From New York Times bestselling author C. D. Reiss comes a story of friendship, romance, and growing into a love that was always there. Only Ever You an all new swoon-worthy standalone is available now!
Rachel knew exactly what turning thirty would be like. She had a plan, after all. First college, then a climb up the professional ladder. Love, marriage, children. All of it was on the schedule.
The cheap Hollywood apartment wasn’t on the list. Neither was the string of heartbreaks. Or the effect her mother’s cancer had on her career.
It’s hard to stay practical and on point when everything takes a left turn.
Enter Sebastian, the nerd across the street. The boy she defended when he couldn’t defend himself. The best friend she promised she’d marry if life didn’t go according to plan.
Not only is he successful, confident, and gorgeous, but he also still has their handwritten marriage contract.
No one goes through with childhood wedding pacts.
That’s crazy.
But their families might just be crazy enough to rent a hall and set a date. All Rachel and Sebastian have to do is fall in love.
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Review:
3.5 stars
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Only Ever You was a "like it", but not a "love it" for me. I have read many of Ms. Reiss's books and have come to expect them to be angsty, sexy and sometimes dark. I found this book to be very different. Only Ever You is Rachel and Sebastian's story. The two were platonic best friends growing up. Sebastian was a nerd who was often bullied, while Rachel was his protector who stood up for him. The two made a pact/contract then that if they were not married by 30 that they would marry each other. Now, they are both 30 and haven't seen each other since high school, even though their parents still live on the street they grew up on. They run into each other again when both are home for a holiday and they laugh over their old contract. But when their parents find out about it, they are overjoyed and think they are really engaged. When Rachel's mother appears to have had a cancer relapse, Rachel is heartbroken and will do anything to make her mother happy. So she convinces Sebastian to help hide the truth from her mother, planning a fake wedding with him. As they get to know each other again, they begin to fall for each other and the lines between real and fake get blurred.
I enjoyed this book in general, but it read more like women's fiction to me, than a true romance. It reminded me of Christina Lauren's recent women's fiction books. I am not a huge women's fiction fan and I prefer a higher heat level, but this is not a bad book. The story is a little meandering and slow. There isn't much chemistry for the first half of the book, in fact the book is pretty slow burn and low heat in general. Still, it is sweet and sentimental. I liked Sebastian and Rachel. Sebastian is no longer a wimpy nerd. He is a hot tech genius who owns his own company. Rachel had big plans to be a tv writer, but finds herself fighting for her low level job. When they meet again as adults, they feel an attraction, but both are reluctant to act on it for awhile for various reasons. I found them both to be wishy washy at times, especially Rachel. Still, I liked the way Rachel and Sebastian's story ended up. The ending made their journey worth it.
Overall, I enjoyed Only Ever You, even if it was totally different than what I expected. Rachel and Sebastian were really sweet together once they were both all in. The ending was cute too. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy a slow burn, friends to lovers story.
