Olivia

He's my brother's best friend and I fell in love with him when I was a kid, but I never thought that he would see me as more.

When my life is turned upside down and I'm left looking for a place to live, he's right there offering me support and his spare room. Then he finds out about my list of things to do this summer and he offers to help check off each and EVERY item on that list.

Josh

She's my best friend's little sister and growing up she was a close friend. Then I realized that my feelings for her were more, but she's moved on, and I never said anything. When her brother tells me she needs a place to stay, without thinking, I offer my spare room.

Then I find out she has a list of things to do this summer. When I finally catch a glimpse of this list I decide that I'll help her check off each item, and hopefully, she'll see the future I want to build with her.

Will this end in disaster or happily ever after?

It’s a tale as old as time. A younger sister develops feelings for her older brother’s best friend, who eventually develops feelings. They keep their feelings hidden from each other for years, convinced they can never be together. As adults, they are thrown together by external forces and finally give in to their feelings. Keeping their romance a secret, they fall deeply in love. No one is surprised when they finally reveal their relationship, as everyone around them knew they were in love long before they did.

Olivia has harbored feelings for Josh since childhood. On the other hand, Josh only realized his love for Olivia after his first year of college. When Josh finished his studies, Olivia was in a committed relationship, so he never revealed his feelings for her. Several years later, Olivia has decided to move in with her long-term boyfriend. They’ve found a beautiful new place, and Olivia has given her current landlord notice. On the day they are supposed to put down a deposit and sign the lease, Olivia walks in on her boyfriend cheating. Olivia breaks things off, and her now ex-boyfriend shows his true colors, complete with verbal abuse, threats, and stalking. Devastated, shaken, and a little scared, Olivia struggles to find a new place to live. Willing to do anything for Olivia, Josh offers Olivia his guest room until she can get back on her feet. 

In an effort to regain her self-confidence and find herself again, Olivia creates a list of places she wants to go and things she wants to experience over the summer. Being a fantastic roommate, Josh offers to help Olivia check everything off her list, even if it potentially puts his heart at risk. Olivia and Josh agree to become friends with benefits, and over weeks of camping trips and living together, they fall deeply in love. However, Olivia wants to keep her relationship with Josh a secret from her older brother until she is sure things will work out between them.

The book’s first half was entertaining enough, but the detailed descriptions of Olivia’s mundane daily tasks, like cleaning Josh’s apartment or cooking dinner, felt superfluous. Many paragraphs repeated the same thoughts over and over. However, the second half almost made me put my Kindle down and quit reading. The pickle cravings, sore boobs, and nausea were a dead giveaway that Olivia was pregnant, but she was utterly oblivious. When Josh proposes, and Olivia finally takes a test, Josh and Olivia are obviously in love. So, having a baby wasn’t a necessary trope to force them together, and I didn’t feel like the pregnancy added anything to the story. With that said, I am not a fan of the accidental pregnancy trope, so this book wasn’t for me.

Alex Taylor’s debut novel, Always Been You, showcases her potential as a talented storyteller. Her ability to craft a compelling narrative is evident despite some redundancies and areas that could stand to be refined. I look forward to seeing her grow and develop as an author in future works.