Who doesn't love a book that starts out in Summer and pools but then poof it all goes crazy I found the names in the story to be so unique and I hadn't heard of any of them before
Overall this was a good read
I would recommend reading this while sitting at the beach

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this novel of families, community, and secrets. It follows the path of those stories where everyone is going along (some happily, some not so much), and throws an interesting twist into their path. As we follow along, we wait to find out if anyone will make it unscathed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of The Things We Wish Were True by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen. The town of Sycamore Glen, North Carolina looks like a perfect town from the outside. Everyone hangs out at the community pool in the summer and everything appears idyllic, but then something happens at the pool that affects everyone. The cracks in the perfect town start to appear, but the event also brings everyone together.

This is the story of a community and all its secrets told from multiple points of view. The characters are great and are well developed. The story keeps you wanting to read more and the pacing is relatively quick. There are a few over-the-top kind of secrets/events, but overall this was a lovely read.

I have read a lot of small town stories, this one is a small neighborhood story. It is the type of neighborhood that everyone wants to live in. You know your neighbors, you know their families, and everyone comes together to help each other out. There is a lot of drama and even more heart within the neighbor’s story.

Jencey and Bryte were best friends until Jencey moved away. They both want to reconnect yet there are somethings they just cannot talk about. This relationship was the most interesting to me. The boyfriends/husbands, the kids, and the secrets all were things that they needed to discuss in more depth than just how’s it going conversation. Yet, something was keeping them from having this discussion. This is something I believe most friends can relate to on some level when they move away or just grow apart. The reconnection is not easy and takes work from both parties.

There were many more happenings within the story. The drama involved everyone in the neighborhood and more than once a story was revealed and I was shocked that I didn’t see it coming. The last shocker was my favorite. It was the ending I hoped for and was sure I was not going to get.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun story with relatable characters and a story that you hope won’t ever end.

I was unable to finish this book. It just didn’t keep me interested and it was taking me so long to read it. I hope that one day I can go back and finish it and maybe enjoy the last half or so. I read a bit over half and just didn’t like what I was reading. To me there are to many books to read to keep forcing a story on myself.
I’m so very sorry. It was just not for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Lake Union for the ARC of this book.

I only give it 2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

In the summer of 2014 one town, one specific set of neighbors, is drawn together by tragedy and the past. The nomadic sister and brother set, the older woman who has young kids in tow that aren't related to her, the lovely one suddenly and inexplicably back in town after mysteriously disappearing from it a decade before, the lovely one's ex-bff - now married to the lovely one's ex-boyfriend and mother to his child, and a myriad of others on the fringes. There isn't one main voice in this story of that summer in 2014, there are many - all adding in their perspectives, their secrets, their parts of the larger story playing out in their homes.

Overall, I think I liked this story by Whalen. I say overall because a few parts of it felt, or read, very anti-climatic to me. And that might not be her fault but mine for reading so many psychological thrillers that I come at every book that has a hint of a thriller with high expectations. Any thriller component to this story by Whalen is waaaaaaaaaay down on the list of priorities for this title and that's easy to see from the start. In fact, it may be a non-existent inclusion that I was inserting myself. There's a couple of lines in the book that sum up the story perfectly, in fact I think sums up life perfectly, "....there were the things she wished were, true, and there was what was actually true. She was learning that there was usually a great distance between the two."

“The Things We Wish Were True” by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen

A gripping novel from word one until long after the novel has ended. A realistic novel that is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It is a novel you can relate to as it could happen to any of us.

A tragedy occurs around the beginning of summer that will lead to a changed community. Hidden truths come forth, relationships begin, end and change. Flawed characters that the reader will relate to, a storyline both engaging and enthralling. An incident which can take place anywhere at anytime that changes lives forever.

A phenomenal read that one should read now and not place on your TBR pile.

Rating: 4.7
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read about 60% and had to walk away. Too many characters and the book hops in and out of their stories. It was hard to follow. Started off ok but is slow and uneventful

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This book delved into the minds and lives of a number of different characters in a small town, including a child and a matron of the community. A boy is rescued from the pool one day during the summer, unconscious and unresponsive. The people there too witness the event seem to form a bond over the shared experience but all of them have significant secrets to hide. I think that's one of the things that bothered me about this book, everyone seemed to be betraying someone and (while its naive) its sad to me to think that people are so deceptive and selfish. All of the characters were so downtrodden and unhappy at different points of the story, it was slightly frustrating to get involved with such flawed (but realistic I guess) characters. That being said, I thought this was such a great story and I love how everything was laid out in the end and all the loose ends got tied up neatly. There were some great plot twists, most of which the reader can see coming due to being able to tie together multiple view points but were still exciting. This was a really good read and I would recommend it, I couldn't stop thinking about it even after I'd finished it!

