Book Review — Forever With You (Fixed #3) by Laurelin Paige

“I don’t have all the answers yet. But we can work on it together. We fix each other, remember?”

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Hudson Pierce is back!!!!!

Please note that this book is the third and final instalment in The Fixed Trilogy and is not intended to be read as a standalone as it is a direct continuation of the story from the previous books.

This one picks up right where the last book ended with that one burning question that we were left with and my heart was in knots wondering how that secret could potentially come between them.

Despite their respective issues though, Hudson and Alayna loved each other very deeply. Even though mistakes had been made and trust had been broken in the past, the one thing that held strong how much they both so clearly wanted to make this relationship work.

“I knew our love outweighed the heaviness of those mistakes.”

What I loved about them was that they both were quite …. well, “damaged” isn’t really the right word per se, but they were both struggling with certain compulsions that their pasts had almost turned into habit. But they both understood where their issues lay and they were both willing to work at changing themselves and helping each other take steps towards being more healthy both individually and as a couple.

“We both have to change. We have to put everything out on the line, Hudson, as much as possible. We know now that we’re together, thick and thin, right? We have to trust that more than anything. We can’t be afraid of our secrets and our pasts. Both of us. Honesty, open doors, transparency.”

What I loved was that we got to see several scenarios created by the direction of the plot which could have led to more mistakes being made on both their parts but I was so thrilled to see them taking the right path and making the right choices instead of repeating the mistakes of their past. It clearly showed that they had both grown a lot over the course of their relationship.

“We have the future to make up for the hurts we’ve cause each other.”

As with the first two books, the character dynamic here were great! I loved the writing too — it continued in the same, strong, compelling style that I’d come to love in this series. I also loved the interjections of humor now and again too that helped lighten the mood even if it was sometimes at Hudson’s expense 😉

“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, son.”
I disagreed. Jealousy did look good on Hudson. Quite good indeed.
A low grumble came from the back of his throat.
Jack cocked his head. “Did he just growl?”

It brought a smile to my face watching Hudson and Alayna work through their issues and make concessions for each other along the way. They both had a strong understanding of each other’s fears and genuinely tried to help make things better. With the way it was portrayed, it almost made it relatable because it was written in such a way that really made you genuinely understand their mind set.

Now, the entire story is told from Alayna’s POV which was wonderful in some respects because it really made her a very relatable heroine as it was so easy to understand what drove her insecurities and what she was feeling. But seeing only one side of the story also made everything regarding Hudson a huge mystery.

He loved her. There was no doubt about that. I mean, his words speak for themselves…

“You’re the center of my world precious. Every minute of every day. Even when I’m not with you.”

…but he was hiding something big — a devastating secret that genuinely had the power to tear them apart.

I’m not going to deny that at this point, I got very frustrated with Hudson. It was actually an interesting situation because in most books I find myself frustrated with the heroine for one reason or another and in this book, it was the hero who I wanted to shake. I was fully Team Alayna at this point because he shut down and refused to talk about anything despite their promises of openness. And this closed-off attitude put an understandably huge wall between them.

“I have no answers to give you. This subject is closed.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not going to talk about this?”
“No, I’m not.”

OMG I was going nuts trying to figure out what his angle was. What was he up to?? I was right there in the same boat as Laynie — I wanted to trust him, but his actions and secrets made it so fucking hard. I guess I really have to tip my hat to the author here for putting my right in the heroine’s mind and having me experience the exact same things as her because dammit, I was reaching the limits of my patience and understanding with him. He literally pushed me to the very brink and almost over. I was angry with him. Furious. There didn’t seem to be any justifications for his actions and he was literally forcing Laynie to deal with her worst nightmare. How could he not see that???

But here’s the interesting thing — I was more frustrated with this part of the story while I was reading than I was afterward. Because looking back on it now and knowing what his secret was, I kinda get it. I still think he was wrong to keep it from her and there was no doubt that that was a huge mistake on his part but… I genuinely believed that he had changed as a person. We all knew the demons he was fighting and honestly — his secret was bad enough that once I found out what it was, I did at least understand why he would have wanted to hide it.

While the back and forth in this part of the story did frustrate me a little, I also recognize that working through issues is a part of what makes a relationship stronger. I felt like especially given their particular set of problems and weaknesses, this was the kind of hurdle that would make or break their relationship and there was no doubt in my mind that if they could face this and come out on top, that they could face anything.

“I don’t have all the answers yet. But we can work on it together. We fix each other, remember?”

At it’s core, this was a story of two deeply damaged people who loved each other deeply fighting a lifetime of compulsions and making up for potentially unforgivable mistakes. But the fact that, even in their worst moment, they still loved each other was was what got me through the harder parts of this book.

And when it was good between them…. just WOW. My heart soared. It was beautiful. I don’t want to spoil anything but there some scenes that had me gasping out loud in happiness!! Not to mention that I do love me a good grovel and there was a healthy dose of grovelling here 😉

“Even though I don’t deserve it, I’m determined to fight to earn back your trust. Even if it takes the rest of my life.”

I won’t spoil the ending but I will say that I loved it and that we’re treated to a beautiful epilogue from Hudson’s POV that just made all the hardship they went through worth it and brought their story full circle. It was heartwarming and just a perfect, very fitting end to the series.

“We know that we’re worth the fight. SHE’S worth the fight…. She’s mine. And I’m hers. Completely and absolutely.”

The Fixed series delivers scorching hot romance, heart stopping emotion, and a plot that will keep you glued to the page. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. This really was a wonderful trilogy!! I loved it and would highly recommend it especially for fans of Crossfire who are looking for something new to try that is unique in it’s story but similar in it’s vibe. If you loved Gideon Cross, then you have to meet Hudson Pierce!

Rating: 4.5 stars

• Buy FOREVER WITH YOU (Kindle)
• Buy FOREVER WITH YOU (Paperback)

 

** SERIES READING ORDER **
This is now a completed trilogy.

BOOK #1 — FIXED ON YOU
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

BOOK #2 — FOUND IN YOU
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

BOOK #3 — FOREVER WITH YOU
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

COMPANION NOVEL — HUDSON (his POV)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback