From New York Times bestselling author CD Reiss comes a story of friendship, romance, and growing into a love that was always there.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 … 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.
more
The things you do for your parents!
Rachel and Sebastian were close buddies as children. Helping and defending each other, they dreamt of what their lives would be like when they grew up. They were inseparable! As a final decree of their friendship, they both signed a “marriage pact” that if they were still single when they both reached the age of 30, they would then marry.
Life often does not adhere to our wishes. For Rachel, her dreams were far from being fulfilled. She was still stuck and struggling to become a famous writer. For Sebastian things had turned out quite differently. He had evolved into a handsome, muscular and successful man, still as sweet as ever. Now that they were both turning 30, would they honor their “marriage pact”? No one was more excited than their parents! It was their long standing belief the two of them were perfect for each other. So nothing was more normal than their parents begin planning their wedding!
How far would you go to please your parents if you thought one of them was dying of Cancer? Would you marry your best friend to fulfill their dearest wish to see you settled and happy?
This is a book about love. Love of your parents, friends, your dreams, and finding the love of your life. Discovering your feelings and honoring them can be a powerful thing!
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the author for sharing a copy with me.
What a fun story to read. Grade school friends, a contract and 14 years.
Rachel was Sebastian’s savior in high school. Sebastian was Rachel’s comfort. Together they agree to honor the contract they wrote at 16. Home, they found their home in each other and the bonds of family.
This was a great coming of age, friends to lovers story that made you feel all the emotions. It was awkward, icky, sweet and oh so enjoyable.
When Rachel and Sebastian were young they made a deal with one another, if neither of them had found their happily ever after by age thirty then they would create one together… starting with a walk down the aisle. Well now they have both hit thirty, with no marriage or blissful future in sight. And now their family has caught wind of their little deal, so they are dealing with incessant urging from them to consider it. But they can’t possibly go through with a deal they made as children… or can they?
Only Ever You was my first experience with Ms. Reiss’s work and I have to say it impressed on many fronts, what a charming first read! The story line was a very inventive take on the friends to lovers premise, and proved to be quite entertaining and good on the heart. There was a smoldering and intense chemistry brewing between Rachel and Sebastian that helped keep things consistently hot and steamy. And their meddling families not only brought drama to the pages, but also bits of humor too… gotta love families! If you like light-hearted romances that’ll tug on the heartstrings, and bring a few blushes, then I highly suggest you give Only Ever You a chance, you won’t be disappointed with what you find between it’s pages!
I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
Only Ever You is a different story written by CD Reiss. If I didn’t realize how CD Reiss can have a different writing style. With that being said, it took me awhile to get into the story. I kept telling myself that the slow burn will die down. Well it didn’t, but that was my only complaint because at the end we had everything!
So lets talk about the main characters, Rachel and Sebastian. Rachel got lost in a world where life is made up my words. She is in Hollywood, and you can be she is talented, but also struggling to find herself. Sebastian is the white knight of the story. He is a hero through and through.
By the middle of the story, things started to come together for me. I got sucked into Rachel and Seb that I would not put my Kindle down. There is no dark drama. There is a lot of growing with these characters that you will fall in love with!
If you want a second chance and friends-to-lovers romance which is same yet completely different in an exciting and excruciatingly heart rending way, Only Ever You by CD Reiss is for you. It has the same heartbreaking, poignant and swoonworthy emotions but special CD Reiss touch has converted it into something totally unexpected and sensational.
I went in the story having an idea that it will be a commercial sweet love story. Bad idea. Because I should never go in a CD Reiss book with preformed idea. Yes it is a sweet love story for sure. But it is ripping-my-heart-out-with-the-swoony-moments kinda love story. It’s a CD Reiss love story. The sharp, piercing and smart writing is everything that I could expect from a CD Reiss story.
