Review: I'm ruined once again...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 20, 2014
**Note: Each of the books in the More series may be read as standalones, however it does make more sense if read in order. May contain mild spoilers for the first three books, but it is spoiler-free for More Than Forever**So, you'd think since I've basically been with Jay McLean since the beginning, I would be used to having my heart stomped all over by her and her characters, right? Or you'd think that writing reviews for her books would be a piece of cake? Or you'd think that I would be used to her talent for weaving an intricate, beautiful story that can simultaneously make me fall in love and break my heart? The answer to all of the above is HECK NO. Each time I get to read a Jay book, I'm scared to death. This book is no exception. I've put off writing my review for as long as I could because More Than Forever haunted me for days, weeks... Lucy and Cameron and their forever love owned me. I have been Jayed once again.“I love this time of day.""Sunset?""Yeah. You wanna know why?""Because it reminds me of us.""How?""Because it's eternal, the rise and fall of the sun. It's forever. Just like us."I've been interested in Lucy and Cameron ever since More Than This. They were the golden couple. Been together since high school and adorably showing up multiple times in the preceding three books of this series. I LOVED getting to see how they got together in the very beginning. You would think since they were 15 when they got together in high school, that it would be all sweet and innocent, right? That's the first wrong assumption out of many to come in this book. Side note: it's seriously better to not have any assumptions at all going into a Jay McLean book. It just makes getting Jayed all that worse. Anyway, they got together when Lucy's mom passed away and then it was just little Lucy taking care of all her younger brothers because her dad decided to mentally check out. Then, there's Cameron--inexplicably drawn to Lucy, he just starts showing up and helping out. One thing leads to another then we have one of the most romantic, adorable high school romances ever. I wanted it to end there. I really did, because I just knew once they got to college, s*** was going to hit the fan. And I was more than right. No spoilers, but god, I'm scared of this book. It's powerful. It's emotional. It's more proof that Jay's books are the epitome of why I read: to feel. To be taken to another world. To fall in love. To be broken. To hope. To experience things I could never in my normal life do.“She nods again, and my heart tightens. I used to feel it a lot—that tightening in my chest. It took me a while to work out what it was; love—the kind of love that shouldn't exist for two sixteen year olds. It's almost too much. Too heavy. Too soon. I used to worry about what could be left? What is there to look forward to when you fall in this kind of love when you're so young? And then I worked it out. Forever. I have forever to look forward to.”We see very different sides to both Lucy and Cameron. For one, Cameron is even more romantic than I ever dreamt possible. At 15, he was saying things I could never ever think of a normal guy, much less a 15 year old guy, saying. It was what dreams were made of. Them as he grew older, his love for Lucy only got more intense. I think what I loved most about Lucy and Cameron's story was that we got to watch them grow up together. They endured life together. They were torn apart. They were torn down. They loved and lived and I admire them for all that.  They're more real than other characters to me. That's the beauty of Jay's characters--they're incredibly relatable. And Lucy? There were some times that I didn't completely agree with what she did, but at the same time I couldn't imagine her doing anything different. She was young, she was human, and I can't fault her for that. Cameron too.“To falling in love, even when you don't know it.""To finding friends that become family, no questions asked.""To claiming your girls, owning them and making them yours.""To not dwelling on why horrible stuff happens to good people. To letting love win, and to moving on.""To finding your forever, and being able to keep them.”I love the brilliance of Jay's writing. We go back to high school with Lucy and Cameron, then we see them go past where More Than Him ended. And we see the overlaps. We see how closely their lives are intertwined. And as usual, we meet more characters to fall in love with (DIBS on Lucas, by the way). I enjoyed getting to see the other characters we fell in love with in the previous books. And, I love seeing parts of Jay in her book. I can't imagine reading one of her books without knowing her like I do, it makes the experience so much  more enjoyable. I don't know if It's because I've come to know her more, but I think we see more of Jay in every book she writes. She gets more bold with each book, which in turn just makes the book MORE. Each book makes my heart hurt more, it makes me want to try to cry more, it makes me laugh more, it makes me fall in love more, and it makes me feel more. For all that, I just have to say thank you Jay, for letting us in. For letting us see you through your wonderful books. It shows how much you've grown, and I'm so freaking proud of you. I can't wait to get my heart ripped out by the next book.“There is a love so fierce it cannot be measured.A heart so strong it will never slow.There is a promise so sure it can never lie.And we promise that love forever.Forever and always."