REVIEW:

I read the final page. Wiped my tears. Then turned back to page one to read the beginning all over again.

Forever is the Worst Long Time has been lingering on my To Read shelf since its publication in 2017. I honestly have no idea why I put it on there in the first place. Yet somehow it managed to survive periodic purging over the years, just waiting to be picked up and adored like the shyest puppy at the shelter. And oh how I found myself loving it in the end.

You can read the publisher’s synopsis below if you must, but I wouldn’t.

I could tell you the details of the plot, but I shouldn’t.

You might predict how the character’s relationships will unfold, but I couldn’t.

All you need to know is that this is a story about a man, James, who is in love with his best friend’s wife. Somehow Camille Pagan has crafted a love triangle that’s multi-faceted and unpredictable. Readers see life through James’s eyes over the span of 18 years, and I wish it had been 81. I’m taking that “wanting more” feeling as a great sign I need to read Pagan’s other novels. Here’s hoping they move me the same way this one did.

Forever is the Worst Long Time is currently available on Kindle Unlimited and includes WhisperSync for those who may prefer the audio format. (As of 2/10/21.)

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

From acclaimed author Camille Pagán comes a wry, heartfelt exploration of love and loss.

When struggling novelist James Hernandez meets poet Louisa “Lou” Bell, he’s sure he’s just found the love of his life. There’s just one problem: she’s engaged to his oldest friend, Rob. So James toasts their union and swallows his desire.

As the years pass, James’s dreams always seem just out of reach—he can’t finish that novel, can’t mend his relationship with his father, can’t fully commit to a romantic relationship. He just can’t move on. But after betrayal fractures Lou’s once-solid marriage, she turns to James for comfort.

When Lou and James act on their long-standing mutual attraction, the consequences are more heartbreaking—and miraculous—than either of them could have ever anticipated. Then life throws James one more curveball, and he, Rob, and Lou are forced to come to terms with the unexpected ways in which love and loss are intertwined.