Sebastian is a nerd and an alpha. Don’t ask me how she did it but she made the man crazy smart,sexy,a bit bossy and a whole lot of swoony .(Gahh my head is still dizzy over the way he talks).And of course Rachel is a mess. A mess of strength, awkwardness, love, determination and beauty. God I love this woman. The chemistry, the connection, the progress- everything was absolutely stunning! My heart is impossibly full and happy and aching!
They have been separated for years and now years later they are facing a childhood contract of marriage made on impulse. Everything has changed as their lives did not go as planned at all. But Rachel is the one Sebastian loved and Rachel didn’t know Seb is the person who can fill up the gaping hole of incompleteness in her life. Rachel is struggling with her disappointment and fears while Seb is struggling to make her see the real him.
Second chance, childhood “sweetheart”, fake fiance…it is everything combined. And dear god the storytelling is brilliant (as usual). This is more effective than having a code or a finger print scanner or retina scanner as safety procedure. Because no one can replicate or duplicate this writing. There will be only ever you, CD Reiss.
Received ARC for Honest Review through Netgalley and Social Butterfly PR
Maybe all the stars were aligned just right or it was my time to fall for the writings of C.D. Reiss, or perhaps it was just pure luck. No matter how it happened, doesn’t matter because Only Ever You was a joy to read. Only Ever You is the first book by this author that I have read, and I have many of her books on my TBR shelf… why have I waited so long???
Only Ever You is a friends to lovers book, that is well written with engaging characters. What made this book a bit different from other books in similar tropes is the role reversal of the two main characters. Their dialogue is crisp, and sometimes sweet but also mature with a side is of cheekiness. Rachel is the protector of Sebbie, who was a total geek and was bullied all through high school. They were best friends who made a pact. They would get married at age thirty if they were both single. Well, it’s Christmas time, and they are both home, thirty years old and single. That’s when the story takes off.
Rachel and Sebastian expect each other to be the same as they were in high school, but of course, that is not the case. It’s fun to watch the two of them navigate the feelings they once had for each other versus the feelings they now have for each other. I loved the chemistry the two had together; they took their time and worked through some challenging issues together. Throughout the book, there were a few tricky situations, some romantic times, and a few laugh out loud moments and some oh no that did not just happen moments, all of which keep me turning the pages. However, most importantly, these two always came back to each other in one way or another. I felt that Ms. Reiss captured a real sense of belonging with the addition of Rachel and Sebastian’s family members. These characters were authentic, relatable, entertaining, and most importantly, they were always supportive of Rachel and Sebastian.
I liked that the author gave us a fantastic epilogue that took us about six years into the future. Only Ever You is a feel good, fun summer read, and I highly recommend it. I am looking forward to reading more books by C.D. Reiss.
***I kindly received this galley by way of NetGalley/publisher/author. I was not contacted, asked, or required to leave a review. I received no compensation, financial or otherwise. I have voluntarily read this book, and this review is my honest opinion .***
I swooned, I fell, I shed a tear reading Only Ever You. CD Reiss is my forever one click chick, whether it be a hot, dirty, twisted tale, or something a little softer. This is her softer side. Sebastian and Rachel, childhood bffs with a marriage pact. Awww! But Rachel is not at all the same person as she thought she’d be, and Sebbie sure has grown up nicely. Add in some unexpected and emotional family dynamics and this story pulls you in. I love how as a romance writer there are conversations about how tropey her real life is, that was funny. And the END? Classic romance go big or go home. The kind of ending that reminds you why you fell in love with reading romance in the first place. Over the top in all the perfect ways. I’m so happy with this whole story, loved every page.
Only Ever You was an alright story. It has a childhood friends, second chance, only thing for me is, I didnt’t feel the connection between the characters. Shouldn’t childhood best friend be happy to see eachother after years apart? Rachel was so self absorbed, I didn’t care for her at all, and Sebastion was okay. This is just my opinion, I normally like this author work, but as we all know some stories are hits and other misses, but it won’t stop me from reading her next book.
I received this from Netgalley.