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Forever After All

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Desperate and out of options, Elena Rousseau walks into a gentlemen’s club, ready to sell her body in a last attempt to save her mother’s life.

She didn’t expect Alexander Kennedy to be there, and she certainly didn’t expect him to propose a marriage of convenience instead.

Marrying Alexander means knowingly becoming a tool in his revenge plan.

But what choice does she have?

Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.



Author's Note: This book contains a billionaire possessive alpha-hole and steamy scenes.

486 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2021

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About the author

Catharina Maura

24 books12.9k followers
Catharina Maura is a USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author. She writes angsty, fast-paced contemporary romance novels that break your heart before they lead you to a hard-won happily ever after.

Cat lives in Hong Kong with her husband and a dozen houseplants that all have names. When she isn't daydreaming about future characters, she's exploring the world and seeking out new adventures.

You can find Cat's socials and latest updates here: https://hi.catharinamaura.com/bio

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5 stars
17,108 (38%)
4 stars
14,864 (33%)
3 stars
8,944 (20%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,507 reviews
Profile Image for aly ☆彡.
369 reviews1,635 followers
December 29, 2023
DNF at 30%.

This is not an attempt to be Regina George but life's too great to continue a book that bored you to hell.

The plot is promising to be something great, only to be way off the mark. Forever After All had the most mundane plot with terrible writing that takes your reading enjoyment as a whole.

It was so cheesy and dramatic. The dialogues are very unrealistic and contrived... because who speaks like they are in the opera. I was supposed to read an adult romance but the way the characters were written made me believe that this is some high school romance (no, cuz I even read better coming-of-age book).

Not to say, everything is just repetitive and predictable. She bites her lips, he gets hard and they're on roll (rawr). I skimmed through the last part of the book and the epilogue, and it's everything I need to know about the book.

And I miss nothing.

Updates
Ffs, I saw this book now on tiktok and here goes booktokers hyping the below mediocre romance book. No, I am not bitter, I am just flabbergasted 🫠
Profile Image for Paloma.
188 reviews5,230 followers
April 4, 2022
4.5🌟

IT WAS SO GOOD😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 This book is MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE (aka my favorite) & has every trope I’ve ever wanted…childhood best friends older brother to strangers to lovers, touch her & you die, a broody/possessive/emotionally unavailable/millionaire CEO male MC, AND THERE’S SUPERIOR GROVELING!!!!!! Home boy gets on his knees…hugs her waist…AND BEGS WHILE CRYING😭😭 The feminist in me was bursting with pride🤣 Alexander is so hot & borderline disrespectful (in the best way possible) but he’s also soft & thoughtful🥺 It’s sorta a dark romance??? Bc it has occasional embarrassment/humiliation & dom ownership….but it’s not really dark in my desensitized opinion🤣
Profile Image for Melluvsbooks.
1,392 reviews
January 14, 2022
Sweet, selfless gal down on her luck and desperate for money to pay for her mother's medical bills, tries to sell herself at a “gentleman’s club”. The underhanded H intercepts her and offers her a marriage of convenience, instead, that will satisfy his own motives.

I think we all know how this is gonna play out. 😏

I actually really enjoyed this story. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I was skeptical at first. I couldn't even remember why I had downloaded it, and I've never tried this author before. But I found myself devouring it in one sitting. 😍

This very much felt like a (Harlequin style) Cinderella story complete with the downtrodden bullied h and the evil step siblings and step mom. It’s just that the H is a reluctant Prince Charming. 🖤



💕What I loved💕:

- the h is 23 and innocent-ish. She's totally focused on helping her mom. I thought she was lovely.

- the H is 31 fabulously wealthy and cynical. He's been recently humiliated by the woman he thought he was gonna marry. He's aggressive and sometimes mean and willing to do what he has to do for revenge. #alphaholesaremyjam

- I love that the H steps in and drags the h away before she can follow through with selling her body 😈

- the H is very (reluctantly) jealous/possessive of the h - he's never been that way before, even with the woman he thinks he still has feelings for, and he's confused by his own behavior. He very much tries to keep distance between himself and the h but he fails miserably. 😈

- I love how the H is the only who can't see how crazy he is about the h 😏

- I adore the way he swoops in and fixes all her problems, and then some. *swoon* 😍😍

- I love all the angst. 💕 I typically don't like it when the H has been in love before, but I think the author did a good job at making me believe that the h is different and special, and the love he has for her is much stronger and intense than anything he ever felt for the OW

- This hero GROVELS 😈😈😈 - the h is not a doormat, although you might think that is the case at first. She stands her ground and makes him really work for it. You can feel his devastation.

