[ARC REVIEW] “From Now On” (Holt Hockey #3) By: C.W. Farnsworth

The third and final book in C.W. Farnsworth’s Holt Hockey romance trilogy is out today!! “From Now On” brings us back to Holt for one final time, and I’m so grateful to have read an early copy to share my thoughts with you!

What is From Now On by C.W. Farnsworth About?

Spending a week as a “fifth wheel” to two happy couples isn’t the best cure for heartbreak, but Eve Driscoll’s options for spring break are limited. Either join her best friend for a group getaway or slouch on the couch reliving the unexpected end of her three-year relationship.

Time away from campus might be exactly what Eve needs to refocus on her life-long dream that’s about to become a reality—moving to New York City to become an artist. She’s spent most of college playing it safe. Maybe she should take some risks before graduating. Starting with a road trip to California…

There couldn’t have been a better ending to Hunter Morgan’s hockey career than winning a national championship. But the high of hoisting a trophy is fading, forcing him to face difficult decisions about his post-graduation plans. Spring break will be a welcome distraction, although spending the week with his two best friends sounded a lot more appealing before they both got girlfriends. Until he finds out Eve Driscoll is joining their trip too…

Timing wasn’t on Hunter’s side freshman year. He isn’t even sure if Eve remembers the night they met. And he’s certain, only two months from graduation, the timing is even worse now.

But Hunter knows he’ll regret never telling Eve how much he wishes that evening had ended differently. Especially once he discovers she hasn’t forgotten him.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Review:

One of my favorite parts of interconnected standalone is getting to see the characters from previous books through the current protagonists perspectives. It’s always interesting to see how characters are perceived by their peers who aren’t about to fall in love with them. Three characters that are featured heavily across all three books are Connor, Aiden, and Hunter, so getting to see how they were before (and after) their love interests enter onto the scene was really fun.

With that in mind, I highly recommend reading all three books in the series in order back-to-back – (1) Famous Last Words, (2) Against All Odds, and (3) From Now On. Not only will you avoid spoilers for the other books, these books take place chronologically one right after the other, and in some instances, there’s even some overlap. It’s been a few years since I read Famous Last Words, so I was trying to remember seeing Eve in Connor and Harlow’s story, and I think my reading experience would’ve been more enhanced if that book was fresher in my memory.

I thought this was a great conclusion to their love stories, and I really loved getting a quick glimpse into their futures at the end of the book. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tear up a few times while reading, because I emphasized with their struggles of being faced with a future post-graduation and having to make decisions and leave the life they’d built for the last four years behind, while simultaneously coming to terms with From Now On being the last in this series — it was like a graduation of sorts, but with the characters and their stories and the readers.

I thought that the road trip was going to last longer for some reason, and it was really not that big of a chunk of the book. With that being said, we still got the one bed trope (I thought we might get it twice, but we weren’t THAT lucky unfortunately), and it fit into the story well – any longer on the road trip, and their dynamic would’ve likely changed so much that the rest of the story would be impacted / accelerated.

The concept of two people meeting and being soulmates but not realizing it until much later (or at least, not getting the chance to act on it until later) works out nicely in this book. Eve and Hunter both remember meeting each other on the first day of college, but aren’t sure if the other remembers. I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as a miscommunication trope, more like a ‘outside circumstances got in their way,’ but I really enjoyed getting to go along with them in their love story.

Overall, I’d highly recommend this series to anyone who likes interconnected standalones that follow a friend group! Also for those who like hockey sports romances – there isn’t as much hockey in this one as the previous books, but as I’ve said in my reviews of the first two books, I really like that their college is a division III school, since that’s the kind of college I went to! (I’m also going to have to try lime jello after reading this one.)

As with all new adult romance novels, I recommend this for 18+ due to some of the mature content, but as always, don’t let me tell you what to read.

Special thanks to C.W. Farnsworth and Valentine PR for allowing me to read an early e-ARC – the book is available now!! Charlotte also wrote an extra epilogue that’s set after the epilogue that’s included in “From Now On,” so check out her newsletter or join her reading group to read it!

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