Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy...

It was okay book but enjoyed it reading it...not a fan of this book.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and the author, Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, for the ARC (and wish granted) for this book, Only Ever Her.

After reading this book, I have a new author to add to my list of favorites, and will be requesting her other books to read.

There were many main characters in this book, and each one had their own story and even though each chapter was a different character, it was easy to keep the stories separated and easy to follow each.

The premise of the book was to be the wedding of the bride, that everyone in this town just loved and were looking forward to her wedding, however you soon realize that the closer it gets to the wedding, the more it looks like the wedding just might now happen.

I loved how the author brought up the previous murder and how this affected almost all of the main characters of the book, and how they lived life because of this tragedy.

I really related to Clary, the cousin, and when I read the acknowledgements at the end of the book, I realized why, as Clary was modeled after Pink!.

This was an amazing read, and I truly did not see the ending of this book at all. Kudos to the author for keeping the momentum going and for blowing my mind at the end.

5/5

A first read by me from this author. All I can say is WOW! This book has so many main characters so well written in each of their stories to blend it in so well. This is a page turner for sure. Kept me in suspense and full of so many surprises I never saw coming! I couldn’t put it down and read in half a day! Honestly it blew me away! Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for granting my wish for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"Only Ever Her" by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

The bride goes missing, or is she taken? The man who killed her mother years ago comes out of jail...

3.5 stars.
A good read but I found the story to be slow.

Well written and good characters, interesting story just not the great suspense I was waiting for.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Annie, was found wandering the town as a small child and it was discovers that her mother had been murdered. The entire town got caught up in her life as she grew up and she became a beloved member of her community.
Annie is grown now and about to be married. The town is so excited for her. Then just a few days before her wedding, she goes missing. Her disappearance happens at the same time as her mom's supposed killer's prison release. Is it a coincidence or not? So many characters and so many suspects, but who is really responsible?

It took me some time to get through this book. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters and with the story told from a number of viewpoints, I found that my attention wandered from what was going on in the book.

Anything I have ever read by Marybeth Mathew Whalen has been really great and this one is no exception. I couldn't put it down until I found out what happened. All the characters were so unbelievably realistic I felt like I knew them and there is such a surprise at the end I would never have guessed it. I would give this book 10 stars of I could!

Thanks for the ARC Net Galley.

This is an unusual novel in that on the surface it appears to be a mystery but usually mystery novels are very plot-driven and fast-paced whereas this story is slow burning and is very character-driven.

It's about Annie, who days before her wedding goes missing. While she tells a few bits of her story in the very beginning, most of the book is told from the perspectives of 4 other people: her cousin, her aunt (who is the mother figure because Annie's mom was murdered when she was a kid and she was raised by her aunt), her high school secret best friend, and another high school classmate (not friend) who is back in town working for the local paper.

I usually love character-driven stories and when thrillers take this route I am even happier. And this was totally my kind of novel where the mystery of what happens to Annie (and what happened to her mother) were what united the story but it was really more about the small town, each of the people and their individual stories and their journey. The biggest reason this is not a 5-star read for me was that I didn't end up connecting with any of the characters. I think this is because there wasn't enough depth, vulnerability, connection built between them and the reader. Maybe that's cause there was more telling than showing, or just not enough in general but even though I can't quite put my finger on the why, I just didn't feel connected to the characters as much as I like to in this type of story. I will say, though, that I didn't find any of them dislikable. None of them are two-dimensional, comical, or unreliable. Which is already a huge win compared to so many of the mysteries that seem to be coming out lately.

This was a solid read for me. I enjoyed the time I spent with it.

Thank you to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the early review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Only Ever Her
Author: Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 3 out of 5

When Annie was a little girl, she was found wandering in the woods, not far from her mother’s murdered body. Now grown up, she’s the town’s darling, and her imminent wedding is all anyone talks about. Annie’s ready for her life to change, but can she leave behind this small town—and her support system—to start her new life?

Just days before her wedding, Annie disappears. There’s no sign of her. No sign she might have run. No sign she spoke to anyone before she disappeared. With her mother’s accused murderer freshly released from prison, the town fears the worst, and those who love Annie will have to deal with their own issues as they search for her.

