All we Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin. Sometimes having the internet allows people to do things they might not have ever thought of doing. At times the story was very sad what people do to other people with the internet. Having money and privilege does not make you better than people living in poverty. You definitely feel with the people in the story.

I think I want to give this book more of a 3.5 star rating, but ultimately rounded up because Emily Giffin definitely knows how to string a story together.

<I>All We Ever Wanted</I> is an extremely prevalent story in this day and age where that line between right and wrong is many shades of gray. This story rounds up many issues facing married couples with kids - honesty, possibly unfaithfulness, unhappiness with life's decisions, raising kids to make the right decisions, how to handle controversial situations a teenager may have found themselves in, bullying, sexual harassment.

There's a lot going on here. And if I walked away with anything after reading this book, it's that no one really knows the right answer when it comes to tough situations. Do what you can to make your kids feel safe and loved but remember they have a lot more say in their own lives than we want to accept as parents.

This is a review of ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I've never read any thing by Emily Giffin before, but I know that she is a bestselling author and that her other books usually fall into the romance/beach reads categories. "All We Ever Wanted" does NOT fall into those categories, so if you are a fan of Giffin, don't be surprised.

What I liked:
- That the story did manage to keep me on my toes about what was the truth.
- That Nina wants her son to be punished if guilty.
- The idea of redemption or empathy/regret. That's something we seem to be lacking these days.
- Tom and Lyla. I liked the characters themselves and loved their strong relationship.
- The setting. I'm a Tennessee gal, so I tend to be a little biased towards books set in my state.

What I didn't:
- Nina, herself. I didn't hate her, but she seems so clueless. And she is so weak in her relationship with her husband. That being said, when she finally stands up for herself, I was like "YES!"
- The pacing can unsteady, and the big time jump in the end is jarring.
- The chemistry between the characters sometimes feels forced.

Overall, it's not a bad book. In fact it's pretty good. But it's not great.

I do have to thank the author for one thing, though. I like to vacation in the Bristol area, which is Nina's hometown. I had seen the restaurant Cootie Brown's when driving around Bristol, but hadn't eaten there before. But after reading the part of the book where Nina and her friend eat there, I knew I had to try it. OMG! So tasty! Thank you for the heads-up, Emily Giffin!

Why does summer fly by so fast? If you need a good vacation book or you just want to escape for a few hours at home, this month’s Book Report has some great reads for you.

Author Emily Giffin’s novel “All We Wanted” will resonate with anyone raising children in a world where social media impacts nearly everyone. Nina Browning leads a charmed life. She and her husband, Kirk, are part of Nashville’s elite, living in a mansion, attending countless galas and raising their teenage son, Princeton-bound Finch.

The perfect veneer cracks when Finch takes a photo of Lyla, a young woman who had passed out drunk at a party. When the photo goes viral, the lives of Finch and Lyla, and their families, are turned upside down.

Lyla is being raised by her single father, Tom, and her mother occasionally pops in to wreak havoc. Tom is a working-class guy, and he is infuriated by what he sees as the wealthy getting away with bad, possibly criminal behavior.

Giffin could have taken an easy way of out the story, but she digs deeper and writes a compelling story about money, privilege, class, social media, the treatment of women and the values we teach our children.

This is one of those books that people should read, uncomfortable though it is. Unfortunately, I didn't love it. Nina felt self-serving in too many ways. She made excuses for her life, her son, everything. I just couldn't like her even though she did the right thing in the end. And it was hard to relate to her life. Who can feel for someone living a life of luxury?

Still, anyone with teenaged children will find this interesting and worth a read.

*ARC via netgalley*

Emily Giffin delivers another great read. Told from three different point of views, All We Ever Wanted deals with real life topics. I love reading books by this author and this one definitely did not disappoint. I look forward to reading even more by her.

This book was so good!!! It is my first time reading anything by Giffin, and now I must read everything!

Even though this took me a long time to finish (because life...and too much Netflix, to be honest), when I got into the story I could not put it down.

I enjoy books with multiple POV’s and this one was executed beautifully.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book.

