Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. While I was not a super fan of this book and premise, it introduced me to an author I had not heard of before and checked out her previously written books, which I devoured.

Our FMC June, has lost herself. She's been married to her high school sweetheart forever, but he seems to be more invested in his work and adult baseball league then coming home to his wife and family. Then one day her teenager daughter (who is kind of the worse) calls her simple, alluding to the fact that she's a stay at home mom. June snaps after listening to a podcast and asks her husband for a divorce, but they should wait until their daughter graduates from high school, He is shocked at this and is determined to win her back. She is determined to win herself back and decides to give her passion of photography a shot, and, uh oh, one of her formal high school classmates is back in the picture and he is just as hot as before.

While I appreciate the idea of a 40-something mom/wife reclaiming her self and her place in the world, this felt a little uneven to me.

This book is for every mom that has felt exhausted and ready to give up. June felt unseen and unfulfilled and as a mom I know I've felt that way too at times. This book was a great reminder to keep going and that we can be the hero too. I cried at Lyra's speech at the end and I just loved it so much!

Unfortunately I didn't love this book as much as I'd hoped that I would. Reading other reviews makes it clear that I'm in the minority, and that's ok, not every book fits every reader.

June came across to me as an immature woman, despite her age and the fact she is a mother of 3. Camp, her husband and for most of the book, the bane of her current existence, is oblivious to her dissatisfaction. June has found a supportive theory in her anger, a series of podcasts that she listens to when angry. Being vulnerable, she accepts what she hears without context and lets it guide her decisions.

I didn't care for their parenting styles, but that's an individual choice not open to judgement. One other thing that drove me crazy was when June is trying to make a point, she repeats herself, like and-and-and. Often.

I won't let this dissuade me from reading other books by this author, I rated her last book 5 stars, it was so good. This just wasn't a good fit for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I laughed. I cried. I celebrated. I swooned. I mourned. I related. I rejoiced. I felt seen.

This book spoke to me on so many levels. It wrecked me and then put me back together again.

Written for all women who have sacrificed some part of their identities for marriage and motherhood, Ashley truly hits the nail on the head over and over again with this one. She has so perfectly captured the raw parts of marriage and motherhood that often go unspoken about.

Our FMC, June, battles with losing herself in marriage and motherhood and goes through the triumphant journey of finding herself again. The journey is so captivating and empowering, you’ll find yourself utterly invested in where it’s headed next.

Thank you, Ashley, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow! When my friend Mo recommends a book or an author, you don't question it. You just dive in! I went in blind to Forever and Back.

In my current life events, I am someone who relates so much to June. This book me laugh....A Lot! And it also made me SOB! Ashley manley sucks you in with her real ife events, and she makes you believe, that everything is going to be okay, and you're going to figure it all out.

Well done as always, Ashley! I can't wait to see what's next!

11/10 stars!

First of all, I just want to say how stunning and relatable I found this book as a mum and wife. Ashley’s writing is so beautiful and for any mum who’s going through similar or knows what it’s like to be in the trenches of motherhood - you have to read this book.

We don’t often see, if ever, stay at home FMC mums or relatable stories for your every day person but this story was so perfectly human and messy and dare I say the Bridget Jones energy with the messy life tellings. It was so gut wrenching and raw. I’ve never seen a story told like this before. Just perfect.

Life truly is so beautiful in the messy moments ♥️

This was my first arc review via NetGalley so thank you so much to them and Ashley for this opportunity 🫶♥️.

Loved this book! There were a few times I was upset at the main characters and their communication. But overall loved this story of a mom and her experience with her husband and children as they figure out life! Enjoyable, real life, love story.

there is too much to say and not enough to say regarding this book. i cant give spoilers. i cant give a adequate review from it (sorry as that IS why im here,right) but there just arent the words for it. there arent the descriptors. and that really runs parallel with there not being the words enough for our description on mothers. on all they are. all they give. the small and big bits. the micro ways, the huge ways. the divine ways of mothers who are our everything.
i cannot thanks mothers enough. i know certainly this isnt a given with all mothers. but not lets have to caveat everything! so for the sake of just needing to praise and love and think wonderous things of all mothers this book explores it all. and its a little love letter to them all.
and its so much more. im really sorry. what a horrific review. because i cant describe it enough. the plot is what it is but then there resounds so much more to this book that you just must read. and you must read to understand when i say whatever i write here wont do it justice.
for the small points i can give is here we have a mother. one who is fed up. pushed over the edge by her husband coming home late she asks for their divorce. but then he becomes something other. so what now? what next? what does this all mean? with kids to deal with on top of this. who are as kids are... what ever next for our mother.
this author is incredible and has done the incredible with this book.

What a beautiful, humorous and real-life story Ashley has woven together. I found myself relating and understanding the concepts, and situations. I was able to see myself in the MC and understand everything. And what a powerful author to be able to do that. I couldn't put this down and look forward to reading her other work.

