I really enjoyed this one. I thought the characters were perfectly flawed and easy to connect with in a way I wanted to keep reading.

I really enjoyed the different perspectives as well. Especially in the case of this story and the struggles this couple is going through.

I would say it wasn’t a 5 star for me because it felt slow to take off. It took me a bit to really feel involved and keep reading but once the character and past is developed it is good.

Lauren Denton has masterfully woven another one! The back and forth, the consequences of choices made and tucked away, forgotten somehow until they can no longer be. The path not taken and the opportunity to change or stay the course. I read this is one sitting, put it down and tried to write my review. I found myself reading it again, taking a little more time to savor.
Mac and Edie have a wonderful life, two kids, successful careers, a lovely home, community standing, until the past comes roaring back. That one summer, the decision to part and decide relationship and career choices. The fault lines follow. I found myself cheering on Mac, struggling with integrating his past with the present. Much more compassionate and genuinely remorseful, if not a bit too accommodating of Edie’s anger. I was so very tired of poor pitiful Edie, more concerned with community standing and her oh so impressive career and on and on, no fault here, except Graham.
As the author wisely notes love is a choice and marriage requires that choice to be made over and over again.

My thanks to the author, Lauren Denton and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.

The One You're With is another great work of southern fiction by Lauren Denton. I had the privilege of listening to this story while driving through Alabama which helped it come even more alive for me. The author tackles some tough issues in this book, but all are handled well. The story centers around Mac and Edie who were high school sweethearts, but go their own way one summer in college. They get back together after that summer and have a fabulous life together complete with family and careers. Nineteen years have passed since that summer and one day Mac gets a very unexpected visitor. This person has the potential to turn their whole lives upside down. Readers get a firsthand look at how Mac and Edie work through this and continue to choose each other. "Marriage consisted of choosing the one you married over and over and over again." This is one of my favorite quotes from the book because it is so true!! If you love southern women's fiction and you have not tried a Lauren Denton book, then you are missing out.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this story. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Wow. This book is excellent. I could so feel the struggle these characters went through. Not that I have gone through anything like this but the marriage struggle is real.

Sometimes I wanted Edie to give in and walk away but I knew the right thing to do was to fight for her marriage. And that is what we have to do, we have to fight and we have to choose love.

If you haven’t read a book by Lauren I highly recommend it. This book was amazing.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What happens when you’re moving through life thinking you’ve got it going on, maybe not all is perfection, but generally speaking things are moving along as planned? Successful careers, good friends, happy healthy children and all that one wishes and hopes for. And then there is a knock on the door and challenges everything you’ve strived for and created? I love how this author delves into issues that are real. We journey along with Mac and Edie as it all hits the fan and they navigate the road ahead of them. It is at times somewhat predictable, but still a compelling and great read.

This was a fun read! I love books that start off quick and capture my attention and this book got me! All I wanted to do was sit down and finish this book- I really enjoyed this! It was one of those reads that makes you realize all the people that you see and think have picture perfect lives all have their own personal issues that they have to deal with and struggle through. I connected and loved all the characters and couldn’t even pick whose side I was on with the exposed secret! Definitely recommend this book!

I enjoyed this book a great deal and didn't want to put it down until I had finished it. The book captured my attention from the first few pages. The family's life does seem perfect until the past comes back very unexpectedly. I did have a bit of trouble keeping the past and current story lines as I didn't always catch the move to a different time.

I think this one taught me that decisions made can be kept even when everything changes.

Well written and heartfelt with characters that you care about, The One You're With by Lauren K Denton shows a marriage in a true light. With the struggles and challenges along with the rewards that a couple also gain.
Denton's writing was fantastic and showcases Mac and Edie Swan's life together perfectly.

If you are a lover of clean realistic romances with a lot of family dramatics, without too much drama, then The One You're With will bring you all the feels

A story of life and marriage and love and choices we make. I always enjoy the stories written by this author. Living not far from the area she writes about I can picture the places in my mind as I read. This story is about now and the past and how it can change our future by how we decide to handle truth.
I received an advanced copy from netgalley and the publisher and I thank them for an early copy to read.

I've been a big fan of Lauren K. Denton's previous works. I love the Southern setting and how well she captures that area. Her characters stand out and often I'm thinking about the characters long after I've finished the book. I felt that The One You're With had some of the same trademark things that I've come to love from the previous novels, but I didn't find the same connections with the characters in this book. I think because I couldn't find a connection with any of the characters, the book fell a little short for me.

Well this book was just an emotional delight. I’m a sucker for Southern Fiction as it is, but Denton always does it a bit better for me. She really knows how to write realistic characters with relatable and genuine stories. The One You’re With is probably my favourite of hers to date.⁣
⁣
This story was about the roads we choose not to take, and what that decision means for the future and where we will end up because of choices made so long ago. I found it so easy to put myself in these characters shoes and was constantly wondering what I would do in the same situation. ⁣
⁣
I loved every character, even Edie who I wanted to shake and yell “COMMUNICATE” on more than one occasion. The two timelines from Edie and Mac, present day and past, were done exceptionally well and really contributed to the building of emotion.⁣
⁣
The One You’re With is perfect for readers who love a family drama with heart and soul. And the ending *chefs kiss* - I’ll be thinking of these characters and what the rest of their journey looked like for some time to come!

