Review: Always by Kindle Alexander

Born to a prestigious political family, Avery Adams plays as hard as he works. The gorgeous, charismatic attorney is used to getting what he wants, even the frequent one-night stands that earn him his well-deserved playboy reputation. When some of the most prominent men in politics suggest he run for senate, Avery decides the time has come to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. With a strategy in place and the campaign wheels rolling, Avery is ready to jump on the legislative fast track, full steam ahead. But no amount of planning prepares him for the handsome, uptight restaurateur who might derail his political future.

Easy isn't even in the top thousand words to describe Kane Dalton's life after his father, a devout southern Baptist minister, kicks him out of the family home for questioning his sexual orientation. Despite all the rotten tomatoes life throws his way, Kane makes something of himself. Between owning a thriving upscale Italian restaurant in the heart of downtown Minneapolis and managing his long-term boyfriend, his plate is full. He struggles to get past the teachings of his childhood to fully accept his sexuality and rid himself of the doubts brought on by his religious upbringing. The last thing he needs is the yummy, sophisticated, blond-haired distraction sitting at table thirty-four.

Oh, the romance. It was just so romantic.

Established couple romances get me every time. Every. damn. time. I just can't get enough of couples who really make it. Not just to the 'I love you' or to the moving in together or to the proposal. But past that and really make it. Because that's where all the hard work really comes into play.

Always spans about 40 years and throughout that time we see pieces and flashes of Avery and Kade's beautiful life together. Avery visits the restaurant that Kade owns and immediately decides that this is the man he wants. And he's gonna get him, no matter how hard Kade resisted him. Oh, how I love when a character is determined to make themselves miserable but The One just won't let them. It was all very sweet and so, so romantic.

Their relationship was pretty angst free, as in they didn't have many major roadblocks in the way of their HEA.  It was all about their journey through life with everyday struggles just like any relationship would face. They made some good choices and some poor choices, but the whole time Avery and Kade were in this thing together and put the other first. They weren't perfect but the way they handled each other was just about perfect.

There was so much that totally worked for me: established couple, large time span, romance, no unnecessary drama or misunderstandings, and it made me cry (<- yes, this is a win for me).

There were also a couple things that totally did not work for me and I'll keep those short and sweet:

1. The dialogue was borderline cheesefest a few times. I don't like it when characters force me to roll my eyes and Kade and Avery could be way too mushy gushy lovey dovey gumdrops for me to resist. I just had to roll my eyes.
2. They were very loving and sweet (win!) but there was a lot of telling, telling, telling of what they were doing for each other. I never wholeheartedly felt that they were each others always until almost the end.

What I loved outweighed the little things that bothered me and I loved it.