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The One You're With
Written in Lauren K. Denton's signature Southern style, The One You’re With tells the story of a seemingly perfect marriage rocked by secrets from the past. High-school sweethearts Mac and Edie Swan lead a seemingly picture-perfect life in the sleepy-sweet community of Oak Hill, near Mobile, Alabama. Edie is a respected interior designer, Mac is a beloved pediatrician, and they have two great kids and a historic home on tree-lined Linden Avenue. From the outside, the Swan family is the definition of “the good life.” And life is good—mostly. Until a young woman walks into Mac’s office one day. A young woman whose very existence threatens all Mac and Edie have built and all they think they know about each other. Nineteen years after a summer apart, with a family and established lives and careers, the past that Mac and Edie thought they left behind has come back to greet them. For the first time, constants in their lives are called into question: their roles as parents, their reputation as upstanding members of the community, and the very foundations of their marriage. As they wade through the upheaval in both their family and professional lives, they must each examine choices they made long ago and chart a new course for their future.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published July 6, 2021
About the author
Lauren K. Denton
7 books1,949 followersLauren K. Denton is the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of THE HIDEAWAY and HURRICANE SEASON, along with GLORY ROAD, THE SUMMER HOUSE, THE ONE YOU'RE WITH, and A PLACE TO LAND.
Her books have received widespread accolades, including...
*Women.com's Most Anticipated Summer Beach Reads
*Travel + Leisure's 20 Most Anticipated Books for Summer
*Southern Living's 25 Beach Reads Perfect for Summer and Best Spring Break Reads
*Starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly
*PopSugar's Best 20 Destination Romance Novels
*Deep South Magazine's Spring/Summer Reading Lists
*Woman's World Book Club's Week's Best Fiction
*BuzzBooks Spring/Summer Great Reads
*Travel + Leisure 10 Spring Reads That Will Make Winter a Distant Memory
Combining a love of Deep South settings, a generous dose of small-town flavor and humor, and heartwarming romance, Lauren pens stories that chronicle women’s journeys towards truth and love, hope and healing.
Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, relationships, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. Though her husband tries valiantly to turn her into a mountain girl, she'd still rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books.
Visit Lauren at www.laurenkdenton.com,
instagram.com/laurenkdentonbooks/
facebook.com/LaurenKDentonAuthor
twitter.com/LaurenKDenton,
Her books have received widespread accolades, including...
*Women.com's Most Anticipated Summer Beach Reads
*Travel + Leisure's 20 Most Anticipated Books for Summer
*Southern Living's 25 Beach Reads Perfect for Summer and Best Spring Break Reads
*Starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly
*PopSugar's Best 20 Destination Romance Novels
*Deep South Magazine's Spring/Summer Reading Lists
*Woman's World Book Club's Week's Best Fiction
*BuzzBooks Spring/Summer Great Reads
*Travel + Leisure 10 Spring Reads That Will Make Winter a Distant Memory
Combining a love of Deep South settings, a generous dose of small-town flavor and humor, and heartwarming romance, Lauren pens stories that chronicle women’s journeys towards truth and love, hope and healing.
Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren now lives with her husband and two daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, relationships, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. Though her husband tries valiantly to turn her into a mountain girl, she'd still rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books.
Visit Lauren at www.laurenkdenton.com,
instagram.com/laurenkdentonbooks/
facebook.com/LaurenKDentonAuthor
twitter.com/LaurenKDenton,
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 507 reviews
September 20, 2021
This is a story about marriage and the impact of past choices.
Edie and Mac have been married for almost twenty years. They weren't honest with each other before they got married, and now the future of their marriage is being tested. As it turns out, the choices they made while they were on a break during college are now catching up to them. When an unexpected visitor shows up at Mac's office one day, this family's life changes forever.
"We all kept our truths from each other and look where it got us. Almost twenty years later and we're only now just realizing how tangled it really was. Still is."
I never really warmed up to the characters, especially Edie, so that took away a lot from the story. Twenty years later, Edie was still acting as immature as she did back in college. Fortunately, the last few chapters turned it around and both Edie and Mac redeemed themselves. Overall, this is a worthwhile story about marriage, family, and facing unexpected life changes.
3.5/4 ⭐️
As an aside, as I was listening to this audiobook I couldn't stop thinking of Ross and Rachel in the "We Were On A Break" Friends episodes 😁.
Edie and Mac have been married for almost twenty years. They weren't honest with each other before they got married, and now the future of their marriage is being tested. As it turns out, the choices they made while they were on a break during college are now catching up to them. When an unexpected visitor shows up at Mac's office one day, this family's life changes forever.
"We all kept our truths from each other and look where it got us. Almost twenty years later and we're only now just realizing how tangled it really was. Still is."
I never really warmed up to the characters, especially Edie, so that took away a lot from the story. Twenty years later, Edie was still acting as immature as she did back in college. Fortunately, the last few chapters turned it around and both Edie and Mac redeemed themselves. Overall, this is a worthwhile story about marriage, family, and facing unexpected life changes.
3.5/4 ⭐️
As an aside, as I was listening to this audiobook I couldn't stop thinking of Ross and Rachel in the "We Were On A Break" Friends episodes 😁.
