Have you ever read a novel and when finished you realized that you both loved and hated it at the same time? That basically summarizes my feelings regarding Everything We Keep. Let me start with my positive thoughts…

This novel started out very promising with the idea of her fiance dying on a fishing trip and his remains being buried on their wedding day. Not positive like I was glad he died, but it seemed to predict a great suspense/thriller. Secondly, after James’ funeral and a mourning period, Aimee decides to realize her dream of opening her own coffee/bistro place, as well as, meets the handsome, talented and uber patient photographer Ian.

There were numerous flashbacks to Aimee and James’ childhood providing a backstory to their longtime love, as well as, what kind of family James had. These flashbacks only strengthened initial opinions I had about their long-term love and what creepy people were in his family – but all of this was relevant to the story.

Which brings me to some issues with this novel… I apologize, but it will require bullet points… ***These may be considered spoilers, which I never do, but be forewarned.

Two years passed between the time the psychic, Lacy contacted Aimee and when Aimee finally went to Mexico to look into whether or not James was alive. Why wait so long and why go after that much time?
Ian was super hot and talented and so forth, why keep hanging around hoping for one little chance that Aimee would get over James?
Why in the hell were Aimee and Ian’s flights from California to Mexico 19 and 22 hours? Often, I will overlook things like this but come on… I live in Roanoke, VA and could fly there in less time. It didn’t take that long to get from Roanoke to Hawaii last time I went. This is just sloppiness in my opinion because all the author had to do was google flight times.
Immediately after Aimee is raped, James literally applies her mascara for her so she will be presentable to go see their parents to announce their engagement? Umm, excuse me, if you propose to me and one of your family members rapes me a few minutes after, do not attempt to fix my make-up, take me to the hospital and then the police.
I could go on and on, but I won’t. Honestly, I was unable to put this book down after I started it. Despite the itemized list above, I could not stop reading it. But there were too many side stories and questions left unanswered to make me love this book. I truly feel that Kerry Lonsdale had a fantastic story idea with this one, but things went wrong in several places. Considering I have already been approved for the follow-up novel, Everything We Left Behind, I will read it with high hopes. But I’m sorry to say that if I would have read this last year when released, I would not have given it a second thought.

*Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A really fantastic read with gripping twists and turns throughout! Really loved where the author was going with this book.

great story that keeps you wanting more! Can't wait to read the second part of the series

Romance isn’t usually my genre of choice, so I had mixed feelings about reading this book as an ARC invitation from NetGalley, in exchange for an independent review. However, I tried to keep an open mind and allow the story to speak to me on its own merits. It’s a bit of a slow burner to start with, then quickly picks up pace as the action unfolds in different countries.

Thankfully, the suspense angle, chilling air of mystery and a desire to find out more kept me captivated, as I ached to see how resolution would be found for the dilemmas the main characters were in. Some of their reactions seemed a bit unrealistic, and it was hard at times to feel sympathy for the way they dealt with the situations they encountered.

As the book concluded, the loose ends, instead of being neatly tied together, were left more like tangled knots requiring further unravelling. And there are enough unanswered questions and new scenarios to solve to lead us nicely into the sequel. While not without its flaws, Everything We Keep is a good, suspenseful beach companion, an ideal, light summer read, or just pure escapism any time it’s required.

I had read this book before when it was a Kindle free book of the month. I skimmed the last few chapters before starting on the sequel. Unfortunately it only reminded me how much better this book was than it's sequel.

Everything We Keep (Everything We Keep #1)
Kerry Lonsdale
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Wow! The twists and turns in this book had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put it down. I was invited to read Everything we Keep via Netgalley. Romance novels are my usual read, but I try to avoid sad stories. I'm so glad I gave this one a chance.

Aimee's life is about to fall apart before her very eyes. Her family sold her future job, and her husband to be is going to be buried on her wedding day.

This book is about the future you didn't see coming. I don't want to give anything away so that's all I'm saying.

Fantastic suspense novel with romance and mystery. 5 stars out of 5.
Everything We Keep is a must read!

*Netgalley readers copy given in exchange for a fair review*

Kindle Edition £3.48 or free for KU, 306 pages
Published August 1st, 2016

Everything We keep is a standalone story: Amiee's story. However, it will leave you wanting more!

Everything we left behind is out 4th July 2017.
It is also available for Kindle Unlimited readers or £3.98
Paperback £8.99, 348 pages.

