

*I received an ARC from Chloe Liese in exchange for my honest opinion.

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