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.
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Only Ever you was a sweet one! Totally not what we normally get from this author, but in a good way! Nice to see the sweet side occasionally.
This starts with your let’s get married when we are thirty if we are not with anyone else pact. It steers is in to a beautiful lasting romance and just plain soothes the soul. So good!
5 beautiful stars Elizabeth @ Carolina Chic’s Read
I haven’t read many of CD Reiss’s books and I’m glad I decided to pick up Only Ever You. Sebastian and Rachel’s story was a sweet read that drew me in from the start. It’s definitely a great one to pick up.
This was perfect for my mood. The sweet, uncomplicated romance. Well, not so uncomplicated but sweet and romantic nonetheless. He’s adored her from afar in his “dweeb”like manner whiles been his champion against the bullies. Friends. Adulthood has reversed the roles and added layers of confusion. At the heart of it all is love. Love of family. Love of career. And love for the one that makes you complete, that makes you a better you.
I thoroughly enjoyed the narrators and Brian Pallino has a very nice voice.
I could not wait to start this book; I love best friends to lover’s stories! Rachel and Sebastian have chemistry that was off the charts. They look out for each other. They grew up as neighbors and best friends. Sebastian is loveable and a nerd who gets bullied. Rachel I smart and protective of her best friend. As they get older Sebastian became confidant and a successful rich guy. Rachel lost who she was after her mom’s illness. Now they will navigate going through with a fake marriage. Will it turn out that isn’t actually fake?
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.
I so love this book! CD Reiss is a known author of romance erotica but in Only Ever You she delivers one heck of a romantic comedy. A sexier version of one with all the sweet, funny, heartwarming and poignant moments that makes a great rom com. Rachel and Sebastian are fantastic characters that will get readers invested in how this romance develops. The dialogue and story line and marvelous secondary characters and of course Rachel and Sebastian’s journey make this one memorable page turner that is now on my list of all time favorites.
Only Ever You was just a delightful love story about two childhood friends who decided to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons. They had loved each other forever but now they’ve fallen in love with one another. Sebastian and Rachel were perfect together. I loved their relationship as it grew even though there was a lot of indecisiveness along the way. Seb became Rachel’s champion just as she had been for him in their childhood. CD Reiss hit all the right notes with this book. It just made me feel good.
I loved this sweet, sexy, romantic book! Rachel and Sebastian were childhood friends. They were next door neighbors and best friends. She stuck up for Sebastian when he was bullied. But when they went away to college, they lost touch. For over 14 years they had their own lives. Until one Christmas, they both came home and saw each other. And their friendship reunited among other feelings. Their story was so entertaining. I loved watching them discover their feelings for each other. Sebastian, the nerd, became Sebastian, the wealthy hunk. And his sweetness toward his mother and sister and Rachel made me swoon. A perfect summer romance!
This is such a great story about childhood friends who made a pact to get married if they weren’t married by 30. Rachel and Sebastian were best friends since they were little and since Sebastian was a “nerd”, Rachel always defended him from the bullies. Rachel was the girl with all the plans on how her life will be like and what her goals and milestones are for each phase. Sebastian was shy and not sure what he wanted to do other than he loved art.
When these 2 finally see each other after so many years apart, each is not what the other had expected but Sebastian still remembered their marriage pact. He kind of wants to go through with their pact but not sure how Rachel feels. When you add in both meddling mothers to a potential romance, it just gets crazy. Rachel’s life didn’t go as she had planned but she’s still trying but life has been a little hard on her. Sebastian has definitely changed from that “nerd” to a hot guy which shocks Rachel a little bit. When Rachel thinks that her mother is sick again, she asks Sebastian to go along with the pact. Romance, craziness, and everything else happens when these two realizes that they do have romantic feelings for each other but is not really sure if the other person really feels the same. A lot of miscommunication, craziness, and the need to change the way each perceives each other finally leads to a very romantic ending!
This was such a sweet, romantic, and funny read. I love these 2 characters for their belief in each other even if they aren’t as confident about their own self.
A great “marriage pact’ romance that leaves you smiling.
Only Ever You is a beautiful love story between two friends who have not seen each other in twelve years. They’ve gone on to have separate lives, completely different from what they’d thought they have and it just so happens they’re both single when they re-connect with the marriage pact hanging in between them and it was wonderful watching everything unfold!
I absolutely loved Rachel and Sebastian. It was so much fun watching them getting to know each other again and watching them dance around their attraction to one another. Rachel and Sebastian threw off such sparks and the heat that built between them was incredible. The book was a delicious slow burn and so worth it! I will admit to having soft spots for “nerds” but Sebastian made me melt. I was rooting for him and Rachel, especially since I understand quite well her frustrations with life. I loved seeing them support and boost each other. They might have been apart for years and not know each other when they were 30, but the framework of their friendship remained strong and I loved that!
