Loved this book by Nicole Bart! When Jessica discovers her husband has been involved in a horrific accident, her life shifts drastically. Home with two sons, Jessica and her husband have been living apart due to his strange behaviors. As more is revealed about his death and the strange things left behind after his death, Jessica finds herself searching for the truth. Her son, Gabe is adopted and this story is intertwined with letters from Jessica's husband and Gabe's birth mother. Her older son is dealing with some issues at school and is showing typical teenage behavior. Jessica must relay on her father, step mother and her best friend to help her through her emotional struggles. This story had all the great elements of a mystery and kept me on the edge of my seat! I will look forward to more by Nicole Baart! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely amazing!! I had it on my kindle and read it in a day. I couldn't stay away from it. Jess is one of my all time favorite main characters. I related to her as a mom and a single mom doing the best she could. This book is not listed as a thriller, but it definitely reads like one.

This my friends, is the definition of a page turner! I was hooked from the very beginning and raced through the pages until the very end. This domestic thriller pulls you in with a mystery and keeps you guessing, yet is able to pull on your heartstrings and evoke warm emotions. Jessica is newly separated from her husband and raising her two sons in small town Iowa. One son is biological, one son is adopted. One morning she gets a phone call that changes her life forever. I won’t give away too much but I adored this book and I hope you will too! For me, You Were Always Mine was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @atriabooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Favorite Quotes:

The night was black, the sky cast iron. It was hard and cold and jealous, swallowing up the glow of their headlights so that they had to squint at the dark road. At some point, they had passed from prairie to forest, and the starless sky above them had filled with the shadows of twisted branches. They were bare and peculiar, gnarled fingertips that seemed to reach for them. But when Jess turned her attention to the gloom, they were nothing more than wood and wind, hollow with the echo of silence.

The Deputy led them inside the building, past the reception desk and down a long hallway into a waiting room that seemed poised for bad news.

Apparently grief and anger were secret lovers because Jess tipped into blind rage so quickly it left her teetering.

For a split second, Max’s tough boy facade cracked. It was a hairline fracture, but Jess could just glimpse the child beneath. Her Max was in there somewhere, the tow-headed little boy who used to sit on her lap with his head against her chest and tap out her heartbeats with his fingertips. “I can feel your heart, mama,” he used to say. “It’s singing to me.”

Jess had been dreaming. No, not a dream, a nightmare, and she remembered it in ribbons that seemed to float just outside her vision. When she thought she caught a glimpse, it was gone. But the feeling remained, the sense that something, someone was just behind her, reaching.


My Review:


This may well be the most superbly written book I have picked up all year. I was torn while reading. While I was fully invested in the heart squeezing mystery and eager and desirous of absorbing every clue and solving the murder; I was totally in awe of the depth, power, and beauty of the writing and noticed my pace had significantly slowed in order to savor all the lovely words and descriptive observations. Ms. Baart is a skilled and clever wordsmith; her brilliantly crafted story was thoughtfully written, highly evocative and profoundly poignant. I was enthralled and will be raving about this one for months. Pinky swear!

Some may call this book slow, but it felt more like an unveiling. For the ending to have full dramatic effect, we need the build-up. With a fantastic opening scene, Baart let us glimpse this amazing story, then hides it away in an equally compelling story of a family struggling with grief, regret, guilt, and the daily trials of a busy household.

I could reiterate what other reviewers are saying. The plot is great. The twist is shocking. The story builds without the reader even noticing that clues have been revealed. But what I really want to talk about is the emotional content, especially the feelings of being a wife, mom, and daughter. Spoiler: Nicole Baart’s depiction of these feeling is on point.

After finishing this book, I know the description of what it feels like to be a mother going through ordinary and extraordinary circumstances is going to stick with me. I feel like this was a woman who gets it. I want to be friends with Jessica, but more, I want to hug her and tell her she is doing a great job.

Even if you are not a mom, you will still love this book, I just connected with this facet of the novel.


* Special thanks to Nicole Baart, TLC Book Tours, Atria Books and Netgalley for providing a copy of You Were Always Mine in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second Nicole Baart read - I'm drawn in by her writing style and I like her stories too. This one had a lot of layers and moving parts and it was a good ride.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy.

I myself was adopted and have never thought too deeply about the insecurities/vulnerabilities that adoptive parents face everyday. For me this novel was more about that than the ‘thrill’. I was not surprised upon seeing that Baart is the parent of adoptive children, because her writing has a very personal feel to it. Wish this had been a bit more thrilling. Still enjoyed. 4 stars.

