A bride disappears on her wedding day - you can't have a wedding without the bride! Everyone is trying to figure out what happened - did she get cold feet? Did someone want her to disappear? The story is told in several characters’ points of view which made it hard to follow at times. It was very slow paced for my taste and I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I loved the author's other books but this one just fell short for me.
Thanks to Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I've read one other book by Marybeth Mayhew Walen and I wasn't a fan of it. I was super excited to get my hands on this one because I've heard raving things but unfortunately this missed the mark completely for me.

I thought this was incredibly boring and should have DNF this book honestly. Ugh... just couldn't connect to the characters or storyline whatsoever!

I got to about 55 percent and then skimmed the rest of the story. There was lack of character development for Annie the main character but also there were so many characters and it jumped around way too much. I was confused and just annoyed.

I found it to be slow, confusing, and lacked any depth in my opinion. I would not recommend to mystery and suspense fans.

2 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 5/7/19
Published to Goodreads: 3/3/19

Only Ever Her promises a suspenseful story about the search of a woman who goes missing days before her wedding and right after the man who went to prison for killing her mother gets released.

Except, that this book is not suspenseful and is not even really about the search of the missing bride.

Instead, the story jumps from character to character in a small town full of people who are not living their best life. From the girl who is trying to be everyone's darling by making herself unhappy, to her aunt who is trying to substitute the girl's dead mother, to a journalist who's unsuccessfully trying to fulfill her dream and so on.

The first thing worth mentioning about Only Ever Her is that it's not really a thriller. Sure, the main story is that Annie is missing, but what is actually going on is that we're learning more about the different people around her, than being a part of a frantic search for her. That could be okay had the characters been more compelling... but they weren't. I didn't like a single person in this book. They all acted strangely and irrationally. Each one of them had at least one opportunity to do what they want and they all did not take it, because... um... you know, reasons.

It's not even that the book was terrible or anything of the sort. It just didn't stir anything in me. I believe I will forget that I ever read it in a couple of months.

A young bride goes missing days before her wedding. Her disappearance coincides with her mother's alleged killer prison release date. Is the timing coincidental or did the alleged murderer seek justice for lost time? If the original suspect is not the killer, then who is? Is the young bride's disappearance due to pre-wedding jitters, regret over life decisions, or is she hiding something?

This is a slow building mystery/thriller story. The book emphasizes character development more than it does on discovery or shocking events. I didn’t dislike the book, but the slow pace build-up caused me to skim through some of the pages wondering when I'd to get to highlight of the story and the pace would pick up a bit.

I enjoyed the last few chapters the most. Partially because the book would end soon and the mystery would (hopefully) be solved. Overall I didn't connect with any of the characters but felt that in the final chapters the characters were more vulnerable and real.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good mystery and getting an in-depth look at the mind of the characters more than a strong fast-paced thriller. I wanted to love this book but I only liked it. It kept my interest, but it wasn’t exciting to the point where I couldn't stop reading because I was intrigued about the next set of events.

I will consider reading more by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley for my ARC

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.

'

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