Always Eli

Forever Love, Book 1

By: Charlie Novak

Narrated by: Dan Calley

What happens when a sassy drag queen falls for his brother’s best friend?

Eli Baker needs a job. Drag isn’t paying the bills and the life of a starving artist isn't as fun when he’s the one living it. Taking a temporary office job is meant to be a quick fix. It's not supposed to reintroduce him to the funny, sharp, and sweet Tristan Rose…who just so happens to be Eli's oldest brother’s best friend.

Eli can’t stand his brother, and the feeling is more than mutual. Getting involved with Tristan could mean family trouble, but Eli's never been one for following the rules, especially when breaking them means annoying his brother.

Tristan is far too intriguing to ignore, especially when he takes an interest in Eli’s life outside the office. He’s not at all what Eli expects, and maybe that’s exactly what Eli needs. But if push comes to shove, will Tristan choose Eli over his best friend?

Always Eli is a 78,000-word contemporary MM romance featuring fabulous drag shows, secret biscuits, an office romance, and numerous siblings who can't help getting involved.

©2021 Charlie Novak (P)2022 Charlie Novak

Really Enjoyed this Story

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. NOT that I thought I wouldn't like it .. just that I had an opinion on how I thought the characters would act or how the story would roll out and the author took me on the ride making me drop my expectations and fall into the writing and the story they wanted to tell.

That sounds way more cryptic than I meant it to be lol- I'm just trying to not say anything that's spoilerish .

Eli is charming and outgoing but not stereotypical and Tristan *sigh* he's twice as charming. I also enjoyed how things were resolved - ish . The author doesn't fall into the traditional "one talk is all it takes to make all of the issues resolved" train but you are given hope that it will all work out.

Of course now I have to read all the other books about this family!

Always Eli

I loved this one just like I knew I would. I love the world that this author has built and all the characters within. Through the interconnected series we have seen different types of unusual pairings and this one is no different. I wouldn’t have thought that Eli and Tristan wouldn’t have worked but they did. Low angst, sweet and sexy, and fun as well.
I loved Dan Calleys narration of the last Charlie Novak Audio I listened to, which was Strawberry Kisses, and this was no different, but I see that she is using him for more upcoming books and I’m a little worried that a lot of the characters are going to end up sounding the same, though he does have a pleasing cadence to his voice and does the female voices well.
In any case, another recommended listen.

Fun story

This was a fun story. I enjoyed all of the pop culture references. The tension between Eli and his brother was a nice plot point. It made for some crazy family dinners. I liked that Tristan was a bit submissive in the bedroom, it made for a fun dynamic between the two. Eli's drag scenes were entertaining and it was great seeing Tristan fully accept and support him. Dan Calley did a wonderful job with the narration.

My favorite trash goblin!

I adored this book so much!! The witty repartee between Eli and Tristan is the best part of the story! I really enjoyed getting to immerse myself in the drag culture.
It's got an amazing HEA and is super low angst (which is my favorite read/listen these days).
Dan Calley gives an amazing performance and nails the differences between the characters - sheer perfection!

5 stars

As the titular character, everything about Eli would have made it easy for him to overshadow everything about this romance. However, Novak is adept at character, which always brings her storytelling to the next level. Not only does Tristan’s solid sweetness function as more than a match for Eli’s sharper edges, but these men exist within the strong foundation of the supporting characters that truly bring this book to life.

I love the focus of drag as an art form that Novak emphasizes in this story, especially how Eli outlines how even this art form can be prescriptive and exclusionary and how he chooses to combat those notions. The fun climax of this story brings that to life while also featuring plenty of familiar faces from other Novak books that I thoroughly enjoyed. This book can stand alone, but Novak hits the perfect balance with her cameos to create a real treat for established fans.

Overall, this low-angst book highlights how much fun an opposites-attract dynamic can be to reveal when both main heroes are settled in their personalities. That’s when the differences between them can spark excitement in lives that are otherwise settled, which is always a fun ride. Though the spicy bits are fun (with a subtle touch of kink), I also thoroughly enjoyed the moments outside the bedroom when these characters truly deepened their emotional connection. Novak also capitalizes on the “brother’s best friend” trope by not shying away from creating a direct conflict between Eli and his brother that is a striking part of their relationship even before Eli and Tristan fall for each other. Tristan does not fix the bond between the two brothers, but his involvement in both of their lives brings the heart of their issues into stark relief.

