I have liked the authors previous books and had high hopes for this one. It might not cover the normal boy meets girl/ do they, don’t they but digs deeper into the lives of just a few characters. I fell in love with Gemma from the start. She had had a hard upbringing but turned it around for herself as she got older. She might have held back putting down roots and had her own little ways to survive the day. Taking a chance and opening up is never easy but it does have its rewards.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this e book.

This is a cozy, curl up on the sofa with a coffee and an indulgent biscuit type of book, I really enjoyed it!

History teacher Gemma had a baby when she was sixteen and in care and she gave her up for adoption. As her baby approaches her 18th birthday, the age of her students, she is often in her thoughts and considers making her comtact details available in case her daughter wants to get in touch.

She also starts to think about her own turbulent past, her chaotic addict mother and how this has affected her relationships. Perhaps if she knew that her daughter was happy, and that she had done the right thing, she can start opening up to people and settling down?

A lovely, heart-warming story - perfect to enjoy in the sunshine this summer!

Brilliantly heartfelt sensitive and deeply empathetic to situations and lives so many find themselves in.
Gemma found herself pregnant at 16 and made the huge decision to give her baby up to adoption to end the cycle her mum started. Since then, she has worked hard to get a degree and a safe and successful life, but has never forgotten her daughter even for a day. Her coping strategies have been working well, but do they stop her from really growing and living her best life? Is she now too safe?
Beautifully written, an enthralling read from start to finish. Heartbreaking, heart swelling, this is a wonderful read. Love reading a Debbie Johnson book, its a joy!!!
Thank you NetGalley for the early read much appreciated!!

I love this author, her writing is wonderful and her characterisations are great. You feel like you are living amongst the characters and you really care about them.

A wonderful and heart warming story.

I absolutely love this authors books
And this one was no exception. This was slightly different from usual books by this author but this did not detract from how good it was at all. This book is hard to review without giving spoilers. It was a heart wrenching emotional rollercoaster of a read that showed how one moment in life can change everything for ever and at times had me crying one minute
And laughing the next and a book which got to the heart of human emotion and covered some very sensitive topics in a heartfelt and mindful way. The story shows how the events of the past can shape the future and how if you are willing and able to let other people in then they can help you to unpack those thoughts and emotions and allow you to feel a peace with things and not have the urge to run away from them.

This was a story of love hope and finding happiness in one’s own skin and how love can be found in the unlikeliest of places and when you lit expend it and definitely Fits in with the saying you can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends.

I always enjoy this author’s books and this one was no exception.

In and out of care for most of her life and pregnant at sixteen, Gemma’s life had never been easy. After giving up her daughter for adoption, she has lived a mostly solitary life; but now 17 years later she is finally putting down roots and making friends. Will she now decide to stop running and initiate contact with her daughter or does she let her go forever?

Good heartwarming story with a great mix of characters which made for an easy and enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book, it kept me entertained and I read it in a couple of days, it’s certainly one to take with you to the beach this summer

This is the first novel I've read by the author and I was drawn to it due to the subject matter. 18 years ago Gemma gave up her baby daughter for adoption. Since then Gemma has lived her life hiding her history and not getting close to anyone. Now as her birth daughter's 18th birthday approaches she is working as a teacher in a North West seaside town and is finally putting down roots and building friendships.
I found this to be a moving read with a cast of likeable characters and I enjoyed the coastal setting of Crosby. The author deals with the subject matter sensitively and empathically. An enjoyable and easy read.
3.5 stars
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

This author has a knack for writing the perfect romance and delivering it at the perfect pacing. I am immediately identified with the main characters. Another uplifting and summery escape from the bestselling author Debbie Johnson.

I love Debbie Johnson's book and eagerly await each book. If you haven't read any of Debbie's books then you really should. I cannot recommend them enough. This book is really wonderful, utterly feel good, really uplifting and utterly wonderful. Do not miss

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I have loved every Debbie Johnson book I've read, unfortunately this one didn't really capture my interest and I felt like I trudged my way through it

At 16, Gemma gave birth and handed her baby over for adoption, so that baby could have a better life. For the next 17 years Gemma has create a quiet life for herself, moving around regularly to avoid getting too close to anyone. But she’s started to settle, she’s got some roots and she’s enjoying her life. She makes a new friend at yoga class, and finds out her daughter Katie is adopted; she has vibrant red hair just like Gemma and her birthday is the same date at Baby’s. Could this be a co-incidence, or might this be what Gemma needs to explore her past in more detail.

