Pink Polka Dot Books: Always Forever Maybe by Anica Mrose Rissi-- Review & Giveaway!!

Always Forever Maybe

by Anica Mrose Rissi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: June 5, 2018

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Synopsis:

When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Even before they share a first kiss, Betts already knows the two of them are destined to become an us.

Betts has a bruised, cautious history with love, but she feels safe and empowered in Aiden's arms. He trusts her with the darkness in his troubled past, and his devotion opens up a new future for Betts just as everything else in her world is changing. With graduation inching closer, Betts and her best friend, Jo, have been sliding slowly apart, and that fissure is blown wide open by Aiden.

Betts has only ever kept one secret from Jo, but suddenly there's a long list of things she won't tell her, things Jo wouldn't understand. Because Jo doesn't see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling.

She's wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.

It's hard to love a book like this-- the relationship in this book is so hard to read about. BUT yet, this is a book I loved anyway.

Betts meets Aiden and he's everything she's been wishing for. He's sexy and super-interested in her-- and who doesn't like a guy on a motorcycle?? But Aiden is damaged, and soon Betts finds herself tip-toeing around his moods and his jealousy. He wants to be with her all the time, which at first she finds adorable, but it soon it becomes obvious that it's not LOVE that is making Aiden needy-- it's control.

Betts and Aiden were toxic. Or really, Aiden was just toxic. I've been in a relationship with an Aiden and believe me when I say, it can be really hard to get out of. These types of dudes know how to suck you in. They know how to pull at your heartstrings, isolate you, and make you feel lower than low. They know when you are about to leave and they know exactly what to say so that you won't. Will every girl or guy fall into their trap?? Probably not. But once they find someone that they can suck into their web, it becomes a dangerous and volatile situation.

Hands down the best part of this book was Jo. Without Jo, I don't know if Betts could have made it. She was losing herself and Jo was the only thing grounding her. Most friends will give up on a girl like Betts-- she's pushing everyone away because in these relationships that's what people do-- but Jo isn't budging. She was an all-around great human being, and I wish there were more Jo's in this world.

I really did love this book. I felt like the progression of the relationship and Betts's evolution was well-done. Betts started out thinking this relationship empowered her to be someone other than a tagalong for Jo and her twin brother, and I think a lot of people fall into that trap. It's easy to confuse being happy that you are finally the center of someone's world, and obsession.

PS-- If you are in a relationship with an Aiden-- LEAVE. I know it's hard. Ask for help. What Betts and Aiden had wasn't love. Love would never make you feel like that.

I previously did a post on RED FLAGS to look for-- you can find it HERE.

OVERALL: So happy that I read this book. It brought back painful memories, but it was SO worth it. I hope that anyone who has an Aiden (or may meet an Aiden in the future) gets ahold of this book. The more people are aware of these types of relationships, the fewer people who will be susceptible.

My Rating: 5/5

Anica Mrose Rissi grew up on an island off the coast of Maine. After college, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a cheesemonger and book editor. She now writes, fiddles in the electro-country band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves, and walks with her dog, Arugula, near their home in Princeton, New Jersey. Anica is the author of several books for younger readers, and her essays have been published by The Writer and the New York Times. Always Forever Maybe is her YA debut. Visit her online at anicarissi.com, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @anicarissi.