This was a sweet love story. The "Long Division" and ways to make a marriage last we both sweet and realistic. While we can't all have romantics like Gabe in our lives it shows that what is most important is respect and trust. Definitely a good book. ( )

A charming love story. This has a wholesome, feel-good aura, with memorable characters and a message that stays with you long after you turn the last page. ( )

"Forever Friday: A Novel" by Timothy Lewis is a love story.

First sentence: "Some great romances worth the telling are never told, their lovers slipping silently between life's timeworn cracks only to be pitched with yesterday's trash."

PLOT

In the summer of 2006, Adam Colby is supervising one of his estate sales. The old house belonged to the Alexanders- a couple who have both passed away. Whilst perusing the contents during his day, he flicks through an old photograph album, and finds six decades worth of postcards- each with a poem written by Gabe Alexander to his wife, Huck.

As Adam reads each one, he finds himself enchanted by their seemingly 'perfect love'. Unhappily divorced two years ago, he wonders how the Alexander's kept the spark in their marriage when his went so disastrously. The more he reads the more he wants to know, and sets off contacting people from the Alexander's past in order to discover more about them. His main interest is Yevette- the daughter of the Alexander's housekeeper. If he can find out the formula for the 'perfect marriage', perhaps he has a second chance at love.

Meanwhile, in 1926, Gabe and Huck Alexander meet for the first time. The rest is history.

Switching between point of views, we see the story told from Adam, Yevette, Gabe and Huck's perspective. The story is told through a series of flashbacks to Huck and Gabe's first meeting in 1926, and beyond, following their love story and that of the postcards- sent every Friday for sixty years.

REVIEW

This story was inspired by the lives of the author's great-uncle and aunt, and shares many similarities. At their estate sale, he discovered sixty years of postcards poems from his great-uncle to his great-aunt, and it was that which sparked the concept for this book.

In this story, each poem connects to an event in Gabe and Huck's life at the time. We don't get to see all of them, but almost every chapter starts with one of the poems- relating it to events in the chapter as they would have related to events in the Alexander's lives. They span from 1926 to the mid-80s when Gabe died.

You have two stories here- Adam's and the Alexander's. The latter is the focus of the book, and most of it is spent in the past with them. We also get flashbacks to 2004, when Huck is in a nursing home with dementia, and still believes that Gabe is sending her postcards. He promises her one final postcard, and there is a small mystery about what is says- revealed at the end.

From the very start you know the framework of the ending. You have the story of two lovers who lived full lives and are both deceased. But as the years fly by, the inevitability of it, mixed with the uncertainty of the 'how' creates a sense of dread and sadness. A bitterness that must seep through the sweet.

The Alexander's love starts off as a heady, rosy-tinted whirlwind romance. As the honeymoon faze fades, a more realistic relationship does develop. They quarrel, they bicker and they fight, but they never allow themselves to lose their love. Huck is definitely the less mature of the two, occasionally throwing tantrums if she doesn't get her way, but there is absolutely nothing superficial about their relationship.

Obviously, Huck and Gabe's story is the focus, and it shines through. Adam's story, however, I found quite predictable, and I didn't really get anything much out of it. However, as I said, this if the story of Gabe and Huck, and that's it. The story of two people who meet and fall in love. The simplicity of the concept creates a kind of magic to the words. It is a very moving story. We may know the basics of how the story ends, but as the old proverb goes- it is the journey that matters, not the destination, and that is the mantra of this story.

There are some possible supernatural elements. Perhaps an angel, or maybe just a drifter whose words inspired a young girl's heart. It doesn't matter who he was, what matters is what he meant to Huck, and what she believed he was. It was the hope he sparked in her that emanated throughout this book.

The characters are, well Gabe and Huck are the two who stand out, as they should. Their absolute adoration for each other shines through the pages, and make this story. The other characters are almost superfluous. With one exception. A character by the name of Mister Jack, who I will say no more on lest I spoil it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book- far more that I thought I would. This is more than the usual love story. It is a story of hope. Of two people who consciously choose to never let their love slide, and that love is undeniable. While the situations may be romanticised (and therefore not entirely realistic) there is no doubt of the characters devotion to one another. It radiates. It is the lifeblood of this book.

This is a feel-good book (for the most part), but was more profound than I expected it to be. I flew through the pages, as the years flew by the Alexander's. A great love story with a deeper meaning.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books. This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% my own. ( )

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis is written from the perspective of Adam, a newly divorced man who finds a photo album filled with post cards that tells the story of two people who fell in love and the journey they take in which to stay in love. throughout the lovers journey Adam finds himself learning the invaluable lessons that eventually helps him to start over and love again. Forever Friday holds the same feelings as "The Notebook". A strong, unbreakable bond that lasts even after one of them has left. This story is truely a must-read for anyone who enjoys a true love story that transcends time. ( )

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book but I did. This was a story of true love.

It was the story of Gabe and Huck. The author did a great job of allowing the reader to fall in love with them and follow their love till the end.

( )