Only Ever Her was fantastic. It was wonderfully written with tragedy, romance, betrayal, sadness, grief...and it was beautiful. I thought I had it pegged, and I was wrong - and then I got hit with something I didn't even know I needed (which was actually the catalyst for my four-star rating getting bumped up to five), and then the ending was satisfactory and filled with hope. It wasn't a thriller, which is what I normally read, but it definitely kept my attention all the way through. I really, really enoyed this story, and I can't wait to read more of Marybeth's work. Five stars!

This is the first book I have read by Author Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. I found she has very intriguing characters who are well developed, strong small town family bonds, and 2 little mysteries through out the book.
I do want to point out, this is definately not a suspense or thriller book. If you go into it with an open mind you will find an enjoyable small town story with a little bit of mystery involved.
I will definately read another book by this author, as I feel he has a very well written book that was marketed to the wrong audiance.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to provide an honest review for this book.

Originally thought this was going to be a thriller, but it wasn’t. I had a hard time connecting to some of the characters which made it hard for me to get through. Despite that I thought that it had a good description of their southern way of life and dynamics.

I have reviewed this novel for New York Journal of Books and it will be posted on their site the night prior to the publication date!


"Only Ever Her" by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Lake Union Publishing
May 7, 2019
10-1503903893
Suspense


When Annie Taft was three years old, she and her mother Lydia went camping at nearby Eden Hill State Park in the small town of Ludlow, SC. The following morning, Annie is seen wandering around a hiking trail, hungry, dirty and still in her pajamas. Lydia is soon discovered in her tent, her body already cold from being strangled. Annie states her mom's sometime boyfriend Cordell Lewis was with them. Automatically the police charge him with the murder without investigating further.

Now, many years later, Annie—who was raised by her aunt Faye—is due to get married in three days. She receives a letter from Attorney Tyson Barnes asking to see her. Though she is to meet with Laurel Haines, an old high school classmate and now a reporter for the Ludlow Ledger, she instead goes to the lawyer's office. Barnes believes Cordell Lewis was falsely sentenced, and he is trying to get him re-tried or freed and needs Annie's help. Over the years, she has questioned herself if her statement had, in fact, sent an innocent man to prison.

Confused and at odds after meeting Barnes, Annie wonders why Cordell Lewis's situation is coming up now, just before her wedding.

"Annie knows one thing: nothing can set things right. No matter what she does or does not do, her mother will not be there when she walks down the aisle in a matter of days. He mother will not wear a mother-of-the-bride dress that is slightly dowdy but appropriate for the occasion. She will not give Annie a family heirloom to be her ‘something blue.’ She will not offer marriage advice based on her own years of wisdom. Because Annie's mother did not have years to grow wise. Lydia Taft died when she was twenty-three years old. She didn't even get to live as long as Annie herself has."

Since Lydia's murder, the town's folk consider Annie a sweetheart with everyone cheering for her. Kind and unobtrusive, Annie never utters a bad word about anyone or gets into arguments. When Kenny Spacey moved to town with his single mother, the shy and somewhat strange youth became the target of bullying, but Annie jumped to his side by befriending him and not allowing their peers to torment him. From then on, Kenny loves Annie, though secretly but she only considers him as a friend.

Annie questions why Laurel Haines, the wanna-be big-shot journalist, now back in town and writing for the newspaper is so anxious to meet with her when they were never close? Nervous, she heads to the spot where her mom died and where she goes when she is upset and wants to "talk" to Lydia.

Only Kenny is privy to this special place. He is her best friend and confidant and with him, she can be herself. He understands all sides of her including the one that isn't constant sweetness and light. She tells him once she marries; their friendship is over, which breaks Kenny's heart. Can't she realize how much he adores her and be him instead? Her thoughts are this:

"Kenny is not the right guy. Scott is. Kenny, of course, does not understand this. He's not aware of the protocol. But she knows—as she always has—what's expected of her, what her role is in this town. She cannot marry the odd duck, her quirky friend. She has to marry the guy who is her perfect match, the one people expect to see waiting for her at the end of the aisle in a few weeks. 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."

Annie leaves Kenny, and he doesn't follow her. When she does not return home Faye starts to worry. She contacts Sheriff Hal York, a man she once and still loves, of Annie's absence and Clary, Faye's daughter begins to fret remembering the last conversation she and Annie had which ended abruptly. Could what she said have driven Annie away?

Soon the whole town is apprehensive. Fiancé Scott shows up at Faye's hoping for some news and neighbors want to help search for Annie. Meanwhile, rumors abound about Cordell Lewis who is now released. Did he abduct Annie for revenge for sending him to jail for more than two decades? And does Kenny know where she could be?