July 6, 2021
Mac and Edie Swan are high school sweethearts, they live in Oak Hill, in Alabama and have been happily married for seventeen years. They have two children Avery and Thomas and the family is well known by everyone in the local community. Mac is a busy pediatrician, he’s well-liked by his staff, patients and their parents. Edie’s an interior designer, she’s talented and has a flare for decorating houses with her own unique style.
The only hiccup in their long term relationship, they split up nineteen years ago and didn’t keep in touch for three months. Mac has no idea the summer he spent working at Sunset Marina all those years ago is going to suddenly turn his life upside down and one day an eighteen year old woman walks into Mac’s office. Mac takes one look at her, he just knows she’s his daughter and what is he going to do? He has to tell Edie, she’s not going to take it well, what will his family and children think? It rocks the basis of their marriage, Edie questions what else Mac hasn’t told her, she feels hurt and very betrayed. The family whole unit is now on rocky ground, the children are confused and don’t want their parents to separate.
The One You’re With looks at the choices both Mac and Edie made years ago, how it will affect their future together and will they have a future? For Mac and Edie the relationship with their children and others is tested and will they be able to stick together and work it out? To do this they need to overcoming feelings of being extremely hurt, trust being broken, what they both want out of life, are they still on the same page and take into account a young woman who desperately needs their help, understanding and support.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, absolutely brilliant, the second book I have read by Lauren K. Denton, and it won’t be my last and five stars from me. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
The only hiccup in their long term relationship, they split up nineteen years ago and didn’t keep in touch for three months. Mac has no idea the summer he spent working at Sunset Marina all those years ago is going to suddenly turn his life upside down and one day an eighteen year old woman walks into Mac’s office. Mac takes one look at her, he just knows she’s his daughter and what is he going to do? He has to tell Edie, she’s not going to take it well, what will his family and children think? It rocks the basis of their marriage, Edie questions what else Mac hasn’t told her, she feels hurt and very betrayed. The family whole unit is now on rocky ground, the children are confused and don’t want their parents to separate.
The One You’re With looks at the choices both Mac and Edie made years ago, how it will affect their future together and will they have a future? For Mac and Edie the relationship with their children and others is tested and will they be able to stick together and work it out? To do this they need to overcoming feelings of being extremely hurt, trust being broken, what they both want out of life, are they still on the same page and take into account a young woman who desperately needs their help, understanding and support.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, absolutely brilliant, the second book I have read by Lauren K. Denton, and it won’t be my last and five stars from me. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
January 27, 2021
(free review copy) Okay, so being the very first Goodreads rating and review for a book is SO MUCH PRESSURE. The good thing though is that Lauren K. Denton is one of my very favorite authors and I’ve loved every single one of her books. I moved this to the top of my TBR the minute I got a digital galley from Edelweiss and I’m so glad I did.
The One You’re With is family fiction, contemporary fiction, marriage fiction - whatever you want to call it. The primary focus is a happy marriage rocked by the consequences of a summer 20 years prior, and oh it did my heart good to see a marriage portrayed the way it is in this story. Marriage requires choosing your spouse over and over and over again. It’s not a one and done situation - marriage requires commitment and a constant reminder of why you stay. I love all of the conversations and rumination in this book about marriage itself. It’s a quiet book and one ultimately one that asks, “What would happen if I’d made a different choice back at the beginning?”.
This is a book for readers who enjoy quiet and contemplative fiction without a lot of drama. It’s published by a Christian publisher (as all of Denton’s books are) but there is zero religious content. It’s inherently a marriage romance but there is zero sex on the page.
I’m writing this review so early prior to publication that things will probably change between the early version I read and the final published manuscript. However, I’m sure my overall love of the story and author wouldn’t be changed by any alterations. And yes this is a gushing review, but Denton has earned my gushing after every single one of her books have become favorites of mine. I’d read her shopping list, her to do list and a letter to her aunt - she can do no wrong ❤️
The One You’re With is family fiction, contemporary fiction, marriage fiction - whatever you want to call it. The primary focus is a happy marriage rocked by the consequences of a summer 20 years prior, and oh it did my heart good to see a marriage portrayed the way it is in this story. Marriage requires choosing your spouse over and over and over again. It’s not a one and done situation - marriage requires commitment and a constant reminder of why you stay. I love all of the conversations and rumination in this book about marriage itself. It’s a quiet book and one ultimately one that asks, “What would happen if I’d made a different choice back at the beginning?”.
This is a book for readers who enjoy quiet and contemplative fiction without a lot of drama. It’s published by a Christian publisher (as all of Denton’s books are) but there is zero religious content. It’s inherently a marriage romance but there is zero sex on the page.
I’m writing this review so early prior to publication that things will probably change between the early version I read and the final published manuscript. However, I’m sure my overall love of the story and author wouldn’t be changed by any alterations. And yes this is a gushing review, but Denton has earned my gushing after every single one of her books have become favorites of mine. I’d read her shopping list, her to do list and a letter to her aunt - she can do no wrong ❤️
June 27, 2021
While this is well written, I guessed the central problem on page one and the ending before I opened the book. I was hoping there might be a big twist and I was wrong, but every minor plot point ended exactly as I thought it would.
Mac and Edie tell their stories from when they separated for three months twenty years ago, to today. These people are ridiculously perfect. I never felt that what causes the friction would actually end their marriage. I never felt Edie’s anger. The reader is told she feels anger, but I want to really believe it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES July 6, 2021.
