This book was received as an ARC from Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

All I have to say is OMG WOW!! I usually do not get so wound up when a book takes an unexpected turn but WOW! After reading this book, I literally felt my heart beat so fast that a huge adrenaline rush came through me. From beginning to end you have a picture of how the story will turn out and then when you thought you had the story down, a huge dramatic twist takes effect and then it leaves you dumbfounded and breathless that you do not know what came of you. I know a lot of our patrons will enjoy this book and I can not wait to tell them about it.

We will consider adding this title to our Fiction section at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

🌟🌟🌟 1/2 Stars for this fast-paced myster. . Small towns are tough..everyone knows everyone, but certain secrets can be kept for years. A young mother is murdered with only her 3 yr old daughter as a witness. A man is sent to prison what the child says. This child, Annie, grows up as a favorite in Ludlow, SC. The town is excited about Annie’s upcoming wedding. Then, Annie goes missing. Old mysteries, new mysteries, Southern elite and outcasts come together with Annie’s family to search. By the end of thee story, all secrets are answered.

This book, while a page turner, wasn’t quite as good as the author’s previous novel ‘When We Were Worthy’. Quite a few little secrets were thrown in that I felt were never truly developed, and characters were introduced but didn’t go anywhere, Just dying out.

If you are looking for a fast-paced mystery...good for a weekend getaway, plane trip or beach read, this will foot the bill.

Thanks yo the Author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is my own.

Started off strong but slowed down as the story progressed. I liked the start of the story but I struggled to finish reading it.

Annie is four days away from getting married and she is no where to be found. Sounds like a great book right?
For me it was meh.

I was more concerned with where Annie was then what had happened in some of the characters past. While the writing was good it took the focus off Annie and the book became about the other characters (which was not how it was advertise btw)

I felt like the book didn't dive into the relationship with Annie and Scott. We know where he is off with her best friend, but how can that be with her missing and perhaps dead?

I would have loved if the book focused more on Annie and where she was. There didn't seem to be any urgency to finding her as the story dealt more with the other characters. I kept waiting for the book to get better and was hoping the book would end with a bang. Sadly for me it ended more with a whisper than with a band.

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I really enjoyed this book! The story line kept me interested the whole way through. I do wish that the ending was more satisfying. The ending was very anti-climatic so I'd hoped for more there. Very well written and fun to read!

When I first started this novel I was hooked. I loved each character and their connection to each other. However, as the novel progressed I started to lose interest to the point where I almost gave up entirely. It felt like nothing was happening in the novel, other than character development to the extreme. Annie and her disappearance no longer felt like the focus as the characters had to discuss each other and their past histories. I continued on though because I was interested in the big reveal regarding Annie’s disappearance and her mother’s murderer.

Annie’s disappearance and her mothers murder were disappointments. There was no suspense, surprise or emotional impact. Annie’s disappearance was so quickly wrapped up that there wasn't much room given to grieving. Marybeth Mayhew Whalen tried to make the reader feel sorry for the loved ones Annie was leaving behind but it didn’t have a big emotional impact (might also been due to the fact that I was skim reading it so I could finish it quicker). I also knew who the Annie's mothers murderer was as the killer was the only character superficially added.

In summary it was an alright mystery novel with great characters and a good small town feel.

Only Ever Her definitely had a lot of potential with a mysterious plot of a missing bride to be, Annie, who was the only eyewitness to her mothers murder when she was just three years old. Annie coincidentally disappears soon after her mothers alleged killer has been exonerated of murder charges and released from prison. This book held my interest because from the beginning we are given two mysteries to solve and these clues are given to us as the author develops the main characters by revealing their deep dark secrets. My problem with this book is that there was a lot of repetition on details of certain characters while we really don’t get to know some of the others. Annie’s character was so unlikeable to me that I really didn’t feel as invested in her side of the story as I would like to for a main character. I was more invested in learning the truth of her mother’s murder but that is part of the story where I felt I wasn’t given enough detail. This book was just ok for me.
Thank you Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Only Ever Her wasn’t a bad read, but it also wasn’t a memorable one. I found the resolution to the mystery (or mysteries) to be a bit lackluster. There were a few too many unresolved stories pertaining to minor characters that I would have liked to know more about. This book was just okay for me.

Ugh, it pains me to write this review. I absolutely loved Whalen's "When We Were Worthy". So, I was excited to receive an advance copy of her newest one, coming out in May. However, I did not like it as much as I was hoping I would.