- I love how aggressive the H is. 🖤 We never quite get to dubcon, but we skate the line at the beginning. He's very dominant and she's sweetly submissive, until she finds her footing.

- its a STANDALONE! 🎉🎉 👀 Like for real tho. 👀 Heaven bless the authors who manage to tell a full story in one book. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

- no condoms - H straight up tells the h the first time they have smexx that he will not be using condoms with her, so she better get on birth control if she's not already. 😈

- there’s a great scene where the H realizes that his brother helped the h pick out a very sexy outfit, including under-garments, and his brain explodes. 🤡😍🤩




What I didn't like:

- So, the H runs into the h when she shows up at this exclusive "gentleman's club" to offer up her body for money. There's no real explanation given for why he's there. It’s also kind of a country club too, so I guess he could be there for golf and cigars 👀🤡... but it's common knowledge, apparently, that they sell flesh there as well. The H's past activities at this "club" are not disclosed, nor is the club ever mentioned again after the one scene where he drags her out. So, I don't know if he partook of the pr0stitutes in the past, and I don't know if he is still a member of said club after he marries the h. I really don't like that it wasn't explained more. Dudes that frequent smexx clubs and prostitutes really aren't my thing.

- and piggy-backing on the above - I love that he told the h he wouldn't be using condoms... but I didn't love that his smexual past isn't really talked about. Did he use condoms with his cheating fiance? Did he sleep with other women after their break up (without condoms)? Was he using pr0stitutes? Did he use protection with them? He doesn't tell the h that he's never gone bare, so I find all the dangling unknowns concerning. Why doesn't the h ask? She knows he's recently gone through a break up. If a man was demanding to raw dog me, particularly one I bumped into at a glorified brothel, I would think I’d be making some Polite Inquiries. 👀 That’s all I’m saying. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤡


- this author seems to have tried to half-heartedly redeem the OW. 😒 I DESPISE this. It really didn't work here or make any sense. The OW was a terrible person who watched the h in her time of complete humiliation and desperation, and didn't have even an ounce of compassion for her. She also cheated on the H, completely humiliating him. So, the little scene were she is shown being selfless and sweet, toward the end, was weird as hell. And not a little bit enraging. I can see that the scene was important, but the execution was not good. 😐




Bottom Line? Was this a bit cliche and predictable? Yes. Yes it was. Did i like it anyway? I sure did. 🤷🏼‍♀️ If you like Arranged by RK Lilley or vintage harlequins, you'll likely enjoy this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️







⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️

- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - the book starts out with the H thinking he still loves his cheating fiance
- OM drama - the H thinks the h is interested in his brother - the H is jealous of pretty much every man who breathes the same air as the h
- no dubcon
- no condoms - the H tells the h he won't use them with her - his past shexual hygiene is not discussed
- the H is 31 and experienced, he's been engaged - we do not see him intimate with anyone except for the h
- the h is 23 and has had smexx 1 time - it wasn't a good experience, but no details are given
Profile Image for Hey Lin.
663 reviews
Read
February 27, 2022
Daaaaa fuq.

Dnfed at 30%. I knew where this train was going but damn. It was a battle to keep up with the freakin mood swings of this H.

Ahem. Let me summarize

H: you’re mine! No one else can have you!
h: ok Alec.
H: no, NO! Don’t call me alec! I don’t do love! Never! Nopity nope! No love! don’t fall in love with me! *clutching his pearls dramatically*
h: ok
H: fine fine, you can fall in love with me because youre mine. Have I told you that you’re mine?
h: yep

Lordy be. You know in the help, thr nanny does a little mantra? And there’s a meme spoofing it about mothers? Same applies to this book. I is tired. I can’t take anymore. I is dnf.
Profile Image for Dora Koutsoukou .
2,115 reviews609 followers
March 30, 2021
3,5 ❤️❤️❤️🌟s

An enjoyable marriage-of-convenience romance read.

Elena was very wealthy but she had spent all her money for her mother’s medical care and she ended up broke. In order to find the money as to keep paying the medical bills, and since the rest of her family had disowned her, she had no other alternative than to put aside her humiliation and go to a gentlemen’s club and ask for a job. She encountered Alexander, an old family friend of hers, and he came up with a plan as to save both of them.

