'I just keep waiting for better days to come"
---
It has long been known that Kristen Riley and Alex Henley are the ideal couple, but they are also the ones that come with a lot of baggage. Henley is the local troublemaker who is always getting into mischief by being boisterous as hell, has a penchant for failing to follow through on plans, and is skeptical about commitments. The only person who can truly keep Henley calm is Kristen, who is a powerhouse with a golden heart and a desire to serve others, as evidenced by her new volunteer position at the Cliff Haven Crisis line. When their two pals get engaged, something in Henley changes and he realizes he can't live without Kristen.
But, just as Henley is about to leap head first into committing entirely, Kristen receives a cryptic call from him telling her she needs to move on and he'll never be returning. That is, until Henley returns to town six months later, accompanying a strange girl and appearing to be broken, leaving Kristen enraged and clamoring for explanations.
My heart swells with an abundance of love, a great deal of sorrow, and abounding hope as I reflect back on my journey through reading Versions of Us.
Throughout much of my reading, I felt as if I were watching a movie. Blakely's use of imagery felt organic and wasn't overly wordy. It was an essential way to convey a vivid image of Cliff Haven and the people who lived there.
While dual POV stories and books don't really appeal to me. Usually, because my head flutters the entire time, or I find myself concentrating too much on the numerous plot holes that exist between the POVs. However, author Eve Blakely gave me hope that not all multiple POVs are hastily written.
Our primary characters, Kristen and Henley, were interwoven in a smooth manner by the author. I enjoyed being able to absorb what they were feeling and thinking. The weight of their various emotions, Kristen's knowledge that Henley is concealing something, and Henley's need to release the pressure of his secrets despite knowing the harm it will do.
Although Kristen and Henley's journey to reconnect with one another is the focus of this tale, there is much more to it. It is a tale of courage, frailty, unedited emotion, secrets, and the hellfire one might experience while attempting to flee a difficult circumstance.
I don't think I've fully recovered from this one, to be completely honest. I find myself thinking back to specific moments from the novel. Specific quotes still resonate with me.
*****
This book was provided to me in advance to the books release date.
I want to be clear that all opinions expressed here are my honest and unsolicited thoughts on the book.
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There are 4 books in this series.
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4.5 stars…loving this series!
♡ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 ♡ •dual pov •second chance romance •plot twists •mysterious phone calls •the haven •mental health rep •secrets •australia beachside setting •their spot •”i can’t not love you.” “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠, 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚’𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝘼𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙛𝙪𝙡. 𝙄𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.“ i loved returning to the little small seaside town of cliff haven and getting immersed in this story. eve has such a beautiful way of writing and i get completely lost in her story telling. i was so excited to be able to jump into henley(alex) and kristen’s story after meeting them in versions of us. they were clearly made for each other, but then they’re inexplicably torn apart. this book is so hard to review without giving spoilers!! once alex returns, this multilayered story unfolds in such a way that you can’t stop reading. i just had to know what could have possibly caused alex to just up and disappear! i also loved the sweet, slow burn of alex and kristen overcoming insurmountable odds and finding their way back to each other. new characters are introduced, a beautiful wedding is planned, and the set up for book three has me so excited to see where this series is going. romance: fade to black thank you to the author for an advanced copy. my thoughts are my own.
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2023
Top reviews from other countries
- Edina KosztelReviewed in Germany on January 3, 2024
"𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦."
💜🪻✨️Versions of Us by Eve Blakely✨️🪻💜Edina Kosztel"𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦."
Reviewed in Germany on January 3, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✨️💜read if you like:
- second chance romance
- lovers to enemies to lovers
- soulmates
- mental health rep
- secrets
- closed door
- dual pov
Kristen and Alex have known each other since they were teenagers, and despite their on and off relationship, deep down, they always knew that they were endgame. As days went by, their love only grew stronger, and a future together seemed to be within arm's reach. Then the unexpected happens, Alex leaves, turning Kristen's world upside down. When he returns with a mysterious woman 6 months later, Kristen is hurt and angry and expects answers. Although she can't seem to recognise this version of Alex. The happiness in his eyes is replaced with sadness. Gone is the easy-going and cheerful man he once used to be.
At first, i was very frustrated with Alex, but once i got to know the reason behind his sudden disappearance and why he lied, i couldn't help but feel my heart breaking for him. I admired the length he was willing to go just to keep her protected, even if that meant breaking his own heart in the process.
"𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶."
Kristen's hard exterior was a disguise for her soft heart. She was strong and brave, someone who never gave up, regardless of her troubled past.
"𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦."
The lyrics "you drew stars around my scars" kept replying in my head while reading. I think that single line fits Kristen and Alex's relationship so well. Their road might have been bumpy, but in the end, they found their way back to each other.
This really is a story about love, sacrifices, second chances, and finding hope in the darkest corners of your life.
"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦." "𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳"
Thank you so much to the author, Eve Blakely, for the opportunity to read an eARC of this piece of beauty. 💜
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- Kyla TReviewed in Canada on August 12, 2024
Beautiful story on love and second chances
“𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭, 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹,” 𝘐 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳. “𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦.”Kyla TBeautiful story on love and second chances
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2024
𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦. 𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦.
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
Versions of Us is the second book in the Cliff Haven series, and shares the story of Kristen Riley and Alex Henley. Those that read The Other Version, anyone else so excited to get more of their story?! I love when series focus on different characters each book. 🫶🏼
I’m still processing my thoughts on this one, I loved every moment of it and again my JAW DROPPED many many times. This story almost had a bit of a thriller aspect to it, and I loved it. I had a hard time putting the book down as I needed to know what happened next!
This was such a sad, emotional, and beautiful story. The mental health representation was beautifully done. This story is about second chances, small town romances, and family, with duo POV.
Chapter 42, Alex’s POV from 6 months ago has my heart 🥁 🖤
“𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.”
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