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mellhay's review against another edition
4.0
Rebecca crafts a story that many can relate to with the normalcy of life and fears that parents hold close to their hearts. Then the fear becomes a heart breaking reality. Rebecca uses the short time lapses with perfection, we get a strong feel for daily activities and the characters while each scene has a powerful impact in the story, now and later, leaving hints along with drawing the characters and their actions for us. There is no down time in this novel.
The ending! Oh my! Never saw that all coming. Definitely a page turner to the end! And it all fits.
This is not my normal genre read. But I am glad I read the book. I didn't want to stop when I started. I found time was lost to me and I'd just spent an hour in the anxiety with Jill. I found I was so drawn into the story that I didn't even feel droggy with the late hour of reading.
****FULL REVIEW****
*I requested a copy of this book from the author or publisher for an honest review.
I'm not going to summarize the story as the book description is perfect. I'm also going to try very hard to not spoil the story with a few great details. Without them, you will enjoy the story as you read it.
The story caught me in the heart. As a parent we all fear that one moment out of sight and gone. That's all it takes, and kids move so fast! I can feel for Jill through the book. I remember having an active three year old. Ugh. Things could be seen by others differently.
The story is told from Jill Lassiter's POV along with a woman by the name of Bea. These two views help draw the full picture for us. We also get journal entries of a young woman, a mistress. When it all comes together, ooooh it will click all that has happened in these lives to bring us to where we are.
Things we learn grow the plot, deepening all as we go. There is a secret that's revealed about 90 pages in. With the journal pages and what we learn, I started to draw my own conclusions of who people are and how they all relate. By then I needed to know if Sophia would be found, how all the truths come out, and if I was right in my thinking.
I was surprised at the ending when it all comes out!
Rebecca crafts a story that many can relate to with the normalcy of life and fears that parents hold close to their hearts. Then the fear becomes a heart breaking reality. Rebecca uses the short time lapses with perfection, we get a strong feel for daily activities and the characters while each scene has a powerful impact in the story, now and later, leaving hints along with drawing the characters and their actions for us. There is no down time in this novel.
The ending! Oh my! Never saw that all coming. Definitely a page turner to the end! And it all fits.
This is not my normal genre read. But I am glad I read the book. I didn't want to stop when I started. I found time was lost to me and I'd just spent an hour in the anxiety with Jill. I found I was so drawn into the story that I didn't even feel droggy with the late hour of reading.
The ending! Oh my! Never saw that all coming. Definitely a page turner to the end! And it all fits.
This is not my normal genre read. But I am glad I read the book. I didn't want to stop when I started. I found time was lost to me and I'd just spent an hour in the anxiety with Jill. I found I was so drawn into the story that I didn't even feel droggy with the late hour of reading.
****FULL REVIEW****
*I requested a copy of this book from the author or publisher for an honest review.
I'm not going to summarize the story as the book description is perfect. I'm also going to try very hard to not spoil the story with a few great details. Without them, you will enjoy the story as you read it.
The story caught me in the heart. As a parent we all fear that one moment out of sight and gone. That's all it takes, and kids move so fast! I can feel for Jill through the book. I remember having an active three year old. Ugh. Things could be seen by others differently.
The story is told from Jill Lassiter's POV along with a woman by the name of Bea. These two views help draw the full picture for us. We also get journal entries of a young woman, a mistress. When it all comes together, ooooh it will click all that has happened in these lives to bring us to where we are.
Things we learn grow the plot, deepening all as we go. There is a secret that's revealed about 90 pages in. With the journal pages and what we learn, I started to draw my own conclusions of who people are and how they all relate. By then I needed to know if Sophia would be found, how all the truths come out, and if I was right in my thinking.
I was surprised at the ending when it all comes out!
Rebecca crafts a story that many can relate to with the normalcy of life and fears that parents hold close to their hearts. Then the fear becomes a heart breaking reality. Rebecca uses the short time lapses with perfection, we get a strong feel for daily activities and the characters while each scene has a powerful impact in the story, now and later, leaving hints along with drawing the characters and their actions for us. There is no down time in this novel.
The ending! Oh my! Never saw that all coming. Definitely a page turner to the end! And it all fits.
This is not my normal genre read. But I am glad I read the book. I didn't want to stop when I started. I found time was lost to me and I'd just spent an hour in the anxiety with Jill. I found I was so drawn into the story that I didn't even feel droggy with the late hour of reading.
beastreader's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first time experiencing what it is like to read a Rebecca Drake book. I have to tell you that my experience was amazing. I read this book in one day. I would have actually have finished this book in a matter of a few hours but I made the mistake of taking this book with me to work, so I could not read it during my breaks and lunch. At the end of the work day I took this book home with me and finished it right away. I was so engaged in Jill, David, and Sophia's lives.