I loved this book.  I loved the characters and I wanted to be friends with them.  I could really relate to Jess, she seemed so real to me.  The story kept my interest and was the perfect blend of women's fiction and thriller written beautifully and paced perfectly.

I am giving this book 4.5 stars because the characters were so well developed and the pacing was so right on and also because I appreciated the statistics regarding open and closed adoptions, biological parents who want to be found and those who don't and why.  I found it very interesting as I have several friends who were adopted and some have looked for their biological parents and others have not.  I never really understood not wanting to find your biological parent or child, but after reading this I have a better understanding.

A delicious read, perfect for the Halloween season (or anytime, really!). I was immediately drawn into the sweet love story set in a small town full of suspicions about the legendary Headless Horseman. Although protagonist, Katrina Van Tassel, finds herself in a seemingly hopeless situation, she is mighty and bold in her quest to remedy it. She is a superb character who I greatly admired. This is a fabulous book that I will not soon forget.

What an addicting and compelling read. It was a good mix of fiction and thriller and left me reading late into the night. Loved the character development! I did not want to put this book down

All seemed well and good for Jessica. She had her two little boys and was living a good life. That is until a tradgedy in another state brings unexpected issues to her life. Trying to balance the truth and lies that she is finding she doesn't know where to turn or what to believe. She is also dealing with signs of a reappearance of her son Gabe's birth mother. Though a fully closed adoption she is finding it more and more obvious that her estranged husband may be in contact with her.

Another amazing story by Nicole Baart

Slow moving family drama about a woman trying to put the pieces back together after the unexpected and suspicious death of her husband. This is about a single mother grappling with a loss while trying to maintain a solid foundation for her two sons, 13-year-old Max and 6-year-old Gabe. The secrets she uncovers shine a light on the ugly side of adoption.

Jess, a mother of two, is stunned when she receives word that her husband, Evan, was killed in a hunting accident. Jess and Evan were separated at the time of his death. While she had suspicions about Evan’s behavior, she didn’t realize he was keeping so many secrets from her, especially secrets related to the adopted six-year-old son, Gabe. Determined to find out what led to her husband’s death, Jess doesn’t realize that she’s about to face her worst nightmare.

While the pacing is slow, it works well with building a suspenseful level of tension. If you are looking for an action-packed thriller, this is not the book for you. Jess is the primary voice and I really liked her character as her struggles to cope with Evan’s death while having to be the primary caregiver for her two boys felt realistic. I wanted to know more about Evan-we get to see bits and pieces of his character through letters and notes, but I was left with some questions about his character. I enjoyed the plot line about adoption, and give Baart kudos for originality. Overall, this was a riveting and compelling read about a mother’s love for her children.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.

I seem to be on a Suspense kick these days, particularly books that are a blend of Women's Fiction and Mystery. I managed to read You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart in one day, and loved every bit of it. The story developed at a nice pace. The mystery behind the death of Jessica's estranged husband and the story of Gabe's adoption kept me turning the pages, wondering how all the pieces fit together. And there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. If you enjoy the blend of Women's Fiction and a little mystery, pick up this book!

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book!

You Were Always Mine is another brilliant book by Nicole Baart. She's definitely an auto-buy author and has quickly become one of my favorite authors!! This is such an edge of your seat, page-turning domestic thriller, but it's also a story that tackles the complexities and powerful themes of secrets, death, grief, loss, hope, love, adoption (and it's dark, perverse side) but most of all the power of families of every kind and the unconditional love of a mother. It's such a multilayered and complex story that I become completely emotionally invested in the story and the characters!

Baart brings her own experiences and first-hand knowledge as an adoptive mother and adoption advocate and uses it to bring this story of Jessica and Evan Chamberlain, who are separated after 15 years of marriage, have one teenage biological son Max age 13, and one young adopted son, Gabe age 5 to life. I think that I really connected to this book in a personal way since I have three adopted cousins, one who has been my best friend since almost birth since we are the same age and grew up together, and I've have witnessed first-hand their searches, with and without success, for their birth mom or families. I also saw my aunt's palpable fear that she would be replaced in their heart as their mom if they did find and connect with their biological mom, so I understood quite a bit where Jess' thoughts were coming from during the book about wanting only a closed adoption. I appreciate the authenticity that Baart gives her book about adoption and love these themes in her psychologically thrilling books!

