Sometimes Never

This was not your typical YA book. The characters were beautifully written and their flaws perfectly understandable. I never found myself wanting to scream at any of them for being 'stupid' and there was none of the typical immature teenage speak. The author does not go for the easy or predictable in this story, she stays true to the characters instead of following a cookie cutter format. This is a must read for any age.

I had mixed feelings about this book. Overall it was pretty good. In the first couple of pages I thought I was going to love it, then it seemed like everything was just happening so fast. I feel like we could have seen a little more into Masons past. I did love the connection between Guy and Hope, and I am happy with the way it ended. It is worth reading so if you are looking for a sweet, funny, and dysfunctional read, this book is for you.

Sweet story. Both Mason and Hope have some issues but together they are strong. I love hope's step brother Guy - he's hilarious! Actually they are all really funny together. Mason is such a great guy, good personality and loves Hope from the beginning and doesn't give up on her. Hope is immediately attracted to Mason and finally decides to give falling for him a shot and see what happens. Emotional issues to deal with. Sweet story.

This is a great story that deals with real issues told in a brilliant way. Love that the story switches back and forth between Mason and Hope. Love the characters and their interactions amongst each other that bring traumatic life events into believable situations. I've read it twice and was enthralled both times.

This is a story of two broke high school students trying to survive everyday. Not caring to fit in with everyone else so no one can see how broken they are. Each has their own dark secrets on how to handle their own pain. This is the story of how they find their way....together. Strong girl - a plus & understanding boy - like most YA love stories. A fun easy read...

"Sometimes never is a distorted perception."

Cheryl McIntyre has gifted us with a lyrical telling of a story that is intense, dark, and beautifully hopeful. Some lovely writing throughout. Love the characters--I hope we see more of them. A whole series on Park, Kellin and Misty, Annie, and Chase please!

I fell for the main characters, Hope and Mason, and their lives. Highly recommended.

This was a touching tale of two broken teens that find each other. They find a way to save each other from past hurt and abuse. This book touches on some common behavioral releases such as cutting, fighting and sex. This was beautifully written and gripping. I was cheering for hope and mason all the way. I laughed and cried along their journey.

Most books centered around high school romances tend to make me roll my eyes....no one lives a perfect life not even in high school. So when I read this book hoping the other reviewers weren't wrong I was more than happy to learn the had told the truth. this book is real and sometimes raw which made me root for the characters through out the book. It was definitely one I couldn't put down until I was finished.

This book was AMAZING. Even though it's almost 500 pages, I still managed to read it in only two days. This book changed me. It made me feel emotions, like I was the actual character. It made me see how tough others' lives are. This book took me on an emotion roller coaster. Made me laugh and cry. I loved this book, not wanting to end. So stop wasting your time reading this review, and start reading this book.

This is a wonderful love story. I was completely captivated.
Yes this book is about high school..seniors in fact..soulmates who find each other and fall in LOVE even while dealing with abuse..pain..death. These people show you that love CAN heal a broken heart..a broken mind..or a broken body..you just have to let go and trust. I LOVED THIS book..

I enjoyed this book. Sometimes I kept waiting for a bit more plot, but the characters were funny an interesting and eventually I was hooked enough and very pleased about it. The pacing is fast with lots dialogue, although there are some very deep emotional issues at the core of the story. The best friend Guy is adorable! And our hero Mason has issues of his own but he is a wonderful hero.

This book was brilliantly written with such intense emotion in each of the characters. I honestly could not put this book down until it was finished. Such a great read and had me captivated at every turn of every page. I sure do hope there is a sequel to the book in some form. Cheryl, please keep writing great books and thank you so much for this one!

I fell in love with the characters. The way they "fall in love", the similarities, the personalities. I think this story is good with a hint of pain. I'm not gonna lie, the self mutilating part was really hard to read but it is interesting how the author addresses an issue that is kind of hidden from society but we all know exists.
And of course, as the romantic I am, I loved the way the two were made for each other.
I really liked it!

Overall, I must conclude that Sometimes Never was worth the purchase.
It was recommended to me as a Valentines/Romantic book for teens and I can pretty much say that was right on the mark. Teens will like it. The main characters are teens but they don't act corny and realistic like "Oh of course we don't drink or have sex, we're too young." Nope. These teens are real and have real problems. It's not all lovey-dovey lame stuff either. There's a nice balance of realistic emotional turmoil and at the same time there will be parts that please those of us who like a good "aweeee" inducing romantic moment.