I did not connect with this book at all. The small-town vibe was accurate, but I found Annie herself unlikable, as was her secret friend. I didn’t find this very suspenseful, and everyone had secrets, of course, but the only character I liked was Clary. Just not a good fit for me.

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen lives and writes in North Carolina. Only Ever Her is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Lake Union Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Right off the bat, I wasn't a fan of the prose of the story and the present tense kept throwing me off. Something about it made me disconnected to the characters and what they were doing but I was intrigued by the plot enough that I wanted to know more. My second reaction to this book was that there were too many character POVs. I couldn't get emotionally invested in any of them except Annie who I was invested in for all the wrong reasons. I couldn't stand her character. She was extremely selfish and entitled despite claiming that she's only pretending to be the way she is because everyone expects her to be that way. No girl. Stop using people for your own gain and getting upset when they expect something from you in return. I couldn't wrap my head around her.

There was also so much repetition of information. Over and over we're told that Annie was three years old when her mother was killed. Cordell Lewis got charged for her murder. I don't need to read this information 10 times in various different ways through different character's POVs in order for me to understand it or retain it. There were many other facts/plot points throughout the book that were repeated over and over again as well and it gets to a point where it becomes frustrating.

The synopsis of the book is slightly misleading in that it definitely is not thriller but instead a very slow-paced "mystery" filled with little urgency and a lot of lies and secrets. I didn't hate it but sadly, I didn't care for it either.

This was my first read by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and sadly I wasn’t impressed. The story was intriguing and I enjoyed how the past and present seemed to link up, but sadly the characters did it in.

Annie is suppose to be this flawless main character who lost her mother at a young age. She has her secrets, but she is getting married to a great guy. I hated Annie. She was just so flaky and used people to get what she wanted. She didn’t care about others and only focused on herself. So when she disappeared, I was thrilled.

The rest of the book focused on 4 other characters (Annie’s aunt, Annie’s cousin, a reporter who attended school with Annie and Annie’s closest friend). I didn’t care for any of them and it was annoying to have the novel skip back and forth between so many characters.

Such a beautiful cover, but sadly not a book I enjoyed

I love me a good suspenseful mystery. This one did not disappoint. I have not read any other books by this author, but after reading this one and being pulled into the story, I'll be searching her other titles.

I was pulled right into this story, and got nothing done until I was finished reading. It was amazing! Kept me on the edge of my seat in spots, and had my constantly guessing what was going to happen next. I may even re-read it just to see if there were parts I missed (I'm sure there were).

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this mystery. It was light and a quick read and perfect as the weather is starting to warm up to enjoy as a nice evening read. I liked how there were several characters who's stories we learned throughout the book. I feel like maybe the book could have been a bit longer and the characters could have been developed somewhat more. It wrapped up neatly which isn't my favorite in a mystery book but the conclusion surprised me and I thought was unconventional.

This one just sort of meandered around until it just ended. There was no suspense and the stories begun never came together is a satisfying way. I was expecting more action, more to happen. Instead we jump from one thin character to another. None fleshed out and none feeling reliable.

On.y Ever Her is part love story, part mystery and part family drama. There’s about to be a wedding that’s the talk of the town and the bride goes missing. I loved the balance of the different genres, giving it a fresh feeling along with the alternating viewpoint chapters. Onl6 Ever Her is the perfect springtime poolside read!

This book was a bit of a letdown for me. I was expecting a more action-packed thriller based on the description of the book (Annie's mother's supposed killer, who may have been wrongly accused based on Annie's testimony at 3 years old, is released from prison and then Annie suddenly vanishes). The book kept alternating between characters Kenny, Clary, Faye, and Laurel and I felt like I never really got to know any of them very well. I found that I didn't really particularly care for any of the characters - they were all, for the most part, unhappy with how their lives turned out. Even Annie, as the town sweetheart, had her own demons. I was able to finish the book, but it was definitely slow moving for me.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

The description of this books was amazing I was super excited when my wish was granted and I got Only Ever Her. But sadly the book and I didn’t connect and it fell flat for me. I felt confused at times and just couldn’t get into it.