Yet I was not so sure about Jill. At first I was fine with her but then as the story went on I thought she was weak but I was wrong. She is a fighter. This book is the right balance of intrigue. Both sides of the story from what Jill and David were experiencing to what was happening to Sophia. Honestly I had no clue how the story would end until it was revealed in the last third of the story. I can't wait to see what the author comes out with next.
Yet I was not so sure about Jill. At first I was fine with her but then as the story went on I thought she was weak but I was wrong. She is a fighter. This book is the right balance of intrigue. Both sides of the story from what Jill and David were experiencing to what was happening to Sophia. Honestly I had no clue how the story would end until it was revealed in the last third of the story. I can't wait to see what the author comes out with next.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
ONLY EVER YOU by Rebecca Drake is a compelling domestic suspense psychological thriller--an emotional saga of a mother’s steadfast love for her daughter. A search for answers and a lovable dog, named Cosmo.
The book opens three months prior, July 2013, in Pittsburgh, PA---Jill Lassiter (professional photographer), with her three-year-old daughter, Sophia at the park. A distraction. Her daughter is gone.
The police called. Jill is frantic. Forty minutes pass and Sophia suddenly appears. Her husband, David arrives. She found a doggie. She loves dogs. What did the heck happen?
A mark. A tiny red pinprick with a slight swelling of the skin around it. Did someone inject her? Was she drugged? A bug bite? All Sophia says is that she found the doggie. They go to the hospital. No answers.
Nothing would ever happen to Sophia again—the worst was over. However, Jill may be wrong. Strange things start happening.
Three months later Sophia goes missing again. The suspicion turns to the parents.
Jill thinks her daughter is still alive. Now she is the number one suspect. However, she knows she is innocent-- the real killer is still out there. A motive?
Does Jill know David?
Jill is tenacious. How could she have missed the signs?
An accident. Payback. Motivation. A journal. A connection. A past. Twenty- three days. Who can she trust? A monster. A surprise twisted ending.
Throughout the novel, the author flashes back and forth to journal entries (identity not revealed). A man and woman. An affair. A breakup. How do the pieces fit together?
While none of the characters are particularly likable, the author keeps you reading the complex suburban domestic suspense to the final riveting conclusion. My first book by the author and look forward to reading more!
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
Add Just Between Us to your TBR list. A domestic suspense thriller (5 stars) in the theme of [b:Big Little Lies|19486412|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492239430s/19486412.jpg|27570886], coming Jan 9, 2018. One not to be missed.
The book opens three months prior, July 2013, in Pittsburgh, PA---Jill Lassiter (professional photographer), with her three-year-old daughter, Sophia at the park. A distraction. Her daughter is gone.
The police called. Jill is frantic. Forty minutes pass and Sophia suddenly appears. Her husband, David arrives. She found a doggie. She loves dogs. What did the heck happen?
A mark. A tiny red pinprick with a slight swelling of the skin around it. Did someone inject her? Was she drugged? A bug bite? All Sophia says is that she found the doggie. They go to the hospital. No answers.
Nothing would ever happen to Sophia again—the worst was over. However, Jill may be wrong. Strange things start happening.
Three months later Sophia goes missing again. The suspicion turns to the parents.
Jill thinks her daughter is still alive. Now she is the number one suspect. However, she knows she is innocent-- the real killer is still out there. A motive?
Does Jill know David?
Jill is tenacious. How could she have missed the signs?
An accident. Payback. Motivation. A journal. A connection. A past. Twenty- three days. Who can she trust? A monster. A surprise twisted ending.
Throughout the novel, the author flashes back and forth to journal entries (identity not revealed). A man and woman. An affair. A breakup. How do the pieces fit together?
While none of the characters are particularly likable, the author keeps you reading the complex suburban domestic suspense to the final riveting conclusion. My first book by the author and look forward to reading more!
A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
JDCMustReadBooks
Add Just Between Us to your TBR list. A domestic suspense thriller (5 stars) in the theme of [b:Big Little Lies|19486412|Big Little Lies|Liane Moriarty|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492239430s/19486412.jpg|27570886], coming Jan 9, 2018. One not to be missed.
ny_sunflower's review against another edition
3.0
A psychological thriller mystery involving a missing child.
