I loved the book. I was hooked from the start. It was awful the way Christy-Lynn discovered her husband was having an affair. I don't think she married Stephen for love, from the start she molded herself to be whatever he wanted. The first day they met she lied and said she loved sushi and had to pretend to like it throughout their marriage.

Christy-Lynn is always running away. She grew-up with a mother who loved alcohol and drugs more than her daughter. She ran away from from foster care at sixteen. After eight years of marriage, Christy-Lynn is woken up by the cops to find out her husband Stephen was dead after his car skidded off a bridge into icy water. To make matters worse, the best selling crime novelist wasn't alone in the car, there was a woman with him. After being hounded by the press, Christy-Lynn runs away from the life she had with her husband and ends up in a small town in Virginia. She starts her life over. She makes friends, opens a bookstore and even gets a cat. Then she discovers more secrets her husband kept from her. Christy-Lynn can't move on from the past, no matter how many times she runs away. She stops herself from truly falling in love even when it's right in front of her. She's doesn't want children because she she's afraid of becoming like her mom.

I really enjoyed the book. The characters, story line and writing style. I sometimes had a hard time with Christy-Lynn. She would ask everyone for advice and then do the exact opposite. I pretty much figured out what would happen to the little girl. What are the chances that Wade would be living in the same town Christy-Lynn decided to make her new home? I felt like I knew everything about Christy-Lynn and nothing about Stephen. I was happy that Wade was there to confront Ray, because I figured as soon as he saw dollar signs he would show up. At least Rhetta was going to be properly cared for and still be near Iris.

I definitely recomed this book and can't wait to be more books by the author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author, Barbara Davis, for a free electronic ARC of this novel

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I gave it several tries and just had a hard time getting into it. It has a great premise but just didn't follow through for me. It seemed like I had read it before, it was just that predictable.

Sometimes learning to let yourself be happy is the hardest lesson of all…

Though the premise of this book may sounds like it veers towards thriller, it is anything but that—in a good way! Davis’s When Never Comes is a beautiful story of resilience, finding yourself, and learning to be open to happiness. It’s a story about a woman who ran away or hid her entire life, until she was forced out of hiding. This book is an incredible addition to Women’s Fiction in 2018. I think many readers will find this story to be a starting point to reflect on their own lives and identify the ghosts we all have following us around.

Christine lives an enviable life…

Married to handsome, charismatic, best-selling author Stephen Ludlow, book-editor Christine has the perfect marriage. They live in the very house one of Stephen’s books was filmed in for the movie-adaptation. They have no children (by choice), and Christine has plenty of the independence and solitude she craves.

Christine has worked hard to shed Christy-Lynn…

Despite the outward perfection of Christine’s life, she has a dark past she’d prefer to hide from the world—even from her own husband. Christine grew up as Christy-Lynn Parker—the child of an addict who spent her life taking care of the very mother who should be caring for her. Christy-Lynn was never able to make friends because of a string of evictions, a parade of strange men through her home, and finally a foster home that she was forced to run away from. Now, Christy-Lynn has found peace, but not happiness, in her life with Stephen. While he is off basking in his fame, Christine is left with the independence and solitude she found comfort in as a child.

And then Christine finds herself in the spotlight…

Christine awakens to a knock on the door from the police, and some shocking news. Stephen was in a car accident and she is being asked to come identify his body. But there’s more—Christine is also asked to identify a second body. The body of a young blond woman who was in the car with her husband. As Christine’s world unravels, and the press are hounding her for answers, Christine does the only thing she knows—she runs. But this time, the running leads her to a place where she may finally be able to create her own life, the one thing she has never had.

Reflection

This is truly a story of resilience. Christine has spent so much of her life trying to just survive, that she has never really lived. With a childhood marked by pain and struggle that no child should know, Christine has developed a fear of loving anyone. And in turn, Christine has never really experienced the security and safety of someone else loving her.