Aimee and James moved from childhood friends in California to girlfriend/boyfriend then an couple about to be married. There were always odd things in James' family and work life but familiarity meant Aimee did not look hard for answers.
Shortly before the wedding James dies. Not one to disrupt everyone's already made travel arrangements James' mother decrees the funeral will take the place and time of the wedding. As for the flowers...no point changing that either.
I wanted to slap her...hard.
Carlos runs his gallery, paints and raises his two young sons in Mexico.
The relationship between them all is difficult to comprehend but Google search helped to ensure it was not just something made up for the book.
Oh boy! How to make an intriguing, complicated, unputdownable novel.

This book was absolutely amazing! So glad it was recommended to me. I now have a new favorite author. Can't wait to read the sequel!

Outstanding novel. Good character portrayal, greed. love, loss, dysfunction, and determination all melded into a beautiful if somewhat tragic story. Lives, ambitions, dreams all intersect but at the fork in the road some veer off in the wrong direction. From the funeral of her beloved held on the day of and in the church in which they were to be married Aimee’s dream becomes Aimee’s nightmare. Enter a psychic, who drops hints of different circumstances, and so begins Aimee’s saga, a search reaching into Mexico with high hopes only to find herself at a loss and in low spirits. When I reached the last page of this book I immediately began reading the follow-on book, (I have an advanced copy). I would surmise this book to be a female’s read but writing this good should be shared by all genders. Five stars plus.

This is a great Summer read easy to get into with a storyline which is easy to follow. Aimee and James are the main characters and things don't quite go as planned for them. I would highly recommend this book and have already started reading the sequel Everything we left behind.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart James, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But then everything goes wrong her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her parents are almost bankrupt & sell their restaurant. So instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace especially when a woman, Lacey approaches her & says James is alive.
As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she takes the lease on a coffee house & meets Ian a photographer she also delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. Aimee & Ian travel to Mexico to find the truth.
The book didn’t immediately grab my interest & I skimmed through the first few pages thinking I’ll probably not finish it but the more I read the more intrigued I became & ended up reading into the night to finish it. It became quite compulsive, I’m not sure why, the plot whilst well paced is implausible at times. The characters are well developed & apart from a couple are very likeable Aimee struggles to move on which I can understand as James & her were childhood friends the sweethearts plus having the funeral on what was to be their wedding day seemed far too cruel. Ian is just gorgeous, so patient. The epilogue is heart wrenching & I had to immediately start the sequel to find the conclusion
Thank you to Amazon for inviting me to review this book & also the sequel which I’ve had to start immediately

Holy Smokes! The first thought in my head as I put this book down for good. What a ride!
"On our wedding day, my fiance, James, arrived at the church in a casket."
What a way to begin a love story, and what a love story! Aimee and James have been together since childhood, and now he's dead; or is he? Something fishy is definitely going on- his strange family and unanswered questions leave a lot of room for doubt, even as Aimee is trying to get on with her life.
Simply asked, if you lost someone you loved, how far would you go to get them back? Simple, yet, maybe you really don't want to know. The twists are apparent, until the u- turn in this story, and wow, what a doozy.
Lonsdale reels you in and doesn't let go, her characters are multifaceted and the suspense and mystery of the plot's situation is riveting. You must read this book!

Aimee instead of getting excited as it was her wedding day. She had to bury her Fiance instead. He had gone on a business trip that went wrong. Aimee and James where childhood sweethearts. It hit Aimee hard. After a few months, and after james' father giving her a cheque she decided to open a restaurant of her own. She was chef at her parents restaurant. until they decided to retire to try and get on with her life. As she had been told of from her friends she needed to move on. When going out with her friends she met Ian who is a photographer. they became close friends. Then one day a woman comes along as says that James is still alive and living in Mexico. So she goes on a trip to find him.

I enjoyed this story it was original, suspenseful and had likeable characters. But two thirds in I thought it was getting too cliche and a bit far fetched to be honest which disappointed me as I was enjoying it so much.

How awful to be attending your fiance's funeral on the day you were to wed him. Aimee tries to move forward, but she has a niggling feeling that he is not really dead. A great fast read, perfect for losing yourself in the plot. I have an advance copy of the sequel and am ready to start that now!

Aimee Tierney's life was months away from being perfect. She was about to marry her childhood sweetheart, and she was on track to owning her parent's restaurant. This is until her fiance goes missing, and is found dead a few days later. The happiest day of her life was replaced with the worst, the funeral of her fiancee.
Many months later she is finally ready to move on. But something isn't right, maybe it's the nagging feeling in the back of her mind telling her that James isn't really dead, or the mysterious women who keeps showing up.

This is a wonderful story of grief, finding love again and uncovering deep dark secrets.