Mac and Edie tell their stories from when they separated for three months twenty years ago, to today. These people are ridiculously perfect. I never felt that what causes the friction would actually end their marriage. I never felt Edie’s anger. The reader is told she feels anger, but I want to really believe it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, which RELEASES July 6, 2021.
December 11, 2021
Mac and Edie were high-school sweethearts. Nineteen years ago, after a short breakup, they spent a summer apart, discovering what they really wanted. Today they are happily married with two children.
One day a young woman comes into Mac's pediatrician office. This woman has the power to change all of their lives.
This is a great examination of messy relationships and message lives. It is a compelling story of how things change and how one moment can change everything.
One day a young woman comes into Mac's pediatrician office. This woman has the power to change all of their lives.
This is a great examination of messy relationships and message lives. It is a compelling story of how things change and how one moment can change everything.
July 24, 2021
This is a quiet story with a lot of heart and emotion.
It begins in the Summer of 2000: Mac and Edie have dated since the ninth grade. The summer before their college senior year they make the decision to break-up, spend time apart over the summer. Edie goes to New York for an internship with a designer, Mac to work at a marina on the gulf coast. Mac’s under pressure from his parents to be perfect in everything. He wants time away to figure out what HE wants in life. That summer they both get involved with someone, never telling the other.
Currently 19 years later: It’s Dr. Mac Swan’s 40th birthday when he gets a visit in his office by a young woman, Riley, who tells him she’s his daughter. Mac and Edie’s picture perfect marriage is tested after Mac tells Edie, which in turn threatens the very trust they had built their relationship upon. It shakes up everything in their life. Edie feels betrayed that Mac never told her about Riley’s mom, Kat. She’s thinking about what else hadn’t Mac told her about, also questioning if she made the wrong choice to leave NY back in 2000. She see’s Mac as someone she no longer knows. He’s literally a stranger to her. Mac sees this change in her knowing he’s losing her and their marriage.
Edie has to learn how to navigate the challenges thrust upon her with Rileys arrival. She doesn’t go into it willingly. She feels a lot of anger and distrust towards Mac.
All along, Mac quietly stands by Edie while she figures out what SHE wants for herself. Edie kept me on pins and needles when she reached out to her old friend Graham instead of Mac.
This story won me over. Marriage, family, career, love, trust—it’s got it all. Another incredible novel from one of my favorite southern authors!
It begins in the Summer of 2000: Mac and Edie have dated since the ninth grade. The summer before their college senior year they make the decision to break-up, spend time apart over the summer. Edie goes to New York for an internship with a designer, Mac to work at a marina on the gulf coast. Mac’s under pressure from his parents to be perfect in everything. He wants time away to figure out what HE wants in life. That summer they both get involved with someone, never telling the other.
Currently 19 years later: It’s Dr. Mac Swan’s 40th birthday when he gets a visit in his office by a young woman, Riley, who tells him she’s his daughter. Mac and Edie’s picture perfect marriage is tested after Mac tells Edie, which in turn threatens the very trust they had built their relationship upon. It shakes up everything in their life. Edie feels betrayed that Mac never told her about Riley’s mom, Kat. She’s thinking about what else hadn’t Mac told her about, also questioning if she made the wrong choice to leave NY back in 2000. She see’s Mac as someone she no longer knows. He’s literally a stranger to her. Mac sees this change in her knowing he’s losing her and their marriage.
Edie has to learn how to navigate the challenges thrust upon her with Rileys arrival. She doesn’t go into it willingly. She feels a lot of anger and distrust towards Mac.
All along, Mac quietly stands by Edie while she figures out what SHE wants for herself. Edie kept me on pins and needles when she reached out to her old friend Graham instead of Mac.
This story won me over. Marriage, family, career, love, trust—it’s got it all. Another incredible novel from one of my favorite southern authors!
August 27, 2021
3.5 Stars
Lauren Denton delivers very readable prose about a family confronted by a buried secret from the past. Each person must try to make sense of it and adapt, however the primary focus is upon Edie and Mac's marriage. Told in the present moment where the facts surface as well as from approximately 20 years prior when major life decisions were being made and certain events hidden. As other secrets come forth, and neither party is exempt from questioning the choices they made and that of their spouse.
This isn't a wholly original story, its beauty is in the telling and Denton tries to present "facts" rather than malign either for their choices. We get to see actions rather than just words being spoken. The character development was well done. I thought the story was longer than it needed to be, others will probably delight in its length. The story's strength for me is Ms. Denton weaving presentation of Mac and Edie's parents, specifically their treatment of each other and how it has impacted their children's lives. Denton never criticizes but as both, Mac and Edie consider their current scenario, each choose to step away from past history and create a better life as a result.
I'd definitely consider reading more by Ms. Denton.
Lauren Denton delivers very readable prose about a family confronted by a buried secret from the past. Each person must try to make sense of it and adapt, however the primary focus is upon Edie and Mac's marriage. Told in the present moment where the facts surface as well as from approximately 20 years prior when major life decisions were being made and certain events hidden. As other secrets come forth, and neither party is exempt from questioning the choices they made and that of their spouse.
This isn't a wholly original story, its beauty is in the telling and Denton tries to present "facts" rather than malign either for their choices. We get to see actions rather than just words being spoken. The character development was well done. I thought the story was longer than it needed to be, others will probably delight in its length. The story's strength for me is Ms. Denton weaving presentation of Mac and Edie's parents, specifically their treatment of each other and how it has impacted their children's lives. Denton never criticizes but as both, Mac and Edie consider their current scenario, each choose to step away from past history and create a better life as a result.
