{"id":76471,"date":"2024-10-10T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76471"},"modified":"2024-10-09T09:18:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:18:44","slug":"release-arc-review-the-downside-to-forever-cedar-point-5-by-jillian-liota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=76471","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: The Downside to Forever (Cedar Point, #5) by Jillian Liota"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Downside to Forever by Jillian Liota is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The fifth and final book in the Cedar Point<\/i>\u00a0series, this is a sweet and heartfelt single parent, age gap, friends-to-lovers romance that brings the feels, and I loved this story.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Busy Mitchell is moving home to give her daughter a better life. That means accepting help, and she\u2019s never been good at leaning on anyone. Especially not her handsome neighbor. He was her childhood crush\u2026one smile from him and all those pre-teen feelings come rushing back.<\/p>\n

Reid Cohen prefers a quiet life of working in his shop and hiking with his dog. He tries not to get too attached to anyone, and definitely doesn\u2019t have space in his life to fall in love again. But when he begins spending time with the beautiful woman next door, his heart says otherwise.<\/p>\n

Instead of acting on their mutual attraction, Reid and Busy settle into a friendship they didn\u2019t know they needed. Casual dinners at home, short hikes into the mountains, swimming in the lake\u2026every day is wonderful when you\u2019re spending time with someone you care about.<\/p>\n

But true love is once in a lifetime, and despite their best efforts, the two fall hard and fast. When Busy finds out that Reid is harboring a painful secret, she\u2019ll need to prove her love can weather any storm, and that the depth of what they share will last forever.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

The fifth and final book in the Cedar Point<\/i>\u00a0series, this is a sweet and heartfelt single parent, age gap, friends-to-lovers romance that brings the feels, and I loved this story.<\/p>\n

This is the story of youngest Mitchell sibling, Busy, returning to her home town as a young single mother and determined to give her almost-two-year-old daughter a happy, stable life, surrounded by family. Busy feels like the misunderstood troublemaker of the family who never quite fit in. She was always (and still is) reluctant to accept others\u2019 help, and is determined to cope on her own, so she moves into a small lakeside cabin\u2026 which just happens to be right next door to her childhood crush, Reid.<\/p>\n

Reid is a sweet and friendly guy, but he\u2019s living an intentionally solitary life. He is divorced, and plans to stay single, determinedly avoiding love or relationships. But he can\u2019t help but be drawn to his new neighbour (ten years his junior) and her adorable little girl and as they start to spend time together, they quickly become friends.<\/p>\n

Reid and Busy share their lives. They talk and laugh, they become a big part of each other\u2019s worlds, and they fall hard for each other. But Reid refuses to act on his feelings. He has his reasons, and it\u2019s up to Busy to break through his walls and convince him that love is worth the risk.<\/p>\n

This sweet, light-hearted read brings the emotion as Reid fights his demons. It\u2019s a slow burn, with plenty of sexual tension as they dance around each other, and it\u2019s Busy who shines as she stands up and fights for her man and for the chance at the happy ever after they could have.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have spent years of my life feeling like an outsider, like I don\u2019t belong\u2026anywhere. But when I\u2019m with you, I feel like I finally fit. That\u2019s what I want.\u201d
\nHer eyes flick to mine, still watery but sure.
\n\u201cI want to belong, and I want to belong to <\/i>you.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My heart ached for both of them throughout the story, their feelings are real and raw, and central to it all is a relationship that is easy and natural, and so, so beautiful. They care for each other so deeply, and I loved seeing them be there for each other and slowly come to embrace all that they feel for each other.<\/p>\n

As long as you\u2019re there to take my hand, I will hold it tight in mine. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Along with the romantic drama, Busy and Reid both have some family issues to deal with, and there\u2019s time spent with the Mitchell family, with an opportunity to see all of the couples from previous books. But you can also read this one as a standalone.<\/p>\n

I have loved this series, and this is a beautifully sweet story to finish it off. Reid and Busy\u2019s romance is such a gorgeous read, and left me with a big smile on my face.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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Cedar Point<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Trouble With Wanting (#1) <\/strong>(Boyd & Ruby)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Opposite of Falling (#2) <\/strong>(Andy & Briar)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Start of Someday (#2.5) <\/strong>(Jackson & Abby)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

The Problem with Perfect (#3)<\/strong> (Rusty & Bellamy)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Echo of Regret (#4)<\/strong> (Bishop & Gabi)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Downside to Forever (#5) <\/strong>(Reid & Busy)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Jillian Liota is a Southern California native currently living in Suwanee, Georgia. She is married to her best friend, has a three-legged pup with endless energy, and acts as a servant to a very temperamental cat.<\/p>\n

Jillian writes contemporary and new adult romance, and has had her writing praised for depth of character, strong female friendships, deliciously steamy scenes, and positive portrayal of mental health.<\/p>\n

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Website<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0TikTok\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Bookbub\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Newsletter\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Downside to Forever by Jillian Liota is live! The fifth and final book in the Cedar Point\u00a0series, this is a sweet and heartfelt single parent, age gap, friends-to-lovers romance that brings the feels, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,25,9,1036,29],"tags":[59,1171,1169,48],"class_list":["post-76471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-friends-to-lovers","category-romance","category-single-parent","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-cedar-point","tag-jillian-liota","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/The-Downside-To-Forever.png?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jTp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}