This Could Be Forever, Ebony LaDelle
This Could Be Forever, Ebony LaDelle
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

This Could Be Forever

Author: Ebony LaDelle

Narrator: Angel Pean, Vikas Adam

Unabridged: 10 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/20/2025


Synopsis

This “endearing and honest” (School Library Journal) romance about love across cultures follows a Black girl and Brown boy who find themselves—and each other—while pursuing their passions the summer before college.

Deja’s got a plan. The first in her large family to go to college, she wants to study chemistry and sell natural skin care products, like the ones she already creates from plants grown on her family’s North Carolina farm. It all starts with the Onward Bound summer program at the University of Maryland, the summer before school officially starts.

Raja’s got a dream. His traditional Nepali parents want him to study engineering and settle down in an arranged marriage, but his passion is art, and he wants to open his own tattoo parlor one day. In the meantime, he’s apprenticing at a tattoo shop in College Park, Maryland.

When Deja walks into the shop where Raja’s working, they both start crushing hard—over the course of the summer, they fall more and more deeply for one another. But the closer they get and the more their lives entwine, the more they find that dating someone who doesn’t match your parents’ expectations is harder than they ever imagined.

Can they bridge the divide between the vision their families have for their futures and the lives—and love—that are starting to feel like destiny?

About Ebony LaDelle

Ebony LaDelle is the author of Love Radio—which was People magazine’s best book of the summer, a 2023 Audie Award Finalist, a 2023 Michigan Notable Book, and was featured on the Today show—and This Could Be Forever and is the editor of the romance anthology You’ve Got a Place Here, Too. Prior to being an author, Ebony was a brand marketing director in book publishing and worked at Penguin Random House and HarperCollins, among others. You can visit her online at EbonyLaDelle.com and follow her on social at @EbonyLaDelle.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on March 21, 2025

In Ebony LaDelle's This Could Be Forever, we meet Deja and Raja, two young people navigating that pivotal moment between adolescence and adulthood. Deja carries the meaningful responsibility of being her family's first college student, while Raja pursues his artistic passion against the backdrop of......more

Goodreads review by akacya ❦ on May 24, 2025

2025 reads: 128/300 i received a digital review copy from the publisher as part of their influencer program. this did not affect my rating. deja has a plan: she’ll study chemistry at the university of maryland and continue selling skincare products made from plants grown on her family’s farm. raja’s g......more

Goodreads review by suonnahbooks on March 21, 2025

This could be for ever by Ebony Ladelle ARC from Simon and Schuster Canada -I love the way they show having immigrant parents, the pressure of that, they want the best for you but it can be a lot -OMG their meet cute was everything, their connection is undeniable, you can feel it, i’m GIDDY -their c......more

Goodreads review by Eden on April 22, 2025

Deja and Raja just graduated high school and are both in their college town early. On her first night in town, Deja walks into Raja’s tattoo parlor and sparks fly. But, Raja comes from a strict South Asian family and Deja’s Black father doesn’t want her going to college so far away, let alone dating......more

Goodreads review by Darriona on April 17, 2025

Thank you to Simon Teen for this ARC! Maybe I don't dislike "insta-love" as much as I thought I did because I personally LOVED every moment of this book. I'll make the exception for YA books. Don't care! Deja and Raja were so cute. The connection was quick yes, but that's bound to happen on a colleg......more