When Christine runs and ends up in the charming town of Sweetwater, she finds an opportunity to not only escape the shock of her husband’s secrets, but to create a new life separate from who she was. With her new life Christine is able to do things she was never able to in the past—make friends and choose a new career. And most importantly, Christine is able to learn that happiness is something she can choose. When she stops letting others dictate her life, Christine opens up a world of opportunities for herself that she never dared dream of.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, to Barbara Davis, and to NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is really a 4.5 stars book. It is an interesting story and the characters are believable. Christy-Lynn is the main character. The story goes back and forth between her horrible childhood and her life as an adult. Christy-Lynn’s adult life was turned upside down by the discovery that her famous author husband was not all she thought - by a long shot. Christy-Lynn discovers she has to open some of the closed doors of her past to move forward in her future. This isn’t always easy but the author helps the reader see and understand the process. I would definitely recommend this book to family and friends ~ as a matter of fact, I already have. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for allowing me to read an advance copy for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not care for this novel. I didn’t connect with Christy Lynn and didn’t really care where her story went. Super predictable.

Child abuse is real. Sometimes the scars are invisible, oozing wound that are deep inside their soul. In When Never Comes, Barabara Davis brings this issues to life.
This is a captivating read. A well written tear-jerker story that had me turning pages as I stayed with Christy through the entire ordeal that was her life.

This book was an interesting story about a woman struggling to find herself. Overall I liked the journey of Christy-Lynn. I liked the idea of a woman not knowing who she is and where she fits. The story has a lot of major themes that were important, such as friendship, independence, and self esteem. I did find that the story dragged towards the middle. There was lots and lots of repeating the same major conflict over and over. I did find myself hoping the resolution would come quicker and hoping the story would end. This book reminds me of a Hallmark movie, it was very predictable, but despite this the story was told well. The characters were genuine. A very sweet tale. I recommend this book for those that enjoy a heartwarming and easy to read book. Thank you Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a free copy. All opinions are my own.

This story captivated me from start to finish. When Never Comes is an emotionally engaging, compelling, beautiful, uplifting, and simultaneously heart breaking and heart warming story. This is the story of Christy-Lynn, awoken in the middle of the night with the news that her husband has died in an accident. At the morgue to identify his body, she's given the news that he was not alone in the car and a mystery woman has also died. Hounded by the press, she escapes town and hides away in a small town in Virginia. Christy-Lynn begins to rebuild her life and put her past behind her. Told in alternating timelines, we get flashbacks to Christy-Lynn growing up with an addict mother and eventually making her way into the foster care system. As she begins to move forward in her new life, she is haunted by her past and by this mystery woman. She begins to investigate this woman and her connection to her husband. Will she be able to move forward and forgive the people who have hurt her the most? Will she be able to build a life she loves from the ashes of her past? This was a wonderful story of redemption, forgiveness, family, and how the events of our past do not define us. For me, this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars (rounded up from 4.5). Thank you @amazonpublishing for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! I rather enjoyed this novel by Ms. Davis it was well-written, fast-paced & held my interest throughout. I wouldn't say that this was a mystery per se but it was edgy and kept me wanting more. Christie-Lynn's emotions after Stephen death beside his mistress were very relatable. This was my first novel written by Ms. Davis and I look forward to diving into the whatever else she has to offer! Great read.

I couldn’t get this book to properly download! Still looking forward to reading it, I’ll purchase it when it becomes available!

When Never Comes by Barbara Davis was the best book I think I will read this year.

I’m not going to give a synopsis of the book - you can read that on the back cover. What I strive to do is personalize the review.

The story took my breath away. Christy-Lynn, has everything and nothing going for her. Christy-Lynn had all the money in the world but she was devoid of any ability to love, care or trust.

Christy-Lynn’s journey to become able to accept love and care and to learn how to trust is outlined by Barbara Davis’s beautiful prose.

The author brings every single character to life - not just the main characters and the more you read the more you become invested.

This book would be an excellent Book Club read.

I would like to thank Net Galley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A compeling story line ,with the main character second doubting herself.Good plot,like the wzy tbe story ended,could not put the book down,a real page turner will definstely recommend this book.

Widow (Christine) struggles to move on after husband (Stephen) dies in a car accident, along with an unknown woman (Honey). Who was the woman, and why was she in the car with him?

In order to avoid the media frenzy surrounding the death of her bestselling crime novelist husband and subsequent media scandal surrounding the unknown woman who died along with him, Christy-Lynn (aka Christine) moved to the small town of Sweetwater, Virginia to start over. There, she made friends (Missy and Dar) and used the insurance money to purchase a home and the Crooked Spine bookstore. But, what happened when her life was turned upside yet again? Is it true that "Sometimes complications are really just gifts in disguise?" Did she embrace the changes, or run away yet again? Find out in this heartwarming story that brought tears to my eyes at the end!