This is a well written book dealing with high school age kids, parties and social media. The main characters are Finch (who’s father has made a fortune when he sold his company) and Lyla who lives with her hard working father. Both have been accepted at a prestigious prep school. Finch invites his friends to a party at his house while his parents are away. Needless to say there is alcohol involved-enough so that some of the girls pass out and the boys take pictures of them in various states of undress. Once those pictures get passed around things get ugly. Finch’s father thinks that bribery will make this go away because he doesn’t want Finch’s acceptance to Princeton to be jeopardized while his mother wants to do what’s right. Lyla’s Dad is livid and wants to exact retribution on behalf of his daughter. This is the basis of the story but the real story is how the parents and their children make decisions that will affect themselves going forward. An interesting, thought provoking read.

Only things were actually far from perfect. Because at virtually that very moment, our son was across town, making the worst decision of his life.

All we ever wanted is wanting the best for your kids, your family. But what happens when everything you have done for your child turns on you. That your son is not what you raised him to be. That the life you are living is sucking everything that is good. Nina Browning received the worst phone call that turned her life into a nightmare. A picture of a young girl in a compromising position with a racist remark posted. It is this picture that causes two families to collide. Where values are questioned and the value of a person has no regard.

I appreciated this mother's struggle as she is faced with the reality of sexism and racism in her own son. How she reconciles her past to her marriage that is coming apart at the seams.

A father who struggles to place value on his daughter that has been exploited in the worst way and how she sees nothing wrong.

The narration is 3 part. Nina who appears to have everything. The marriage, the house, and the son who is going to Princeton. Thomas, a single father who works hard and is available to his daughter emotionally. His insecurities and the loss of his marriage. Lyla who never really knew her mother and rolls her eyes as her father gives her the third degree. She is now attending a private school that will give her the education that both her and her father want. But at what cost?

Based on what is happening in our culture without the political demonizing that puts people at polar opposites. It is about a mother who desires for her son to value others and her fight for that desire.

A Special Thank You to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

**Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to review this title.**

This is another one of those books that jumps between characters. We have Nina, a rich housewife who is becoming increasingly unhappy with her life. Tom, a single dad who works as a carpenter. And Lyla, she is Tom's daughter and goes to a ritzy private school on an academic scholarship.

It's just an amazing journey of discovery and truth. The fact that so much of this has to do with the line between sexual assault and harassment that is such a part of our current culture made it really speak to me.

I think so many of us women have dealt with this in one way or another, and will relate to the characters in this story. And it may be a trigger to some, so be warned. I found parts of it difficult for myself to get through. It made me feel so very sad for far too much of it. I think the incredibly unhappy marriage didn't help.

That being said, I still found it an engaging and important read. I don't regret it and it truly is a well written book. One of Emily's better ones.

I have probably read most everything written by Emily Giffin, although I've only reviewed a couple for this blog.  When I saw her book, All We Ever Wanted available through my book blogging relationship with NetGalley, I jumped at the chance!

All We Ever Wanted isn't what you would consider chick lit or women's fiction - in fact, it's not one of those lighthearted love stories either.  This is legit real stuff, people.  The story itself is told from three perspectives - those of Nina, Tom, and Lyla. The crux of the problem in this story revolves around a Snapchat photo scandal that is created when Nina's son, Finch, sends his friends a scandalous photo of a passed out Lyla.  Finch is from an upper white class family and Lyla is half Brazilian and from a lower middle class home. The photo quickly spreads through the community at large which forces both the families and the school to figure out how to move forward and handle the problematic situation.

I liked that the story was told through the different characters' perspectives so readers received the benefit of different points of view.  I also felt that the story was very timely given what we see reported on the news these days. We hear of teens (and adults) making horrible social media mistakes that have caused lasting impacts on those people, their families, and even their communities.   

The author presents issues of race and class biases, and she provided readers with unexpected twists to the story providing a powerful journey through a "real life" situation. As is usual with Ms. Giffin's books, the story is well written and the characters are authentic.  Kudos to Ms. Giffin for another amazing book!

I was provided with a complimentary electronic advanced reader copy through Net Galley in exchange for my post.  I was not required to post a positive review, but have chosen to do so because this book was great! Thank you!

This one was slightly different than what I expected. Whereas the author usually write romantic novels this one took an aim at hitting on relevant topics in today's society. I commend her for doing this. I wasn't sure how I felt about this one for a long time. Did it make me think? Absolutely. Yet, did it make me think about the story after I was done reading it? Eh, not so much. I feel like I would need to go back and re-read, which I may in the near future, and find plots in the story that keep me captured in the story. Needless to say, I still rate this high as I love the author and I love where she was trying to take an aim.