The first few chapters of the book were about Aimee grieving about her loss, Lonsdale has a clear way of poking at your heart. I liked Aimee as a character, I think she was very relatable and strong as a person. I also adored her friends, Nadia and Kristen.

I did think I knew what was going to happen in the book, but I was surprised by the way it turned out. I loved Ian, he was so sweet and charming, he seemed too good to be true.

I enjoyed reading this novel, it was exciting and I just couldn't put it down until I finished it!

From the very first sentence, this book captivated me. I felt for Aimee, couldn't imagine the heartbreak of burying the man you were supposed to marry on your wedding day. She deals with her grief in the best way that she knows how. I wish that she would have taken Lucy more seriously early on, but I understand why she didn't. I was torn between James and Ian. One minute I wanted her to find James. The next I was rooting for Ian. They way the author weaved the past and the present, I felt like I experienced it all right along with Aimee. I adored her friends and her parents. I'd love to see a book about Nadia and even one about Thomas. The supporting characters weren't just background elements. I was interested in all of their stories. And that ending... well let's just say there's got to be more to this story. I enjoyed this book very much.

I read this book in two sittings. At first I wasn't sure what to make of it but the author pulled me in and didn't let go. Parts of the story should have seemed far fetched but the author told them so naturally that I really didn't question anything. Can't wait to see what happens next and we know that is coming based on the end of the book. Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of the book.

This book grabbed me from the start. I loved the twists along the way. I highly recommend this book!

I loved this book until the epilogue. Then I wanted to throw the book - not because of anything wrong - I know it was just a personal preference - but OH MY GOD it made me so mad. Now, this could be seen as a good sign. It takes a lot for me to have that type of reaction to a book. I was so drawn into the characters and their lives that I felt like they were my friends. Good thing!!

I learned a lot about memory and what it can and can't do. It's quite fascinating, and from my simple research partner (Google) the author did a great job of portraying the circumstances. As Aimee comes to grips with what has happened to her fiance, we learn right along with her, and it was a great way of relaying information without doing just a big info dump on me.

Everything We Keep is an incredible emotional ride. I felt everything in the spectrum right along with Aimee and even James (the little bit we get to see). Right before the end, I was frustrated with life, but satisfied with the way Aimee had reacted and sorted things. Then the last two page....and the almost throwing. I want to say those pages ruined the book for me, until I tried to explain it all to someone. Their comment, "If it touched you so deeply, then it was a good book."

And they were right. This was a book that was beyond amazing and engaging. But if you read it, be prepared. It is not what you are going to expect. I could tell you the story, and it still wouldn't be what you expect. You have to live this one to truly experience it.

This may be the weirdest book I have ever read—and I read and have read--a lot of books. Kudos to the author for something creative. However, the plot may be so off the wall and so steeped in technical issues that the average reader may not believe it or fully understand it. Thus, I think the large number of people who really did not like the book.

Aimee Tierney has reached her dream life: a great soon to be husband James, the promise of a new restaurant that will soon be hers, the future, complete with kids and a small house, the things every girl dreams of. However, fate intervenes. Her fiancé James is killed in an accident while on a business trip in Mexico, and, horror of horror, is buried on what would have been their wedding day. Naturally Aimee is devastated. She wonders a lot about what might have been—if things had turned out differently. To complicate matters, there are many unanswered questions and nagging doubts about the death of James: missing paintings (James was an artist) that James left in their garage and a strange woman, who keeps showing up claiming to be a psychic, who keeps telling Aimee that James really is not dead. Still, Aimee tries to move on. When her parents sell the restaurant, she had hoped to take over from them, she opens her own coffee shop, which proves to be a success. She maintains relationships and gets solid support from trusted friends and family as she moves through this difficult time. She meets a photographer, Ian, with whom she is smitten almost from the start, who reciprocates her interest. Finally, Aimee realizes she cannot move on from the death of James, so she travels to Mexico with Ian to figure out what really happened. There she uncovers an intricate web of mysteries and events surrounding his death and family which force her find out the truth.

The story is fast moving. I kept at it steadily because I was intrigued and wanted to find out what really was going on. There are many interesting twists and turns throughout the story. The ending was a bit of a surprise to me, though I had figured something like it was going on as I read. The development of Aimee and James is good, though the development of the other characters, her friends and family and the family of James, was not done well. The plot, as I said was a strange one, and one I am still not sure I fully understand because it relies on technical issues with which I am not familiar. The author has crafted a truly different plot, though, as I said, this may turn some readers off because it is so different and almost unbelievable. I look forward to subsequent books about Aimee and James, so I can better understand this one as well as follow their lives. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.