02 May

♕ REVIEW ♕ ARC ♕ BITTERSWEET ALWAYS (GRAY SPRINGS UNIVERSITY #2) BY ELLA FIELDS

TITLE: Bittersweet Always

SERIES: Gray Springs University #2

AUTHOR: Ella Fields

GENRE: New Adult

PUBLICATION: May 4th, 2018

’BITTERSWEET ALWAYS:’

Is the second book in Ella Field’s ‘Gray Springs University’ series.. This is Pippa James and Toby Hawthorne’s story.

I for one was ecstatic when Ella announced that she was going to take us back to Gray Springs University to get to know Pippa and Toby more and hopefully to spend more time with Daisy and Quinn which we did do and I loved every minute of my time with these past characters.

Pippa is Daisy’s best friend and roomie that we all met and fell in love with in ‘Suddenly Forbidden Book#1.’

What you see is what you get with Pippa, she tellS it how she sees, it, she doesn’t mince her words or beat around the bush and every now and then she’ll even swear like a sailor, she’s strong, fierce, and dependable.

When Toby set his sights on Pippa he was relentless, he moved in swiftly and swept her off her feet.

You invaded something inside me the minute I saw you, and you haven't left since.

Toby isn’t perfect, his thoughts are ugly and downright messy, he’s imperfectly broken and unpredictable, and unstable, when he’s high on life you’ll swoon like the rest of us, his one liners, his love he has for Pippa is undeniable, but when he hits his lows along with Pippa your heart just breaks into the smallest smithereens of imperfectly broken pieces. I couldn't fix him, I could only love him.

I think Ella handled this subject with the upmost sensitivity and with as much respect as possible, so beautifully written, as some of us know living with or being raised by a person with a mental illness can be downright scary, it can leave everlasting scars on you, but with the right medication and help that is offered like we read with Toby they can live a normal, healthy fulfilling life.

I want to be with you always. I want to crawl underneath your skin, live inside the life that runs through your every vein, and consume your every thought. I want you to breathe me, to inhale the thoughts of me, and for you to exhale anything that stops me from overtaking every part of you. I want...To do to you exactly what you've done to me.

I can honestly say that I’ve never read a book like ‘Bittersweet Always’ before, it’s unique, it’s raw, it's real, and beautiful in it’s entirety. All the feels in the world, a slow burn that took over my heart, swooning moments, giggling moments, sad moments, ugly moments and all the moments in between.

Toby Hawthorne was an enigma.

One I didn’t factor into my college plans.

I wasn’t looking for love.

I wasn’t not looking for it either.

And in that state of in-between, he found me.

Unaware of the battle he fought everyday, I fell fast.

By the time I found out, it was too late.

Because I wanted everything.

Every broken, lost part of him.

I knew I couldn’t fix him.

I could only love him.

But I should’ve known better than to think that was enough.

Warning: This book contains sensitive subject matter.

Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in the land Down Under. While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters and books to her two cats. She's a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.