“THE GOOD LIFE” vs “THE REAL LIFE” Author Lauren K. Denton has a way of writing the stories that get right to the heart of matters. They always reveal the messy parts of relationships and make you stop and contemplate things. This book definitely does that! Mac and Edie Swan were high school sweethearts and now have a beautiful family and have worked together to create the picture of “the good life” in Oak Hill, AL. Mac is the beloved pediatrician and Edie a respected decorator. They have no idea their lives will be irrevocably changed in an instant when a young woman arrives in town and stops by Mac’s office. Immediately, Mac and Edie’s summer apart nineteen years ago has changed everything they have built into “the good life” into “the real life” and now they must decide how they will handle this life changing news. One chooses to react and one chooses to respond. It is interesting to observe their children's response to this news as well. As the story progresses, readers are allowed to see much more into the hearts of Mac and Edie both in the past and present. I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Thomas Nelson & NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without influence.

I am a huge fan of Lauren K Denton and this book did not let me down. Being from the same area as Denton which is where her books are generally set is so fun. You can picture the things she is talking about even when the names are changed. Even without that familiarity this book was a great story. The characters, even with their flaws, were lovable and relatable. The storyline wasn’t extremely predictable and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed this novel.  It "wrecked me" emotionally and made me reevaluate my own marriage a little. I found myself comparing my imagined responses to things with how the characters responded. (Mine were superior, of course.) I appreciated how the author crafted such human reactions - flawed perhaps - but relationships can be messy. Overall, it was an emotional, poignant read. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was unfamiliar with Lauren K. Denton, but the description of her newest book The One You're With caught my attention.

Childhood sweethearts have what appears to be a perfect life with well-established careers and two kids until a blast from their past rocks their world and threatens to end their marriage and perfect existence. Secrets emerge on both sides from the college summer they spent apart which cause them both to wonder if they made the right choice to marry each other. Alternating between the main characters and between the present and the past, The One You're With explores a variety of issues related to mid-life crises, friends, and marriage. An excellent heart-warming book!

I received a complementary copy from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley.

This beautiful story was so well written and covers a variety of topics. To me the key one was of forgiveness and redemption. The book alters between two different times and told in different perspectives. The story revolves around Edie and Mac. As you read you alter between present day (they are married with two kids) to twenty years prior (college age). They seem like the perfect couple living the dream, but that is challenged when a child Mac didn’t know about shows up to meet him. Readers will discover the rest of the story by reading this novel. This book was phenomenal and I highly recommend it! This topic could be applicable to anyone. Many times, people seem to act as if they have everything together, when nothing could be farther from the truth. Even when things seem impossible, it can be possible.
***I was given a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher. This is my honest opinion. Even though I received this copy free, this is my own opinion.

The One Your With is the fifth book by consummate author Lauren K. Denton. Mac and Edie Swan have been a couple for well over two decades and a married couple for 19 of those years. With two children, 10 and 14, a thriving pediatric practice, and an in demand interior designer wife, Mac’s life is just about perfect. That is, perfect until the day an 18 year old pregnant girl presents in his office seeking help from her father.

It is related that the summer between their junior and senior college years Mac and Edie went their separate ways, her to do an internship in NYC under a well known designer and Mac headed for the gulf coast to work at a marina. It was there that Mac met Kat Mills and fathered the daughter that looks so much like him. But Edie wasn’t exactly squeaky clean that summer herself as she engaged in a letter writing relationship with the third person in their small group, Graham Yeager, as they fantasized about opening an architecture and design company of their own in NYC.

How is it that Kat never told Mac she was pregnant? Now that Kat has passed, 19 year old Riley is seeking family and support. But in the process, Mac and Edie’s relationship is tested to the extreme and their children, Avery and Thomas, feel the impact, especially when Riley moves in with the family.

This is a study in relationships and how old actions can easily come back to haunt you. Told with compassion for all the characters, this heartwarming story is a delight. I did enjoy this book and do recommend it!

Do you have a favorite Southern fiction novel? I don’t think I realized that it was a genre until recently, but there’s something about them that just makes me want to curl up with a blanket and settle in for a while.
•
•
Mac and Evie were high school sweethearts who have now been married for seventeen years. The only blip in the relationship was a summer before their senior year of college where they took a break (Friends reference, obviously). During those three months, Mac worked at a marina and Evie did an internship in New York. Now, a couple of things have cropped up from that summer spent apart that will change their lives.
I loved this book! Guess what? I listened to the audio, and it was fabulous. (Someday I’ll actually hold a book again). This isn’t the typical love story, but talks about marriage and the accumulation of all the decisions we make and how they may or may not impact the future. It was told in past and present which made it possible to see how these characters evolved over tIme and grew as a couple. The outcome of this novel wasn’t surprising to me, but I enjoyed every bit of it getting there.
•
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a southern story about family and love. Told from two different timelines. Evie and Mac appear to be the perfect marriage with two kids. However, in 2000 they broke up for the summer. Mac was greeted by a grown pregnant woman that stated she was his daughter. Riley was conceived during that summer of their break. Evie also had a somewhat of a fling with Graham.

The choices you make can change the trajectory of your entire life. What could have happened if Evie and Mac never married?

This was a southern story about family and love. Told from two different timelines. Evie and Mac appear to be the perfect marriage with two kids. However, in 2000 they broke up for the summer. Mac was greeted by a grown pregnant woman that stated she was his daughter. Riley was conceived during that summer of their break. Evie also had a somewhat of a fling with Graham.

The choices you make can change the trajectory of your entire life. What could have happened if Evie and Mac never married?