That being said, I'll get right into picking this book apart.

There were a few things that bothered me while reading this book but first and foremost I'll give a little background. Our protagonist is named Hope and her love interest is Mason. Arguable they are both the protagonist but since Mason is the one faced with the impossible choice, I will say he is moreso.

Annoyances I noticed:
-at some parts the tone of this book screamed to me "A psychology buff wrote this book!" This can be a plus since those learned in Psychology can often get into human psyche and provide characters that do not come off as fake. Unfortunately the exact opposite tended to occur because this particular annoyance mainly showed up while a character was talking.
Hope, Mason and even Annie(Hope's stepsister) all have moments when they go full out professional Psychologist on us and try to pick apart human behavior and mental processes.
(At one point Hope has this deep moment of picking apart Mason's interactions with his little brother and his little brother's taste in music that just comes off as corny and unrealistic. She talks about determining from that short moment that he must have been caring and dedicated yadda yadda yadda but the whole time I find myself asking "Well then why didn't you act like you thought this way earlier?" Her words were very inconsistent with her actions. Don't say you read him as caring when you've been grappling with "can I trust this guy?" for half the book.)

Mason's doing this annoyed me the most because he is a man. That is not to say that men do not understand psychology, but just that I found it annoying when Mason was able to read through Hope's behavior and pick it apart like a professional. Often men are inept when it comes to understanding the heart of a woman, and that about them can be charming. Mason's confidence in reading through her behavior and his in turn lecturing her on "Here's your problem. Here's how to fix it," wound up just coming off as unrealistic.

On top of that was the fact that he points out these problems and solutions early on and yet does not insist that Hope fix them. This brings me to beef II.

Mason's codependence. Too many times Mason plays the part of the perfect, sweet, understanding, doormat boyfriend. He has a generic anger management problem that is sometimes brought up but overall he's always understanding and in some cases lets Hope walk all over him and treat him badly.
Never does Mason put his foot down and just say "look, I don't deserve to be treated like this." Never.

He lets Hope get away with embarrassing him in public, putting him down, ignoring him and even physically harming him. The list goes on and on. He doesn't deserve any of it, exactly like how he reminds Hope she doesn't deserve the bad things that have happened to her and yet never does Mason grow a pair and stop accepting her foul behavior toward him. Because of this I could not be happy with the main characters finding their way to each other.

Hope basically walks all over him, breaks his heart with her self-inflicted injuries, leads on Park while at the same time frustrating Mason because she's "taken" but not technically dating, etc etc.

I understand Hope had a hard childhood, but that simply does not excuse her from at least treating the man she claims to love with respect. Men have feelings too and never once does she apologize for hurting his. She becomes angry with him and Mason basically begs like a little puppy until she decides to let him back in again. That's how their relationship works. He puts a toe out of line, she ignores him for days. She messes up? He takes it out on the wall and forgives her immediately. Maybe it's just me, but something about that doesn't exactly sound fair.

Now with that out of the way, time for pros.
First of all this author has guts. She tackles heavy, scary topics such as self injuring, death of a parent, childhood sexual abuse, and she does it without coming off as preachy. It does not come across as "if you've got these problems, read this book to find help!" Does that make any sense? There is a blurb at the end with a number to call but other than that the teenage characters are pretty much down to earth and while they realize their problems are not small, they don't insist that they need professional help.

Now here comes one of the HUGE pluses. They actually do get professional help. That. Is. Excellent. The fact that Mason is finally man enough to admit that he isn't qualified to try to be Hope's hero and somehow cure her psychological damage is so very important. It is exactly what we needed after watching him roll over like a puppy and let her walk all over him throughout the book. Not the showdown and standing up for his dignity that I wanted but a more gentle approach of "Look, we both need help and I'm willing to go in with you." That is what a real man does. THAT is what a successful relationship looks like. A real man does not gripe to his wife "You've let yourself go..." A real man says to her "Hey, wanna go for a jog with me?"

That assertive "we can both do this" attitude is what I was waiting for. Not that pushover "I'll still love you even if you abuse me and yourself" crap.

