The One in My Heart

By: Sherry Thomas

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling historical romance author Sherry Thomas branches out with her first contemporary romance about a chance meeting a lifetime in the making, and an all-consuming affair without a single predictable moment.

Sometimes the one, the one you didn’t even know you’ve been waiting for, at last comes along....

Evangeline Canterbury has always seemed perfectly composed and perfectly content. No one knows the fear and turmoil she holds inside, and she is happy to hide behind her façade. That is, until she meets Bennett Somerset on a night when her façade has fallen by the wayside, her misery visible for miles.

His presence is beguiling enough that such an inauspicious beginning morphs into a lovely one-night stand. But Evangeline becomes less sure when he ropes her into a fake relationship, so he can use her connections to get close to his estranged parents. She doesn’t want to be exploited, but he is very beautiful, very charming, and very, very, very persuasive.

At first, she is only afraid that she might fall in love—and he might walk away when he has reconciled with his parents. Then, she realizes that he knows her far better than she wants him to, and understands her in ways that threaten the very foundation of her façade. She is desperate to run from him, but what if—what if he actually wants the real her?

©2015 Sherry Thomas (P)2022 Sherry Thomas

Critic reviews

"I am magnificently and irreparably ruined by her books." (Kristan Higgins, New York Times best-selling author)

Loved The One In My Heart!

I love this book so much, I listened to it twice! I loved the characters, and the development of the key characters’ relationship. My only disappointment is that the author didn’t expand the details shared in the postscript more. I also enjoyed the narration, and thought the reader’s voice suited the main character well, and enjoyed every moment without the need to rush through it by changing the speed.

Heart warming

Sherry Thomas's books never fail to pull at the strings of your heart. Personally, I must admit that the voice actor doesn't quite capture my fancy, as her rendition tends to be excessively slow and restrained. However, a simple adjustment to the playback speed at 1.2 times its normal pace fixes the problem.

Wonderful development for a pair of characters

Easily the most complex of Sherry Thomas’ stories, romance or not. Very well done, sets a new standard for character development in multiple characters.

Left something to be desired.

I love Sherry Thomas’ works. This one was emotionally enthralling, but it was a difficult read/listen for me for several reasons. There were several elements of the story that I found relatable. Perhaps that is why my feelings regarding this one are mixed. There was a lot going on in this one—and I do mean A LOT! Some of the themes felt awkward for me though, almost disjointed. I feel like this may be one of those stories that authors put together while simultaneously checking off the prerequisites for liberalistic ideals of inclusion to the degradation of the story line. This is not as dominant an issue in this instance as it has been in some other similar books in this sub-genre. The use of The Lord of the Rings felt a bit corny for me, but I felt like it served as an archetypal tool to move the narrative along. The family drama was interesting enough, and the mental illnesses were very aptly portrayed. I appreciated the author’s realistic depiction of relationship issues, and the progress through them to a (somewhat—IMO) HEA. However, the main issue of contention for me, and the thing that prevents a neat resolution was the relationship between Bennett and Moisha (sp?). His insistent passion and dedication to her was a dark cloud over the entire novel, overshadowing the building relationship between him and Eva from the beginning. While there was a lot going on metaphorically, and even implicitly, enough that I could continue literary analysis for further depth and meaning, my overall dislike of Eva and repulsion with Bennet’s previous affair squelch any desire to do so. I think one major problem for me is Thomas’ ambiguity regarding Bennett’s relationship with a (sexually abusing) older woman. On the one hand, she seems to use the story to show how much heartache that relationship caused Bennett and how damaging it was to him, while also romanticizing it and using it to build up his character. Leaving it as an allusion to a loving, beautiful romance where Bennett was thoroughly well-pleased and satisfied in his life despite—or perhaps because of the struggles in said relationship do not justify the glamorization and passé vindication of this type of child abuse. Even Eva is blasé, if not even accepting of it! Bennett is portrayed almost as a widower where the relationship is concerned, which was the single most disturbing factor in the story for me. As far as “book boyfriends” go—Bennett was top of the list! Lovable, complex, competent, emotionally available, hot, mysterious, compassionate, faithful, etc. However, his intense and passionate love for another woman was just a stumbling block I could not get past-despite it not being a failing on his part. I felt like the story was too scattered and that some elements needed to be exploited more, where others needed to be rectified. For instance, we never learned what happened between Zelda and Eva on that night. There is just the element of “fate,” but only in the sense that the brokenness led them together after-all. That’s probably the one approach I did enjoy, the synergism between the ironic events surrounding them, and the intentional actions required to bring about their relationship. But that still doesn’t rectify the issues. Eva is not a likable character. She’s obtuse in an annoyingly biting, cold way. I disagree that she could be so compassionate and openly desperate for Zelda, but not for Bennett. I get the parallel between Moisha and Zelda, but it still doesn’t cut it for me. I get the mommy abandonment issues, but the whole thing just left something to be desired in the end. The family resolution was nice, and the HEA was ok, but there was still something hanging over them at the end of the story that left it a bit unfulfilling apart from the annoying Eva’s coming to terms with her own selfishness and ignorance in time to rectify it. Overall, the story just left a lot to be desired despite its complexity. Additionally, I never thought I would say this, but I don’t think Kate Reading is the best narrator for this style of book. Although she did a phenomenal job bringing Bennett to life, making him so sexy and passionate—a real feat for female narrators, she gave the story a somewhat Victorian feel that didn’t quite fit the context. I can’t quite explain it, but something was off that I can’t help but think might have been rectified if the story had been performed dually by Andy Arndt and Jacob Morgan/Joe Arden/Teddy Hamilton.

Ready to binge on Lord of the Rings!

Thank God it was only a little over eleven hours of listening! Don't know if I could handle more of the hot stuff, especially since I'm at work! Kate Reading, as always, narrated with finesse! She's one of my favorites! And, Sherry Thomas does well at romantic (and comedic) stories. Well done, ladies!

Just so-so for me

I really struggled to like Evangeline. Loved all the other characters but her. Good writing and performance as I love Kate Reading esp with the Lady Sherlock series.