It was well written and the plot development was very intriguing!
Alexander was a cold arsehole billionaire and because of his previous disastrous relationship, he didn’t believe in love and treated Elena harshly.
Elena was a beautiful person, inside out, polite and kind. I had to wait towards the ending as to see her grow a backbone and become feisty.

There were plenty of twists, secrets and revelations, betrayal, lies, manipulation, and deceit. The angst was high as well as the drama and it could have had less sex scenes.

Everyone in the end got what he/she deserved and Elena with Alexander reached their hea.
October 18, 2023
this modern cinderella-like trope festival was bad and trashy but damn, i couldn't stop reading.
who doesn't need to sink their fangs into a bad and trashy smutty book to feel alive, from time to time, anyway?
im pretty sure catharina maura spiked her pages with something similar to opium because otherwise i can't explain the manic episode that had me staying up all night to finish this.
from start to end, this was a total clichèed wreck in terms of plot and the two main characters were awful, whiny and their motivations for literally anything were absurd.
and yet...the drama pulled me in and couldn't seem to let me go.
i now understand my grandma's obsession with spanish soap operas, and i promise i'll never make fun of another middle-aged lady who finds solace in other people's twisted lives, ever again.
i now get it. and i'm 100% proud of it.

(RTC)
Profile Image for Ainhoa.
471 reviews17 followers
May 17, 2022
Aww... Alec was such a cutie.

But the plot and the romance... sorry, they didn't do anything for me.

Still a enjoyable light read if you're in the mood for a marriage of convenience, an h who ran out of options in life, an H who is every bit of an unknowingly possessive jerk and an unbelievable plot twist.
Profile Image for readabookonce.
222 reviews303 followers
February 22, 2023
I’ve never liked a novel that annoyed me this much, and yet? I’d read again.

I almost DNFed when page 4 of this book has Elena describing her 15-year-old-self as “grossly overweight.” 🫠 and then I almost DNFed again when Alexander described the women who were attracted to him as being “plastic.” The ONLY reason I didn’t is because I read The Temporary Wife by the same author, and I loved it enough to give this one a chance. I’m glad I did.

I liked a lot of the tropes present, which include:
✦ Marriage of convenience
✦ Brother’s enemy
✦ Childhood best friend’s brother
✦ FMC spoiling
✦ FMC who charms the MMC’s family
✦ Easily jealous MMC


I was really frustrated by how many times both Alexander and Elena would jump to the worst conclusions without talking to the other. Even after their happily ever after, I’m sure Alexander is going to think Elena is seeing literally any man with a pulse the moment the two fight, and Elena is going to believe Alexander is seeing Jennifer whenever a picture of them next to each other appears. That being said, Alexander never actually entertained Jennifer, even though he had residual feelings at first, so I appreciated that.

The last 20% was almost unbearable, the last 10% crossing the almost line. The antagonists were so one-dimensional, and the plot with Elena’s family and her mother was so over-the-top to the point of melodrama. Then there was the final relationship conflict, so incredibly drawn out I could not be bothered to care anymore. Realistically, how many times can you “reconcile” until your grand gestures and declarations of love become repetitive?

The middle of the novel was fun enough that even with my frustrations, I really did enjoy reading it. Catharina Maura once again proves she can write angst and drama in a way that makes it hard to stop reading.

★★★★
Profile Image for Lilyanthropy217.
307 reviews6 followers
June 21, 2022
This book wins the award for most mixed signals in one book.

I started with low expectations, had them raised because this book gave me hope it would be better than I imagined only for it to disappoint me back.

Elena and Alexander have zero redeeming qualities in my book, alexander has two lines that he uses 90000 times in this book which are :
-you are mine, I own you.
-you are so wet for me.
And of course the way Elena is written it's hard to connect with her no matter what she goes through because her suffering gets solved by the knight in shining armor, and guess what, her dilemma has zero effect on her life. The writer will have you assume that what she went through has depth and effect but it has none. But oh poor Alec, his girlfriend cheats on him so he doesn't believe in love anymore and has trust issues!! WHAT!
And yeah, the fact that he can't love her is the whole conflict in this book.