I'd definitely consider reading more by Ms. Denton.
April 24, 2021
Gosh, I hate to be the naysayer here, but this was very shallow. The female protagonist, Edie, was totally into herself and very, very annoying. The husband’s misadventure was prior to their marriage and during a summer after they had broken up with each other. For 20 years there was no known sequelae nor reason to think there was. The whole basis for this story was just … unrealistic. And yet Edie blew the whole thing out of proportion making a volcano out of a sand dune.
And then there was the wife’s interior decorating skills and job in a firm. Whine, whine, whine.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas Nelson. Needless to say, all opinions are my own.
And then there was the wife’s interior decorating skills and job in a firm. Whine, whine, whine.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas Nelson. Needless to say, all opinions are my own.
June 14, 2021
I can spot a book cover by Lauren K. Denton a mile away. I was excited to read her latest release and was even more excited seeing all the great reviews on Goodreads. I enjoyed this book but felt it dragged in the middle. Not sure who annoyed me most - Edie, Mac or Graham. They all seemed to annoy me by the end. I’ll give this 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.
July 8, 2021
The most annoying, whining, self centered wife lives in this book. Her name is Edie.
The end.
The end.
August 11, 2021
Married for 17 years, Mac and Edie Swan have settled into a comfortable life. Mac is a pediatrician and Edie is a successful interior designer in quaint Oak Hill just outside of Mobile, Alabama. They have two beautiful children they adore. But their lives are completely upended when a pregnant teenage girl appears at Mac's office. Secrets from the past threaten to change everything they have built together.
Told in alternative time periods, the present and the summer of 2000, Mac and Edie revisit the past, questioning the choices they made. Can their marriage survive?
3.5 rounded up to 4.
Told in alternative time periods, the present and the summer of 2000, Mac and Edie revisit the past, questioning the choices they made. Can their marriage survive?
3.5 rounded up to 4.
April 7, 2021
'Marriage consisted of choosing the one you married over and over and over again.'
Once again Lauren K. Denton proves that she is very adept at tackling the super hard stuff of life. And I mean hard stuff. Mac and Edie Swan have a great life until one day everything is thrown up into the wind and no one knows or even has any idea how it will all play out as it falls to the ground. Their entire lives are shaken. Denton knows how to do this writing and do it well. She proves that sometimes love just may need to be examined every once in a while to make sure it's going to stand the test of time and adversity. Well done!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Once again Lauren K. Denton proves that she is very adept at tackling the super hard stuff of life. And I mean hard stuff. Mac and Edie Swan have a great life until one day everything is thrown up into the wind and no one knows or even has any idea how it will all play out as it falls to the ground. Their entire lives are shaken. Denton knows how to do this writing and do it well. She proves that sometimes love just may need to be examined every once in a while to make sure it's going to stand the test of time and adversity. Well done!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through Net Galley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
June 24, 2021
This is a nice summer beach read set in coastal Alabama. Mac and Edie have been married about 20 years and were childhood sweethearts prior to marrying. It’s safe to say they know each other very well.
But one summer, during their college years, they broke up. Things happened that they each kept to themselves. Fast forward several years and the past unexpectedly lands on their doorstep, causing Mac and Edie to reevaluate their marriage and what they mean to each other.
This was a bit predictable and moved a bit slow at times, but I found it a wholesome and satisfying read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-FICTION for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.
But one summer, during their college years, they broke up. Things happened that they each kept to themselves. Fast forward several years and the past unexpectedly lands on their doorstep, causing Mac and Edie to reevaluate their marriage and what they mean to each other.
This was a bit predictable and moved a bit slow at times, but I found it a wholesome and satisfying read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson-FICTION for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.
December 31, 2022
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review...this would be my 4th book by this author, I believe, and like all of the others, I loved it. I will be honest and say that it was not my favorite book of hers so far but it is still very much worth reading, at least once. Essentially this is a book about a couple that has pretty much been a couple forever, it seems like. Except for one brief summer where everything had the potential to change...they take a break from each other and see what else is out there, knowing they would get back together when all is said and done. Well, some of those things come out into the open years later and they have to decide if they still want to be together. Are they the same people they were back then? Are they with each other by default? it is a book about growth and stability in my mind...I loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone that likes contemporary fiction.
July 22, 2021
I am having a really hard time finishing this one. Edie may be the least likable character in any book I have ever read and I have read several books about murderers…
January 12, 2023
Liked it!
One thought that I had while listening was that Edie feelings towards the situation situation was expected and refreshing, but I definitely didn’t like how much she held a grudge towards Mac about the entire thing with Riley. He had no idea what transpired after leaving the coast that summer all those years ago when him and Edie weren’t together and she held onto that the entire book. I thought Mac was definitely the character to watch in this book. I liked his character a lot.
One thought that I had while listening was that Edie feelings towards the situation situation was expected and refreshing, but I definitely didn’t like how much she held a grudge towards Mac about the entire thing with Riley. He had no idea what transpired after leaving the coast that summer all those years ago when him and Edie weren’t together and she held onto that the entire book. I thought Mac was definitely the character to watch in this book. I liked his character a lot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2023
Lovely! This novel pulled me in with a life curve early on. And what a staggering life curve.
