Only Ever Her is an enjoyable read, but I found the story a little difficult in that the story jumped from character to character, their back stories, their now stories and it never seemed to settle into the story of Annie, the missing bride.

The pace of this story was quick, with only about a week between the beginning and the end, but I wanted more about Annie and much more about her history. My biggest thing was who lets a 3 year old testify as to what happened in a murder trial? The whole rush to judgment thing was touched on, but it was never really explored in-depth. Also little "surprises" popped up every little while, but weren't ever really explored either.

I think this has the bones to be a really good book, but it just seemed to be missing something. What that was, I'm not quite sure, but maybe more Annie.

My favorite Marybeth Mathew whalen’s book yet. Anna’s wedding is just days away when she goes missing. This is not unusual for Anna. Her mother was murdered when she was three and she was the only witness. However, has she told her future husband everything she needs to tell him? Is the man in prison for the murder the right man? Is Anna in love with her high school boyfriend? So many questions and it’s a really good read to find all the answers.

I tried very had to get into this book but it was not for me. I could not empathize with any of the characters and so didn't care what was going on with them. I did not finish this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

2.5/5 stars

Only Ever Her is my first book by this author. I think that it is supposed to be a mystery. But honestly it was not overly suspenseful.

There are multiple 3rd person narrators. The narrators are: Annie, Laurel, Faye, Clary and Kenny. The story is about Annie (26), who is about to get married. She has secrets, as do all of the narrators. Faye is Annie's aunt. Clary is Faye's daughter. Kenny is Annie's high school friend. And Laurel is a reporter.

Having so many narrators is not my favorite. Plus I didn't really connect with any of them. It was too many IMO. Something interesting would happen at the end of a chapter and then sometimes you would have to wait multiple chapters to continue that part of the story.

There is a sub-plot about Annie's mom being murdered in the past. I did find that interesting. But otherwise I did not love how this story was told. One example would be that at the beginning of the book one of the characters went to a lawyer's office. That was such an intriguing part of the story. And I was very interested to see what would happen there. But then that character's chapter ended. And when the author returned to her she was somewhere else.


I love suspense thrillers. But this book was not that. Also, I have seen this book advertised as Women's Fiction. I love that genre. But this didn't feel like that genre to me either, especially as romance was such a small part of the story. There was a reveal at the end that had potential. But the overall ending just fell a bit flat for me. I really wanted more from this book.

What an amazing thriller! Absolutely loved it; every roller coaster moment of it. This book was full of surprises, and there was no boring moment. I highly recommend it.

I loved this book. The characters were all do relatable, and the story was beautifully written. It was reasonably complex but easy to follow, with just the right touches of mystery, love, tragedy, and hope. I enjoyed When We Were Worthy but I liked this one even more. Will definitely read more by this author!

This was just alright. Kept me interested but I didn’t find myself up till 2 am finishing the book because I HAD to know what happened.

Ok, I loved this book. Marybeth has great writing style, however, this one is by far my favorite. She brings Southern to life in the pages of Only Ever Her. The characters are a trademark of MB and I fell in love with these characters. Their struggles were well played out and the wrap up was absolutely perfect. I hope people go into this book knowing it is not a thriller. The characters are strong and the family dynamics fascinating. I loved the mystery angle and the slow burn it brought in this novel. I highly recommend this book.

I was really excited to read this based on the description and I wasn’t disappointed. It was engaging and challenging in wanting to keep reading and trying to guess at the plot. The multiple viewpoints helped to get deeper into the characters psyche and feel more connected. The cover work is also very pretty with the flowers and very eye catching! Nice work!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book looked like it was going to be really good but it fell really flat. I didn't really connect with the characters. The end of the book is where it really picks up.

This has been the first book I have read in some time that I could just not put down. Annie is to be married very soon and has returned home to make her final preparations. She takes time to catch up with friends and then mysteriously disappears in the same area her mom was murdered in years ago. I loved the character development of this book and that it was told in multiple view points. This book kept me guessing until the very end. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

ONLY EVER HER by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen centers around a wedding...well until the bride, Annie, disappears. Did she run away? Was she taken? What has happened to Annie? The days pass by and Annie is nowhere to be found.
The family is heartbroken as they pray for the best but fear the worst. Secrets start to unravel as everyone comes clean about their own relationship with Annie and each other.
I enjoyed this book even with the underlying sad theme. The characters were well thought out and developed and the setting was beautifully described where I felt I could visually see all the locations throughout the story.
It was a dark theme with hope sprinkled throughout and is a great read for those looking who enjoy light thrillers.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first book by this author and it won’t be my last. I enjoyed this story , it was ok but I wanted more

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.