VERY thought-provoking tale, a “thinker”, a “what if” wonderment.... different sides of the track, he said-she said, teenage temporary insanity.... all add up to a great tale. Check it out y’all!!

“All We Ever Wanted” is my first read by Author Emily Griffin. I can now say that I am a fan! I won’t give anything away, but I will say that “ All We Ever Wanted” was a complex and multilayered read. The characters were well-developed, and the storyline was not only paced well but immersive as well. This book is not an easy read by any means so if you are looking for love or chick lit or anything of that nature, this is not it. This book is emotional. This book is raw and heartbreaking in some places. It will stick with me for some time.

** I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a honest review.**

ALL WE EVER WANTED BY Emily Giffin has to be one of the best books that I have read by this author in a long time. I was really excited to read this book as its not this authors normal story line of sunshine and roses.


This book touches a lot on events that happen in the real world, events that can have an everlasting effect on people and their lives. The story line of this book, a picture and statement made, spreads like wildflowers through a high class school/neighbourhood, and lies are told about who really took the picture and what the statement actually meant.


This book was just to real life that it was hard to remember that it was a made up story, I was captivated from the first page. My only complaint was that I found the ending to be a little rushed.

I had a love affair with Emily Giffin’s books a while back. Maybe ten years ago or so, I curled up and read Something Borrowed and immediately followed it up with Something Blue – all in one weekend, while I was on holiday visiting my grandmother. A vast expanse of Louisiana country acreage was laid out before me, the pine trees I’d grown up hiding in were far off in the distance, marking the property line. To my left was the fence I’d spent so many hours sitting on, feeding the horses from next door and giggling as they snapped at my palm hoping to make more apples magically reappear. To my right was a glass of iced lemonade and a Christmas napkin holding several of my aunt’s famous chocolate chip cookies. The porch had been covered early in my childhood, the open spaces filled in with windows and bricks laid by my grandfather, a ceiling fan installed to help get you through those tough Southern days full of the thickness of humidity. I’d curled up with those books and lost myself for a while, the sound of my grandparents and their children playing a (highly competitive) game of dominos creating a familiar and lulling soundtrack. They were easy reads, and I appreciated the light humor and romance.

After those books, I read Babyproof, and fell in love further. Babyproof was a lot less fluff than the previous two Giffin novels, and I was touched by the storyline and the honestly raw exhibitions. But then I fell into a sour disappointment. After picking up the rest of Giffin’s bibliography, I found I just couldn’t engage. There was something off in the tone of the other novels. It happens sometimes, when an author is no longer having to prove themselves and instead is bound by their publisher to crank out book after book – some of the charm gets lost in the shuffle. Books begin to sound mechanical and uninspired. I didn’t finish the books and let them collect (pastel, and very pretty) dust on the shelf.

Giffin wrote another book a few years ago, and it was set in Texas. Normally I’m all about reading books featuring my great state. Our history and our culture is so unique and defined to our area, and Texans are inherently proud of where we come from. While we share space below the Mason-Dixon Line with quite a few other states, Texas has always found a way to stand out in the crowd. Maybe it was our late entry into the United States or our determined spirit, but Texas is special … but, I digress …

I was out to a dinner with my husband; his Masonic lodge was honoring a few individuals, and I got caught up in a conversation with the daughter of one of the men. She was about my age, and because of her fortunate birth into a family well-off enough that she could lounge around a pool all day (while well into her 30’s) and not have to worry about money in the slightest, she had already plowed through the newest Giffin book.

“She thought adding football was enough to make this book Texan. I heard Emily Giffin came to Texas for six months to write this book and all she took away from being in the South was that we play football.” the woman said wryly, a sneer on her carefully Botox’d face as she tapped her manicured nails absentmindedly on the tabletop.

It was a statement that was enough to put me off that book, and the one to come after it as well. It probably didn’t help that I saw maaaaaany copies of that particular book thrown into the bargain bin at my local used-bookstore for $1. Not too long after publication, either.

So when I was sent a galley copy of All We Ever Wanted and asked for an honest review, I was dubious to say the least. I put reading it off until the last moment, sure that I was setting myself up for disappointment and would feel as if my precious reading time had been wasted – yet again. But instead, I was torn.

