I am not a huge fan of dating shows but mostly that's because they are straight. So when this book caught my eye, I was intrigued.

I very much enjoyed the story. I was a bit bummed out we only got to see Savannah's POV but after 3 chapters I was actually glad the author chose to do this. It amplified the "will they or won't they and if so when" and I loved the slow burn.

There were a lot of fun parts in this book and honestly Savannah is such a great MC. I loved her decisions and choices even though I'm sure they were tough.

If you like a sweet slow burn romance and behind the scenes tidbits of a dating show, this is the book for you. I had a hard time putting it down as I just wanted to go on this jourey with Savannah and rush to the ending to see how it all would unfold.

I received an ARC via Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This was a fun book that exposed some of the underbelly of reality TV dating shows. I loved it that they went back to the show's original cast and picked a fan favorite for their 10th season. Most of the characters were fine, although there were some I wanted voted off right away (and they were!). I liked Alix, too, but they were way too much of a flirt and way too quick to deliver cheesy lines. Between that and the horrible date idea they had, it really made sense that they didn't get picked.

I loved who was picked, by the way. I won't ruin it for anyone, but the book ends on a nice note for several characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This has been one of those romances that can be described as rather cheesy or sugary, uncomplicated despite the usual misunderstandings, and a bit predictable. In short, quite to my liking. A reality show to find the perfect match, but for lesbians, I would definitely watch it.

Savannah was in the reality show years ago, but she was a contestant, and now the television channel offers her to be the protagonist of the reality show, whom the other women will have to conquer.

She doesn't have very good memories of her participation in the program, she even had a bit of a stir on social media then, although people mostly took her side more than the side of the woman who rejected her and broke her heart in front of the entire audience.

But now she has a business that she wants to expand and she can use the money and publicity that the program offers her to do so.

As expected, the story has a multitude of complicated situations, she is going to have to deal with many women at the same time, contestants and non-contestants, each of them with their own agenda and interests, some are clear and others not so much. And there was some unforeseen event, although it was not completely unexpected, because she is a fairly transparent and sincere woman and although she tried, there were things she could not hide.

It has been quite a nice story to read, as I said at the beginning, some will find it excessively cheesy, but it worked for me.

A heartwarming romance with lovable characters

Kris Bryant is an incredibly versatile author, she can write angsty romances like Listen, lighthearted ones like Breakthrough, or even super hot erotica like Shameless (under the Brit Ryder pseudonym). No wonder she is a multi-award winner and a very popular author. Her books go to my to-read list automatically and with Forever, once again she shows all her talent.

Ten years ago, Savanah Edwards participated in a lesbian dating reality show and got dumped on live TV. Now the producers of the show asked her to make a comeback as part of the ten-year anniversary celebrations. As Savannah negotiates to date ten different contestants on national tv, she realizes she only cares for Lauren Lucas, the extremely hot and attentive show presenter. As their mutual attraction grows, so does Savanah’s conundrum between sticking to the show rules or following her heart.

In the acknowledgments, the author says that she’s always been curious about how people fall in love, even in some unconventional ways, and wanted to make fun of reality tv. To be honest, reality tv is not something that interests me and the few wlw books that touch on the subject didn’t catch my interest. However, I have to admit that Ms. Bryant managed to write an absorbing critique of these shows. How real is reality tv? What happens when true feelings are involved? How can a person cope with the complete media intrusion in their intimate lives? Even if you already have an opinion on these issues, this book is a good way to revisit those questions and also to see the backstage production work behind “creating” reality.

As I said at the beginning, Ms. Bryant can write all the spectrum of romances from angsty to heartwarming and do them all really well. Even though I loved Listen, a very angsty romance, my favourites are the lighthearted ones. Forever falls into the latter category, the type of romance that doesn’t break your heart and makes you smile. Despite that, there are some emotional, heart-wrenching moments that keep the reader invested in the story even though the overall message is positive and hopeful.

Both main characters are adorable and it’s very easy to root for them. Ms. Bryant knows how to write chemistry and makes the most of the stolen moments when the cameras are off and both women can be truly themselves. It’s a very good tease and also a big hurdle that the characters need to overcome. As it’s common with this author’s writing style, the book is written in first person from one character’s point of view, in this case, Savanah who is not only trying to find true love but also closure from what happened ten years ago. Her candor and fairness in treating the different contestants were a pleasure to read about and a good counterpoint to the ubiquitous falseness of reality tv.

