Cover Image: You Were Always Mine

You Were Always Mine

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Member Reviews

really enjoyed this one - a fairly quick read with a compelling story around adoption and grief. I'd say it's a mix of domestic thriller and women's fiction. There is a lot of interesting and thoughtful exploration of grief, adoption, family, motherhood and more.

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Love Nicole Baart. She just can’t write fast enough.

A page turner for sure. Great characters and an all around great books.

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I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I couldn't put this one down! The plot of this book was so good - the twist ending was not at all what I expected. I loved the little pieces of information disclosed at the start of each chapter from Evan's patient notes too. I was so intrigued to figure out what the short hand notes meant and how it connected to the story. The whole story was really interesting and thought provoking in terms of adoption, having babies while incarcerated, process of child protective services, etc. Jessica's emotions leapt off the page and I really felt myself inserted into her heartache. I thought it was so sad that Evan died (**spoiler kind of - you find out pretty early**) before he could reconcile with Jessica though because they did honestly love each other. Overall though this was a great book and I really enjoyed it, I would definitely recommend it!

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Having really enjoyed Nicole Baart’s previous book, Little Broken Things, I was eager to read her next novel. I devoured You Were Always Mine in one day, and I was immersed in this family drama/murder mystery. School teacher Jessica and family practitioner Evan have been separated for several months, sharing custody of their older biological child Max and their younger adopted son Gabe. When Evan fails to pick up the children from school for his weekend visit, Jessica grows concerned since he’s always on time and reliable when it comes to the children. She is disbelieving when a deputy from a nearby state’s police calls and says that they’ve discovered her husband’s body, dead as the result of a hunting accident. No way could this be her husband since he doesn’t hunt, and he didn’t tell anyone that he would be out of town.

Jessica’s life spirals as she deals with the death of her popular husband. As the police investigate why he was there, she does some digging on her own, and the answers that she finds bring an unknown danger closer to her doorstep. Jessica is normally on top of everything with her family and career, but the stress of her husband’s death and the special needs of her adoptive son, along with her older son’s acting out make it hard for her to cope. As she fixates on finding out what her late husband was doing with his final months that lead up to his death, she isn’t the best mother that she could be–and people notice.

Nicole Baart gives us a deep dive into Jessica’s psyche as she tries to juggle it all, and her desperate attempts to hold it all together are frenzied, full of love for her children, and fueled by a need to know the truth about her husband. Each chapter starts with a cryptic heading with a female’s name and some code, which was confusing at first, but is later revealed to be a part of something larger and very meaningful. Interspersed throughout Jessica’s chapters are excerpts of Evan’s communications with Gabe’s birth mother, and it was nice to get a view of what Evan was like and what possibly led to his death.

I give You Were Always Mine a four out of five. The pacing of this book was definitely a bit slower since it focused on the day to day of Jessica and her family as they try to hold it together after Evan’s death. But the overall mystery of what actually happened to Evan ticked up the suspense as Jessica revealed the truth page by page. The characters were well-rounded and unique, and I loved that the children sounded like actual children and not mini-adults. Nicole Baart writes about adoptions and the consequences of closed adoptions with authority, bringing the what-could-go-wrong scenarios to life in a suspenseful way that was enjoyable to read about. I totally didn’t see the villian reveal coming, and I was very surprised. I definitely recommend You Were Always Mine to lovers of psychological suspense and family dramas.

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Special thanks to Atria for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

This is a truly engrossing read. Part thriller, part family drama, secrets & more. This one has a lot of heart & definitely tigs on my heartstrings. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

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Jessica Chamberlain is in her mid-30s and has two sons --- 13-year-old Max, who is her biological child, and six-year-old Gabe, who was adopted as a baby. Some months prior to the novel’s main events, Jessica decided to separate from her husband, Evan, who she thought wasn’t paying any attention to her.

They haven’t had much contact with one another during this period of time.
Then, one day, Jess receives a phone call that changes her life forever: Evan has been found dead. According to the police, it was a hunting accident. But Evan was not a hunter; he was found near the road and with no ID.