Bottom line is The One You're With is a tribute to marriage and choosing your spouse through the ups and downs.
So many great characters. One of my favorites was Edie's dad. He's a minor character, but has a great message.
This is my new favorite Denton novel.
Bottom line is The One You're With is a tribute to marriage and choosing your spouse through the ups and downs.
So many great characters. One of my favorites was Edie's dad. He's a minor character, but has a great message.
This is my new favorite Denton novel.
January 1, 2022
Character-driven. Thought-provoking. Ideal for summer beach reading and book clubs.
Southern storyteller, Lauren K. Denton is known for “Southern grit and grace, humor, hope, and love. They most definitely apply to her latest, THE ONE YOU’RE WITH.
Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Lauren where we go behind the scenes of the book and the author.
With her vivid descriptions and signature style, THE ONE YOU’RE WITH tests the bonds of marriage and family and the complex choices we make both past and present. When fissures from the past threaten the perfect present-day façade. Most importantly, how will this family handle the cards they are dealt?
Present day: Set in a small town of Oak Hill, AL, Mac, and Edie have the perfect marriage with friends and well respected in the community. Mac a highly respected pediatrician and Edie an interior designer with two children Avery and Thomas.
It is Mac’s 40th birthday and Edie has a huge surprise birthday party planned with all their friends. However, before Mac arrives at the party, he gets a surprise of his own.
A young woman walks into his practice named Riley (and pregnant) and announces he is her father. Mac takes one look at the woman and knows she is his own.
From past to present we flashback to the summer of 2000, when Edie and Mac were dating and they broke up, with the summer apart. Mac was trying to decide on his career as a doctor and took a summer job at a marina and took an apartment with his friend Graham. Edie decided to move to New York to take an internship at an interior design firm.
Graham, Edie, and Mac were always great friends. However, that summer they have pulled apart. Since Graham wanted to be an architect, he and Edie had shared interests in the design field. They wrote each other postcards during the summer. Edie and Mac had no correspondence. Graham never shared this with Mac.
However, Mac discovered these cards and did not mention this to Graham. At the same time, he met a local girl named Kat that worked at the marina and they became good friends. She was unlike any girl he had known before.
Graham, Edie, and Mac kept their own secrets. Mac had no clue Kat was pregnant when he left that summer. Edie and Mac got back together and later married.
However, now the truth comes out. Mac does the right thing and wants to help Riley and does not want to just give her money but wants to get to know her and offer her help since her mom has passed away.
How will he make Edie understand and what about Edie’s secrets with Graham? He is back in town and wants to go in business with her. There are choices to be made on both sides of the marriage.
In this small-town community, their perfect family now will be viewed as different from the outside. However, maybe there is hope that the events of the past will make their family stronger in many unexpected ways.
I have had the pleasure of reading all Lauren K. Denton’s books and enjoyed each of them. She has a talent of drawing you into the setting and into the inner lives of the characters which make them come alive on the page.
Even though Mac and Edie were the main characters, there were some fantastic secondary characters. I particularly enjoyed Mac and Riley as well as Cynthia and Fitz and the ending. This novel was so realistic and vivid and hooks you immediately and holds you. It is a scenario that is realistic and could happen to any marriage and family.
Beautifully rendered, a powerful story of the choices we make as young adults which carry over to adulthood. For fans of Charles Martin, Nicholas Sparks, Diane Chamberlain, and Patti Callahan. All my favorite southern storytellers!
Highly recommend. An engaging story of marriage, choices, and the important things in life.
Blog Review:
#JDCMustReadBooks
@JudithDCollins
Pub Date: July 6, 2021
Rating: 💗💗💗💗💗
Southern storyteller, Lauren K. Denton is known for “Southern grit and grace, humor, hope, and love. They most definitely apply to her latest, THE ONE YOU’RE WITH.
Check out my fun #AuthorElevatorSeries Interview with Lauren where we go behind the scenes of the book and the author.
With her vivid descriptions and signature style, THE ONE YOU’RE WITH tests the bonds of marriage and family and the complex choices we make both past and present. When fissures from the past threaten the perfect present-day façade. Most importantly, how will this family handle the cards they are dealt?
Present day: Set in a small town of Oak Hill, AL, Mac, and Edie have the perfect marriage with friends and well respected in the community. Mac a highly respected pediatrician and Edie an interior designer with two children Avery and Thomas.
It is Mac’s 40th birthday and Edie has a huge surprise birthday party planned with all their friends. However, before Mac arrives at the party, he gets a surprise of his own.
A young woman walks into his practice named Riley (and pregnant) and announces he is her father. Mac takes one look at the woman and knows she is his own.
From past to present we flashback to the summer of 2000, when Edie and Mac were dating and they broke up, with the summer apart. Mac was trying to decide on his career as a doctor and took a summer job at a marina and took an apartment with his friend Graham. Edie decided to move to New York to take an internship at an interior design firm.
Graham, Edie, and Mac were always great friends. However, that summer they have pulled apart. Since Graham wanted to be an architect, he and Edie had shared interests in the design field. They wrote each other postcards during the summer. Edie and Mac had no correspondence. Graham never shared this with Mac.
However, Mac discovered these cards and did not mention this to Graham. At the same time, he met a local girl named Kat that worked at the marina and they became good friends. She was unlike any girl he had known before.
