Never After

Do yourself a favor and read this book. That’s all I am going to say but you will thank me.

SPOILER ALERT. ONLY READ THIS IF YOU'VE READ THE BOOK. OTHERWISE, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. SERIOUSLY. The description for this book calls it a romance. It's romantic, certainly, but a true romance it's not. It's an emotional rollercoaster with an ending that you'll take one side or the other over. I've always been a great fan of Alexis Hall's darker books, and angst pushes my buttons. I had a good idea where the book was headed, as these characters, or a couple very much like them, appear in one of their very early books. Even so, the depth of loss that this book captures quite took my breath away. The themes are, as the description says, love, redemption, faith, and loss. And in this, the author nailed them all. They are wrapped up so tightly that some win out while others are lost. I will speculate here and say that their aim was to give voice to the quiet rage and sorrow that I think inhabits many queer people even now over the impossible choices so many were forced to make for centuries. Things are different now, gay marriage is legal (at least for now in the US...), but not for everyone and not everywhere. Hatred abounds still. I think Alex were saying to us straight people "See! See how it was! How it still is!" and making us feel the anguish right along with not only Micha and Thomas but generations and generations of queer people forced into live lies. Like many people, I wept at the end, mainly for those generations who Micha and Thomas represent. I still wish…

Other reviews here do an excellent job of describing the book's structure, plot and character development. It's been a long time since I've been so moved by a story like this. Micha and Thomas represent two poles of human development that come together in a most unlikely manner bringing about profound changes in both. The reality they confront and that, for the most part, determines their fate is unforgiving and daunting but despite this they flourish in their humanity in ways neither one of them foresaw thus becoming better human beings. Happy endings are as varied as human experiences and not a one size fits all reality so I'll leave it up to each reader to determine if a happy ending happened here. Either way, you will be moved by their story.

The language used is beautiful, the story heart wrenching, and the character development phenomenal. I foolishly stayed up until 2:30am reading it, and then an additional hour crying over it. SO GOOD.

I'm torn on how to review this. On one hand, it's beautifully written. I love Hall's books and looked forward to this. On the other, the ending crushed me. Now, I admit I didn't read the full description, I saw the cover and author and dove in. If this was marketed as romance, be warned the ending may not go as you expect. If you want a great Alexis Hall romance and are a first time, start with Glitterland and a few others before you come here. To reiterate, I don't dislike the book, but the direction threw me. To each their own.