Next we have Mason's mother. Another big win here. The woman knows what she's doing. Although she has her faults such as cursing when she insists her sons should not and moving to town after town to run away from her pain, she stands up in the end and ultimately wakes Mason up to the fact that he's got to get Hope to a professional. It's tough love but it's exactly what parents need to do. (And oftentimes it's exactly what parents fail to do. ) I can't blame her for wanting Kellin away from that kind of environment since even I was furious with hope for showing him what she did.

Switching gears entirely, I'll mention the character Guy. Now this book is filled to bursting with bad name puns like a moody girl named Hope Love and a gay man named Guy Rider, but Guy overall is a worthwhile character. He is charming and loving without being too in the way. Although I cringe at seeing the played up overly promiscuous gay man stereotype, I was happy to see Guy in the end wind up with a man that we'd been introduced to chapters and chapters ago. Someone he'd been with for a while. That, although subtle, at least attempted to make up for the overly used stereotype. His sexual escapades were poked fun at on numerous occasions but in the end we realize he's still with a familiar face. Very charming. Well done.

Towards the middle of the book, with Hope and Mason's relationship heating up, I noticed background characters like Hope's family starting to disappear, but the author seems to have noticed this too because she pulled them back in and gave them some importance nearer the end. Right when I was thinking "Wait what happened to the brady bunch" she reeled them back in as if to say "Ha! Thought I forgot didn't you?"
Very good. That shows insight.

Overall I think we've got a capable author who takes the time to do her research, is able to look through the eyes of the reader and address most inconsistencies and has the guts to tackle heavy topics.

I am not often impressed. Upon finishing this book however I can say that today I am impressed.

My hat's off to this author. If I could talk to her directly I'd say "Be careful your teenage characters don't start spouting college level psychology lectures" and "No more lead girls who unknowingly have the whole school supposedly drooling over them." Yes more gay and alternative characters. Yes, for having the guts to have a pretty girl with gauges and good taste in music. No more men getting walked all over please. Yes more parents and boyfriends with the guts to step up and do what's right. It shows an excellent example in a situation where many people would be grasping at straws trying to find a real answer.

Keep it up.

I absolutely loved this book. From the first to last page I never lost interested. I love the complexities of the characters and I love the way they all can relate to one another. The candy theme is the most adorable I've read in a very long time. I love it, you must read this book to understand what is so special about it.

I don't know if I still completely understand why or how someone can cause harm to themselves, and perhaps I never will. I do know that this book kept me intrigued and completely intense. A story that I thought would be very much on the dark side, but surprisingly, it's very hopeful! I love a story with dark pasts and bright futures! Well written....well done!

Amazing writing. Beautiful story. Serious and delicate subject. The characters are real the humor and love is totally believable. I absolutely LOVED this book was sad when it ended. Keep up with the wonderful story telling!! Looking forward to more books by Ms. McIntyre. Mason perfect book boyfriend and Hope n Guy perfect book bffs

This book was great! It was so real and emotional.... I couldn't put it down! I am so excited to read the sequel and hopefully i will like it as much as this one! Just warning you though, if u have a problem with self harm and reading about it triggers it or something I don't recommend this for you. Still it was a deep, long, and realistic read, one that I will be re-reading very soon!

I always like it when the author includes both pov's - I feel that it enhances the story. Loved Hope and Mason's story from beginning to end. The other supporting characters were also entertaining. Another reason why I liked this book is that I found myself scribbling quotes from it. "Be your own kind of beautiful."

This is a great story. The main characters are different than the usual suspects. They both have issues and unusual family situations. Third adds a layer of complexity to their budding romance. The supporting characters have their quirks too. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good love story.

I don't remember what first captured my interest in this book. I think I heard someone raving about this author and her writing on Twitter. Regardless of how I heard about it, I couldn't help but start reading it just because of the summary. I am a sucker for flirting bad boys who are trying to capture the attention of the girl who could care less.

While the author does have a great voice in writing, I am having a hard time expressing my feelings on this book in my own words. I found the side characters to be much more entertaining than the main characters with this read. I will flat out say that I was not a fan of Hope. I wanted to slap that girl so many times for some of her actions. While I enjoyed the build-up of the romance between Mason and Hope, at times it felt like it dragged on forever and was full of repetitiveness.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but I will admit that it was a book that could become a little bit boring at times. I had to set it down several times and then restart it again. I think the main reason of this was because I became so frustrated with the main character of Hope. Not one I would reread again, but it did give me a new author to keep on my radar.