If you are looking for a heartwarming romance with no angst and lovable characters, this one is for you. Great cover and yet another fantastic one-word title. 4.5 stars.

ARC provided by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoy the show UnReal (a tv show about a reality tv dating show) and wish there was a sapphic version and less drama, you are so going to enjoy Kris Bryant’s Forever.

I thought the story was brilliant and hilarious(in a good way), it’s easy to read, and the pace is excellent. Everything is really well-written. This is kind of the book where you already know what the ending is going to be like, but you still enjoy every process. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it, it’s so entertaining, and I recommend it!

This book has an interesting storyline with a reality TV lesbian dating show, but a large part of the writing didn’t really live up to the promise of this plot. There was a lot of descriptive detail about each contestant and the scenarios of the dating show, which sadly became a bit boring after a while. The story really needed a large injection of humour to make it and the different characters more interesting. The scenes were there, but the fun never materialised. I did like the romance in the second part of the book which picked up the pace and added some drama, making the story ultimately work ok, but overall it could have been better.

Forever is a celebrity romance set in the world of reality television. I personally love celebrity romances, but can't really stand reality TV in real life, so wasn't sure how I'd feel about this story. It's safe to say I loved it. It was one of those books that had me telling myself 'one more chapter' until late into the night.

The story centres around Savannah, an ex-reality TV star who returns to the show 10 years later. Although she is surrounded by a group of beautiful women all vying for her affections, it is the host of the show, Lauren, who she develops feelings for.

I haven't ready many books by Kris Bryant and I'm not sure why. Her writing is original, fun and she creates really charismatic characters.

Forever is a really fun, sweet love story that you won't want to out down.

This was a fun book to read. I loved that it was loosely based on the reality series The Bachelorette too. All the contestants were interesting, but I thought that Alix was really interesting seeing as this was a character that went by the moniker of the or they instead of she or him, and some of the dates and interactions between the main character and the contestants were straight up hilarious. The relationship between Savannah and Lauren was a slow burn one, but really sweet. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends and family, and I look forward to what comes next from this author.

I love the premise of this book. I’m such a sucker for reality tv romances. Probably because my friends and I wrote so many AU fanfics with this premise. But this one fell a little flat for me and I’m not entirely sure why.

I should have loved this. It’s sapphic, it’s fun, it’s sweet, it’s sexy. But the spark (pun intended) just wasn’t there for me. I didn’t really connect with the characters or the romance even though I desperately wanted to.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this book though, and I encourage everyone to give it a go anyway because what doesn’t work for me might work for you!

As usual Krisas written a great entertaining novel. The premise for this book was great and the dialogue was amazing. Who doesn't enjoy a bit of reality TV? however. she nailed the artificialness of reality TV in my opinion. The main characters Savannah and Lauren had amazing chemistry and I enjoyed every moment with them, Well done.

I recommend 4 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC copy.

You don't have to be a fan of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette to be a fan of this book! The main characters are Savannah and Lauren. When Sparks Fly is a lesbian version of The Bachelorette. Savannah was on the first season of When Sparks Fly as a contestant. She made the mistake of falling in love and not getting picked. 10 years later, she gets invited to be the bachelorette on the show. She has reservations, but decides to when she hears what she will get paid and it will help her failing candle business.
Lauren is the host of When Sparks Fly and was the one who thought Savannah would be a great way to bring back viewers since she was a favorite on the show. Lauren spends a lot of time getting to know Savannah and sparks are flying between them instead of Savannah and the contestants.
I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest recommendation.

This was great! For anyone who devoured THE CHARM OFFENSIVE or who can’t get enough romance set in the world of reality TV this is the book for you.
I loved Savannah and Lauren’s chemistry and waiting for them to finally get together. This book will make you want to scream just kiss her! But in a really good way!

Five stars. I have a strong personal bias here, because despite my lack of tolerance for actual dating shows, I have a soft spot for novels about dating shows. (I think that having the focus on a single relationship or pairing, as it happens in novels, makes it feel less tawdry.) So I don't know if it's entirely due to the book itself, but Forever is now my favourite Kris Bryant book.

