I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

*Everything We Keep* by Kerry Lonsdale begins with a slow pace, as it takes the time to establish the setting and build the characters. While this initial slowness might be a bit of a hurdle for those used to more fast-paced crime novels, it serves a purpose in setting up the emotional depth and intrigue that follows. As the story picks up, the plot becomes gripping, and the twists and turns make it hard to put down. The characters are well-developed, and as the narrative unfolds, you begin to understand their motivations and the true nature of the mystery at hand. The ending was a surprising revelation, yet it tied up the story in a satisfying way, giving the book a strong conclusion. Overall, *Everything We Keep* is an engaging read, with a unique premise and enough suspense to keep readers hooked until the very last page.

Kerry Lonsdale’s Everything We Keep is a captivating blend of romance, mystery, and psychological drama, skillfully weaving together themes of love, loss, and the secrets that can define our lives. This debut novel introduces readers to a world where nothing is quite as it seems, keeping them engaged with its unexpected twists and emotional depth.

The story centers around Aimee Tierney, a woman whose life takes a dramatic turn on what was supposed to be her wedding day. Instead of marrying her childhood sweetheart, James Donato, Aimee finds herself at his funeral. The tragedy is compounded by the mystery surrounding James’s death, which occurred during a business trip to Mexico under suspicious circumstances.

As Aimee struggles to rebuild her life, she is haunted by doubts about James’s death, fueled by a stranger’s cryptic message that suggests he might still be alive. Unable to let go, Aimee embarks on a journey to uncover the truth, leading her to startling revelations that challenge everything she thought she knew about the man she loved.

Everything We Keep delves into themes of grief and healing, exploring how we cope with loss and the lengths we go to in order to hold on to the past. Aimee’s journey is one of self-discovery, as she learns to navigate the thin line between hope and denial. The novel also touches on themes of identity and the idea that people can harbor secrets that alter the very essence of who they are.

The book raises intriguing questions about the nature of love and memory—whether we truly know the people we love, and how the past can continue to influence our present in profound ways. Lonsdale’s portrayal of Aimee’s emotional turmoil is realistic and relatable, making her a character readers can empathize with, even when her decisions are difficult to understand.

Kerry Lonsdale’s writing is both accessible and engaging, with a strong emphasis on character development and emotional resonance. Her prose is straightforward but evocative, capturing the intensity of Aimee’s emotions without becoming overly melodramatic. The pacing of the novel is well-balanced, with moments of introspection interspersed with suspenseful twists that keep the reader invested in the unfolding mystery.

Lonsdale effectively uses flashbacks to reveal layers of Aimee and James’s relationship, gradually building the reader’s understanding of their bond and the secrets that threaten to unravel it. This narrative structure keeps the suspense alive and adds depth to the story, making the final revelations all the more impactful.

Aimee Tierney is a compelling protagonist, her journey from grief-stricken fiancée to a woman determined to uncover the truth is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Her vulnerability and strength are portrayed with nuance, making her a character that readers can root for. The supporting characters, including Aimee’s friends and family, add richness to the story, though some of them could have been more fully developed.

James Donato, though absent for much of the novel, looms large over the narrative, his character revealed through Aimee’s memories and the secrets she uncovers. The ambiguity surrounding his fate keeps the tension high and adds a layer of complexity to Aimee’s emotions.

Everything We Keep is a compelling debut that combines the elements of romance and suspense into a story that is both emotionally charged and thought-provoking. Kerry Lonsdale has crafted a novel that keeps readers guessing until the very end, with twists that are surprising yet believable. The exploration of love, loss, and the lengths we go to for closure make this a book that resonates on a deep emotional level.

Not my usual genre but interesting nonetheless. There were a lot of predictable moments but lots of twists too, even if a bit expected.

A slow start but worth persevering. The main character could do with a boot up her backside at times, letting much time pass without doing anything. But, the book got much better as it progressed, and I was quite interested to see how it would turn out. I will read the next one in the series, it was not a cliffhanger as such, but it did lead into the next book.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book.This book just never took off for me. I felt that it was a good story but it just kind of didn't move beyond the initial good idea. I think it is a fine book but nor a strong recommend from me.

This is just one of those books you just can't put down with the ending being such a fantasitic cliffhanger I guess I'll just have to read the rest of the books in this series


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

Sorry for this very late review

Amy’s fiancé is involved in a boating accident right before their wedding. They had been together for years. Someone keeps hinting that he is still alive. Over time Amy has opened her own cafe. And she has met someone new. She eventually decides to search for James. She finds out secrets about his family. This is her journey of letting him go and then searching for him. It’s her emotional journey through all of it.

I did not finish this book...too much pycho stuff going on
And to many pages about FOOD!
And to many pages about FOOD!
And there was no mystery!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

Aimee Tierney shows up on her wedding day to bury her fiancé, James. Clearly, this was not the day she and James had planned for. After the funeral, Aimee is approached by a stranger claiming that James isn't really dead. And while Aimee initially brushes off this claim she can't help but wonder, and hope, if James is still somehow - miraculously - alive. All signs point to his death except for the few that point towards him still being alive. But if James is alive why isn't he letting her know? If James is alive, where is he and why? If James is alive, what does that mean about the relationship she thought they had and any future together?

I started this title thinking it was going to be a bit...fluffy. So I was pleasantly surprised by the substance it contained. There's some grit to the story, some moments of reality - not everything gets wrapped up and tied together with a pretty bow. I appreciate that in a story. There were still some fanciful, implausible parts to the story but not as many as I feared there might be as I started the book. It was intriguing enough for me to want to continue on, right away, to book 2 in this trilogy.

