You Were Always Mine

By: Nicole Baart

Narrated by: Nina Alvamar

Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed author of Little Broken Things returns with another "race-to-the-finish family drama" (People) about a single mother who becomes embroiled in a mystery that threatens to tear apart what's left of her family.

Jessica Chamberlain, newly separated and living with her two sons in a small Iowa town, can't believe a tragedy in another state could have anything to do with her. But when her phone rings one quiet morning, her world is shattered. As she tries to pick up the pieces and make sense of what went wrong, Jess begins to realize a tragic death is just the beginning.

Soon, she is caught in a web of lies and half-truths - and she's horrified to learn everything leads back to her seven-year-old adopted son, Gabriel. Years ago, Gabe's birth mother requested a closed adoption, and Jessica was more than happy to comply. But when her house is broken into and she discovers a clue that suggests her estranged husband was in close contact with Gabe's biological mother, she vows to uncover the truth at any cost.

A harrowing story of tenacious love and heartbreaking betrayal, You Were Always Mine is about the wars we wage to keep the ones we love close, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Jodi Picoult.

©2018 Nicole Baart (P)2018 Recorded Books

Great mystery and family drama

Jessica is so strong! This takes us through losing her husband and fighting for her family. Well written.

I would not recommend.

Nicole Baart wrote this for publication in 2018. It’s not nearly as well written and polished as her All the Things We Never Said (2021), so don’t give up on this author until you read her later work.

Baart takes a lot of time developing her characters and setting the stage with a tremendous amount of sensory imagery and detail. Unfortunately, in this title, many of those details were not key in solving the mystery, and just served to muddle the plot. For example, the list of (too many) suspects Jessica was keeping in her head at one point was intended to throw the reader off and later create a twist, yet most of those characters were barely mentioned prior, and there was no rationale presented to suspect them at all.

I have never “blamed” a narrator for my dislike of a novel, however, this was about as bad as I have ever heard, so reading vs. audio may be a better option. Nina Alvamar did okay with the narrator voice and main character, but was absolutely terrible going back and forth from other main characters, including all males, particularly the 6-year-old and a 13-year-old boys, who sounded almost identical, not at all the way they should. Their voices were whiny, croaky, just irritating and odd. Also, I am confused as to why the word “sure” is pronounced as “shore” throughout the book? This is not typical in the Midwest. I live and have vacationed in all the Midwest states for over 60 years. Unfortunately, the word “sure” is so overused by the author in the dialog of the characters, it just became a glaring annoyance.

The ending was not satisfying for me, just too “idealistic” and took way too much explaining rather than letting the story be told throughout the novel by the events and actions of the plot.

A pro for me in this book is there is no profanity, no explicit sex and no blood/gore used just for shock value.

It is important to know that the topic of adoption is at the core of this novel. It is a sensitive one, and this will evoke some strong emotions for some readers. There are so many perspectives to consider (the birth family, the adoptive family, the child) not to mention the insight of teachers, medical professionals, social workers, and legal consultants. Each situation is obviously very different and it is hard to listen to some of the assumptions presented without viewing it from your own prior experience(s) with adoption. There were parts that made me a little agitated, even furious at times, and that is not my goal when reading fiction for pleasure.

I choose my books by READING honest reviews, therefore I WRITE honest reviews.

Good Catalog Plus Mystery

One of the reviewers, Wayne, I follow and generally take his recommendation, really enjoys this narrator. Shelly, the other reviewer I follow, introduced me to author Charlie Donlea on Daily Deal, Those Empty Eyes. Wow, what a great read and listen, do NOT MISS IT. So I have been working back through Mr Donlea best sellers but was not sold on the sample for Don’t Believe It and The Girl Who Was Taken. Easy solution to hear the narrator, go on to the Catalog Plus, hence this review. I will be getting the above reads by this narrator.
This author is too wordy for my personal taste, or perhaps a good editor, would have gone through this book with a red pen and cut it down by about 2 hrs worth of material. I have over 1500 audio books, so I can appreciate a well edited fast pace mystery. The Mystery was excellent. The author captured a mother of an adopted son very well. Frankly, the author’s description of that son, just plain stole your heart. From the author’s background she certainly had the exposure to write this good story. Ernest Hemingway rewrote a paragraph until it was distilled to the best essence of the book. That is all this author had to do to get this book on the BEST SELLERS LIST.
Were my comments of help?

The mystery, oh my!

I was intrigued by the mystery. I was wondering and trying to fit the pieces together all the way through. My heart was broken several times and it screamed at the injustice. It felt very realistic.

A part of the story

This book was so, so real. I felt like I was a part of the story from the first word to the last. It was so realistic. As an adoptive mom, I felt like I couldn't breathe during certain parts of the book, but I also celebrated during other parts.

Mama hearts rejoice

This book. Oh, this book. If you live and breathe, you will like this book. Mamas everywhere, you will empathize and relate on the deepest of levels. Small town dwellers will picture themselves in this picture of life. Families who have experienced adoption, loss of a child or parent or spouse, those touched by the autism spectrum; you will relate. Listen or read and cry those tears and laugh those laughs of knowing what this is all about. Do all of that and walk away remembering to hold your loves a little tighter and stress breathe when you need it and know that you're not losing your mind just yet. Let yourself see what the Chamberlain's are experiencing and you too will benefit in this beautifully told story.

The most exasperating heroine of a book I've read

Jessica, the main character in this book, is ridiculously week and waif like. I would expect more strength and mama bear type reactions instead of her constantly melting into the floor, legs giving out, focusing on her inner turmoil and how unfair everything is!! I've never written a review, but this book has bugged me as I hear how she's ready to melt, fall down, drop to the ground and on and on. Very weak woman.