Also, he finds her, forces her to marry him and in return he'll pay all her bills, buys shares from her dad's company, yet she's credited with solving her own issues? She struck gold but let's not push it, on her own she would have drowned and there is no acknowledgement to the fact that no she didn't do it all on her own, her white knight solved everything with his magic pp and a blank cheque. Also, the writer wants you to believe Elena is this badass woman who is so smart and savvy when Alex keeps describing her as naive throughout the whole book, the only time he calls her savvy is when she wears a pantsuit to confront her dad! 🤦‍♀️
I could go on some more but I'm tired of this book already!
Profile Image for AvidReader.
1,319 reviews283 followers
July 4, 2024
A book rich with romance, passion, angst, betrayal and all the emotions you can imagine!
Uff it was a roller coaster ride that I enjoyed very much.
Loved the badass protagonists and their family. I loved how the villains got their comeuppance and heroine’s showdown.
Safe and recommended.
Profile Image for sil ♡ the book voyagers.
1,251 reviews3,052 followers
September 27, 2022
thank you esther for recommending this book to me! you were right, this is really a book for me lmao. ೃ⁀➷ forever after all is a marriage of convenience romance with a very VERY possessive hero who reunites with the girl from his childhood.

i wasn't so sure about what i was going to get myself into ngl. alec was getting on my nerves, but you know when i finally let go all the worries i was truthfully enjoying this book. alec DID annoy me at certain points in the story, he's very hot and cold and elena is literally a ray of sunshine, she deserves THE WORLD. the whole entire world. she hasn't been getting any love for a better part of her after her mother's accident. and so the only thing she wishes is to have a family for herself, a family that loves her, a husband who adores her... but getting into a marriage of convenience is not something she thought about often.

but circumstances and a lack money make her take this path and so she finds herself married to alexander kennedy. he's rich, possessive, and so very grumpy. he's that type of hero who feels like he won't love ever again... and he tells elena that he will give her everything except love. GUESS WHAT HAPPENS LMAOOO you know, elena falls first but alec? alec FALLS HARDER. yeah yeah! we love this song.

❀ this book is so very steamy so i know many will wonder about that. it is. they do it everywhere. he fingers her in chapter 3 i think on top of a table damn.
❀ is this a dark romance? i would believe so? but idk. i think i can categorize it as maybe a light dark romance like a good way to start if you want to start reading dark romance books. i know there are so many intense ones out there, many that are way harder than this... so i feel like it's a good book to start if you want to start reading that genre.
❀ there's groveling and i love it.
Profile Image for 1-Click Addict Support Group.
3,749 reviews485 followers
February 9, 2021
Elena was willing to anything that she needed to, to be able to save her mother’s life. What she never expected was to see the one man that has had her heart, Alexander Kennedy to be there.
Alexander has been jaded and that has made him cynical and an unbeliever of love. Knowing that Elena will do anything to save her mother, he offers her a deal, marriage in exchange for unlimited resources to help her mother. Elena knows that Alec is the only one that can help her, and she just wished that it were under different circumstances.

Revenge is the main reason Alec married Elena and I kept hoping that he would have a change of heart. But unfortunately, his hate was more powerful and if he’s not careful, he would end up losing the one person that has always been “real.” The chemistry between Alec and Elena is undeniably hot! The more Elena tries to break through the wall that Alec has put around his heart, the more Alec makes sure to remind Elena what she means to him- nothing.

A beautiful story of never losing faith in yourself and second chance at love. Oh, and that cover is stunning!! Kara~ 5 Stars
Profile Image for marioncoin | coin.reads .
376 reviews245 followers
June 3, 2024
2,5-
quand j'ai vu qu'un livre de Catharina Maura avait été traduit j'ai foncééé, j'avais tellement envie de découvrir cette autrice depuis le temps que j'en entendais parler-

j'ai malheureusement été assez déçue de ce livre, je le soupçonne de m'avoir provoqué une mini panne de lecture, j'étais vraiment pas dedans, j'ai pas été happée par le récit au point de vouloir connaitre absolument la suite à chaque fois que je reprenais mon livre…

pour ce qui est de l'histoire, j'suis généralement fan du "mariage of convenience" mais ici, je l'ai trouvé cliché à souhait, ultra tiré par les cheveux, je ne sais pas si c'est la traduction qui ne rend pas justice au livre mais j'ai eu beaucoup de mal à apprécier ma lecture, le smut était pas mal mais j'ai tellement pas accroché avec les perso que je le survolais presque au final.