I'm not going to give away too much of more of the plot here because you really need to read this one for yourself and then you'll understand just how important this book is, especially with its deep themes and messages. It's well-written, which it would be because Baart is a smart, prolific writer, perfectly plotted, and the characters are just fantastic--each of them adds something unique and special to the story. I just loved Jess and empathized with her as a mother and the feelings she had that she'd move heaven and earth to defend her children and fight to keep her family together, especially after a shocking death happens that devastates the entire family.

This is a story that will make you cry at times because it is heartwrenching but also keeps you on the edge of your seat as you become a detective with Jess! The ending was a bit shocking, but I did suspect a certain character of being guilty of everything bad happening in the book, and I was right! I hated that I was right because it just shows how good people get messed up with pure evilness for what they think is good reasons. Oh, and the chapters have these seemingly random statistics at the top with a woman's name and other info that had me so, so confused in the beginning, but by the end, it all fell into place perfectly. So clever and shrewd! Well-played, Nicole Baart!!

The story is just compelling, emotional, and addictive. I highly recommend You Were Always Mine, which published on October 16, 2018!! Make sure you grab a copy because you will love this story as much as I did!

**Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC to read in exchange for my fair and honest review.**

I love Nicole Baart's novels and this is her best one yet! It kept me reading long into the night with characters that I'm still thinking about days after the last page. I highly recommend that you add it to your reading list if you want to read a book that will keep you invested throughout.

Jessica and Evan have two sons - Max at 13 is a typical unreachable teenager and Gabe at 5 who is adopted and a bright and shiny child loved by all. Jessica and Evan have just split up and both are hoping that it isn't permanent as they try to figure out how to share taking care of their children. Gabe was adopted under a closed adoption and there wasn't supposed to be any communication between the birth mother and the adopted family but it appears early on that she was communicating with Evan without Jessica knowing about it. A horrific tragedy happens in the family and they struggle to adjust to their new normal. At the same time, outside influences are making life even more difficult for the family. Will they be able to survive as a family and will love win out?

This is a terrific page turner full of intrigue and suspense. It's a fantastic story about the love a mother has for her children and what lengths she will go to keep them safe.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This book!! I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint! It was my first Nicole Baart and it won’t be my last. I was hooked from the beginning and it was completely engrossing. I love that it focused on the issue of adoption but it was so much more than that. I loved the mystery about Jessica’s husband and it kept me guessing until the very end. The characters were incredibly detailed and I felt like I could totally connect with what they were going though on this journey of what makes a family and who the people around you really are...Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of women's fiction, mysteries and domestic dramas should enjoy this book which delves into the darker side of adoption. Jessica Chamberlain and her husband, Evan are separated parents of two sons. When Evan fails to pick up the boys after school one day, Jessica is both annoyed and concerned as Evan has changed his work schedule, so he can pick them up. Then she receives devastating news which is only the beginning. Soon, Jessica learns that her husband had secrets which involved their youngest son, secrets concerning his adoption, and that her husband has been secretly in contact with their son's birth mother for years.

The book becomes Jessica's quest for the truth as she stumbles upon her husband's secrets, the reader is also shown some interesting statistics which caused me to question and guess what they were and their relevance to the story. Obviously, there is mystery here, but I also appreciated how the author showed that some may not want contact with/from the birth parents, while another person would welcome it. I thought this was done in a non-judgement style and fit nicely into the story-line.

I also appreciated how the Author showed grief and how it affects various family members and how children hear more than we think and are good at doing their own detective work. This book has just enough mystery to keep the pages turning. There is a little bit of a reveal at the end which I did not find to be too shocking. I began to become suspicious of one character but did not guess why this character was setting off my red flags.

This book is not what I would call fast paced but grief and learning with and coping with unsettling news is not fast paced. I found the reactions of the characters to be realistic and spot on. This was a well thought out book that comes to its conclusion nicely - nothing feels rushed nor dragged on in this book. Thought provoking and compelling book about adoption, secrets, relationships, and the search for the truth.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com

Jessica Chamberlain is navigating life as best she can now that she and her husband Evan have separated. When he is killed, Jessica has to face life as a mother of her two sons alone. Max, a teenager, is angry at his mom, angry at the world. He feels if she did not kick him out, their dad would still be there. Gabe, their young adopted son, is loving but has his own developmental issues. It all leads to the private adoption when Jessica finds out that Evan was in contact with Gabe’s biological mother. Was what he finds out the cause of his death?

