Having read and loved the authors' previous novel, We Are Not Like Them, I was excited to read their newest collaboration You Were Always Mine. While I liked this book, I did not love it. In this novel, Cinnamon, a black guidance counselor, has formed a friendship of sorts with Daisy, a white young lady whom she met at a local park. The two meet regularly over greasy french fries and share a superficial bond. One day, Daisy does not show up for their lunch and instead Cinnamon discovers a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby along with a note from Daisy asking Cinnamon to care for her.

The story seemed a bit surface level compared to the duo's pervious book. While there were interesting points made in the book regarding race, foster care, and motherhood it was not as compelling as the duo's previous novel. One thing I did enjoy was the Easter egg the story contained naming one of the characters from their previous book. (I love when author's do that!)

Overall, I am glad I read it and will definitely be on the watch for their next book. Thank you to Simon & Shuster as well as NetGalley for a free copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

First of all, thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review early. It is a privilege that I don't take for granted!

I have historically always read Jo's novels and am absolutely loving these books she is cowriting with Christine Pride. The characters are so well developed and the storylines that deal with complex struggles with racial differences between friends are so thoughtful. These books would make phenomenal book club selections as they would spark great dialogue between friends.

The plot of You Were Always Mine was a slower burn than We Are Not Like Them, but I grew to love the characters more by the end. Cinnamon and her mother in law's relationship was so touching, as was Daisy and her grandmothers. By the end of the book I should have already predicted the last line, but it still gave me chills. I would 100% recommend this book to friends!

As a whole, I think the premise of this novel is important and raises important questions about race and privilege, and the judgements we cast on families when their appearances aren't the same. There are a lot of gaps in the storyline however, especially when it comes to how irresponsible, and illegal a number of Cinnamon's actions are and the overall message of the story gets muddled in the process. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Love these authors, I like how two different people can write a seamless story! This book was a great read. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. The premise of this one was interesting, but the execution was not good. Overall, the pace was slow and I never felt any tension at all even during the court case. I also thought there was a lot of things left unresolved. Like how did no one involved end up charged with a crime? You can’t just abandon a baby in a park. You also can’t lie to a social worker about said baby and how you came to have it in your care without any consequences. I thought Pride and Piazza’s first book was just average, so maybe I need to realize I am not connecting with their writing style.

This was another excellent book by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza. The author do an amazing job of telling complex stories that weave in the intricacies of family, race, and societal judgments.

At the outset of this book, Cinnamon, our MC, is heartbroken but refusing to let herself succumb to the disappointment of her husband. Every Friday on her lunch break she meets up with Daisy, a young woman whose painful upbringing mirrors her own. One day, rather than finding Daisy waiting, Cinnamon finds a newborn baby with a note. Thus begins an adventure she must embark on—raising Bluebell.

Cinnamon is faced with a lot of obstacles including a husband and best friend who don’t believe she is up for this challenge. After all, how will society accept that this beautiful blue eyed white baby is being raised by a black woman?

If you enjoyed We Are Not Like Them, I would definitely recommend picking this one up! Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Cinnamon has fought for a secure and stable life. She has finally found it. When she finds an abandoned white baby in the park, it throws a wrench in her life.

I love when these two get together on stories because there’s the perfect amount of conflict and tension. The situation in the book is thought provoking and shows racial layers of foster care and adoption. I was so curious to see how it turned out. I also enjoyed the letters which helped to tell the story from a first person narrative.

“I chose you, but I also chose me, because for once it was my time, my chance to get something I wanted - and you were it.”

You Were Always Mine comes out 5/2.

I didn't expect to LOVE as much as I did! I almost always read Thrillers and this surprised me in the best of ways. Clever story, well written and one that will stay with me. 4 stars! LOVED!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance copy of You Were Always Mine in exchange for an honest review. I liked the basic concept of this story…a Black woman, Cinnamon, finds a newborn baby left for her in the park by her very young White friend. I loved the character of Cinnamon…she was a good person who had been through a lot and unlike other readers, I can understand why she did what she did and didn’t go to the authorities. However, there was something about the story that kept me from LOVING it. I liked it, but didn’t love it, and I think that’s because it was a little surface level and I was expecting a deeper dive given what I knew about this duo’s first book. Overall, it was enjoyable, though. 3.5 stars for me.

Another fascinating story by two favorite authors. There were so many unanswered questions in the first half of the book that I found it hard to plow through what seemed like irrelevant information and I didn’t feel emotionally connected to anyone except Bluebell until later in the book. That being said, I still think this would make an excellent movie, with the with the right director and actors. There is much important fact and reflection here on racism in America that more of us need to be aware of.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In "You Were Always Mine", we're presented with a fictional scenario: what happens if a black woman finds and tries to adopt a white infant? This is what happens to Cinnamon Haynes, a black woman who works as a counselor at a local community college, when she takes her regular Friday lunch break at a nearby park bench. Cinnamon's near-perfect life, which she has spent an extensive amount of time and work building up, is upended following this event, as well as the discovering a note from the infant's mother, pleading with Cinnamon to just take in her child without question. Cinnamon has only occasionally spoken to Daisy, the mother, and has no means of contacting her after disappearance.