Sometimes Never is a story about pain, friendship, and love. I read it in one day because I wanted to find out how it ended. I couldn't give it 5 stars because it didn't have that emotional pull on me that a 5 star book has. If a book makes me cry, then it's a 5 star. I enjoyed the characters, the jokes, and the message of the story.

Although this is a teen young adult read I thoroughly enjoyed it! Young love can be so powerful and life changing and this book proves it. Never fail to believe in the power of love. It does cut deep into some serious issues that some people deal with in life but if you think you can deal with it you should give this book a try!

This story just annoyed me. I have read many like this, with this genre of story being the craze at the moment and I generally always like them. I found myself getting tired of the repetitive crap. Mason is far from a bad boy, more like a whipped pansy, I couldn't relate to him and I usually find myself crushing on the male leads of these types or books. Hope and her continuous blaming herself just did my head in, I know she had an effed up life but dear God how did Mason put up with it I don't know. And the whole falling in love so quickly I didn't buy it.
I'm never a whingy critic on books but I couldn't help myself on this book. For me three stars is generous this time.

I enjoyed this book so much. Written with exceptional detail. I laughed, i teared up, i felt everything Hope was feeling, Mason too. I must say i really thought Hope was going to end up pregnant, and that would make Mason stay. Glad it caught me off guard, hers was a much better ending!!!! Recommend to anyone who likes to read:)

I liked how the story is different from those that I've read lately.. not only is it about love but also about determination to fight for those you care about enough to reach out and help them out when they most need it! Loved the message that there's help out there for those who need it!! Great story and ending!!

I struggled with story. Was written very well but was all based on high school relationships. Guess I didn't read synopsis close enough. It was OK. I just don't think high schoolers think in this fashion. Especially high school boys.

Words cannot express how wonderful this book is. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I am simply blown away by the emotion in this story. I was hooked by the first page, and didn't stop till I was done. There are some stories that stay with you forever, and this is one of those. AWESOME.

I really liked the character development and the emotional punch of the story. Loved the candy and music references. I liked the epilogue. For a while, I feared the author would give a sad unfulfilled ending, but it turned around to have a good ending. I will definitely read more of this author.

This was a pretty awesome book. Funny, with the right amount of drama and flare. I, personally could relate to Hope in more ways than one so I could feel the authenticity in her character just dripping from the pages. Mason is such a gem. This won't be the last time I read this!

Sweet emotional read. This book reminded me of Find you in the Dark, it is a treat to follow along as these characters find each other and themselves. It was well written and wrapped up. It did not have that dreaded cliffhanger I have been coming across in books lately. =)

Sometimes Never was a book filled with emotion and hurt. But when you meet someone that is worth everything then you realize that your not alone. This was a story about two people who have both been thorough a lot that I don't wish on anyone. But they saved each other in the long run by being in love with each other and never giving up on each other no matter what.

I really enjoyed this book, even if, at times, the characters made me want to punch a wall. There are many issues presented with the main characters and I fully admit to crying a little bit at one point. But, despite all of that - or really, because of it - I loved this book.

I'm very partial to deeply emotional books. I very much loved this story of Hope and Mason.... I want a Mason please! I couldn't put my kindle down once I started reading this. Hope gives you..... hope. And Mason gives you faith. You won't regret reading this book!

This was a great read! I loved the relationship between Mason & Hope, the fact that even as teenagers, they stuck together through thick and thin. They managed to withstand their jealousy, the hurt they carried inside, and other dire circumstances that got in their way.

Mason and Hope are two characters you will fall in love with. I love those stories where the hero is knocked off his feet the first time he sees our heroine and this was not exception. This is a sweet story of love and friendship and growing up. You wont be disappointed.

This book in nothing short of fantastic. For me, I got to see life in a different way through Hope's eyes and through a similar way through Mason 's eyes. I'd recommend this to any of my friends. This book has everything from love to music and won me over.

This book was a very captivating read. I couldn't put it down! It's tamer than a lot of the books today but the love story was real and tortured enough to make you feel genuinely sad for these characters. Would strongly recommend for a love junkie.

This book was great. I loved the relationship between the main characters, and the help and caring they had for each other. It seemed very high school realistic in how the characters behaved. I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

I really enjoyed this book! And I am pleasantly surprised to see that it is also a series because it leaves you wanting to know more about the characters!

Mason is so sweet and Hope is such a fighter - you can't help but want them to make it!