This book is one that I will be adding to the “Have to Buy” list. You know those books that grab you after you start reading, because they start you questioning “Huh?” and “What?”? Then, after some more chapters, you go to the “Why?” and “How?” questions. Then, you get to the “What if…?” questions.
Yeah, this book does that. It grabs you, and doesn’t let go. The twists and turns thrown at you make it impossible to do anything else but read. You end up reading straight through; staying up way later than you should, because you want to get to the end just so you can get the answers to all your questions.
And that is when you know you’ve read a really good book. But what made this a Great Book is the “after I was done”, when I went and Googled subjects that came up in the book.

It should have been Aimee’s wedding day, but instead she is burying her fiance James after he dies at sea while on a boating trip. But during the funeral, a psychic approaches her and insists that James isn’t dead.

Despite the seed of doubt that has been planted in her head, Aimee tries to move on with her life, with big changes in her career, and even her love life. But things aren’t adding up – and Aimee can’t stand the ‘what if’. She needs to find out what happened to James…

Everything We Keep has an interesting premise but it felt like the first half of this book dragged, while the second half, with a lot of crucial events and developments, was super rushed. I did enjoy the concept though, although there was a lot about this that didn’t feel very natural or realistic. It felt just that little bit too convenient – kind of the same way When I Lost You did. Such a shame because this is billed as a romantic-mystery but comes off as just silly in execution.

I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't have the time to read this book anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I don't even know where to start with this book, which started good and then ended up being totally wacko, like two totally different books fused into one. At the start, on what should be her wedding day, Aimee is instead attending the funeral of her fiance James who went missing on a business trip to Mexico and then was found dead. After the funeral, a woman claiming to be a psychic tells Aimee that her husband isn't actually dead. For more than half of the book, this is pretty much a regular contemporary women's novel about Aimee as she tries to move on with her life and figure out what to do. Then, more than a year after the death, she suddenly starts trying to find out what really happened to James and takes a trip to Mexico. The book then turns into some kind of weird quasi-psychological suspense novel with one preposterous reveal after another. So what started out as a 3.5-4 star kind of book, through pacing issues, shifts in tone, and generally going off the rails, turned into a 2 star book. Disappointing.

I felt like I had already read this. And yes, it turned out to be slightly different, but... Not notably better, than the other "my fiance/husband died right before/after our wedding, but what's really going on" books that I've read.

A simple, convenient and predictable storyline with barely fleshed out characters and cheesy dialogue which somewhat redeemed itself with its ending. I read the second book in this series directly following this first book which slightly increased the enjoyment. Now that I think of it, mabe it would have made for a more solid story if the contents of the two books had been combined. But then again, maybe not. Thankfully, it was a fairly short, fast read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

Every now and then, a book comes along where I start gleefully anticipating my review. Loved this book. A real page turner. Couldn't put it down. Loved the words and the story.

I love the rare moment when I finish a book and feel sad about it because I know there is more to the story. This was one of those times... and I'm in luck since it was the first book in a series. I liked the interesting path the book took and its ability to examine what real love really looks like through the lens of an interesting and international mystery. I will definitely be continuing on the series.

Note: You can read this on Kindle Unlimited!!!

I was invited to read this book and the title didn't really speak to me so it's slipped a long way down my TBR pile. How I wish I had read it sooner, the title belies a great story.

I found it a little bit of a slow starter. Don't get me wrong I was enjoying reading it, I just wasn't sure where it was going. The book begins with Aimee at the funeral of her fiance, on the day they would have been married. Even the flowers are the ones meant for the wedding as her MIL to be doesn't want them to go to waste! At this point I began to wonder if her future MIL had murdered her son just to stop him marrying someone she clearly didn't feel any empathy for.

As Aimee is leaving the funeral a physic approaches her and tells her that her fiance is still alive! The book then flip flops through Aimee trying to move on, and flashbacks to how they met with an insight into their early lives. We then get a little bit of hint of a romance and Aimee gets to open her own coffee shop in the meantime.

Part two of the book, and it's now two years since her fiance died, and she has more than a hunch that he is still alive. This is the part of the book that I can imagine some people will find hard to believe. But they say truth is stranger than fiction and I certainly was reading it with incredulity - not at the story but at how it was unfolding, because I never saw it coming. This was the part where I began to race through the book as I really needed to know what the hell was going on.

The writing is easy to read and my only criticism is that Aimee is a little fey in her behaviour, which at times I found annoying. The book does tie off nicely at the end but then there is another twist. Luckily for me the sequel is out and I'm off to read it now. It's called Everything We Left Behind.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for review.

Intriguing, suspenseful and full of surprises right up until the last page! This book will keep the reader guessing with every page turned!

Everything We Keep is an extremely long-winded "getting over someone" story, complete with the logistics of opening a cafe and a boring romance. Well, two boring romances. My biggest issue with the entire story was Aimee. A lot of her decisions didn’t make sense to me. Her thoughts and actions were confusing. One minute she’s convinced her fiancé is still alive, that the body she buried on their wedding day wasn’t him, and the next she’s opening a café and vowing to move on. She was adamant, she couldn’t start anything with Ian until she had concrete answers about James. Her solution, keep Ian at an arms length, for an entire year, and then sleep with him on the trip to Mexico. Of all the times to give in, she picks that one? When she knew what she was after was literally a few blocks away? I don’t get it. I was pissed off at the way she handled things and pretty unimpressed with the way things played out.