Jill has a big scare when her 3 year old Sophia goes missing at the park but luckily she is found after 40 long minutes. However months later Sophia is taken from her home. This book follows the days she is missing from her parents perspective and also of her kidnapper. The big elephant in the room is WHY was she taken???
Jill has a big scare when her 3 year old Sophia goes missing at the park but luckily she is found after 40 long minutes. However months later Sophia is taken from her home. This book follows the days she is missing from her parents perspective and also of her kidnapper. The big elephant in the room is WHY was she taken???
fireflyhollow's review against another edition
4.0
I would like to thank Rebecca Drake, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The story begins three months before the kidnapping of Sophia Lassiter. She and her mother, Jill, are spending a day in the park when Sophia suddenly disappears only to reappear forty minutes later. There is a small mark on the inside of Sophia's elbow that looks like a puncture wound. Jill insists for Sophia to be examined by a doctor but nothing is found and Jill spends the next three months feeling like a paranoid, overprotective mother. Then in the middle of the night Sophia really does go missing and all the evidence points to Jill and her husband David having something to do with that disappearance.
I don't personally have children; so, it is difficult for me to truly understand the fear a parent feels when his or her child goes missing. When I watch news stories and press conferences of parents with missing children, I always think it's odd when the parents don't show emotion. I cannot imagine myself going cold and stone faced. It's easy to not trust people who shut down in public in the midst of such a tragic situation, but this story offers a glimpse from the perspective of a parent who does just that - shuts down in public. This is one of the main reasons I believe the public turned against Jill and David in the story. Everyone assumes you will become an emotional wreck after losing a child and believes you shouldn't be able to hold it together.
I honestly thought I had this entire book figured out about 25% of the way in - and I did for the most part. The pace is very fast throughout the entire story which keeps the reader's attention. The identity of Sophia's kidnapper isn't exactly hidden as the story is told from multiple perspectives including that of the kidnapper; however, you aren't given all of the details right away. As I stated before, most of this book is very predictable. Not much happened that I didn't anticipate until about the last 10% of the book. I always like books that surprise me, and this one did in the end!
The story begins three months before the kidnapping of Sophia Lassiter. She and her mother, Jill, are spending a day in the park when Sophia suddenly disappears only to reappear forty minutes later. There is a small mark on the inside of Sophia's elbow that looks like a puncture wound. Jill insists for Sophia to be examined by a doctor but nothing is found and Jill spends the next three months feeling like a paranoid, overprotective mother. Then in the middle of the night Sophia really does go missing and all the evidence points to Jill and her husband David having something to do with that disappearance.
I don't personally have children; so, it is difficult for me to truly understand the fear a parent feels when his or her child goes missing. When I watch news stories and press conferences of parents with missing children, I always think it's odd when the parents don't show emotion. I cannot imagine myself going cold and stone faced. It's easy to not trust people who shut down in public in the midst of such a tragic situation, but this story offers a glimpse from the perspective of a parent who does just that - shuts down in public. This is one of the main reasons I believe the public turned against Jill and David in the story. Everyone assumes you will become an emotional wreck after losing a child and believes you shouldn't be able to hold it together.
I honestly thought I had this entire book figured out about 25% of the way in - and I did for the most part. The pace is very fast throughout the entire story which keeps the reader's attention. The identity of Sophia's kidnapper isn't exactly hidden as the story is told from multiple perspectives including that of the kidnapper; however, you aren't given all of the details right away. As I stated before, most of this book is very predictable. Not much happened that I didn't anticipate until about the last 10% of the book. I always like books that surprise me, and this one did in the end!
purrfectpages's review against another edition
3.0
Only Ever You was not what I was expecting. After quickly reading the synopsis, I thought this was going to be more of a sci fi thriller, examining the repercussions of the little girl's brief abduction in the park. As it turns out, the abduction in the beginning was just the tip of the iceberg. From there, Only Ever You twists and turns so much one could get second hand motion sickness. While the writer succeeded in keeping me interested, she manages to miss the mark in terms of believability and execution.
mmreed72's review against another edition
3.0
I was really enjoying this book at the beginning and thought it was going to be great. But as I got to the last third or so of the book, it just started to fall apart. There were some parts that were ridiculous that it really annoyed me. I felt like the author hurried to pull everything together in the end and that was disappointing. I almost gave this two stars because of my annoyance with this, but went ahead and gave it three stars because I did enjoy the first half.
jbaronn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sdenney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0