la note de l'autrice nous prévient au début du livre que cette histoire met en scène un connard dominant -en général j'ai pas trop de mal avec ça mdr- mais j'avoue que celui ci m'a pompé sur le système à un point mdr j'ai levé les yeux au ciel un nombre incalculable de fois, bref… hâte d'en lire un autre de cette autrice, en espérant que je ne ressente pas la même chose

― "je préfère passer une année avec toi qu'une vie entière sans toi.✨
Profile Image for Denise (semi-hiatus).
14 reviews19 followers
March 21, 2024
3.8/5⭐⭐⭐
2.5/3🌶️🌶️

Tropes:
-Marriage of Convenience
-Age Gap (7 years)
-Childhood best friend's brother
-Billionaire

Our FMC Elena, who is 23 years old, came from a wealthy family and up until a couple of years ago could've gotten whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. But for the past five years, she's been out of that circle of wealth as she has been trying to save her mom who is in a coma. But she's quickly run out of money and has no other options. Her family doesn't believe her mom will ever wake up and they've moved on.
Our MMC Alexander is a 30-year-old wealthy man whose goal is to take over his family business. His grand issue is that he has to be married in order to take his seat as a board member. But Alec is as single as a pringle. He does not do love because his ex-fiance cheated on him and broke his heart and left him damaged lmao.

So now let's talk about the characters:
Elena is literally the sweetest. All she wanted was to save her mom and be a family again. She would do anything to get her wish to come true, even sacrifice her chance at being in love. She literally won everyone's hearts immediately with her humbleness and sincerity. Alec's family def liked her more than him lmao. She was strong and later on in the book became a badass. She really was understanding (A LIL TOO MUCH) with Alec and his trust issues but at one point she had had enough and decided to walk away. It was a proud moment because it's hard to walk away from someone you love. But she would literally walk through fire for the people she loves and when she's committed to something or someone, there is no turning back for her.

Now let's talk about my toxic king, Alec. Alec deep down has a heart of gold and takes care of everyone around him. He literally was so supportive and understanding towards Elena's process of getting her mom back. But goddamn this man made me angry. "I don't do love" like we get it sir, you're broken⛓️‍💥 but then stop acting all ALPHA and saying "YOURE MINE👹". His trust issues were very valid since he was cheated on and he hasn't seen a healthy example of love because his parents don't have a good relationship. So I gave him credit, but he made it seem like there was no other option but cheating. Like not everyone is going to cheat on you. And STOP COMPARING MY GIRL ELENA TO YOUR BITCH ASS EX JENNIFER🤮 The amount of times he compared them was unhealthy and ANNOYING. Like boy, they're two different individuals and Elena had proved herself SO MANY TIMES, even tho she didn't have to. To say this man gave me whiplash is an understatement, I WILL BE BILLING HIM FOR MY PHYSICAL THERAPY.

This book put me through a million different emotions but in the end, it was worth it. Everything came together and I love books like this that are angsty, I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but it's real life. I think it truly showed the development of their relationship. They didn't immediately fall in love and it was not an easy process to get to their happily ever after. Even though Alec's trust issues were super annoying, they were realistic because getting cheated on is a traumatic event. Also, I recommend reading the bonus chapter because it literally is the cherry on top to this book.

My fav quotes:
"Elena makes me want to give her the world."

“Baby, you deserve every single thing you set your eyes on. I’m going to make it my job to give you everything, even the things you don’t dare ask for.”

"All I know is that I love you. I would rather spend a year with you than a lifetime without you. I’m willing to give you everything, Elena. I’m willing to give you my heart, and trust that you won’t break it. But even if you do, baby, even if you tear my heart apart, you’re worth it. You’re worth everything.”

"Loving you. Spending my days loving you makes every day great by default."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Ⓐlleskelle - That ranting lady ッ.
1,012 reviews917 followers
May 15, 2023
The mysterious and dark flowery covers for this author have been all over my timeline for a while and aside from vague notions of angsty billionaire romance I didn't quite know what to expect.

Forever After All was absolute bonkers. No, not in a good way.
Look, I've read and enjoyed—even recently— my fair share of Harlequin Presents which are filled with both clichés and nonsensical premises, toxic male characters, fanciful females and utterly absurd plot devices. And it works because despite the most unbelievable and insane setups, everything happens within the realm of BonkersLand. Most important is they're quite well written short satisfying stories. They're pure crack and I love them.