Only Ever Her⭐️
With weddings and murder there is little Annie can do to keep her clam so with the wedding coming closer and Annies disappearance everything is questioned.
The prologue was amazing but the rest of the story had a different voice, many voices and none of them were as intriguing.
We follow alot of different people I think that if we were to only see two perspectives and just get more of them i would have really enjoyed this but I was trying to remeber who peope were and what their relation to Kenny was and if they were crazy or not.


Thank you so much to Lake Union Publishing via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of Only Ever Her by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. This will be released on may 7, 2019
All opinions are my own.

While I enjoyed this book, i felt like it was disjointed. There were way to many pointless backstories for my liking, and I feel like the ending could have been something incredibly twisted, but for me, it fell flat, and predictable.

I do like the pace at which MBW wrote this book, and I've loved her previous books. I honestly think Im the problem with the book. I read a lot of thrillers, so it takes a lot to surprise me lately.

If I was to use one word to describe a book (something I usually find really hard to do), I would use 'ambitious'. I will get to what that entails in just a little bit. 

This story spans a very short period in time, the events span barely a week of current time while tendrils of the past continue to reach out on every single one of those days. Annie is the darling of the town. She is the person who they saw come from adversity as a three year old and blossom into a woman preparing for her wedding. It is the talk of the town. The talk causes a lot of introspection in the minds of many directly connected to her. 

The trouble with this well written 'thriller' is that is gives us too many people to focus on. While we are effectively told which of these people had nothing to do with her untimely disappearance, we are allowed to harbour some suspicions. The problem was with the fact that there were too many people, too broken and filled with emotions that try to jostle for our attention as we read through this relatively small book. I felt for all the people we had the chance to hear the thoughts of, all except the main lead, Annie. I think we are not meant to like her in the long run and that usually takes a little bit off the enthusiasm I feel for such books.

Overall an interesting read from the point of people watching and that you never know what actually constitutes a 'normal' person in these scenarios.

Annie Taft is 26, ready to marry Scott Hanson, and move somewhere fresh. Away from the town of Ludlow, where she is known as the daughter of the murdered woman. Cordell Lewis was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Annie's mother, Lydia Taft--largely on the word of Annie, who was only three. But his lawyer is advocating for a new trial--and Cordell's release. It's now four days before Annie's wedding; Cordell is out of jail, and Annie has disappeared. At first, Annie's aunt, Faye, who has raised her niece since the age of three, thinks she has hidden away due to nerves. But as the wedding date inches closer, Faye and her daughter, Clary, realize something is amiss. Was it Cordell, seeking revenge after all this time? Or someone who knows Annie well?

"Some people hear their mother's voices in their heads, but Annie hears her aunt's, the closest thing she has to a mother."

This book wasn't anything like what I was expecting, and honestly, it was a rather strange tale, but it was still rather interesting. It's a character-driven read, not a suspense novel, but wow, I got really attached to some of these characters. I picked this one up based solely on the strength of the last Marybeth Mayhew Whalen novel I read, WHEN WE WERE WORTHY. She has a real knack for capturing her characters: they jump off they page and stick with you. In particular, I fell hard for Faye and Clary in this one. And, of course, there was Annie, who was always there, motivating nearly every character:

"She has to make the town happy, like she always has. It is her act of service, her offering on behalf of the greater good. When you're the only survivor of the town's darkest moment, you do whatever you can to bring light."

There are a lot of narrators in the novel, but together they expertly show the web and ties of a small town, where it seems everyone has a secret of some sorts. I thought the beginning of the book was a bit slow, but it picked up in the second half, becoming rather dramatic and suspenseful. It's also an emotional read, as you become more and more invested in the characters. I expected more with Annie's storyline and disappearance--the ending sort of fizzled there for me. The more compelling piece is truly her mother's murder and its aftermath, especially on Faye.

Still, this was an interesting and poignant read featuring some excellent characters. While it was a bit slow to start, I found myself quite immersed in the second half. I really enjoy what Whalen can do with her small town personalities. 3.5 stars.