"Only Ever Her" is a complex tale of unrequited love and suspense with various characters holding onto secrets. The residents of this tiny town proclaim Annie as their golden girl; however, it does seem a bit over the top that everyone would panic when she first disappears. Not to be misconstrued with the "Runaway Bride" concept, the plot is intriguing leaving questions as to Annie's whereabouts and Lydia's real killer, and yet though the conclusion is unexpected, it is satisfying.

Where do you go when it all becomes too much? For Annie Taft, she returns to the site of her worst memory. She's getting married in a week, has decided to stop seeing her high school best friend and the man who was put away for killing her mother, on her testimony, may have been innocent.

After reading the blurb and the first few chapters I was intrigued. There seemed to be a lot of potential in the storyline. Between the imminent release of the man convicted for her mother's murder and her disappearance, I was convinced that the story would be enthralling. Unfortunately, it was not to be and I soon found myself hurrying to finish the book rather than enjoying what I was reading.

The style of the narrative was an issue almost from the start. I found it to be difficult to read and often had to reread in order to understand what was being said. The multiple main characters that the book included was also off-putting to an extent. as was the number of affairs that the book seemed to include. In most books affairs seem to be the exception but in Only Ever Her, affairs seem to be the norm. There were also a number of continuation issues which made me question my own understanding of previous events and had me jumping back chapters to see if I had missed something.

The book did have some high points despite my disappointment. I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Clary and learning about her past made her present that much more intriguing. I also enjoyed how the main characters (numerous as they may be) were all actors, whether supporting or extras, in each other's stories. A sentiment that was shared by Clary during the story.

While I am unlikely to recommend this book actively, I do feel that it is a book that can be picked up as a light read if one were to start it with the expectations that were not as high as mine.

Know in advance that this is not a thriller and that it's told from multiple points of view and you'll enjoy this more than you might if you're looking for what the cover seems to promise. Yes, Annie has gone missing right before her wedding and yes, the man who she identified as the murderer of her mother has just been released from jail. However, this is really about the secrets her friends and family have kept from each other, and, in a way themselves, over the years. It can be a bit of a challenge to figure out where this is going but Whalen has it in hand. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you for providing me with an arc of this novel. Unfortunately it was not for me. I was unable to finish as I felt that the storyline did not work well and thought that the characterizations were unrealistic. I therefore do not feel that it would be fair of me to post a review on social media sites.

Guys.

If you love twisty family dramas, this book is for you.

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is amazing at writing multi-perspective novels with great character development. I’ve loved her past work and “Only Ever Her” is no exception.

This isn’t a exactly a thriller in the traditional sense of the genre, but it certainly keeps you guessing. You’ve got the tension of a small town where everyone “knows” everyone, a rumor mill that doesn’t quit, and family and friends trying to keep their own secrets under wraps while gathering together to locate a missing girl.

It took me a minute to get completely sucked into this story, but when I did, I flew through it in a single day on vacation.

Twists, turns, gossip, mystery, some seriously creepy folks... this book has it all and Whalen does NOT disappoint.

Absolutely a great book to kick off your summer reading. This one is out May 7th.

**** Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my unbiased review ****

Annie disappears before her wedding, and everyone in her town is trying to find out what happened. There was a lot going on in this book and at times it was rather confusing. I really didn't connect with any of the characters. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Annie is about to get married but her mother's killer is also being released from prison.

Initially I didn't think I was going to enjoy Only Ever Her because it took me a while to attune my British reader eye to the American tone of the book. However, once I had done so I thought Only Ever Her was a hugely compelling narrative and one I thoroughly enjoyed.

The plot veered me away from my expectations almost immediately. With doubt over the newly released Cordell Lewis's conviction for killing Lydia, I assumed this would be the main focus of the story but Marybeth Mayhew Whalen had other ideas. I found it very entertaining to be wrong-footed so that there was much more to the story than I had anticipated.

Only Ever Her illustrates the close-knit small town America atmosphere brilliantly. Although everyone knows everyone else's business, the undercurrent of deception and distraction makes the reader feel they are part of the action because they know elements the characters do not. I felt Only Ever Her had quite a Twin Peaks feel to it and it would make an excellent television series.

The characters are distinct and realistic. I don't usually like books where there are several threads with different chapters allocated to individual characters but here it worked very effectively because they are all so well-defined. It fascinated me how Marybeth Mayhew Whalen managed to manipulate me as a reader. For example, I didn't warm to Laurel at all at the start and yet by the end of the story I felt I understood her well and had come to like her. It's also incredibly clever how the entire plot revolves around Annie and yet she is hardly present at all. It was as if I had taken ownership of her without really knowing her in much the same way the townsfolk do.

The themes of Only Ever Her have huge relevance to today's society. There's injustice and prejudice, loyalty and deception, love and longing so that the small town setting of the book could be applied to any location, making it all the more pertinent for any reader.

Having begun reading Only Ever Her feeling quite detached, I ended the book with a lump in my throat and the sensation that I had been fully entertained. I really enjoyed it.