I'm truly fine with suspending all disbelief, though at a price: decent writing. Harsh? Well, maybe, maybe not.

Getting past the ridiculous plot relating to Elena's mother, disregarding the Kennedy family's range of power, influence and wealth being superior than a nation's leader, ignoring older alpha asshole Alexander childish temper tantrums—not sexy— and overlooking the heroine total absence of —choose which applies best— spine/willpower/lucidity/... BRAINS, the completely random and rushed coming out interlude used as plot device—what was even that?—was taxing enough. The least I'd require is good writing. A sense for storytelling? A satisfactory sex scene? Anything?

Here, plot devices were so contrived I wouldn't consider them under threat, the plot needed not furthering, the plot needed to die, RIP BonkersLand, you've been annihilated. Character development was at best nonexistent and incongruous, dialogues so repetitive and dry I could almost excuse the heroine for being a literal human fountain providing some much needed lubricant 🥲:
"You are fucking soaking wet."
You're so wet I can probably slip my cock straight into you."
"So fucking wet, baby. You want me that badly, huh?"
"So fucking wet, so fucking tight."
"So wet and slippery."
"You're so wet for me, baby."
"He pushes my underwear aside and smirks. 'Wet. Of course you are.'"
"You're so fucking wet, baby. How are you this wet?"
"I fucking knew you'd be wet for me, baby."
"I bet you're wet already."
"So wet and I've barely touched you."

The hero idea of hammering his point in was akin to brainwashing. Unfortunately for us all, the heroine's brain lacked the capacity of remembering or assimilating a basic notion the hero had no trouble refreshing our distressed little minds about.
"It's not just your body that will be mine Elena. Your entire future is mine."
"I don't like people touching what's mine."
"...from tomorrow onward, you'll be mine."
"You are Mrs Kennedy now, you're mine."
"Now? Now I own you."
"You better remember that your body is mine."
"These lips are mine now, you hear me?"
"...this beautiful woman, she's mine."
"From this day forward, you're mine. Say it."
"This pussy is mine, you hear me?"
"You're mine now, Elena. No one is touching you but me"
"No one touches what's mine, Elena. you belong to me now"
"It's about time I remind her who owns her." 🫠
"I told you, Elena. I'm going to make sure it's evident to every man that you are mine."
"You're a Kennedy now, Elena. More importantly, you are mine now."
"This pussy is mine, Elena. You're mine. Say it."
"... I won't say it again. You're mine." 🥴🙏🏻
"I told you you're mine, but you don't listen."
"You're mine and you better remember it." 😅
"You're mine, yet you seem to have trouble remembering it. I'll have to make sure everyone knows it."
"You're forgetting who owns you, Elena." 🙈
"You're mine, and you'll do as I say."
"You're mine, Elena. Your body is mine, but make no mistake, your every thought is mine too."
"Remember who owns this body, baby."
"Whatever is yours is mine. You are mine."
"I want the whole world to know that you're mine."
"Tell me you'll be mine."
"You want this cock, baby? Tell me you're mine."
"you will always be mine, you hear me?"

I'm aware about YOU'RE MINE in romance. I know some of us get off on it, I'm one of them, okay? But this? NO. This is abuse. This is a disgrace. None of it was hot. What Alexander truly needed was therapy. His inability to trust and fear of cheating was certifiable at this point.
"...Elena is my wife, and as my wife, she's supposed to be mine. Maybe it's simply because I own her, and I've never liked sharing my things."

I doubt I'll ever try another of Catharina Maura's books to be honest. The covers are a huge draw, they're pretty but that's all there is to these books in my opinion. This was very cringe. Great marketing or nice work, booktok.
Profile Image for ApoorvaReads.
545 reviews391 followers
April 18, 2022
4.25 stars ⭐️

