I was pretty convinced this was going to get 3 stars until I started writing my review and realized just how much didn't appeal to me about this book. 
 I like a good romantic tale every once in a while. A nice, contemporary story about falling in love, or rediscovering love, or the memory of love... what's not to -- you know? 
 So why didn't I love Always? For starters, everything was so completely obvious. (view spoiler)[In chapter one, we see Kailey sitting down to dinner with her super rich, too handsome to be true, perfect gentleman from a fine family fiance, and I could tell you already that these two will never work out. He's a developer; she wants to save the homeless shelters in the square of his next big development project. He's being kind of insistent in an incredibly outdated way about her changing her name when they get married. They seem to read home decorating magazines for fun. There is just no way that these two should ever get married -- so when she stumbles across the former love of her life dressed in rags and seemingly out of his mind, there's really no dramatic tension. OF COURSE she's going to end up with Cade. I mean, there isn't the slightest shadow of a doubt about it. (hide spoiler)] 
 Still, we get the alternating timeline effect, following the story of Kailey and Cade's first meeting (Seattle in the 90s) and early romance, intercut with chapters set in the later timeline (2008) as she discovers Cade on the streets and decides that she has to save him. The more we see of Kailey and Cade's relationship, the clearer it becomes that Ryan is all wrong for Kailey. But anyway... 
 Cade is homeless, begging for food, and clearly has been through something awful. He only shows a glimmer of recognition when he sees the tattoo on Kailey's shoulder -- because of course, he has the same one. She's desperate to help him, and he doesn't actually know who she is. Meanwhile, she never tells Ryan the truth, so she's living a lie, missing work, and disappearing from life with her fiance -- not a good sign. 
 Plot-wise, there are just too many pieces that make no sense to me. (view spoiler)[ 
 *Cade just up and disappeared 10 years earlier, but it's not clear whether Kailey actually did anything to find him. A guy, even one who's been drinking too much, doesn't just evaporate from his own life for no reason. Did she go to his apartment and notice that all his possessions were still there? Did she call the police? File a missing persons report? Hire a detective? Try to figure out who last saw him? If she'd done any of that, no matter the state of their relationship, I have a feeling she might have actually found him. Although then we'd have no big romantic reunion all those years later, but still. 
 *So what exactly was wrong with Cade? "Traumatic brain injury" -- what does that even mean? I know this isn't a medical drama, but a little bit of a reality check might have helped. What part of the brain was affected? What's the prognosis? And why is the treatment so vague? Living in a facility with unspecified treatments, medications, therapies... and suddenly he can talk and remember? More detail and grounding would have helped sell Cade's condition better 
 *And what exactly happened the night of the accident? Apparently, Cade was the victim of some sort of crime... maybe? Or hit by a car? Or really, anything at all? We don't know. And for that matter, why didn't James, the former best friend, bother finding out afterward? 
 *We find out, through Kailey's barely-making-an-effort detective work, that a John Doe was admitted to the hospital with a brain injury right around that same time, but was checked out by a family member before treatment could be provided. AND THEN WE NEVER GET A RESOLUTION ON THIS PLOT POINT. Who checked him out? Why? Did something nefarious happen? No answers. (hide spoiler)] 
 Okay, so the more I write, the more I realize how much the plot didn't work for me. It felt formulaic and utterly predictable, with very little tension (Kailey's choice is a forgone conclusion), and a romance that gets a pie-in-the-sky ending that feels like it glazes over any and all obstacles. Heck, they even recover Cade's missing fortune by barely lifting a finger (and the story I expected, of insidious business dealings and a financial motivation, never actually materializes.) The storybook ending is yet another element of a paint-by-number love story that lacks any basis in the real world. 
 Sure, some may find this an inspiring story of true love finding its way. When two people are meant to be together, nothing (NOT EVEN A TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY) can keep them apart. Love conquers all, yo! 
 Clearly, this was not a book for me. 
 Note: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.