After the funeral, Jess has a great deal on her mind: her job, raising two boys (Max is a moody teenager, while Gabe has sensory processing disorder), and wondering what happened to her husband. She discovers some clues indicating that Evan’s death might not have been a tragic accident after all. While determined to find the truth, Jess may not be ready to learn that Evan kept a huge secret from her. Although the adoption of Gabe was a closed one, he had been in contact with Gabe’s birthmother, which stuns Jess. As she continues to dig deeper, she unearths further revelations that are even more devastating. Full review available at: <a href="https//www.bookreporter.com/reviews/ you-were-always-mine">Bookreporter</a>

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A captivating thriller that delves into the idea of found families and how far a mother will go to protect her child...biological or not.

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Jessica is a strong protagonist and the mystery unfolds well. My biggest problem is that she is never directly threatened or jeopardized by the plot her estranged husband uncovered. Because of the nature of the mystery, the villain is pretty obvious -- but there is a nuance to her actions that the author ignores. There were more shades of gray in these actions than were addressed.

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You Were Always Mine is slow to start but kept me turning the pages til the end. Nicole Baart is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors!

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While I’ve moved away from these women’s fiction/domestic thrillers in recent years, I’m still a sucker for adoption dramas, being adopted myself. I had liked one of the author’s previous books, so thought I’d enjoy this one as well. I figured out the villain fairly early on, so the mystery part wasn’t so compelling. But I did like the book overall and thought that both the characters and story line were well done. If you like this kind of book, I think this is probably one of the better examples. If you don’t, you may not want to grab this one since I don’t necessarily think it’s an extraordinary representative of the genre either.

I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

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I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this anymore. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

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Nicole Baart offers readers a novel with a slow build. At first I thought the pacing was off, starting the book with a mysterious death and uncovered secrets seemed to predict a faster pace. What I got was a slow unraveling of the dynamics of a family unit and a ramp up to a strong finish. Ms Baart was able to make the husband, though dead, fully dimensional, for which I was grateful. The back story on adoptions was necessary but stalled the momentum a bit for my taste. All in all, I was entertained.
3.5
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

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cI love Nicole Baart's novels and this is her best one yet! It kept me reading long into the night with characters that I'm still thinking about days after the last page. I highly recommend that you add it to your reading list if you want to read a book that will keep you invested throughout.

Jessica and Evan have two sons - Max at 13 is a typical unreachable teenager and Gabe at 5 who is adopted and a bright and shiny child loved by all. Jessica and Evan have just split up and both are hoping that it isn't permanent as they try to figure out how to share taking care of their children. Gabe was adopted under a closed adoption and there wasn't supposed to be any communication between the birth mother and the adopted family but it appears early on that she was communicating with Evan without Jessica knowing about it. A horrific tragedy happens in the family and they struggle to adjust to their new normal. At the same time, outside influences are making life even more difficult for the family. Will they be able to survive as a family and will love win out?

This is a terrific page turner full of intrigue and suspense. It's a fantastic story about the love a mother has for her children and what lengths she will go to keep them safe.

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The premise to You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart is an interesting one, and not what you might immediately think. Jessica has recently separated from her husband, their marriage having descended into complacency and general lovelessness. She holds on tight to her two sons, especially Gabe, 6, who is adopted. One day her ex doesn't show up for school pick up, and Jessica starts down a slippery slope to discover why and what happened to him. It's hard to discuss it any more without revealing some of the carefully plotted twists. I can say that there's a fair amount of sadness in this novel, but a good amount of mystery as well, and as already mentioned, it's not what you might initially think!

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You Were Always Mine, by Nicole Baart, was the perfect weekend read for me! I needed something quick, engaging and something that would keep me turning the page--even if I should have gone to sleep instead.

First, we are confronted with the mysterious accidental death (murder?) of the main character's separated husband. In a remote location, several states away, what could have he been doing there? Then, as she digs into his death--she starts to unravel some unsettling information about her adopted son, his biological mother and her relationship with the main character's husband.