Let's start with the characters. Savannah is your typical girl next door in many ways, but she has a great sense of humour, and is quite clever when it comes to presenting herself for the cameras, or redirecting conversations to serve her purpose. Lauren was warm, charming, and yet a bit of an enigma, because of the first person narration and because her position as show host required a certain emotional distance. I loved her character, and I loved that Savannah was left guessing for so long. I thought it was a good call not to show Lauren's perspective, because she would have been thinking more about tamping down her feelings and staying professional while Savannah was still focused on the contestants. Or at least, that's how she consciously perceives her focus, though everything about Lauren takes up consistent space in her mind. Still, even with both sides trying not to let it happen, they are drawn together, and not just by pure sexual attraction. They fit together as people, and their connection is built on more than chemistry. Once feelings were revealed, of course, they have plenty of chemistry as well.

Perhaps it's ironic that I found the ending less cheesy than usual for a Kris Bryant book. (spoilers!) Yes, Savannah drags Lauren onto TV for a perfect little HEA, but her speech didn't have me rolling my eyes the way that romance endings sometimes do. Savannah's self-awareness helped, with her conscious of all the ways her stunt could go down badly for both of them. I think the combination of the confession with the artificial setting somehow made it more legit than it otherwise would have seemed, since there was a tension right up until the end about making reality TV authentic.

What I found most interesting about this book is how well it mimics the tone of reality TV. There was a fantastic balance of lighthearted romance, more heavy-hitting emotions, and humour. (And not only within the context of the show.) A couple of the chapters ended quite dramatically, (spoiler) and I gasped out loud at the scene where Lauren owned up to getting involved with Savannah. The story had plenty of entertainment value in that sense, and I can see it going over well with people who like reality TV.

I was really sorry to see the last pages of the book, because I read it in almost one sitting, and would have liked to spend a lot longer with it. Everything about the story resonated with me, and although I can see how that wouldn't be true for everyone, I do think there's something especially exciting about Forever, even more so than other Kris Bryant books.

I was really looking forward to this book, as I love the idea of a queer Bachelor show, but there was something a bit lacking in the chemistry for me between the two MCs. I never thought I'd say that with a Kris Bryant book, but here we are...

I think Bryant did a pretty good job (as she usually does) with her writing, dialogue, cool premises - all that, I just didn't connect a lot to Lauren. She seemed closed off for basically the whole book, so when their romance began...not a spoiler because duh...it seemed kinda cold and out of the blue. There is a point in the book where Lauren kinda hints at how hard it is to see Savannah going on dates with other women but at no point did it seem that way. She's always described as "professional" and nothing really seemed to get to her. It may have worked better if the book was told from both POVs and not just Savannah's.

Overall, I still would recommend this book as it was a fun read, just not one of my favorites from the author.

TW for mentions of restrictive eating/dieting for aesthetics at the end of review.

Reality TV can often be so mindless, yet time and time again I find myself sitting down to watch the latest hit dating show and saying “this is ridiculous” and then feverishly pressing that ‘next episode’ button anyway. I don’t know what it is that makes them so addictive, though I can wager that the heightened sense of drama plays a big part. There are fan favourites and villains and couples we root for and ones we deem fake, and when the whole nation is holding its breath waiting for an elimination or a shock reveal, it can be so nice to be able to talk to others about the show everyone is tuning into. The one thing I always wish there was more of in dating shows is queer representation, and Forever absolutely delivered on that.

The concept of the TV show, When Sparks Fly, at the centre of this novel is essentially The Bachelorette with a wholly queer cast. The majority of contestants are sapphic women while one is the show’s first non-binary “Sparkette”. They’re all vying for the attention of Savannah, a fan favourite from the show’s first season who had her heart broken on air and has returned looking for a second chance at love as the 10th anniversary season’s “Flame”. But while she’s dating 10 women on screen, her attraction to the show’s host, Lauren, only grows when the cameras aren’t rolling.

This was a fun celebrity romance that gave an interesting and insightful look into the behind the scenes of reality TV. Any time I had a thought of “I wonder how they do X”, Bryant was right there to answer it. I did wonder about the logistics of having all queer people in a house together when they’re only meant to date the bachelorette and loved the drama this could create. I thought that it began very quickly, but once they were actually on set and starting filming I think the pacing vastly improved. The first person narration was very humanising and I liked that we got to hear Savannah be conscious of the contestants’ feelings as she went through eliminations and bad dates. This was all in character as she had been hurt on the show before, but her current role on it also gave her a newfound appreciation for what others had been through in her position. Savannah at one point thinks to herself “what have I been doing with my life?” and I admit I could think the same about her at times as, beyond her candle business, best friend and past stint on the show, I didn’t know too much about her. I enjoyed the slow burn secret romance but I think the attraction and interest was very evident from Savannah very early on so I wished that had been just a little more gradual. This book had a large cast of characters and most of the on screen ones were distinct but I’ll admit I had a bit of a hard time keeping them straight (the irony doesn’t escape me) in my head at times. This book has a keen awareness of what is cheesy about it, and also of how things will be seen and played up on screen. I liked the moments where Savannah was aware of the dramatic beats and how best to deliver them.

