Lauren K Denton is an auto-buy author for me. Not only does she write legitimate southern fiction, she also writes *great* dialogue and very honest relationships. The One You're With is her newest release and I think a lot of people will love it. It's about relationships and growth, honesty and how the choices we make can echo far into the future. If those choices come back to haunt us, how will we react? With age and wisdom on our side, will we shirk the responsibility or will we shoulder the weight of the unexpected and the unimaginable?

The One You're With is a perfect title for the name of this Lauren K Denton novel! Edie and Mac are living a perfect life with their perfect children until a 17 year old, pregnant girl shows up on his doorstep and announces she is his daughter from a summer fling he had before he married Edie. He is shocked, as is his family, who had no idea he had ever had a relationship besides his loving wife.

Chaos ensues, however methinks that this is all overdone. At the time the relationship took place, Edie and Mac, who had been together since they were children had broken up and spent that summer apart...he was at the beach working on a dock and she was in New York City, working for an interior designer. What happened then had no bearing on their relationship because there wasn't one. This child surprised him as much as it did her. Yes, she was angry with him, but she did some flirting of her own back then, with his roommate and she always wondered where it would have led if they had been near each other instead of a thousand miles apart, and if she had made the right choice in marrying Mac. Fortunately, she doesn't hold this against the girl and supports her in the remainder of her pregnancy. All in all, I enjoyed the novel, even though I felt the plot and the emotion were rather contrived.

Thank you to the author, Thomas Nelson - Fiction and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so good! It’s about family, friends and what is and could of been. Mac and Ellie seem to have it all. One day a girl shows up at Mac’s office and it changes everything. Suddenly they question decisions made, paths taken, secrets not told.
I really enjoyed this book and could have finished it in one day. You won’t want to put this book down.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Love love love this book. The setting. The characters. The back and forth between 2000 and 2021. I’ve enjoyed all of Lauren’s books but this is my favorite.

Relationships sometimes are taken for granted in the busyness of everyday life. Edie and Mac and their two children have a busy happy life, but it gets thrown for a loop when a young woman shows up and announces that Mac is her father. Each of the main characters have to come to terms with the new reality of life.

We all kept our truths from each other and look where it got us. Almost twenty years later and we’re only just now realizing how tangled it really was. Still is.”
Do you ever wonder where your life would have gone if you had made different choices in your past, especially if you had kept these other choices and decisions to yourself? That’s exactly what this book is about. Mac and Edie had been “that couple” all through high school and college that everyone thought would end up together and lead the perfect lives, he a doctor and she an interior designer. Before the summer of their senior year in college, the two break up and go to different places, contemplating their lives and futures.
As we read through alternating timelines between these two characters as we as their past and present, we soon learn that during that summer spent apart, they made choices that affected their whole lives. And it isn’t until almost twenty years later, that the price of one of those choices appears.
I really did not know what to expect from this bittersweet and reflective story, not having read this author before. It was opportunity to learn that no matter how much information we may have about a situation, it may not always be enough to make the best decision, but it may be the best decision at the time. “There’s no way to know. No way to know what either of us would have done if we’d know everything. If we’d known the whole truth.”
I read this book in two days, which has not happened for me it quite a long time. I’m glad to have found something that sucked me and provided me with much to think about each time I put the book down.

This was a well written women’s fiction that kept me engaged throughout the story. The book was well written with true to life characters which drove the story forward. The timeline flipped back and forth between present day and twenty years prior which helped in understanding the motives of the characters. The true depth of the story was the examination of friendship, love, marriage and family. The author did a great job delving into all the emotions of Edie, Mac, Graham and Riley as well as the secondary characters. The dialogue was authentic as they navigated this change in their lives. #TheOneYou’reWith #LaurenKDenton #NetGalley

I received an digital arc from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Lauren K. Denton has a wonderful way of creating characters that feel so real they practically jump off the page. I loved this story about Mac and Edie Swan and how the choices we’ve made in the past can have long term effects. The novel bounces back and forth between the present day and the summer of 2000, and while some novels like that can become confusing, that isn’t a problem in this one. Even though I’ve come to expect a happy ending to Denton’s novels, she writes so beautifully that I don’t even mind the predictability. This novel is the perfect summer escape.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A well written story that explores how the past can affect the present, even when you think you have left it long behind. It also explores what happens when a marriage is hanging by a thread and a completely unexpected issue arises.