Another part of the book I loved was the family-both Rachel’s and Sebastian’s. Both of their mothers are a hoot, pushing and pushing them to fulfill the marriage contract they drew up as kids. I loved the relationship between Rachel’s parents and how much she was willing to do for them. I loved Carole, Sebastian’s mom and how she was perceived as kooky and weird, but how she stayed true to herself. And I can’t forget Sebastian’s younger sister. After Rachel and Sebastian, they were the best part of the book. I feel like they helped add an emotional depth to the story that just made it all that much better.
C.D. Reiss is a very talented and versatile author. She makes sure the formula for a romance novel is never rote or boring and makes her characters and readers work for their happiness. I always enjoy how mentally stimulating her books her. There’s a reason why they stick with you once you’re finished reading them.
ONLY EVER YOU. The premise of this book alone makes me all emotional and gooey inside already … even now after I’ve read it – it still does things to me. Rachel and Sebastian’s story is a rare jewel. One of those stories that do not need angst and unnecessary drama to be utterly compelling. A story about years of friendship turning more, about loyalty as much as family, hope and love.
And Sebastian … oh, Sebastian. Such a wonderful hero. He is everything. Just … everything. His vulnerability, all the ways he shows his love for Rachel, his heart on his sleeve wherever she was concerned. And the glorious fact that he was the shy one – the nerd who was bullied in his childhood and needed defending from his best friend – Rachel – and not the other way around. I loved the reversal of the stereotype – as much as I loved him being this beautiful, successful and confident sexy swan today, yet still not fitting the norm in every regard. He’s perfectly imperfect. Yes, I was rooting for him the entire way through!
A fateful love-story if there ever was one. A sweet and enchanting romance that makes the perfect summer read.
A beautiful friends to lovers contemporary romance, so different to what I’ve read before from CD Reiss and hugely enjoyable. I love a sweet read and this definitely gave me that.
Teenage best friends agree to a marriage pact, 15 years later they are both home and their parents are pushing for them to enact the pact when they are both single and home at the same time. But will Rachel fall for the once nerd now hunky millionaire? You’ll have to read the book.
So different from what I was expecting but oh so good.
I really loved everything about this book. CD Reiss really has this way about her with her writing, it’s magnificent. This book talks about some very real problems in today’s society, but she writes about it in the best ways! These two were underdogs who completely rose up!
Now, let’s talk about Rachel and Sebastian. I ADORE these two sooo much. One of my favorite parts was how close they were growing up. Seeing Rachel defend Seb was so adorable and so admirable! Then on the flip side, I was really sad that they didn’t keep in touch about adults. BUT, this is a big but, it made them seeing each other as adults THAT MUCH BETTER. The reaction that they each had, internally, toward each other was hysterical! Seb wasn’t the nerdy kid who got bullied anymore, he was HOT HOT HOT! Everything from the transformation to their marriage pact, I GOT SO SUCKED IN! These two were just so great about the whole thing. I loved how they were going along with this crazy wedding scheme, but at the same time they were really starting a relationship.
There was the perfect amount of pure, true romance, the perfect amount of sexy, teasing moments and the perfect amount of drama. It’s like at trifecta of awesome. And there were sooo many layers. Layers to the story, layers to who Seb and Rachel were, and layers to their new lives. Then we add in people like the parents and Seb’s sister. It was just so great! I LOVE secondary characters and the family in the story were so perfect for that. I even loved the relationships with their friends. There really wasn’t a stone unturned here. Each person had their own unique and developed personality, even if you only saw them for a few sentences here and there.
I cannot recommend this book enough!!
4.5 Delightful and Brilliant Stars!!
Only Ever You by CD Reiss, is a heartfelt, heartwarming friends to lovers romance that had me hooked right from the very first page with an interesting, and captivating storyline.
Sebastian and Rachel had such amazing chemistry and apparently everyone thinks that they’re destined for each other, let alone they’re existant “marriage contract from childhood”. Really? That’s absolutely freaking adorable.
In all truth, since I read the blurb, I was SOLD. Yup, definitely.
Author CD Reiss creates such realistc storylines that you can feel what her characters are going through, and this beautiful story is not the exception. Her phenomenal storytelling makes me fell immersed, and transported to that wonderful world she had created.
All in all, a delighful and enjoyable read that I highly recommend!!