Let me explain:

Nina Browning is a woman just like any other – or so she tries to tell herself. She came from a normal upbringing in a middle-class part of Nashville, growing up with caring parents and a decent education from a regular high school. She certainly didn’t bank on the fact that as an adult, she’d become one of the elite. She didn’t assume that as a mother, she’d be carpooling in a G-Wagon or carrying a Chanel diaper bag. But after her husband strikes it big in tech and the family becomes part of the upper class, Nina falls into a routine … casually shopping for jewelry at Cartier, buying a new Jag every year, decorating her mansion with the help of a professional interior designer (and no budget). Her husband insists it’s all about the packaging here in Nashville – all about appearances – and Nina is willing to go along on the luxurious ride.

Amid all of her wealth and new privilege, there is something that nags at the back of her mind every now and then. What has she done to deserve this life, besides marry up? And more importantly, what has her teenage son done to deserve everything that he has in this life, by extension? Finch is growing up with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, or rather – a platinum one studded in diamonds. It bothers Nina that her son knows nothing of the charmed life he leads – the boy goes to a private school and drives the newest model of whatever car he wants, and if he desires concert tickets to a sold out show … all he has to do is call his father’s contacts and he’s enjoying the music from the front row. Nina knows that things are bordering on being out of control, but she has no idea how to rein it in.

Across the tracks in a small but tidy home, Lyla Volpe lives with her father Tom, just the two of them. After her mother walked out when she was just a little girl, Lyla has learned to depend on her father for just about everything. But there are some occasions when a girl really needs her mother … like when she has a crush on a super hot guy and she has no idea how to get his attention. That Saturday night when Lyla was getting ready to attend a party she knew Finch would be at, she tried to look her hottest. Tight dress, showing some leg, her exotic looks on complete display. She’s hopeful that the evening will end up with the two of them finally able to exchange a few words and maybe garnering some progress to the incessant daydreams that cloud her mind. All she can think about is what it would be like to kiss someone like Finch.

But what Lyla didn’t expect was to pass out drunk in a stranger’s bed and wake up the next day to photos of her being passed around on social media … photos that show her in a terrible light and sexually exposed.

Photos that also border on racist. Photos that Finch is responsible for. Photos that crush her.

Thrust into a scandal that rocks the community, Nina is forced to look at her life without rose-colored glasses for the first time. Finch is out of control and not the boy she thought she’d raised – or is he? Her husband is making things worse by throwing money at the situation and hoping it all goes away. Poor Lyla reminds Nina so much of herself from the past, and she’s finding she has more in common with Tom than with her own husband. While Nina struggles to fix things for everyone involved, Lyla is dealing with the true fallout … and when the truth finally comes out, it is sure to leave lasting scars.

All We Ever Wanted is the newest novel by Emily Giffin, an author best known for her light and airy romances and quirky humor. This is her ninth book.

While I sat down to this book with acknowledged prejudice, I was quickly drawn in by the premise and read a huge chunk in just one evening. Unfortunately, a few characters left a lot to be desired, and I prefer books that are character driven. I like to feel invested.

Nina’s character is obviously the main protagonist, but she is not as likable as she seems to think. Giffin draws this character as a woman with a conscience who is wrapped up in a life full of excess almost against her will – but I couldn’t find it in myself to believe the narrative. Nina likes her life and she likes the wealth, and I just wish it could have been admitted. I’m not sure why the reader is supposed to feel sorry for this woman. The lack of a connection between Nina and her teenage son Finch was troubling to me, causing me to dislike Nina even more. I am mother to a teenage girl and teenage boy myself and I can’t imagine not knowing who they are hanging out with or what they are doing, or at least having some idea of it. Nina admittedly hasn’t even had a decent conversation with her own son (and ONLY child) in years. She seems 100% complacent in her chosen obliviousness, and is only repentant when something that she cannot fix happens. Something that directly effects HER. Let’s be honest here, right?

Nina was softened in the exchanges spent with Lyla. But adding to my growing confusion, I felt like Nina had a much stronger connection to this girl than to her own son which was again, troubling. She cared more about Lyla’s feelings than finding out WHY Finch “did what he did”, or admitting that she had a hand in leading him down that path. Instead of facing the issues at home head on and amending the problem from her lane (and allowing Tom the privacy to amend from HIS lane), Nina instead did the same thing she has apparently been doing her son’s entire life – she ignored him and moved on to the shinier new toy. And she wonders why Finch is such a nightmare? Really?