Can’t believe I actually enjoyed this so much! This book was so cute😭😭 I loved Elena so much and Alexander was such a cute grumpy H. Can’t wait to read more of Catharina’s works.
Profile Image for Blue.
115 reviews5 followers
March 6, 2022
Main characters: Alexander and Elena
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“The past cannot be undone, but we can learn from it.”
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Summary: When Elena runs out of money to support her dying mother, she signs a marriage contract with Alexander to help save her mother.
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Review: The only reason I have given this book 2 stars instead of one is because of Lucian. Other than him, I hated every aspect of this book.
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MMC: You belong to me
FMC: No, only my body belongs to you
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MMC: Does shit that should get him kicked in the balls a million times
*the next day*
MMC: "I'm sorry"
FMC: OMG he said sorry, OMG he is the best, kindest, smartest person to ever exist.
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Repeat this cycle a thousand times, and there you have it, the entire book.
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Now, let's talk about the characters,
Alexander: What the actual fuck is wrong with him? He is literally the definition of men who make me wish that I was a lesbian. He treats Elena so damn poorly, which leads me to my next point.
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Elena: Girl has no self respect and accepts Alexander with open arms even when his behaviour is so toxic. And I know I know, yall like toxic men, but still, there is a limit.
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Jennifer: She oh so conveniently claimed that Alec never loved her when all we ever heard was how much he used to love her and how much she scarred him.
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Jennifer and Elena both want to take up the job of being Alexander's therapist and make him loveable, and like.... It's literally not a challenge to make him fall in love with you? God, I'm a fifteen year old teenager finding THEM cringe, and that speaks volumes. I swear to god I had a 'What the fuck' face through 90% of the book.
August 24, 2022
This book proves that I am not the main character because if my mother was in a coma for 8 years and the doctors told me she would never wake, I’d unplug her (sorry mom 😭)

Anyway the first half of this book was boring as hell with our fmc strapped for cash and our mmc like “I’ll marry you and pay for your mother’s treatment but I will never love you and don’t even think about loving me or caring about me in any way because love isn’t real. Also I own your body” and the fmc is just like “cool 👌🏽 I like orgasms” 🙄 on your two feet please sis

At like the 60-70% mark there’s some plot that actually got me interested and I was like “damn rich ppl are wilding yet again with this attempted murder bs, but I’m here for it”

But then we have our third act breakup where the fmc is like “you’ll never love me, and I deserve better” and like, she’s right ??? but also you knew what you were getting into, he obviously doesn’t have the ability to love, and why do you love him in the first place. she was dickmatized frfr.

and then they break up for like hella long ?? sure. It was the longest third act breakup I’ve read in a while. But you know it’s a romance so hea, but at some point it’s like, let’s move along we have shit to do.
Profile Image for Neelakshi.
482 reviews376 followers
May 4, 2022

“I told you to kiss me—not to fuck my mouth with yours. Don’t make me drag you into the restrooms. I’ll have you on your knees and I will fuck your mouth. I’ll watch you leave red lipstick rings on my cock. I’ll show you just how good red looks on me.”


Marriage of convenience with a RICHY rich rich man who is OBSESSED with you and treats you like you hung the stars and kinda talks dirty and also fucks with everyone that fucks with you, promises that he will NEVER fall in love but ends up SIMPING AND WHIPPED AND SO MUCH IN LOVE and BEING A LITERAL PUPPY and is also territorial and possessive??
Sign me the fuck up.
Take ALL my coins.

“You always ask me about three good things that happened during my day, but baby, everything good in my life is you. The three best things to have happened in my entire life were meeting you, marrying you… and falling in love with you.”
Profile Image for Vintage.
2,607 reviews589 followers
December 4, 2022
A grudging 3 stars.

It started out great with the H making a deal with the heroine that benefits both. He wants revenge against his ex-fiance and the man she cheated on him for (the h's brother), and the h needs funds to take care of her coma stricken mom. Sparks fly...

20% mark and the H turns into the biggest creep. They marry as he proclaims she owes him, he owns her and blah, blah, and who cares.
Sex is good as this is KU and we can't have a heroine in a KU not fall down whenever the H asks.

It finally resurrects to a 3 star again when the chicks in the book decide to take down the bad guys in a pretty good way, but points off for not providing more details on how it affects the bad guys.
Profile Image for cait.
222 reviews66 followers
Read
October 20, 2022
DNF

please save yourself and stay away from this book. I actually felt like i was reading a wattpad fanfiction from 2013 but the only change was that they were original characters. the guy was hot then cold then hot then cold and she just sat there and took it.
Profile Image for marylife.
150 reviews174 followers
September 8, 2024
4.25 ⭐️s

AHHHHHHHHHH this book was so freaking good. Hello?!! Nothing does marriage of convince as good as Catarina Maura. Gosh the audiobook got me gasping for air. I can’t believe it took me forever to read this book!!!!