I’m so glad I picked this book up. I binged it listening all day at work then finished reading when I got home. I loved the narrators and I loved Sebbie. I love a story about a good guy. A guy that is so in love with the girl that he fights for her, and doesn’t give up. Sebastian was a nerd who grew up and was gorgeous and successful now, but he never forgot the girl he loved. I loved him. This was a great light read that gave the feels.
If you don’t fall head over heels over this story by the time you hit Chapter 3 then not to be judgy, but you might need help 😉 lol
There is so much goodness in this story! Okay so first I should tell you I read this twice. The story is filled with so many little pockets of heart, you just cannot get them all in one pass LOL Plus, I read it first a gazillion years ago and I just wanted to read a happy story again LOL I swear, my heart sang even more the second time around. I want to say that this is a second chance romance or friends to lovers story but that isn’t quite right in my head because these two were already in love before they even knew what love was and THAT is the best part of this book. Watching/reading Rachel metamorphosize (is that even a word? lol) her feelings about Sebastian was a thing of beauty. It’s like that feeling when you’re thinking about a word and it’s right there on the tip of your tongue but you just can’t quite get it. That’s what it felt like reading Rachel transform, because that’s exactly what was happening! It was glorious.
The trope of this story is not anything most of us have not read before but the unfolding of the story was extraordinary for me. I was so damn happy for these two it was ridiculous. And that feeling was brought out of me because this author has a unique way of doing that. It doesn’t matter what she writes, I am pulled into the story and I do not just merely read it, I experience it. It’s powerful and unique. And she can do it across the board with any trope/genre she writes.
This story should not have been what I call edgy, but it was! Not in the dark way we tend to think of the word, but more in the anticipation of the story line. I was caught up in everything that was happening. It’s like I became Rachel and I couldn’t wait for the next ah ha moment or shoe to drop moment in the delightful transformation that was Rachel’s feeling.
I cannot say this enough times. This author can bring it no matter what she writes. With this story, your heart will soar! I promise you that!
Love CD Reiss! I read everything she releases. She tells a great story and the writing is fabulous! Only Ever You was sweet, funny, and you will fall in love with Rachel and Sebastian.
This best friends-to-lovers, teenage marriage pact romance was sweet and heartwarming. It was a story about friendship, family, and love.
Sebastian was so sweet and swoon-worthy. He blossomed from a nerdy teenager to a successful businessman yet he still held a sense of vulnerability. Rachel was strong and hopeful even when life had thrown her curve balls to skew her off her dream path. I loved that their relationships was built on friendship and loyalty. I did not agree on their initial intention when they carried out the marriage pact at first. However, I was happy that they finally pull their heads out and see how perfect they were for each other. I loved both Sebastian and Rachel’s crazy families which added so much entertainment to the story.
I really enjoyed this low angst, easy and sweet romance and would recommend it.
Only Ever You is enchanting and beautifully written. Author CD Reiss tells a classic tale of best friends who become lovers, yet the story is unmistakably unique with the twists she spins for her readers. This trope has been done a million times, and yet it remains one of my favorites. That said, who doesn’t love a romance that feels like it’s entirely new and never seen before?! Without question, CD Reiss is a truly talented author and her stories won me over years ago. She changes up her tropes, plots, characters, and more like a chameleon changes its colors. Yet each story she pens lands solidly on my favorite’s list. While it’s been several months, possibly even nearly a year since I had the pleasure of reading her words, I found myself undoubtedly captivated as I read the dual POV story of childhood best friends, Sebastian and Rachel, who form a marriage pack as teens. Their pact isn’t completely cut and dry and consists of stopgaps that had me expecting a storyline much different from the one I found myself reading. That unpredictability followed throughout their story and just when I was sure I had things solidly figured out, I would find the story taking a detour. Watching Sebastian and Rachel rediscover one another—as a man and a woman, and not adolescents—after spending a decade apart, when their characters have truly become individuals, was very fulfilling and made the story very real, very believable. CD Reiss wove details that added complexity to their characters and the storyline skillfully. Only Ever You is sweet with plenty of swoon-worthy moments, sexy and steamy, heart-wrenching at turns. Both Sebastian and Rachel are complex and well-written characters who will burrow into your minds and stick with you even after you’ve finished the story. Only Ever You was an excellent read and I’d give it 4.5 Stars!
I am such a sucker for nerdy heroes, so immediately knew I had to read this book.
I will say that this story was somewhat different from what I expected. It’s a very smart, subtle, cleverly written book full of angst and slow burn. I loved Sebastian and all the crazy family members in this story. You get a lot of POV involving their inner thoughts, but I feel like I didn’t get as good of an idea of who Rachel was that I would have liked. Despite that, I really felt for her and all of her struggles.