The series was altogether pretty consistent, receiving 3-4* from myself, i think maybe the series lacks a bit of structure. I can see where Ashley wants to go and i felt maybe the series could have been executed better.COVER ART:
I'm not a big fan of the covers but this one is the better out of the series. With this cover we are able to see the target audience which is definitely necessary when we have a New Adult novels. As the cover looks a little raunchy we can also see what might be within the book.
WHAT I THOUGHT:
Told from two POVs one from Alexia and the other from Nolan we delve a little further to the hot couple. After being together for a year Alexia has a lovely rock on her finger and Nolan will do anything for her.
Three years of being engaged Alexia struggles to deal with the pressure of organizing a wedding while Nolan, after using his parent's inheritance, is struggling juggling his time trying to open his own gym and making sure Alexia is taken care of. This is where the cracks start to show.
This book is definitely a lot more mature than Ashley's first three books we see a lot more expression in the characters sexual desires with explicit scenes not suitable for anyone 18 years and under. This is how we see that Nolan and Alexia have clearly been leading more of a physical relationship than an emotional one.
Due to the fact Alexia needs help planning a wedding Nolan agrees for her to hire a wedding planner, little does she know the wedding planner, Meg, is someone from Nolan's past who he likes to keep hidden. When Nolan surprises Alexia by meeting her for a meeting at a florist in which Meg attends he is overcome with rage embarrassing Alexia and leading him to come clean about his tragic past.
I liked this novel because in Planning on Forever (#1) we don't really know anything about Nolan other than he is an older guy, so it was nice to see a little bit behind the curtain. It is pretty clear he has lead such a difficult life from his teens which still torments to this day. Alexia i find to be a little spoiled, i didn't see this so much in the first book but I could see it was there. I think it is shown more in this book due to the fact when Nolan was seventeen he lost his little princess so he is using Alexia to fill the void that was created when he lost that special person in his life.
There was never a doubt in mind that either of them were not devoted to each other even when Nolan tries pushing Alexia away, thinking he causes everyone pain he is left tormented and blames himself for the majority if not all the problems in everyone else lives including the tragic death of his parents who died on board one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11. It's then up to Alexia to help level him out and help him overcome all the tragedies in his life.