This book sets up a wonderful new series of the delightful members of a blended family finding their happily ever afters (and forever loves). I look forward to the next installments and hope that Tristan, Eli, and Eli’s amazing alter ego continue to make appearances.

GREAT book!!

This is one of my absolute favorite books by Charlie! The narration made it even better!

I absolutely loved Eli and Tristan!! They are the definition of opposites attract! I loved all the sweet and sexy moments between them!

I loved that we got to revist previous characters! The found family and family dynamics are my favorite!

A very entertaining read

I had such a good time listening to this book. I love listening to audiobooks when I’m taking notes for university and this one was the exact kind of distraction I was looking for. This audiobook was just very enjoyable, and I had a very good time listening to it.

As far as the story goes, I really enjoyed this book too. This was so sweet, and I really appreciated it. This book just really worked for me, and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Eli is trying to have a drag career, but he doesn’t have much money, so he finds a second job. He happens to be working with Tristan, his brother’s best friend. They start hanging out together and they go on many dates and end up falling in love with each other.

This book was so fun to read, I liked how this book had a full-sized cast of characters and how they were all important and mattered to the plot. Most importantly, I really enjoyed reading about Eli and his brother Richard, they didn’t really like each other at first and I liked reading their interactions throughout the book.

I loved seeing all of the interactions between Tristan and Eli and how they bound together. I just had so much fun reading about all the time they spent together. They always seemed to appreciate being with each other and they always seemed to have a good time together and it was so much fun to read about it. I really enjoyed how they bounded over a period of time consisting of them hanging out together and I loved seeing all of the times they hung out together, that was so much fun for me.

Also, the steamy scenes in this book were just so good and I absolutely loved them.

I just had so much fun listening to this book and I really enjoyed it. This book was just everything I wanted it to be and I really loved it.

**I received a copy of this book, and this is my honest review.**

Fabulous!

Gah, I’ve loved Eli since we met him in “Proficiency Bonus” so I was super excited when he got his own book. The print book was great, but the audio book took it to a new level of awesome. This is an opposites attract, brother’s best friend, not quite enemies to friends to lovers, office romance story involving a drag queen and a banker. There are also very light D/s elements (no humiliation or pain, just mild and consensual control in the bedroom.) It’s very fitting for Eli to have a multiple trope book, as he is extra himself. Charlie Novak did a great job of weaving all this together and making it flow naturally. It’s snarky, sweet, steamy, but with no relationship angst. The big conflict is between Eli and his brother, who despise each other. Of course, Tristan is that brother’s best friend, so it’s complicated. And awesome. I seriously love this book.

Dan Calley did an amazing job bringing these characters to life, especially Eli and his over the top family. He made the character voices just different enough you can tell them apart without being annoying about it. I did have to slow the reading speed down a little bit as he talked a bit fast for my midwestern American ears, but it didn’t take away from the performance at all. He’s got a great voice and I’ll be adding him to my “narrators I really enjoy” list.

I should also mention that this is the start of a new series and can be read as a stand alone, but you might want to read “Proficiency Bonus” (Eli’s brother Lewis’ book) to get an introduction to Eli and his family. And if you’re going to read that, you should go back and read the first two books in the “Roll For Love” series. Again, you don’t have to read those, but they are great books, so you won’t be sad if you do. Note that if you go the audio route, the “Roll For Love” books are performed by a different narrator than “Always Eli.”

**I did receive a free copy of this audiobook by the author and am happy to provide an honest review in return.

Amazing story

Eli is so full of life and optimism. I absolutely adored his larger than life character and Tristan was so sweet and together they make a perfect match. This story was amazing already and Dan Calley’s narration just made it even better!

So sweet!!

This was an adorable opposites attract.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between the characters.

The storyline was super sweet and swoonworthy.

I had so much fun listening to this one.

Definitely recommend!!