It's about a bride who disappears a few days before her wedding and everyone is trying to figure out what happened. It was told by several different points of view, which made it a little hard to keep track of everyone. It definitely reads more like fiction, instead of a suspense/thriller type of story. I liked that aspect of it but it took me quite a few pages to actually get into the story. It was very slow-moving and by time I got to the half way point, I was skimming through to the end to see what had happened. I didn't care too much for the ending, once it was revealed what had really happened. I felt it could have gone so many different ways and it would have made the story better. I know several people who enjoyed the novel so I may be in the minority.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for sending me an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a huge disappointment. I had a hard time getting into the book and I just never connected with any of the characters. Finally, at 30%, I gave up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book for my honest review.

A mystery novel where the missing person is not found and rescued in a happy ending. As macabre as that may sound, I was glad we weren't given a perfectly tied bow to wrap up the novel.

Annie, the small town's belle, is missing a few days before her wedding to a catch of a man. Many are suspect, including the man who was in prison on accusations of having killed her mother twenty years prior. I was sure we will never learn the exact circumstance of how Lydia, Annie's mother, died, and I did not see that coming! I loved that revealing part!

I read an advanced e-book copy, and maybe this had to do with it, but there wasn't a clear transition from one scene to another. At times I had to figure it out by reading between lines [see: Clary and Travis' history]. It doesn't mean you can't understand the story, but you have to pay closer attention to details thrown in.

I didn't like the mocking tone used towards the religious and Christian life. I felt like we were encouraged to root for Clary, Annie's cousin, and give Travis the side eye. I'm not claiming that his decisions and life are where they should be, but he moved on instead on wallowing in the past.

Speaking of moving on, none of these characters (I'm referring to those from whose perspective the story was told) seem to have done that. They still linger on the past. It's typical of a novel set in a smalltown. Another thing that didn't convince me was how a whole case was based on the babbling of a three year old. No matter how precocious Annie was at that age, you investigate further, especially when there are other leads. It's unfortunate that there is another, albeit fictional, example of the incompetence of the justice system. And it throws a bad light on the police force, again. Not to mention, in a novel it just seemed the easy way to make the reader believe a three year old's word could be considered as the basis for a murder trial.

As for the main character, I for one didn't like her, and I didn't care for her Southern sweetheart status. She was spoilt by the whole town and look what good did that do to her!

Despite all this, I enjoyed the novel a lot. I finished it in two days because I didn't want to do anything else but read more of it. It kept me interested and intrigued, wanting to read one more chapter. As far as mystery and suspense are concerned, it delivers. I sure do recommend it for fans of this genre.

Boring and predictable. The characters lacked depth, though the author attempted to create depth by providing lots of background and unnecessary details. This resulted in me skimming. There were too many main characters and I never felt connected with any of them.

I liked how the author ended some chapters with a cliffhanger, but otherwise her writing style wasn’t especially noteworthy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and the author. Not my style, and that’s ok.

This is a character based mystery. I enjoyed it, but it was a little confusing and I really didn't care very much about Annie, who is suppose to be the main character. You could feel a genuine closeness between most of the characters in this southern town, which I found the most interesting aspect of the book. Thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book..

I was fortunate enough to be gifted an Advance Readers Copy of Only Ever Her by Mary Mayhew Whalen and Net Galley. 🙏
Here’s the plot…
It’s days before Annie’s 👰🏼 🎩 💒 and it’s the talk of the town...the wedding of the year 🗓 ! The entire town has grown to love ❤️ and follow Annie throughout her life. Back when she was three years old 🧒, her mother 👩🏼was murdered 🔪 during a camping trip 🏕. Now...twenty-three years later 🕐, the killer 💀 is being released from prison 🚔 🚨...wrongfully accused of the murder 🙈🙉🙊. Who really did it❓...and why, mere days before her wedding, does Annie go missing❓Where is she❓Did something terrible happen to her or is this just a case of cold feet❓Is the accused killer behind all of this❓
The chapters alternate telling the point of view of each character including:
✅ Annie, the main character
✅ her aunt, who has raised her
✅ her cousin, whom she is closest to
✅ her secret male friend
✅ the news reporter
I do with it had focused more on the innocent man, accused of the murder.
Overall, It was a good read 📖 and I enjoyed it. I would be interested in reading some of her other novels. 📚 📚
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I struggled to get into this book and didn’t finish it. Although the synopsis sounded good it didn’t grip me.