Graham, Edie, and Mac kept their own secrets. Mac had no clue Kat was pregnant when he left that summer. Edie and Mac got back together and later married.
However, now the truth comes out. Mac does the right thing and wants to help Riley and does not want to just give her money but wants to get to know her and offer her help since her mom has passed away.
How will he make Edie understand and what about Edie’s secrets with Graham? He is back in town and wants to go in business with her. There are choices to be made on both sides of the marriage.
In this small-town community, their perfect family now will be viewed as different from the outside. However, maybe there is hope that the events of the past will make their family stronger in many unexpected ways.
I have had the pleasure of reading all Lauren K. Denton’s books and enjoyed each of them. She has a talent of drawing you into the setting and into the inner lives of the characters which make them come alive on the page.
Even though Mac and Edie were the main characters, there were some fantastic secondary characters. I particularly enjoyed Mac and Riley as well as Cynthia and Fitz and the ending. This novel was so realistic and vivid and hooks you immediately and holds you. It is a scenario that is realistic and could happen to any marriage and family.
Beautifully rendered, a powerful story of the choices we make as young adults which carry over to adulthood. For fans of Charles Martin, Nicholas Sparks, Diane Chamberlain, and Patti Callahan. All my favorite southern storytellers!
Highly recommend. An engaging story of marriage, choices, and the important things in life.
Blog Review:
#JDCMustReadBooks
@JudithDCollins
Pub Date: July 6, 2021
Rating: 💗💗💗💗💗
April 29, 2021
The One You’re With is another great delve into marriage, love, relationships, secrets, and regrets. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and can’t wait to read more from Lauren K. Denton.
Edie Swan and her husband Mac are living the good life. Edie works at a prestigious design firm, and her husband is a pediatrician with his own practice. They have two children and live in an upscale community near Mobile, Alabama. Everything is good until a young woman enters Mac’s office and their perfect life starts to fall apart.
The books flip between the present and the past, and the points of view of Edie and Mac, giving the story interest, and kept me turning the pages. The book is full of family drama, secrets, and consequences that felt realistic and kept me enthralled in the story. The characters were realistic, fully formed, and sympathetic. The author is a talented writer, and I will be looking for more of her books to read.
I highly recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Edie Swan and her husband Mac are living the good life. Edie works at a prestigious design firm, and her husband is a pediatrician with his own practice. They have two children and live in an upscale community near Mobile, Alabama. Everything is good until a young woman enters Mac’s office and their perfect life starts to fall apart.
The books flip between the present and the past, and the points of view of Edie and Mac, giving the story interest, and kept me turning the pages. The book is full of family drama, secrets, and consequences that felt realistic and kept me enthralled in the story. The characters were realistic, fully formed, and sympathetic. The author is a talented writer, and I will be looking for more of her books to read.
I highly recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
November 7, 2021
3.75 stars
The One You’re With, by Lauren K. Denton, is an enjoyable read with a moving conclusion. In fact, the end really saved it for me. Much of the story felt a bit bogged down by my frustration over the characters’ behaviors, reactions and choices. People are complex, and we don’t always react in sensical ways based on our own past experiences, relationships, or hurts, and we certainly aren’t always going to make the same decisions, and that’s ok. We rarely share the same outlook, or perspective on things, so the course we chart for our lives will vary widely. But I did feel like the main female character’s reaction to a certain event was so overblown and slightly irrational that made it difficult to empathize with her, or be moved by the story and the entire premise surrounding it.
All-in-all, the story wrapped up nicely, had a good message, and the characters learned some invaluable lessons and grew from beginning to end. It was just a bit tedious at times and occasionally frustrating along the way.
The One You’re With, by Lauren K. Denton, is an enjoyable read with a moving conclusion. In fact, the end really saved it for me. Much of the story felt a bit bogged down by my frustration over the characters’ behaviors, reactions and choices. People are complex, and we don’t always react in sensical ways based on our own past experiences, relationships, or hurts, and we certainly aren’t always going to make the same decisions, and that’s ok. We rarely share the same outlook, or perspective on things, so the course we chart for our lives will vary widely. But I did feel like the main female character’s reaction to a certain event was so overblown and slightly irrational that made it difficult to empathize with her, or be moved by the story and the entire premise surrounding it.
All-in-all, the story wrapped up nicely, had a good message, and the characters learned some invaluable lessons and grew from beginning to end. It was just a bit tedious at times and occasionally frustrating along the way.
July 29, 2021
Mac and Edie Swan are high school sweethearts who have been married for seventeen years, and have two amazing kids, Avery and Thomas. Mac is a pediatrician who is well known and loved in the community, and Edie is a talented interior designer, and a rising star in the design world.
Their beautiful family is shaken to its core, and the Swan marriage is tested when an eighteen year old pregnant woman walks into Mac’s life.
Lauren K Denton sure knows how to drop a bomb on a seemingly perfect marriage, and I could not have enough of it. Denton wrote a deeply moving story about the what-ifs, and how past decisions can affect the future.
This beautiful story is told in both the present, and then nineteen years ago when Edie and Mac spent time apart that summer just before college. The writing was seamless, and very addicting. The characters were so lovable and realistic, and I loved how each of them handled their past mistakes in their own way. I was so thrilled to find out what happens next that I could not wait to turn those pages fast enough.
