REVIEW: Then, Now, Forever by Teodora Kostova

"Gia had let Beppe into her life so easily, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She’d held him when he’d hurt so badly he’d thought he might die; she’d talked him down when he’d been so angry he’d considered doing something he’d regret for the rest of his life.

Gia had saved his life.

 
At least once he needed to be strong for her.
This right now, this moment, was theirs. It belonged to them, not to abusive or dead fathers, not to guilt, regret or sorrow, not to the past or the future."

But will their love survive when tragedy separates them?

“I have to go, Gia. I’m tired and I feel empty. I know you need me, but I have nothing left to give you. I need to heal.”

“I miss you so much it’s hard to breathe.”

NOW

"Beppe was still Gia’s closest friend. But they’d never be anything more than that again. Remembering what it felt like to have the person you love most in the world be torn away from you still hurt. Gia was determined never to be put into that position again."

There was never lack of love, but can Beppe win Gia’s trust again?
FOREVER

“When I was broken you gave me pieces of yourself and made me whole again.”

'Then, Now, Forever' is the second book of the Heartbeat series. It features characters from the first book in the series - 'In a Heartbeat' - but can be read as a stand alone novel. It's the complete story of Beppe and Gia - no cliffhanger.

New Adult Contemporary Romance, recommended for readers 17+ due to language, sexual situations and incredibly hot Italian guys.

All I have to say it that I so want to move to Italy! LOL. Teodora has done it again. She has taken my heart and pulled it through the wringer and then put it all back together again to give me the happily ever after I love so much.

Beppe and Gia were favorites of mine while reading In A Heartbeat (see my review here). Beppe is Max's best friend while Gia is his older sister. We still get to see plenty of Max, Stella and Lisa in this book, but the journey is purely Beppe and Gia's - and what a journey it is.

Beppe meets Gia for the first time when he is six outside of Gia's house. Gia being the older sister, sees Beppe crying and asks what is wrong. He has fallen and is all scraped up, fearing going home to a father who takes everything out on him. So Gia cleans him up and helps him to hide the scrapes so he won't get in trouble. This starts their friendship. As the years pass, Gia and Beppe become closer and their friendship eventually turns into love. As always, life gets in the way. Both of them going through tragic events that ultimately tears them apart.

Their love for each other never faltering, they both are lost, not knowing how to mend the broken pieces between the two of them. What always survives is their friendship, even through other relationships. 

This book takes you through the evils of abuse, the highs of a pure love and the frustration of time and opportunity passing them by. I get sucked into Teodora's books and can not wait for more to come!

Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband Ted and my son Jason. I've been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job in 2010 when I decided that everything else I've tried bores me to death and I have to do what I've always wanted to do, but never had the guts to fully embrace. I've been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer among another things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It's the only time that I'm truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time - my son has a bigger attention span than me.

When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Wii game by a six year old.

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