There are a lot of twists, the most major one I did not see coming, that make this a page turner. As you read Evan’s letters to Gabe’s birth mom, you really start to wonder why would he not tell Jessica and what the heck was going on! There is a fine line between thinking you are doing what is right and actually doing what is right. The best intentions of mice and men…. I liked Jessica. I loved that she followed her intuition despite others not believing her.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for a copy of this book.

While separated and contemplating divorce, Jessica's husband, Evan, dies in a hunting accident. But, he doesn't hunt. In fact, he's a workaholic doctor who provides care at a pay-what-you-can type of clinic. What really happened, and what has he gotten himself mixed up in?

I was intrigued by the story line (I usually love books about adoption), but never connected with any of the characters. Even though I was surprised by the ending, it wasn't enough to raise my rating another star.

I received an advance copy of this book from a MomAdvice/Author Chat giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Location: Auburn, Iowa

This book by Nicole Baart came highly recommended to me by my friend Holly over at Dressed to Read and I’m so glad I was able to read this book! What an emotional roller coaster this book of domestic suspense took me on! That’s the genre I landed on, after seeing other reviewers comment on how this one is hard to place. It is not a psychological thriller in the modern sense of the word, though I think it would classify as one if it were written two decades ago. It doesn’t have that wild twisty ride of a thriller. It really is more of a novel of suspense filled with a deep, emotional character study about this woman who is put in an impossible situation, and does what she thinks is best for her children.

This is a beautiful story with a dark psychological suspense undertone that will have you hooked until the very last reveal. I can see why Holly loves this author so much—she has a way with writing characters and moral dilemmas that were thought-provoking, insightful, and added to the authenticity of the story.

About the Book

Jessica Chamberlain lives with her two sons in a small Iowa town. Recently, Jessica and her husband Evan separated under one of those impossible circumstances where they realized they’d just stopped trying in their marriage. Evan was wrapped up in his career as a family practitioner and Jessica was wrapped up in motherhood and their two sons.

And then one day not long after Evan moved out, Jessica receives a phone call. They’ve found a body in Minnesota with no personal belongings to identify, save for a slip of paper in his pocket that led them to her. In a single instant Jessica’s world will change. How can this seemingly unrelated crime possibly derail her life? As the pieces fall into place, Jessica realizes that the mystery may lead back to her and Evan’s adopted son Gabriel.

Gabriel became the Chamberlain’s through a closed adoption. It is what everyone wanted at the time. But now it seems there may be more to the story of Gabriel’s birth, and Jessica can’t protect them from the truth much longer. With a ferocity that only a mother can show, Jessica tries desperately to hold her family together in the most trying of times. Will the love of a mother be enough to weather this storm?

Reflection

What a beautifully written novel this is! Baart writes with authenticity that had this story creeping into my heart and taking hold of my thoughts. This felt like a story that could be happening in my town, even. And that made the subtle horror of the situation have a monumental impact.

One element that seems all too familiar and was written so well was the relationship between Jessica and Evan. I have a good friend that did pre-marital counseling with her husband, and one of the issues that she said they spoke to their counselor about was always prioritizing their marriage, even before their children. It seemed so counter-intuitive. But actually one of the main reasons marriages fall apart is that partners forget to prioritize themselves. And when that happens, their children aren’t getting the best of a unified family anymore. In this story, we see the aftermath of this realization. Jessica wonders who it was that stopped trying first, and if it is too late to reconcile. This situation happens more than we realize. Even with love there from both sides, there needs to be a continued effort to choose to stay together.

And then we have the dynamic of Gabriel’s adoption. One thing that resonated in this story is how difficult of a position an adoption is all around. Both parties are having to make a decision on behalf of a child who isn’t old enough to decide for themselves whether the biological mother should be involved. Jessica feels so strongly that a closed adoption is the way to go. And Jessica is a truly outstanding mother—that is without a doubt. But what an impossible decision that is! I loved the way Baart discusses both sides of this issue. There really isn’t a right or wrong answer. Every situation is unique. And what should be done if one party changes their mind later? What then?

I am so thrilled to have this book out in the world. I think the story will have meaning and provoke thought on these complex issues in so many readers. I know that I won’t think about adoption the same way again, because I now see so much of the nuance. What a credit to Baart’s writing!

Thank you to the team at Atria Books for my copy to review.