Though this was my first Denton book, I am now a huge fan of her incredible writing that is uplifting, heartwarming, and truly captivating from the very first page to the last.
Don’t miss this amazing southern fiction novel from a master story teller. Truly fantastic!
Their beautiful family is shaken to its core, and the Swan marriage is tested when an eighteen year old pregnant woman walks into Mac’s life.
Lauren K Denton sure knows how to drop a bomb on a seemingly perfect marriage, and I could not have enough of it. Denton wrote a deeply moving story about the what-ifs, and how past decisions can affect the future.
This beautiful story is told in both the present, and then nineteen years ago when Edie and Mac spent time apart that summer just before college. The writing was seamless, and very addicting. The characters were so lovable and realistic, and I loved how each of them handled their past mistakes in their own way. I was so thrilled to find out what happens next that I could not wait to turn those pages fast enough.
Though this was my first Denton book, I am now a huge fan of her incredible writing that is uplifting, heartwarming, and truly captivating from the very first page to the last.
Don’t miss this amazing southern fiction novel from a master story teller. Truly fantastic!
July 10, 2021
4.5 stars. Honestly, it's not funny but I couldn't stop picturing Ross from Friends saying "We were on a break!"during most of this story in Mac's defense. This was a serious, messy, family drama page turner, even though I kept hearing Ross in my head. Yea, you get the drift when reading the book blurb what happened 19 years ago. The story moves back and forth from past and present. The lives of three best friends (Mac, Graham and Edie), two of which become a couple and what happens with them along the way. This author brings me to tears more often than not and I was definitely teary here. Some characters I felt heart breakingly bad for, others I wanted to shake. But I thoroughly enjoyed the story from beginning to end.
July 27, 2021
I kept waiting for something to happen. It didn't.
June 30, 2021
As I read into the first couple of chapters I found myself hooked into the easy flow of the story. It opens with Mac's point of view and then moves to Edie's one. It also goes back and forwards from one summer a number of years ago and the current day.
I really felt on Mac's side a lot of the time, I was a little impatient with Edie because I felt she should own her own stuff sooner! However I hung in there with her and liked how she eventually figured it all out.
This story explores what happens in a good marriage when something pops up that really rattles the cage. They are great parents and very good members of the community but now they are asked to stretch. To absorb and grow from what presents itself.
I found myself smiling and laughing at times especially there in the last chapter. It was a satisfying, thought provoking read. Happy to have read it.
I really felt on Mac's side a lot of the time, I was a little impatient with Edie because I felt she should own her own stuff sooner! However I hung in there with her and liked how she eventually figured it all out.
This story explores what happens in a good marriage when something pops up that really rattles the cage. They are great parents and very good members of the community but now they are asked to stretch. To absorb and grow from what presents itself.
I found myself smiling and laughing at times especially there in the last chapter. It was a satisfying, thought provoking read. Happy to have read it.
March 27, 2021
The One You're With by Lauren K. Denton. Family relationships, realistically portrayed with well developed relatable characters. Mac and Edie are willing to work through past consequences that have recently come to light. Refreshing to read about characters who love and respect each other, and are committed to one another, their marriage, and family.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
April 13, 2021
This novel has accumulated so many positive reviews – I wish I could endorse it with the same enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I gritted my teeth through much of the reading for two reasons. First, the female protagonist was one of the most irritating characters I have encountered in a long time. Second, I am not a big fan of dramas built around love triangles.
Mac, Edie and Graham have been best friends since childhood. It seemed evident to everyone that Mac and Edie belonged together and would eventually marry and have a family. With the exception of the summer they broke up before their senior year in college, that’s exactly what they did. One the eve of Mac’s fortieth birthday, he receives some jolting news that threatens to implode the “perfect life” he and Edie have built. The fault lines under this well-respected, successful couple’s marriage are revealed and each one must embrace the deeper truths of long-held secrets.
The story is told from the perspectives of Mac and Edie alternating between the summer of 2000 and the present. While I can appreciate the shock that Edie experienced over the consequences of Mac’s actions when they were no longer considered a couple, I felt she was disingenuous in claiming that he lied to her by omission when she, herself, was not forthcoming with her own withheld secret. She seemed rather shallow, worrying more about public appearances and reputations than about the needs of another human being. Mac, struggling with integrating his past with the present, was much more compassionate and genuinely remorseful, if not a bit too accommodating of Edie’s anger. Then just when it seems Edie has turned the corner on her propensity to project blame, her reaction to her son’s trauma highlights this unpleasant aspect of her personality again. It makes me wonder about their future.
The conclusion does end on a realistic note and certainly underscores that any long term marriage goes through ups and downs, requiring patience, compassion and forgiveness. As the author wisely notes love is a choice and marriage requires that choice to be made over and over again.
My thanks to the author, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.
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Mac, Edie and Graham have been best friends since childhood. It seemed evident to everyone that Mac and Edie belonged together and would eventually marry and have a family. With the exception of the summer they broke up before their senior year in college, that’s exactly what they did. One the eve of Mac’s fortieth birthday, he receives some jolting news that threatens to implode the “perfect life” he and Edie have built. The fault lines under this well-respected, successful couple’s marriage are revealed and each one must embrace the deeper truths of long-held secrets.