I have read (more like devoured) every novel of Laruen K. Denton's thus far and The One You're With is yet another that I read pretty quickly. She's becoming yet another author whom I look forward to their releases every year. Her novels aren't grand epic tales but interesting delves into families and relationships.

This novel was a bit of back and forth between the past and present. Sometimes this works, sometimes this doesn't and I found for this novel it did work.

I really wasn't sure where everyone would end up in this book and I am happy with how everything turned out. It was a great novel to settle in with over a weekend and I imagine many will enjoy it this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read each of Lauren’s books, and loved this one at least as well as my two previous favorites, The Hideaway and Glory Road. I had a hard time putting it down! This author seemed to really understand somehow the complicated relationships involved. And the way it was tied up was great!

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review.

In The One You’re With, Mac and Edie are forced to recollect decisions that they each made 20 years ago… including their past and current loves. How they choose to handle their own and each others’ choices, when they eventually come to light, defines their family forever.

I enjoyed Lauren K. Denton’s take on today’s family with its imperfections, secrets, and emotions. Her characters could’ve been plucked out of small town Alabama this week with their believable issues and real life solutions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Publishing, and Lauren K. Denton for an Advanced Readers Copy of The One You’re With.

This was the sweet and heartfelt story of Mac and Edie, long-time sweethearts who marry and have two lovely children, Thomas and Avery. But one day Riley, a stranger to them, shows up in Mac's office and he receives the shock of his life. Secrets emerge about Mac and Edie's summer apart when they were broken up. Now, settled and happy, their lives are about to be upended, and each one of them must re-examine their marriage vows and determine if they can heal or split up. It's a lovely and timely look at a couple's attempt to overcome past mistakes and do what's best for their family. Denton addresses themes of obsession, redemption, and forgiveness with ease. Surely not the last novel of hers I will read!

Way too long although decently written, but I found the plot a bit ridiculous. Young couple break up, see other people, make up, get married and a secret comes to light twenty years later. I mean, big deal. They weren't married or even dating. Much ado about nothing in my opinion

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own. As always, what a great story by Ms. Denton. Wow. The characters are real, the storyline believable, and just a truly good book. Grab this one as soon as it’s released!

I really loved this book! I liked how it flipped between present time and the past to explain the story of Edie and Mac. The book is full of drama and secrets that keeps you interested in the story. I felt connected to the characters and how realistic the story line is. I would definitely recommend this book to others!

Perfect women’s fiction with a hint of “southern.” Loved the modern marriage ideals and the way Denton makes the reader really feel Edie’s resentment without coming right out and saying it. Helpful message about people changing, marriages changing, and making sure you’ve figured out your long term goals before looking for something short term that sounds better in the moment.
Totally fresh take on the illegitimate child trope - and I loved every minute.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Edie, Mac, and Graham have been friends for as long as they can remember. Things take a turn the summer of 2000 when they take a summer break to pursue their own passions before college ends. Nineteen years later, the Swan Family gains a new member from an unexpected source. Can they all adjust and adapt? The decisions made and the re-evaluations of their lives makes this a compelling and emotional read.

I received a complimentary copy of The One You’re With from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This was a well written book, it held my attention and evoked emotions. Sadly, I feel like I had already read it from just reading the synopsis. No detours from the expected outcomes... Obviously, one of the couple no longer had a choice, but the other still did. I feel like it was all a bit contrived and somewhat unrealistic—especially the choices made during their summer of indiscretions. Mac, Edie, and Graham all seemed to make unrealistic, but predictable decisions. I was satisfied with the ending, but the journey was a bit too tidy.

Secrets from the past test a couple's relationship. The scenario may be familiar, but the characters are well thought out. I almost thought I knew some of these people from their descriptions and their mannerisms. There was no sinister plot twist or mysterious occurrences in the book, so you feel relaxed reading but you want to know the outcome. What happened? How did this happen?. We often wonder did we make the right choice. This book was a great choice. I found this book to be a satisfying read and would gladly read more books by this author.