Forever Ago

A Dark College Romance

By: J Rose

Narrated by: Big Bear Audio

From the bestselling author of Blackwood Institute, Sabre Security and Briar Valley comes a standalone, dark romance tale of unconditional care and inevitable heartbreak that favours the imperfect journey of first love—not the happy ending.

Hallie

I’m alone in the sea of my grief until I meet Zeke, a tornado of complications who leaves destruction in his wake. I fall hard and fast, despite all the warning signs.

Our love story is far from a fairy-tale. But if it hurts, then it’s real.

There’s a monster hiding beneath his tattooed skin, an addiction that will tear us apart. I can’t lose him, but I’m powerless to fix wounds that simply run too deep.

How do you save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?

Zeke

I’ve been a shadow of my former self ever since the crash, consumed by guilt. A chance encounter in bereavement therapy changes everything.

Hallie invades my life with her soft smiles and fiery passion. She becomes my whole world and for the first time in so long, I have a reason to live.

My demons aren’t so easily beaten. I should walk away, yet I can’t bring myself to leave the woman who took my broken pieces and brought me back to life, one kiss at a time.

I’ll fight this addiction to my very last breath for her, but the road to recovery is never simple. If I’m not careful, I might just drag her to hell with me.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Forever Ago is a dark, standalone college M/F romance with realistic mental health representation and no guaranteed HEA. Full trigger warning is available inside the book.

©2023 Wilted Rose Publishing Limited (P)2025 Wilted Rose Publishing Limited

Heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful

Zeke and Hallie's story is heartbreaking. Not just because of Zeke's addictions (although that would be reason enough), but because they both have already experienced so much pain and loss at this point in their lives. They both are just wandering around through life trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of tragedy. Zeke is attracted to Hallie from the beginning, and despite all of his glaringly obvious red flags, she falls into his orbit. Hallie has been a broken shell of a person for so long that when Zeke sets his eyes on her, she can't bare to walk away from him even if she knows it's not good for her.

Their story is frustrating, infuriating even because we know how this will end. We know this will be heartbreaking and possibly tragic, but in the meantime, they try to build a life together in the sober moments and hold up each other's broken pieces. I do believe that they really do love one another, but it's a terribly toxic codependent relationship, and every time Zeke relapses, he leaves a path of destruction in his wake worse than the last.

As sad as this book's ending was it was still beautiful. It still made me cry and touched me in a way I can't really explain. I know not everyone will understand or appreciate this book, and that's fine. I've been there too. Addiction is a vicious beast and one people rarely can tame, but I think this book does a great job of showing that life does go on even when we feel like it might never be the same.

A fantastic heart-wrenching listen

I was sobbing as I was pulling into work this morning because of this book. This is a very raw...emotionally draining book so please take the trigger warnings seriously.

Hallie Burns and Ezekiel Rhodes aka Zeke meet at a grief group therapy. Hallie has lost both of her parents, most recently her father to cancer. Zeke has been struggling with his grief after his brother's death. Zeke has been numbing himself to the pain by any means necessary - drugs and alcohol.

Hallie and Zeke fall in love but Zeke can't help but hurt those that love him and it is a constant roller coaster of emotions throughout the book. There were times that I wanted to shake Hallie and want her to leave but Zeke didn't deserve that either.

This was narrated so beautifully and with so much emotion by Big Bear Audio. I was so impressed and in love with it!

This book absolutely ruined me. I've read a couple of other series from J Rose so I know that she will emotionally wreck me but I still was not prepared for this in the slightest.

Thank you to the author and Valentine PR for this ALC in exchange for an honest review from me.

Heartbreaking

How do I begin… I had this amazing opportunity to listen to this ALC. I felt every emotion listening to Zeke and Hallie’s story. Without giving any spoilers, Forever ago is about 2 people coming together while dealing with grief and addiction. Zeke and Hallie as a couple and individuals were so real. As tragic as their lives were they truly did love each other. I cried throughout the book and felt as if they were real people with way this book was written and narrated. I will always think about these characters. Looking forward to reading/listening to more of J. Rose’s work.

Thank you Valentine PR, J. Rose and Big Bear Audio.

A Heartbreaking Love Story With Two Very Broken Characters

4 ⭐️
2.5 🔥
5 💔
Dark College Romance
Fast Burn
Grieving Art Student
Damaged Bad Boy
Star Crossed Lovers
Addiction
Non-HEA
Great on Audio! 🎧
⚠️This is a pitch black, extremely dark romance, without a happy ending for our couple. Please check trigger/content warnings.⚠️
This was a rough read! 😭 It’s like a bad traffic accident you can’t look away from, or a thriller, in which you just know something bad is going to happen and you’re on the edge of your seat waiting for the ball to drop. This is a tragic love story about two very broken characters, that are both grieving and dealing with that grief in different ways. The love and depth of emotions these characters experience is beautifully heartbreaking. “If it hurts, then it’s real.” Although the audio was done by a single male narrator, the intense emotional depth he portrayed while reading, really added to the overall experience. This book was a great representation of grief and addiction.

Thank you J Rose & Valentine PR for the ALC!

A total disaster!!!!

I don’t even know what to say. This is not a romance. Romance has HEA. That is all. I enjoyed it though