The story is told from the perspectives of Mac and Edie alternating between the summer of 2000 and the present. While I can appreciate the shock that Edie experienced over the consequences of Mac’s actions when they were no longer considered a couple, I felt she was disingenuous in claiming that he lied to her by omission when she, herself, was not forthcoming with her own withheld secret. She seemed rather shallow, worrying more about public appearances and reputations than about the needs of another human being. Mac, struggling with integrating his past with the present, was much more compassionate and genuinely remorseful, if not a bit too accommodating of Edie’s anger. Then just when it seems Edie has turned the corner on her propensity to project blame, her reaction to her son’s trauma highlights this unpleasant aspect of her personality again. It makes me wonder about their future.
The conclusion does end on a realistic note and certainly underscores that any long term marriage goes through ups and downs, requiring patience, compassion and forgiveness. As the author wisely notes love is a choice and marriage requires that choice to be made over and over again.
My thanks to the author, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing a digital ARC in exchange for an independent, honest review.
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March 29, 2021
The blurb caught my attention. I’m not keen on stories revolving around marriage struggles. I had other stories to read, but I was so curious about how this one would play out and if my heart could take it, I put the others aside and started. I was not disappointed and thoroughly pleased. Some parts pained me, but others made me very happy.
Edie Everett and Mac Swan had a bright future ahead of them yet they decide to take a summer apart before their senior year of college. Was it for the best? Almost two decades of marriage later that may still be the question. Marriage is both a beautiful commitment and hard work. There can always come a time when one questions choices and decisions though. Both Edie and Mac do this. Especially when things get tough. When the bomb is dropped, I feel the devastation. I’m with Edie all the way. I’m heartbroken and angry. I’m all over the place with my feelings for Mac. I’m immensely impressed with his determination to do his own thing. I hate the consequences of some of those actions though. But once he has accepted those consequences, I love way he handles himself and his dogged determination to make things right, especially with his wife.
As they both go through the stages to work towards getting their life back on track it’s all there - hurt, anger, sorrow, doubt, longing, desire, love. The emotions ran the gamut. And the questions too. Can I do this was prevalent and I found myself wondering the same thing. The hurt and forgiveness was huge. Edie was a much stronger, and dare I say, more compassionate person than I could ever be. It was not a perfect marriage but what marriage is? They both had their faults but what was important was they communicated once trouble hit. Their strength was in their love for each other and their family and doing what they thought was best for them.
In the end this was a wonderful read that I couldn’t put down for many reasons and well worth putting off the others so I could read this first.
Edie Everett and Mac Swan had a bright future ahead of them yet they decide to take a summer apart before their senior year of college. Was it for the best? Almost two decades of marriage later that may still be the question. Marriage is both a beautiful commitment and hard work. There can always come a time when one questions choices and decisions though. Both Edie and Mac do this. Especially when things get tough. When the bomb is dropped, I feel the devastation. I’m with Edie all the way. I’m heartbroken and angry. I’m all over the place with my feelings for Mac. I’m immensely impressed with his determination to do his own thing. I hate the consequences of some of those actions though. But once he has accepted those consequences, I love way he handles himself and his dogged determination to make things right, especially with his wife.
As they both go through the stages to work towards getting their life back on track it’s all there - hurt, anger, sorrow, doubt, longing, desire, love. The emotions ran the gamut. And the questions too. Can I do this was prevalent and I found myself wondering the same thing. The hurt and forgiveness was huge. Edie was a much stronger, and dare I say, more compassionate person than I could ever be. It was not a perfect marriage but what marriage is? They both had their faults but what was important was they communicated once trouble hit. Their strength was in their love for each other and their family and doing what they thought was best for them.
In the end this was a wonderful read that I couldn’t put down for many reasons and well worth putting off the others so I could read this first.
June 27, 2021
This is a heart-warming novel about Mac and Edie Swan. Mac and Edie appeared to have the perfect life and the perfect marriage, until one day a young girl named Riley comes into Mac's pediatrics office.
Riley shares information with Mac that shakes his and Edie's world. Their marriage is put to the test as they re-evaluate their entire relationship and everything they have known about each other.
I found this to be a very well thought out novel. I enjoyed the characters and thought this was a beautiful story about love and working together when everything isn't always perfect. If your looking for an uplifting story definitely check this one out.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson-Fiction and the author for my complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on July 2, 2021.
Riley shares information with Mac that shakes his and Edie's world. Their marriage is put to the test as they re-evaluate their entire relationship and everything they have known about each other.
I found this to be a very well thought out novel. I enjoyed the characters and thought this was a beautiful story about love and working together when everything isn't always perfect. If your looking for an uplifting story definitely check this one out.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson-Fiction and the author for my complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on July 2, 2021.
September 14, 2021
This is Lauren Denton's fifth book and I've read them all. I love her style of telling the story, her characters are real, imperfect and unpredictable. Mac and Edie Swan have been married 17 years, have two children and established careers. They were high school sweethearts and were always "meant to be" until one day a young woman comes into Mac's pediatric practice and their lives are upended by her news. The story commences with lots of twists and turns, questions, angst and soul-searching that kept me interested to the end.
I was anxiously awaiting this book and, like her other stories, I was not disappointed. Thank you and keep sharing your wonderful gift of story-telling!
I was anxiously awaiting this book and, like her other stories, I was not disappointed. Thank you and keep sharing your wonderful gift of story-telling!
March 24, 2022
Wonderful characters and storyline. As always, Denton delivers!
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