I received an ARC of, Forever Yours, by Debbie Johnson. I had such high hopes for this book, but it was a let down. I did not connect with Gemma at all. I really like Debbie Johnson's book, but not this one.

I wasn't sure about this book when I started reading it, and to begin with I wasn't a fan of Gemma and her weird ways, however as the story unfolds and you begin to find out more about her you understand that she is the way she is because of her past experiences. She is an independent woman, with a career and a flat, despite having an unsettled childhood and has learned to be mistrustful of others. But as the daughter that she gave up for adoption approaches her eighteenth birthday, she begins to find friendship in the people she has around her including Karim, her handsome co-worker; Erin, from yoga; Katie, one of her students as well as being Erin's daughter; and Margie (and her dog Bill) from downstairs - and they all prove that family is the people you surround yourself with, not necessarily blood relations. The characters are warm, believable and funny - I loved them all! Debbie Johnson writes in a way that sucks you into the characters story until you, reluctantly reach the end of the book. This story may be a one off, but I would actually love to know what happens next...… (hint hint dear author!!) Wonderful and highly recommended!

Gosh a lot of messed up people because of their childhoods. The social worker was lovely . The two letters made you cry. Margie was a good friend and Karin was such a kind boyfriend / partner. Running all the time is not the best option . A story of finding yourself and forgiving people. Just read it .

This book follows Gemma and her growing confidence in managing to take a risk and opening up to people and letting them into her life. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Eighteen years ago Gemma Jones decided to give her baby up for adoption. A child of a single mother with substance abuse and mental health problems, and currently living with foster parents, Gemma wanted something better for both herself and her baby.

Gemma is now a history teacher at a school in Liverpool. To stop herself from speculating about young children she made a choice to teach sixth formers a long time ago, but of course now that has backfired because her daughter will shortly be turning eighteen and could (theoretically) be one of her students.

Her mother's issues have given Gemma anxiety, something which she self-soothes with counting items and memorising facts. Now as an adult Gemma is alone, self-sufficient, and avoids allowing other people to get close. She even moves jobs every few years and has worked all over the UK.

But this year events conspire to force Gemma out of her shell: a new student who looks uncannily like Gemma; a colleague who makes it clear he fancies her; a woman she meets at yoga; and her elderly neighbour who needs help walking her dog.

How very typical, I no sooner finish a book about a woman who was given up for adoption by her sixteen year old mother than I start a book about a woman who gave up her child for adoption at sixteen.

I have read and really liked a lot of Debbie Johnson's previous books but I have to say that this one was not among my favourites. First, Gemma's habit of counting things and reciting random facts was really irritating (although a shoe-in for a pub quiz), I get that it was a manifestation of her anxiety but my eyes glazed over every time she started.

Second, there seemed to be a little bit of contradiction about Gemma's childhood, at times the reader is told that she was too embarrassed to invite school friends home and consequently never went to their homes either. Also that she couldn't afford things so never went out or did things like other kids. Yet at other points in the story she talks about going to a friend's house and going to the cinema with a friend - and not as if these were the only times she had ever done such things. It was as though Debbie Johnson couldn't keep up the characterisation and/or it didn't fit with the plot at other times.

Third, Gemma seemed to do a lot of navel-gazing self-diagnosis, pages and pages of her dissecting her behaviour and that of her friends and family. Also (this may be point four), if you have no friends and essentially no family, why wouldn't you stay in touch with your foster mother and your social worker who both helped you enormously? It seems like a huge self-sabotage to cut off people and then whine that you are all alone.

Anyway, I liked it but I didn't love it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was a really heartfelt read with a wonderfully flawed main character in Gemma who had a turbulent childhood with a mother who had mental health and addiction problems and who was in care for a number of years due to this. At sixteen Gemma had a baby girl and made the heartbreaking decision to have her adopted to give her the opportunity of a stable life which she did not feel she would ever be able to give her. Gemma did amazing at improving her life and nearly eighteen years later she’s a history teacher at college but almost in danger of settling down, something which terrifies her as her past has left her struggling to let people into her life.

I found this was a really interesting time in Gemma’s life with her thinking increasingly more about her daughter as she nears her eighteenth birthday but also to see her consider engaging with others. She has a great neighbour and the chance of a boyfriend, an intriguing new student and her live wire mum. It was great to get inside Gemma’s brain and read her fears and tentative hopes and understand just what makes her the difficult but amazing woman she is.