Ahhhh the plot was absolutely insane?! Everything that happened to the FMC and her mom was absolutely crazy. Also the MC’s character development was done so well!

This book was so spiceeeeey too 🫣🤪
Profile Image for Bex (Beckie Bookworm).
2,249 reviews1,495 followers
February 16, 2022



Genre-wise this is a billionaire asshole Cinderella trope with a mutually beneficial business marriage at its centre. The writing was good it was maybe a tad long in length it definitely could have been condensed down slightly without losing anything for the most part it was fairly enjoyable if a tad predictable. Elise’s mother is in a coma after a car accident disowned by her horrible family and with her money running out she finds herself considering the unthinkable. When Alexander offers her an alternative that will benefit them both Elise takes it.

So I found Alexander to be a bloody arse considering he knew Elena as a childhood friend of his brothers you’d think he could have tried to be a bit nicer. Yeh, by all means, have your loveless business marriage but he initially treats Elena little better than a paid whore in fact he’d probably treat someone he was paying better. I mean he doesn’t even want to have a conversation with his new wife that’s really taking it to the extreme. it would make sense if they could at least become friends I mean they are stuck with each other indefinitely as divorce is apparently not an option.

Alexander also knows the initial reasons behind Elena’s reason’s for going to Vaughns but he’s still so judgey. He needs her as a wife but then seems to condemn her for her choices. His compassion and empathy for her plight initially seem virtually non-existent. He’s cold unfeeling and seems to blame her for the sins of others. He’s paranoid that Elena will cheat on him just like his ex did and it’s really not on as she’s done nothing to warrant that treatment or even give that impression.

Alexander also still seems to have some residual feelings left over for his ex though to be fair to him he did not act on them but she was definitely occupying his headspace and it did annoy me slightly. I also had a hard time warming to Alexander I found him temperamental unreasonable and cold. Elena though is lovely she does need to find her backbone and thankfully she later does. I felt so sorry for her with her shitty family and now stuck in a loveless marriage it certainly didn’t look rosy for her. This did then start to pick up with Alexander becoming increasingly enamoured by his new wife. I still think he’s unthinking and god talk about mood swings but I could definitely see glimmers of hope on the horizon.

This was fairly predictable but it was engaging the relationship at the centre was very much one of on then off again. It had twists and turns and plenty of spice. I wasn’t much a fan of all the unneeded emotional angst which mostly came from Alexander and his inability to admit his feelings to himself. But then he did eventually pull it out of the bag with a mega grovel. Elena milked that one for sure.

Overall this kept my attention but I’m still not sure if I like Alexander that much the dude gave me emotional whiplash with his constant drama. Just when I’d be warming up to him he’d do something incredibly stupid and I’d be back to square one with him. Still, I enjoyed this and we also get a satisfying epilogue and some much needed comeuppance’s for all Elena’s horrible family so it all turned out good in the end.

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Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
Profile Image for Mindy Lou's Book Review.
2,829 reviews745 followers
February 14, 2022
I love a forced marriage trope! It's one of my favorites because I really like to see the couple together as quickly as possible and you get that with a forced marriage or contract marriage.

For the most part, I really liked Forever After All. It did have a lot of drama, and some of that drama was a bit over the top. I have to laugh at myself when I say that because a forced married trope is pretty unrealistic and that doesn't make me stop and say...huh, that's a bit much. It never fails that it usually ends up being some little things that happen that make me think that. There were a few of those little things in this book.

Also, I can't say that I loved Alexander, the hero. For a majority of this book he was a pompous ass. I hated how he treated the "help". That bothered me more than I know it should for a fictional character. But if you want me to love a hero, he's gotta be a decent human being. What I did like about him was how possessive and jealous he would get with her around other men. He also had Elena's back when it counted. That's what a man should do for a woman and vice versa.

Elena is the do gooder type of heroine. She sacrifices a lot but we do get to see a bit of a revenge streak in her. I admit I liked it. She could probably come off as a bit of a doormat but she did have only one thing on her mind and she was willing to do anything to save her mom. That's pretty honorable.

For most of this book the side characters are the rich, socialite crowd. I hated them. Not a nice one among them. If that is what money really does to people, I'll gladly stay poor. They sure do bring the drama entertainment though. Overall I enjoyed this book, it just had a few things that kept it from a loved book for me. I will definitely read more from this author though.
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