CW: be aware that restrictive eating/dieting for aesthetics was present in a lot of thoughts and conversations throughout the novel.

Ten years after being dumped on a reality dating show, Savannah Edwards is back on When Sparks Fly looking for love. Savannah has baby sparks with a few of the contestants but the one who really lights her fire is the show's host, Lauren Lucas. 

I don't watch reality dating shows but if they were like this, I may tune in.  This was a lighthearted, entertaining read from Kris Bryant. Savannah is a charming character, and I enjoyed her interaction with several of the contestants on the show, in particular Alix, a nonbinary, tattooed charmer, who I think would be a great lead character in her own book. 

Since the story was told from Savannah's point of view, we really get to know her well and what attracts her to Lauren. I wish I could have gotten into Lauren's head. She's a bit of a mystery to me but I can see why she would be drawn to Savannah. She is such a good-hearted woman who really just wants to find her happiness. Kris Bryant clearly had a lot of fun writing this and it shows. This is a book you will enjoy, it's not too heavy, the writing is solid, and it kept me interested the entire time. 

An ARC was received from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley for an honest review.

Imagine being a contestant on a reality show called “When Sparks Fly” that tries to find true love for lesbians ala “The Bachelorette” and getting dumped on national tv. Then imagine the show coming to you ten years later and asking you to be The Flame choosing your true love from a group of ten contestants. Sounds great, huh? Well, Savannah Edwards wasn’t so sure, but decided to try it anyway. Everything starts out great until the spark she is expecting to find from one of the contestants comes instead from the host of the show, Lauren Lucas.

This is a great premise for the novel Forever by Kris Bryant. It provides so many opportunities for the author to add conflict to the story especially in the form of jealousy, angst, hidden trysts and more. I’ve never watched reality shows like this, but from my very limited experience, it seems like the setting of the book is realistic. I know it’s beautifully described. The characters are also well-developed. I connected with both main characters. I also connected with some of the secondary folks, especially Alix, one of the ten contestants. I would love to see Alix get their happy ever after one day, maybe in another book or short story (hint, hint)?
If you’re into reality shows and stories with lots of conflict and romance, then this is the novel for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This book was super fun. I don’t watch reality tv all that much and never the dating ones, but for some reason it was really working for me in a book. The author did an excellent job introducing the contestants just enough that you get a little invested. It was just a real feel good read. I caught myself grinning at some points. If you’re looking for a well written, light hearted, and a splash of steam read then this one’s for you.

Who among us wouldn't love to see a WLW dating show? I've personally never really watched The Bachelor or its ilk, but I know it's popular or it wouldn't have gone on for 20 years. Savannah is a super likeable character who I just couldn't not root for to find her own HEA on "When Sparks Fly".

What impressed me the most, however, is how Kris Bryant not only created a full cast of "Sparkettes" from which to choose, but then managed to have a fully diverse group and keep them all straight (odd choice of wording I know) when writing. Another thing that impressed me was the detail of the behind-the-scenes action and how a show like that is made. {Kris, have you been on a dating show?}

Bryant sets the standard at writing in first person, and it really works for this story as there are so many peripheral characters to keep up with and we get to experience Savannah's reaction to each of them. And as always, the MC's friends are always perfectly written and the love scenes are scorching.

Another do-not-miss from one of my favorite authors.

Savannah was burned by love when she enter as a contestant on dating show. Even though she was hurt it’s doesn’t stop her from believing in true love when she ask to return she determined to show people just because you were burn once doesn’t means give up. Savannah connects with Lauren who the host although she puts on a smile she believes you can’t find love in a dating show but Savannah proves her wrong as sparks fly between them. I enjoy this read I like the working of the dating show how contestants really was looking for love even though some was drama my favorite besides the MCS was Alix I like the friendship she was building with Savannah because it’s felt more like they could be best friends I wouldn’t mind a book on Alix finding love.




I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.