✍🏻 Professor Romance’s 5++ ⭐️ Review: Aly Martinez’s The Difference between Someday and Forever ✍🏻

Overall Grade: 5++ ⭐️

“Maybe fate wasn’t something that brought people together. Maybe it was something that kept people together. And the rest was just paperwork.”

I just finished Aly Martinez’s last book in her The Difference Trilogy, The Difference between Someday and Forever. Trying to find the words to express my feelings about this gorgeous book, let alone this trilogy, feels impossible. Reading this trilogy has been a trial in patience as each book whips up a chaos of emotions as Bowen and Remi fight for their love. I wasn’t sure how far Martinez would take her torture in this newest book. In true form, just as Bowen and Remi fight for a future, Martinez asks us to fight our anxiousness, our want to power through her story to their happy ending, and our frustration with Remi in this book. And in the end, in the blessed end, we are rewarded with the Remi and Bowen we hoped for from the very first book: an abiding, brilliant, whole love. 

In the reviews of the earlier books of the series, I refused to reveal any plot points, and I will do the same for The Difference between Someday and Forever. This trilogy is one that has too many surprises to allow it. Instead, I’ll tell you why you should read it based on Martinez’s capacity to tell stories that ingratiate themselves onto your e-reader. I haven’t read her entire book list, but, of the books I’ve read, there isn’t a miss. She has this ability to craft characters that get under your skin. Interestingly enough, for me, in this series and, especially in this newest story, Remi is the character that dives deep, burrowing herself into the open spaces of your soul. One minute, her clumsy, forthrightness charms you. Martinez makes it easy to love that part of her, but in this book, she (Martinez) forces us to deal with the complications of Remi’s life in a way that causes readers to want to throw their Kindles at the wall. In the end, though, Martinez’s genius is her insistence on the timing of Remi’s journey. It is NECESSARY for her to act in ways that frustrate readers. As I was reading The Difference between Someday and Forever, I found myself marveling at Martinez’s care in developing a story arc that NEEDED to span three books. To understand the depth and breadth of Bowen and Remi’s love, to be reminded of why we read romance, their story is three books long with no moment that felt unnecessary. 

In this book (and well, the last one), I felt protective of Bowen. My first tears came as Remi has an epiphany about their relationship because Bowen is the type of hero who wins awards across Facebook for ultimate hero or book boyfriend. Add his family to the mix, and he epitomizes the romantic hero. I would love to say more about him, but, between Remi and Bowen, he is the flatest in his depiction. Yet, he’s everything romance readers love about a hero. 

Aly Martinez’s The Difference between Someday and Forever is a brilliant ending to an epic trilogy. She has crafted a romance that inspires, incites, and endears you to her characters. There is beauty in its depths through the gorgeous words, impeccable pacing, and intense character arcs. I’m jealous of those of you who have waited for the release of all three books; you are in for a journey of heartbreak, soulmates, and enduring love. I wish I could forget it and read it all over again. 

In love and romance,

Professor A