Lyla was the true star of this book. I don’t think I would have felt a connection to this story had it not been for her. I appreciate Giffin’s attempts to humanize Nina with a background story, but in the end, this novel belonged to Lyla. I felt like focusing so much on Nina cheapened the root of the plot a little bit. Lyla went through something that is unfortunately very real and true for the young girls’ of today, and she handled it with grace and dignity. I really liked the ending of the book, where we got to see how things are for the cast of characters years later.

I’ve lived in the South all my life. I am Louisiana born and Texas bred.

When it comes to the social (and many times familial) aspect of Southern sensibilities, there is one way of dealing with things that seems to come around in an all too familiar loop – that you just don’t deal. Scandal is swept under an imported Turkish carpet. Bad behavior is ignored for the sake of the Good Ole’ Boys Club. Heads are turned and people look the other way, mostly because its easy. And also because it’s just how it’s done down here. So, I had a good grasp on the reasons why things in this book were being handled the way they were.

To be direct as a woman is considered by many in the South to be crass and inappropriate. To be blatantly honest is uncouth and unladylike. Women should know their place, right? There’s more than a sense of a patriarchal society in the South, there is an actual air that the masculine sex truly believes they are superior beings to women. And unfortunately, it’s mostly because that’s just how they were raised. Women are bred to tend the house and children, to dress everyone in their best for Sunday services, and to serve a plentiful buffet of sweet tea and fried chicken on the Fourth of July. But most importantly, they are bred to make sure they lift their young sons up onto carefully comprised pedestals and reaffirm again and again that those young men are future kings.

It may sound archaic – and that’s because it is. Now of course, that is not true in all areas of the South, nor is it the norm in all households. But it is something that is prevalent down here, and a lot of times – it’s a problem. Ever heard of affluenza? It was practically conceived down here. Giffin could have dug harder and made this novel about what it was REALLY about – Lyla and Finch. Not Nina.

The novel read well and easy, and fans of Giffin will enjoy it. I was looking for something deeper and honestly, more real – I think it was Nina’s character that tainted it all for me, but I can see how a lot of readers wouldn’t get as deep as I do.

All in all, I give All We Ever Wanted 3.5 out of 5 stars … it just wasn’t all I ever wanted, unfortunately.

I wanted to give this book four stars. From the first line of the first chapter, I was here for this book. I loved the characters and connected with them all. The plot was intriguing and it kept pace nicely. This was a very quick but complex read. That being said, I was disappointed with the ending, both with how the story was resolved, but also with the technical execution. Without giving away spoilers, I felt like the way Giffin ended things, it only perpetuated a status quo that we need to get away from. And maybe this was her intention. Perhaps she wanted to bring awareness to the fact that this happens all the time, but it would have been nice if she had taken a different path. *Advanced copy provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Nina leads a charmed life, or so it seems from the outside. No one can see the turmoil that lurks just beneath the shiny surface. Then one photograph throws Nina's perfect world upside down.

With her son's future at stake Nina sets out to learn the truth. Not caring if the truth is ugly or not, she examines all sides of the story, unexpectedly developing feelings for the victim and her father.

What unravels are the secrets of the rice and spoiled. A deep web of lies, stunts and depraving behavior. A delicious read for sure.

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin is a departure from her usual sweet romantic stories. Don't go into this thinking that is what you will be reading. But, that said, this was a book that I did not want to put down, I needed to know more. There were little twists and turns throughout and right before I would decide to be done for the time being, something would happen and I would have to keep reading! The story revolves around an inappropriate photo taken at a teen party. It is told from the point-of-view of the main girl, Lyla, her father, and the main boy's mom. There is good character development, I definitely knew enough to intensely dislike a few of them and to be rooting for others.

The Brownings are super rich. So when his son, Finch, is accused of passing out a sexually explicit photo of a girl (Lyla), Kirk Browning thinks he can make the problem go away by throwing money at it. But Nina Browning, who comes from a middle-class background, disagrees. Going against her husband and her ‘supposed’ friends, she sides with Lyla and her dad. Along the way, she also takes a close look at her life and what she really wants for herself and her son.
I usually read thrillers, but this one caught my eye a few months ago and I’m glad I took the time to read it. I loved the way the writer portrayed Nina’s determination to do the right thing, even if it meant making sure her son would have to pay for his mistake. Lyla’s character was refreshing and very real. I would have liked the ending to be a little more fleshed out, but I'll take it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.