Trigger warning: Drowning and Rape

Thank you to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Location: Clear Harbor Maine, Monck's Corner South Carolina, and Sweetwater Virginia

Things have never gone easily for Christy-Lynn and just as she thinks they might be, well life throws her a curve. More accurately, her husband does it. Stephen was not only cheating on her, he also had a child. Christ-Lynn, for the first time in her life, has to make a decision to deal with her demons and make a choice. There are, as some have pointed out, some plot holes here but it's a good read. More importantly, it has a big heart and a happy ending. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this for a good, well written positive read.

Christy-Lynn believed she had finally found happiness after a chaotic childhood when she married novelist Stephen Ludlow, but after a car accident leaves him dead, she wonders if she really ever knew him at all. Stephen wasn’t alone in that car, he had a woman with him and when the story hits the press, it’s more than Christy-Lynn can take. She goes into hiding, but she doesn’t roll over and play dead. She learns that her husband and his girlfriend had a child together, a little girl. Iris is now living a life of poverty with her great-grandmother, but it won’t be long until she’s turned over to Social Services and foster care. Christy-Lynn knows all too well the horror that awaits Iris in the foster care system, and has to dig deep within herself to find the strength to help the defenseless child

When Never Comes by Barbara Davis is a great read with a lot of emotional ups and downs. When Christy-Lynn’s husband drives off a bridge with an unknown half-dressed young woman in the car her life takes a dramatic turn. Part of her world is gone in an instant - but is it just the push she needs to discover and build a life of her own? This story has some excellent elements of surprise and I loved the small town descriptions and friendships. I received an ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Barbara Davis and I can say, it will not be the last. A totally compelling story line. A bit of the past is revealed throughout, a sort of second story line, that makes us understand the main character, Christy-Lynn as the story unfolds. Her famous author husband's car runs off the bridge and he's found dead. Bad enough, but he was not alone. The way the story is told helps us understand Christy-lynn and her reactions to things. She's been hurt, struggled, had to be an adult when her addict mother would not or could not and she feels things differently than most people just as she doesn't let herself feel other things at all. Extremely powerful story of someone who deserves to be loved and who slowly finds out that forgiveness is sometimes the only way to move forward to love.

When Never Comes held me emotionally captive, savoring the way this beautiful story evolves, losing sleep, loving each page. When Never Comes - a perfect title, tells the heartbreak of Christy-Lynn's painful life as a child of an addict. She runs away from every terror, every hurt she ever experienced, every joy she never had. It begins with the panic of that dreaded 2:00 a.m. phone call. Her marriage to the famous author Stephen Ludlow was over, he was found dead in a car accident, a semi-naked blonde next to him. Christy-Lynn is numb, she barely escapes the media frenzy and runs away again, to try and find out what happened, not knowing how, just knowing she has been blindsided and needs to get out of town where she is not known. Alternating chapters rich in detail tell about her past childhood, and how the present day Christy-Lynn tries to figure out how to live. She is facing new challenges of who she is, stuffing down the hurt, the endless raw grief holding her hostage, hoping she can find love ... answers to put the past behind her and the closed doors. My heart just raced, holding my breath, I loved this book that brought back some of my own memories... like the cover of this book, a dreamy one.

Christine (Christy-Lynn) is woken in the middle of the night to the news that her husband, a bestselling author, was in a car accident and did not survive. After identifying the body, Christine is informed that he was not alone in the car. Who was the half-naked woman in the car? Does she really want the answers? How well did she really know her husband? These are the questions Christine must ask herself after fleeing from her home and the reporters hounding her for answers. Christine lands in Sweetwater, Virginia only to come face to face with her husband’s frenemy, Wade Pierce. As Christine learns the secrets her husband so effectively kept from her, will her past keep her from the life she never thought she deserved?

I guessed where this story was heading, but it in no way prevented me from enjoying the story as it played out. I found myself both wanting to hug and yell at Christine, and I’m so proud of the decisions she made in her life.

4.5 Stars

Christy-Lynn had an awful childhood with an addict mother. She marries and tries to forget her childhood. When her husband is killed in an accident, Christy-Lynn's life is turned upside down. .Christy-Lynn has to rebuild her life and learn to trust again. I really liked Christy-Lynn. She is strong, smart, and loving. This is a story of secrets, friendship, betrayal, and hope. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. All opinions are my own.