After reading Every Beautiful Mile, I knew I had to get my hands on more of Ashley Manley’s books - so I was thrilled to get my first ever ARC of Forever and Back! Ashley really has an amazing way of building characters that feel real and relatable. I found myself wanting to read just one more chapter to learn more about June.

Contemporary romance is such a hard genre for me because I don’t want a complete fluff piece, but I do want to be happy that everything is tied up well at the end. I want amazing, fun banter, a real “issue” to work through, some fun sexy scenes that are natural and not forced, but ultimately a fun, funny, read with substance. Ashley Manley keeps delivering on all of these!

I know it’s a winner when I finish a book, wishing the main character was real and that I could be friends with them!

It’s also really refreshing to read about a woman who is in her 40’s, with teenagers and young kids - I really connected with that on multiple levels!

Thank you Ashley, for this ARC!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. This book made me cry. Really enjoyed this book. Will definitely buy this book and recommend it to others.

Wow. I really resonated with this book as a 40 year old woman who's been married over a decade. I loved it. It pulled all my heart strings. Very very good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

originally thought I was going to DNF this book but I kept on and ended up loving it. Even cried at Lyra’s speech at the end. Four stars.

Even though I am not a mother, I know a lot of people who are, and I felt that she handled this subject in a very compelling way with likable characters. You felt the emotion of the main character and wanted the best for her throughout.

i requested this after seeing a glowing review from Meagan’s Book Club, but i don’t think we read the same book.. I found the dialogue to be so poorly written and the stuttering “because-because-because” was so disingenuous. the plot did not make sense (how can we be completely shocked jaws to the floor at a child asking what’s a lesbian)? the photography plot was so obvious, the storyline was repetitive. this was a no for me.

Five hundred stars, seriously. I’ve never felt so seen, so understood, so…emotional. I don’t often cry reading books, but this was an exception. June is so many of us - and to have so many aspects of motherhood put into an incredibly written book, is so special. I cannot say enough about this, and this will easily be one of my top (if not THE top read) for 2025 for me. Ashley is now one of my automatic reads / purchases without a doubt. And thank you, for remembering the moms in the back, the lost ones, and everything in between.

Unfortunately this is a DNF. This is 100% a case of it’s not you, it’s me. One of my main DNF reasons is unrealistic characters, and the way the twin’s preschool teacher spoke to the MC was wild to me. Also, the marriage in crisis trope isn’t my favorite. I’m super bummed because Every Beautiful Mile is an all time favorite of mine, and I will definitely continue to read Ashley’s books, but I had to put this one down.

I did connect with June on a lot being a mother myself, so I would still recommend this to women in the thick of raising a family.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for providing me with an ARC of this book.
I am so glad that I decided to read this romance. I love it so so much !!!
This was an emotional romance about motherhood, family, marriage and self-reflection.
In between heartbroken parts, you can also find cute and sweet scenes (and a nice dose of spice too 😉)
I’ve always liked to read romance about long-term couple whose relationship was falling apart because life was not always like we’d imagined it.
Being a mom, I felt great empathy towards June. No more self-care time, body insecurity after pregnancy, and above all, questioning ourselves whether I was a good mother.
And then the man, it might not be applied for everyone’s case, but some men were such laconic species ! And that didn’t help when the women were being vulnerable. Communication became harder when you were always walking a fine line between caring and fearing of bothering each other.
Reading the book description, I did not expect the storyline direction. I meant, it was better than I had thought and I was so happy of the ending.
I will definitely check out other books from Ashley Manley.

Wow. Just wow. First of all thank-you to NetGalley and Ashley Manley for the ARC. This book feels like it was written about me just set a few years in the future. I relate to June on so many levels, being a mother, the main caretaker , the one who has to do it all and totally losing herself in the process. And the "lost ones" I have 2 myself and boy did I feel that entirely. This book is such a great reminder moms don't need to be only "mom". I have never laughed and cried and felt so emotionally attached to a book on my life. It felt like one big therapy session for me and I truly cannot wait to read more of her work.

As a 39 year old mother of three, I don't think I have ever related with a character more than I do with June Cannon. Forever and Back is an absolute must read. Ashely Manley does a fabulous job illustrating how easy it is to lose yourself in a relationship or lose yourself to motherhood. I felt her pain and frustration of feeling like she's looked at as "just a mom" and that's all there is.

"People tell you about potty training and sleepless nights, but they don't tell you how f-ing hard being a mom is. About the slow drain that happens if you aren't careful. How you exchange who you are for a different version of yourself without even knowing. Somewhere between dinners and homework and carlines, you forget yourself. And, somehow, despite how hard and thankless it all feels, when you lie in bed at night, you still worry. You still wonder, did I do good enough today? Did I love these little people enough? Encourage them to be nice people and treat others fairly? Do they know how valuable they are? How much I love them?"

The above quote resonated hard with me and I feel like I could have written it myself. The depth of emotions in this book was phenomenal. Top 5 read for me so far this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.