Always You

This book was absolutely fabulous! It has an element of suspense, action and a lot of romance, love, passion and secrecy. It made me sigh, tense and laugh. Yes, laugh. Just when you need it. The Winters sisters and the men that love them are something else. Chiara and John burn up the pages of this book and I don't want to give anything away, except to say you will not be disappointed with this one. I can't wait to read my next Crystal Hubbard book. The only downside to the book was that the font was so small I couldn't read it as fast as I would have liked. Reading glasses are a Godsend. Get a pair and pick up the book! You won't be sorry.

The last of the Winters sisters finds herself in a life-threatening jam when she finds out that her boss is engaged in illegal activites. John Mahoney, her best friend and more, steps up as romantic hero as he and Chiara recruit the talented Winters and Mahoney families to help them expose Chiara's boss. This story has the humor and passion you find in Crystal Hubbard's other books, but Always You is her first attempt at romantic suspense and it works. The story flowed well and the twists and turns. Even more, the story seemed believeable, especially the part involving the computer spying. This was a great way to say good bye to the Winters family although I would like to learn more about Yawu Randall in the future.

In Always You, we finally get to meet Chiara Winters, the one Winters sister we've never seen in Crystal Hubbard's first two books. The mystery created by Chiara's absence in the other books takes centerfront in Always You. The book begins with a tense encounter between Chiara and her sales partner while they're overseas. When she gets back to Chicago, Chiara learns that her partner has supposedly committed suicide. She finds out that something sinister was behind it when she finds herself in possession of a microchip that allows the owner to invade other people's computers. Some very bad people want the chip back and Chiara, who's got issues of her own aside from the microchip (one issue I guessed right the other one had me on my butt on the floor I was so surprised), gets help from the one person who's always been her strongest ally, John Mahoney. John has been a recurring character in the books, so it's good to finally find out all about him, and his background is very rich with emotion and situations that make him probably the best of the heros in the Winters sisters books. The seriousness of the story is lightened by characters like John's brother George who is still in college and is a computer genius. Crystal Hubbard's trademark humor shines in this one too in scenes with George who has the notion of moonlighting as a porn star named Buck Hardrive and another part with a woman named Etheline who is nothing but bad news in the flesh. Hubbard does a good job of scaring the mess out of you one minute, and then a few minutes later you're laughing your head off. Even though this book goes with the other two, you don't have to read them to know what's going on and who's who. This book stands alone. As Crystal Hubbard's first attempt at romantic suspense, she pulled it off very well without losing the romance aspect. The love scenes between John and Chiara are intense and amazing, but then when the big secret is revealed it makes them even better when you think back on how the scenes were written. All the family members we've met in the past are in the book, so it's a fond farewell to the series.

Another AMAZING tale, way to go, Mrs. Hubbard! You really finished the Winters' Series with a "BIG BANG"!!! I tried to prolong the reading, knowing that it was the last in the series, but it was such a page-turner, it was hard to put it down, and if I didn't have to sleep, which was only an excuse for me to keep the tale going as long as possible, I would have finished it in 1 day instead of the 2 1/2 that it took.~~~~~~~Again, the character development is phenomenal. Through Chiara's tale you have given us even more insight and depth into the personalities of the Winters family and friends and even their enemies.~~~~~~~And I love a good mystery/romance and your storyline flowed effortlessly. Even with the detailed computer lingo, you were able to keep the reader interested without becoming too bogged down with confusing information. I enjoyed the humorous confusion you threw in their with Kyla, which kept the dialogue from being too boring and too stuffy.~~~~~~~The romance between John and Chiara was very sweet, the flashbacks provided great insight into their relationship. Theirs was a very comfortable love affair. They knew each other since they were little kids, playing in the park on Sunday mornings. Their connection and bond to each other only grew stronger through the years. Their passion and desire was still intense even after being together for so long.~~~~~~~Mrs. Hubbard touched on so many different issues throughout this novel, corporate espionage, privacy violations, computer technology, murder, functional and dysfunctional families, and even child abuse. Her novels are always filled with such romance, humor, sisterly love, family devotion, as well as the well intentioned family interferences. This novel definitely has something for everyone. And for me all the characters, from the children to the adults, from the friends to the enemies are all quite memorable. This story is one I won't soon forget! Looking forward to reading more from, Mrs. Hubbard. And thanks for the autographed copy, I will treasure it always.

Chiara Winters, the youngest and most mysterious member of the Winters family introduced in Crystal Hubbard's first novel Suddenly You, comes to the forefront in Always You. Chiara was mentioned in Suddenly You and she "appeared" by phone in Only You. This third and final installment of the Winters sisters series finally tells us who Chiara is and why she's the way she is. Chiara is the fifth daughter in a family raised by a widowed mother and her in-laws. Anyone who comes from a large family can relate to the pressures Chiara is still trying to overcome at having so many "parents" bossing her around. Her fierce independence is challenged when she finds out that her employer is selling computer chips that enable him to spy on his customers. When her co-worker dies under mysterious circumstances, Chiara finds herself drawn into a web of secrecy and illegal activity hard to extricate herself from. Chiara's ally in all this is John Mahoney, another character who was seen in Suddenly You. Crystal Hubbard very cleverly relates John and Chiara's history to reveal more about all the Winters family. Always You is Crystal Hubbard's first foray into the field of romantic suspense and it works for me. The computer aspect of the plot doesn't overwhelm with confusing detail except in humourous places where it is supposed to. There is a nice double twist involving Chiara and John. John's brother George is one of Hubbard's most fun and interesting characters while his mother Almadine has to be one of the most disturbing. This novel is probably Hubbard's most structured and ambitious work to date and it maintains has the humour, intelligence, passion and cleverness readers expect from her.