You Were Always Mine has a great variety of mystery elements; first, there is the classic who-dunnit vibes and the necessary sleuthing by the wife; audiences are left guessing alongside her and figuring our their own theories. However, the story also builds up a climactic and fast-paced scene that has readers wonder what will happen next.

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I have never read anything written by Nicole Baart before. The language and writing style was a breath of fresh air to me. I am looking forward to reading, more of her works.

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A father’s tragic accident, A Mother’s world shattered and her quest to find answers and put her world back together.

I have to start off by saying that I love this title. It’s such a powerful title for a story like this one and says so much about. Every time I look at the title it sends such heartfelt shivers up my spine. You Were Always Mine is an emotional, compelling heartwarming story that explores adoption and the bonds of motherhood glued together by love.

This one is a little slow paced as it has a lot of emotional depth it. Nicole Baart does such a great job capturing the strength, determination and love of a mother here with Jess Chamberlain. We see how secrets, grief and loss affect the family here including the children. It was refreshing to see the children being included in the storyline as well. There is a mystery here as well that ties into the story and we see Jess’s determination to find answers. The story is well-layered along with the clues and the reveal comes together well.

This one is a good choice for group reads as there is a lot to discuss here with this story. We shared some insight from personal experience in the discussion that really added to the story. There is also a good set of thought-provoking discussion question that really had me thinking more about the story. I highly recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Atria Books, Nicole Baart for my copy to read and review.

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I chose this book for my online book club to read and I am so glad I did! It's a quieter family drama, so please don't go into this book expecting a huge page turning story twist. I found the characters to be complex and I was always trying to decide if I liked them or not, which made them feel real. The story deals with a newly widowed mom trying to uncover what happened to her husband. I liked how we really dove deep into the daily lives of Jess and her children. I also absolutely loved the layout of this book. The way each chapter began and ended was so unique and propelled the story forward. I would love to see more authors using creative ways of hooking a reader like she did. This novel took the subject of adoption and gave a real life perspective of what that can look like and I appreciated the good and the bad. I will be looking for more books by this author in the future.

* I received this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review *

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A n enjoyable family suspense novel.
I’ll admit this is not my usual genre and not one I’d often choose but I saw some good reviews and thought I’d give it a shot. I’m glad I did.
Often when a story centres around the disappearance or death of a key character, you know you’re in for lots of flashbacks. In You Were Always Mine, that technique is employed but it was executed pretty well. I felt like I got a pretty good idea of who Evan was as we explored his character from the perspectives of other characters.
Jess herself comes across as a reluctant protagonist. She was just getting by in her life as a single mom with two children to look after and an estranged husband to contend with. I thought the author did a really good job covering the conflicting emotions Jess felt as her new reality set in and she started to say goodbye to the life she thought she’d have. She didn’t have to pursue the truth behind Evan’s disappearance but she found an understandable determination and strength to do so.
The relationship between Jess and her eldest son, Max, is strained and frustrating and perfectly described and believable.
The mystery started off on page one and contained several elements that were each explored as the story unfolded. I found it dragged a bit in the beginning stages but did pick up and demand my attention eventually. I don’t think that figuring out the culprit is difficult but the ultimate reveal was still worth the wait.
Adoption and miscarriage are themes that are covered in this story. Each was dealt with in a respectful way and the focus really stayed on Jess’s fierce love for her adopted son, Gabe. In the end, this is a story about family and how family, whether biological or legal, will protect and love one another.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book courtesy NetGalley and Atria Books. All opinions expressed are my own.

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I LOVED this book! After reading and really enjoying Little Broken Things, I was excited to read this one and it did not disappoint! I was in a bad reading slump before I started the book, but once I started reading it was impossible to put down. I think I even liked this one better than Little Broken Things. The adoption story line mixed with the suspense and thrills in the book kept me glued to the pages racing to the end! I would definitely recommend reading this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of You Were Always Mine.

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