Always You by Kirsty Moseley

Always You by Kirsty Moseley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars


Even though I'm giving this book 4 stars, I have mix feelings on Always You. I wanted to read this book because I heard Always You is very similar to The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window, a book that I LOVED. Always You starts out great, it's very light hearted, there's a lot of tension between Riley and Clay and so I was very pleased with it. Starting the second half of the book, which I like to call the "shift", I start to doubt how realistic the plot was.


Riley and Clay are life-long best friends and live next door to each other. Riley has always gone to private school until her Junior year, where she decided to go to public school with Clay. Riley has just come back from a 1 month long vacation and the interactions with Clay at public school kind of changes their relationship.


I'm going to list my issues first. My number one problem with this book is how unrealistic everything is. I understand books can't be realistic all the time, I mean, you need drama right, but there are some parts in Always You where I felt like Kirsty Mooseley was pushing it a bit.


List of unrealistic stuff

1.) Riley and Clay's "friendship" - can you even call it that? I understand they are best friends, but are you serious?


2.) Riley's parents - a bit too liberal


3.) The Vegas trip - enough said


Second problem I have is the shift in the book towards the middle. I just don't understand why the story had to go there, I felt like I was on this quiet ride and then all of sudden it was like I was reading a whole new book. I felt like when we got to the Vegas trip it was a completely different book. All of sudden we are dealing with a unrealistic situation and the characters were just intense.


Third problem, the end was way too long. Sure we got a crazy twist, but did it have to last so long? I started to skim some of it because it was just too much complaining and fighting for me.


Now, I got the negatives out of the way, I will list the positives. I know it seems like I should be giving Always You a lower rating because of my rant, but I can't, because even though I have a few issues with the book, in the end, it was a good read.


I loved the beginning, I started to read this book at night and regretted it because I knew I would stay up late to finish. Even though Riley and Clay's "friendship" was highly unrealistic, I secretly LOVED it. The book had good tension. I thought Riley was so sweet and kind of confused, but she's a 17 year-old girl, who wouldn't be? Clay did act beyond his age and who doesn't like the sweetest boy who happens to be the most sought out guy at school?


Even though the second half the book threw me for a loop, it was still a nice change, it kept the book fresh and I was twisting and turning trying to figure out what the final problem would be because I had so much left to read. Also, yeah the ending was long, but the final problem at the end was still pleasant to read, it really honed in Riley and Clay's relationship.


Overall, I am not sure Always You will work for everyone (hence some of the negative reviews), but putting aside the minor flaws, it was still an interesting book I had to finish in two sittings. Maybe Always You should have been shorter, maybe the middle shouldn't have gone that route, but I was taken on a journey and I do not regret the ride.


I recommend Always You for the person who loves love stories, no matter how realistic or unrealistic it can be.