What follows is Cinnamon's attempt to try and raise a young infant that looks nothing like her, and eventually needing to contact the authorities given the situation she's put in. We get to see how Cinnamon's family and friends react to her decision, especially when her husband makes his opinions clear. The story also includes snippets of letters from Daisy, writing to her abandoned child, and flashbacks to both Cinnamon and Daisy's pasts, highlighting events that shaped their lives and led them to the eventual present.

As a whole, I think the premise of this novel is important and raises important questions about race and privilege, and the judgements we cast on families when their appearances aren't the same. I appreciated as well the deep-dive into the complexity of the fostering and adoption process, and how it disadvantages those of color from the onset. There are a lot of gaps in the storyline however, especially when it comes to how irresponsible (and illegal) a number of Cinnamon's actions are and the overall message of the story gets muddled in the process.

Growing up motherless and in the foster care system, Cinnamon Haynes, a 30ish Black woman, worked hard to create a life which provided her with safety, a good job as a college career counselor and a decent marriage. A keep to herself reserved woman, Cinnamon only has one friend until she meets Daisy, a white, nineteen year old who also has had a very difficult childhood. Daisy is a no show on the day they are to meet for lunch in the park and while waiting for her to arrive, Cinnamon hears the cries of a baby coming from beneath the trees behind the park bench. What Cinnamon does next is the crux of the story which will you have you asking yourself, “What defines motherhood?” and “Who gets to decide who should be a mother?”

I was so excited to read this book following the authors’ 2021 hit, We Are Not Like Them, but I found myself so depressed throughout the story and angry at many of Cinnamon’s actions.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: June 13, 2023

You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza is an emotional, beautifully written story about a motherhood, good intentions, trauma, and the meaning of family—both by blood and the family you choose. I love the title, love the cover, and genuinely enjoyed this story. Highly recommend!!

What happens when a Black woman finds a baby left for her in the park? Most women would call the police or work to try and find their mother, but when you add in a complicated history of the woman having trauma from being raised in foster care herself, the plot thickens. Then we add in a troubled marriage, a woman trying to hide from her past and being confused about her future, which is what happens with Cinnamon. Oh, and then there is the fact the baby is white in a small south Georgia town. At times, this story suspends reality a little as I found the sequence of events a little hard to believe at times, but overall I really enjoyed the story. Sometimes a little fantasy for a good story is worth it. This book was a lot lighter to me than the author's previous story, especially regarding race. While it did introduce some trigger warning topics ( sexual abuse/incest/homophobia/racial violence) it glossed over a lot of the heavy parts and really just introduced them as backstories for character's decisions. Overall, I did enjoy the story and wanted to see how it all unfolded and ended. I enjoyed some of the secondary characters, like Lucia and Rick and found the writing to be solid and with a steady flow, even as it bounced between the characters and the timeline. I enjoyed this book and would recommend to it to those who are ok with suspending a little bit of reality ( i.e. screaming, "that would never happen like that in real life" in your head) for a really good story.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this title.

I actually enjoyed this book more than the authors' last.
The story featured character journeys of self-discovery & meaningful revelations.
Thought-provoking on many levels.

With great thanks to NetGalley & Atria Books for this e-ARC!

I’m sorry to say that I did not enjoy this book at all. I’m rounding it up to three stars. I loved this author duo’s previous work, but this one was utterly not believable and unrealistic. It’s a no for me, I’m so very sorry to say.

With that said, please give it a try for yourself.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Yes, yes, yes! This book is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. I'm giving it five stars all the way.

Pride and Piazza are a writing force! They develop rich characters that you become invested in. I'm always a fan of books and stories about birth moms, adoptive moms and the like. This was a very unique story and it had me hooked from the beginning.

Cinnamon has fought hard for everything in her life, a man, a job, and a nice house. Its everything she has ever dreamed of. One afternoon while Cinnamon is at the park, she finds an abandoned baby. The baby belongs to one of Cinnamon’s students; shes a college guidance counselor. The note with the baby begs Cinnamon to take care of the baby. Cinnamon does just that. She takes the baby home and works on giving it a home. Cinnamon eventually works to get custody of the baby, but at the custody hearing the mom shows up. Will Cinnamon get custody, or does the mom have a change of heart.

I was not prepared for this book. I read the synopsis and thought that it could be a lovely story, however, I was quickly irritated with the story. Cinnamon just found the baby in the park and her immediate thought is to just take it home – not notify anyone! I was happy that she eventually got the courts involved. I just failed to see the beauty in this story. It was unnecessarily bogged down and felt just so unrealistic and that the authors were just going for the shock factor that a black woman found a white baby. I felt so much of the story was hung up on that – and I wanted it handled differently. I also disliked the unnecessary use of overly complex words and verbiage in the book.

There was so much potential this one, but it sadly fell flat for me.

I will not be posting a review on my social media. I do want to extend my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I like these two authors when they write together. It did seem to drag at some parts and lost me with the thesaurus words. It had a lot of heart and soul and when you git to the epilogue it put it all together

I knew when the main character was an advisor at a community college that this was going to be a great book with a lot of heart. This was well-written and really makes you think (and feel). The epilogue really helped wrap everything up nicely as well.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.