I received a free ebook copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my opinion. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors...that is so true in the depiction of this small town in North Carolina. It's more accurate to say in a small suburban neighborhood as most of the narrative takes place within the confines of a group of neighbors who belong to the pool club. The shifting perspectives by the various characters in the book makes this an interesting read!

i ended up liking this one more than i thought i would when i started it. it's a little bit boring in the beginning and hard to like/care about the characters. but that definitely changes as you learn more about them and what's going to happen. i really enjoyed it, i rarely enjoy this many POVs or small town/neighbourhood kind of stories, but i really liked this one. i liked all the characters and their stories, even if they weren't as substantial as they could have been if it were longer or less POVs.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The neighborhood of Sycamore Glen seems like an ideal place to live and raise a family, but you never know what secret are being hidden behind closed doors. After an accident at the town pool occurs, things start to unravel for many residents of this perfect neighborhood. Neighbors learn who their true friends are and new relationships develop over the course of one summer in this North Carolina town. What will happen when all the truth comes to the surface?
Another good read from Marybeth Whalen, can't wait to read her next one.

I listened to this one on audible. I loved the southern charm of the small town where everyone knew everyone and gossip moves fast through the town. Just love, love Kayleigh! Not easy growing up especially when there are some rough and scary parts, but Kayleigh makes it with the help of the neighbors!

I absolutely loved this book! It took a while to build the characters, but slowly, the intricate parts of their lives began to unfold, and the unity between the neighbors in Sycamore Glen began to gel. It was a wonderful story, told from multiple points of view. I found that not to be distracting, as every character was different, in age, their situation and their perspective.

This story really made me think about our quick and hasty judgements of others. At the beginning of the story, a lot happens around the community pool, which is a common backdrop for gossip and opinions of others. This pool, however, has quite a cast of characters seated around it, and the story takes off.

A small child drowns and it sets off a chain of events that draw people toward each other, some that probably never would have crossed paths otherwise. I found the needs of each character to be vulnerable and exposed, and it says a lot about humanity.

Everyone has secrets, and each one is revealed throughout the book, and how they intersect and unravel is delicate and flawless. I loved each "what just happened" moment and would love to see this book become a movie. The characters were all lovable, with the exception of one, and you'll figure that out as the story moves toward a garden at Zell's house. I found this book to be endearing. And at the end, all of the little trails led to a forward moving path. Great story and depth!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced reader copy! This was a great read and one I'm grateful to have had the chance to review for you.

How to write about this book without spoilers? The story, writing, and characters were engaging. There is just one aspect of the plot that rankles me still. It was unnecessarily dramatic and over the top. That level of serendipitous tragedy is not necessary for readers to care about the characters and their relationships. That being said, my faith in Whalen has not been so shaken by this that I wouldn't seek out her next book and give it a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-book in exchange for an honest review. There are things in this world that we wish were true and then there are not. In small town Sycamore Glen there are many secrets and everyone knows your business. The book is told by the main characters in alternating chapters. It has some likable characters and it does keep you reading. It's a good book just not a great one.

Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
NetGalley, Kindle First
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was completely enchanted with Sycamore Glenn, ready to sell and move to "The Glenn". It seems like a wonderful place filled with beautiful interesting people. I really enjoyed Maribeth's writing style and hearing the story from each characters point of view. Summer is my favorite season and I totally found myself at the pool, working in the yard with Zell, and sitting in the dark feeling the dew fall at the pond with Cailey. Perfection! Throw in a missing teenage girl, infidelity, creepy and peeping neighbors, along with a runaway wife and a near drowning event; seriously it could not get any better. I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who loves the Fourth of July and the heartbreak/joy of friendship lost love, and dysfunctional life as we all know. You will not be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Prime Kindle First, for the opportunity to read this book for a fair review.

The Things We Wish Were True takes place in a small town in North Carolina during the summer of 2014. It's a very close knit community and most residents have lived there most of their lives. From Zell, the neighborhood matriarch to Jancey the "prodigal" daughter returning after making a quick escape after high school. Each character has their own story and each story intertwines with each character. It includes twists and turns that will make you need to find out what is going to happen next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will admit that at the beginning of the book, there was a little confusion with all the different characters, but after getting into the story, everything soon became clear. Each character carries a secret. Some secrets are small and others could be catastrophic.

Zell - has been limping around all summer and has stopped running, why/
Cailey - is growing up faster than she wants to or should, but with a single working mother is there anything that can stop that.
Bryte - doesn't want to have a second child, the first time was so difficult, she doesn't want to go through that again.
Jencey - Returns home after being away for so long. Will she stay for good this time, or will she run again like she did in the past.
Lance - has recently become a single father, but how long will that be the case?
Everett - Married to Bryte and ex of Jencey has a few of his own secrets that could tarnish his relationships.

There is one story about a summer in North Carolina, told from each persons point of view. Each character has their own side to the story centered around the neighborhood pool. It dives into the past which helps to progress the present. At the end of this summer the whole neighborhood will be changed from the secrets that are revealed.

Great read! The author tells a great story. I look forward to more from this author.

I was surprised by how much I loved this book. There were many narrators, which I usually dislike (I think three is a good max), but I ended up liking every single one of the characters. This is probably the best story I've read about a small town (in this case, just a neighborhood) where every character has a secret.