When Annie Taft was just three years old, her mother, Lydia, was murdered during a camping trip the two of them were on in the woods of the local state park.
The town of Ludlow, South Carolina rallied behind young Annie. When she said “Uncle” Cord had taken them camping and was the one who hurt her mother, the town was quick to convict Cordell Lewis for the murder of Lydia Taft.
After the murder, Annie’s Aunt Faye moved to Ludlow with her daughter, Clary, to raise her niece. Faye’s sacrifice to keep Annie in Ludlow would be the talk of the town for many years to come. The town watched Annie grow up and cheered her on; she was their golden girl and everyone wanted her to have a happy ending to her story.
Now Annie is about to get her happy ending. Her wedding is just two weeks away and the citizens of Ludlow could not be more excited. At the same time the final wedding preparations are underway, a local attorney is lobbying for the release of Cordell Lewis based on new evidence in the case.
“But in doing so, he had brought attention to Annie at a particularly unwelcome time. She just wanted to get married, to get on with her future to stop being “that poor murdered woman’s daughter.” She’d spent her life trying to show everyone that she is more than that – and yet it always comes back to it.” (Only Ever Her, p. 48)
Then, just four days before the wedding, Cordell Lewis is released from prison, in part due to a letter written by Annie. But that night Annie doesn’t return home. Is she just pulling one of her disappearing acts? Or did something terrible happen to her?
The town of Ludlow has their secrets, and with Annie missing, those secrets are about to be revealed. As the wedding date draws closer, will they find Annie in time for her to walk down the aisle?
Look for Only Ever Her by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen coming soon to GPPL. Place your hold now!

Only Ever Her has many different stories all converging around Annie’s wedding. Although I eventually got the grasp of every story, it took some time. Part of this was because the author chose to withhold information until the last minute. Overall a great story, I just wish it was told in a different style.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The first half of this book is so weighted by Southern women’s fiction tropes, the female relationships, the local color, the hairdresser who pulls everyone together, the town eccentric with a gift for animals, and the heroine who is marrying the “right” man while pushing away the more humble soul that has her heart, that I actually forgot I was reading a mystery. By the time the actual whodunnit plot deepened, it just felt like a distraction from the Cold Sassy dynamics. For women’s doc fans only.

Small Town Secrets. Big Time Heart. This story set in fictional Ludlow, South Carolina tells a multilayered story of the secrets of various people in a small town affecting each of their lives in dramatic ways. It is a story of love, loss, and moving on, and it captures the rural small town South extremely well. The multiple interweaving perspectives could make for some intriguing cinematography, should Hollywood ever come calling for this tale, and I for one would love to see it on the silver screen and look forward to reading more from this new-to-me author. Very much recommended.

I have always loved Marybeth Whalen. Her earlier books are some of my favorites. Part of that is I love the stories and part is she writes about places I love and have grown up near. This is no exception. Only Ever You does have more twists and surprises but for someone that doesn’t like suspense it is great. Go buy this, get a copy somehow, sit down and prepare to be invested in these characters. Thanks to Netgalley and Marybeth for this ARC copy!!!

Thank you Netgalley for my free copy in return for my honest review.

I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. Based off the description the book seemed like a thrilling mystery. I couldn't get over how slow paced the story was. Story was very blah, ending was REALLY blah, I really wanted more.

There are a lot of multiple POVs in this book that had me struggling to connect with the characters and really follow the story line. I personally struggle with this in most books, but I just couldn't grasp this one.. It's a really cool premise and I really liked the setting of the story!

I'm not really sure what my opinion on this book is. It's a bit complicated, and I'm somewhere in the middle between liking it and not.
I found the characters intriguing, but at the same time I lost myself between all the POVs and as much as I thought a character was interesting, all the switching between everyone was a bit frustrating as it minimized the tension the previous entry was building. That's something that happened all throughout this book for me, every time I felt as though the tension in the atmosphere rose it was suddenly gone.
I also found that the switching between so many characters didn't give enough time for me to connect to one, but at the same time, I thought the writing style was interesting. I felt as though the mystery was set up well, but the roller coaster of ups and downs when it came to the tension took away from the overall experience, and the ending left me wishing it was all different.
I feel like the idea behind this book wasn't executed to my liking. Maybe I'm just reading it at a completely wrong time, and I'm open to giving it a shot later on, but as it stands now this is a three star for me. I enjoyed reading this book for what it was, but it didn't wow me.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Novel about a double tragedy in a family and how the events affect the other members of the family and the citizens in their community.

Anna’s wedding is just a few days away when she goes missing.. Did she runaway or did she meet the same fate as her mother who was murdered when Anna was just 3. Is it a coincidence that her mother’s killer was released.
This book has multiple points of view which I love. It can be a bit confusing going back and forth. The settings in the story were described beautifully, the characters well thought out. A great read for on the plane or at the beach.
3.5 stars
#netgalley #onlyeverher