#only ever her#Netgalley
When Anne the bride disappears a few days before the wedding, As time goes on, it makes the family think of there own secrets giving the food for thought, if they ever really knew Anne. This is a really interesting book, with a real twist. I don’t want to spoil the book, but what I like. It does make you sit and think about how much you actually do really know about anyone at all. It takes a book like this to genuinely make you think. It’s a good book and worth reading I don’t think you would regret it, In some parts it feel a little slow not too often, it was just certain characters. It’s still worth reading

I really enjoyed this one. It tugged at the heart a little bit and was a bit more emotionally involved than I expected, but that made it even more endearing. Annie is a confusing, but wonderful character and I felt as if I was just getting to know her when she disappeared. The feeling of wanting to know her more combined with my interest in the personalities and interpersonal relationships of the other characters propelled me through the narrative in a hurry. I couldn't put this one down and stayed up quite late to finish it. I had to have answers.

The presentation of the narrative through the eyes of several protagonists works wonderfully. It created tension in multiple places and added depth to the plot. Being able to see the major characters in individual chunks made the book more interesting while still weaving the story together well. The use of intermittent foreshadowing and the sprinkling in of random bits of important information through individual monologues was fantastic. It almost felt as if there was a first person description while the reader was still able to gain information from an omniscient narrator.

Only Ever Her surprised me. I wasn't expecting such a good read. This one is well worth the time and is likely a great one to shelve as a reread. Knowing all the bits and pieces from the first read could lead to an interesting change of view during a second glance.

If you are looking for a mystery with rotating perspective, this is a great one for you! If you are a fan of "Mother-In-Law" by Sally Hepworth, "Only Ever Her" by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is sure to be another that tops your list of enjoyed reads.

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This bound-to-be-a-bestseller will be published on May 7th, 2019.

Annie Taft is the apple of her small South Carolinian town’s eye. Her wedding is the most talked about event of the season. But her upcoming nuptials aren’t the first time Annie’s name has been prevalent in the rumor mill that is the town of Ludlow. That all started with the murder of her mother, Lydia, when she was a child. And the event still holds sway over the entire community, making Annie the focus of much attention for all of her life.
Annie is looking forward to moving away with her soon-to-be hubster Scott Hanson and escaping from her both the nightmares of her childhood and the frivolities of adulthood. She just sees one thing standing in her way...

The man who was convicted for her mother’s murder might not be guilty at all. While Annie’s first concern is the truth surrounding Cordell Lewis, she’s well aware that the memory of the town may in fact be longer than her own—and there are some who are not as concerned with discovering the truth. A solved crime reflects a safe town; unsolved, it casts the unwelcome shadow of the past.

Laurel Haines, a reporter at the town’s local newspaper, the Ludlow Ledger, is a Gilmore Girl of her own right. Raised by a prominent family, grasping at the dream of a journalist’s Pulitzer-winning lifestyle, she’s desperate to prove herself and to rise up to the story that the suspect circumstances surrounding the Taft family is revealing. But the story she’s given isn’t the one she’s expecting.

Because Annie Taft has mysteriously disappeared four days before her wedding.

Faye, Annie’s legal guardian and aunt and beloved sister of her deceased mother, is sick and tired of Annie’s sporadic and unexplained disappearances over the years. But when the disappearance stretches uncomfortably with no word from the bride, Faye begins to fear that this is no longer a young woman’s foolish and inconsiderate desire to be alone. What has happened to the niece she promised to care for?

The town begins its search for Annie, every soul seeking to find her. Some seek to find her for their own sense of safety. Some seek her out of love. Some seek her to prove their love. Secrets will be unearthed...and not all of them Annie's.

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen has an incredible ability to create characters that yearn to tell their own stories. Each character is so different. I appreciate that each chapter is dedicated to only one's viewpoint. Some are likable...some aren't. Faye and a few of the townsfolk that frequent her hair salon remind me very much of Truvy Jones and her friends from Steel Magnolias. I've already mentioned that Laurel Haines has a very Rory Gilmore kind of feel (without all the poor decisions—sorry, Rory, it's true). But I will say that Kenny, Annie's best friend, was a frustrating character for me.

The ending was succinct (if not a little anticlimactic), and I find myself placing this novel on the "to recommend" shelf with a 4 out of 5 rating. Look for it on yours May 7th!

Only Ever Her by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and releases May 7, 2019. In a small town a woman goes missing a few days before her wedding. Mysteries are uncovered from the past when her mother was killed and the wrong person was sentenced to prison. This book is listed as a mystery and thriller and I would not consider it a thriller since it was not fast paced. Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy of this book.

Annie, the three-year-old who sent her mother's killer to prison, has grown up and is getting married. But as the day draws closer, she is asked to help secure the release of her mother's killer. And Annie is no longer sure of her memories, so she gives what help she can. But just after the release of the alleged killer, Annie disappears. Told through the eyes Annie, her cousin Clary, her aunt Faye and her best friend Kenny, we learn the story of why Annie disappeared and what happened to her. Good story line, excellent characters.