Rachel moved into Mandarin Lane when she was eleven and became firm friends with the resident Dweeb, Sebastian. Rachel was always there protecting Sebastian from the bullies who made his life miserable. Both have their lives mapped out, but sign a contract stating that if neither is married by the time they both turn 30, they will marry each other. Of course nothing ever goes as planned and that is why Rachel and Sebastian end up with a fake engagement. This was a fun read, easy going with plenty to keep you turning the pages. and good peripheral characters that complimented the story.

This was a sweet story of childhood best friends & a pact they make that changes the course of their life. Sebastian and Rachel are joined at the hip until growing up separates them as is often the case. Reunited ten years later at a very difficult time in her life Sebastian is again the best friend she needs. But then he become more. I loved their ease with each other, their genuine affection and their eventual chemistry. Sebastian is a great BBF and he ticked all my boxes. I will definitely be recommending this one to friends.

Only Ever You by C.D. Reiss a five-star read that will make you see stars. This was such a great read, I haven’t read anything by her before, but have just added a bunch of novels to my tbr pile as I enjoyed this one so much. This was a full story, it just kept getting better and better. I loved how Rachel and Sebastian grow with the story, it gave me such heart watching Sebastian go from Dweeb to Dude…..(said with a bit of drool down my chin). The romance was real and believable, it had a great down to earth ness about it. I must say being a Capricorn my heart did break a teeny tiny bit.

I am sad to report my disappointment in Only Ever You by C.D. Reiss. Sebastian, the hero, is the only thing that saved this book from being a one star review.

I have a thing for nerds and Sebastian qualifies as one, although he got hot and rich. But hey, it's fiction, right? Sadly, there ends the happy with this book. I wanted to like Rachel and though I did a few times, overall she annoyed the mess out of me. She constantly thought one thing and immediately did another. She was all over the place which made the book hard to read. And speaking of being all over the place... the dialogue. It was so hard to follow I didn't know who was talking most of the time.

Their background of friendship did tug at the heartstrings a few times but mostly it seemed glossed over in favor of the heroine's woe is me current storyline. And even though some of the side characters were fun, almost nothing they did seemed remotely realistic to the point I was rolling my eyes. I end up skimming half of the book.

What should have been a promising and cute story fell flat in every way. The pacing and flow were off, a lot of repetitive whining on behalf of the heroine. It's killing me to write this review as I wanted to love it. Maybe Ms. Reiss' writing is just not for me? I don't know but whatever the case, skip this one.

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.

This was pretty tame for C.D. Reiss. It was more of a light read but with some heavy subjects still. It was a balance that was pulled off well.

At first I thought this might be a little too tame, but then you get pieces here and there that would jump out and pull at you. I liked those little bits of surprise. It had a way of making me care more about Rachel and Sebastian.

These two seemed almost flipped. Sebastian had characteristic you usually see in a heroine and vice versa for Rachel. I would normally say that wouldn't be for me, and yet it worked. It made their story unique in a common theme.

I'm a sucker for a good ending and this ended in a perfect way. We got to see an epilogue a few years later and it was beautiful.

4.5 Stars!!!
CD Reiss has a real gift for writing great romance novels! She has absolutely become a sure thing for me! I actually didn’t even read the book description before diving into Only Ever You (that very rarely happens)! I always enjoy the friends to lovers premise and I loved CD Reiss’s fresh spin on it! I found the main characters (Rachel and Sebastian) endearing and relatable. I love a novel that makes me literally laugh out loud at times and also manages to pull on your heartstrings at other parts (spoiler alert- both happed several times). Only Ever You is a complete standalone, but I really, really think it would make a fantastic series! I highly recommend every romance novel fan read Only Ever You!!

Rachel and Sebastian have known each other since they were eleven. They are neighbors and attend the same school. Obviously, they are best friends.
Rachel has her life all planned out, but just in case, she agrees (in writing) to marry Sebastian if they are both single when they turn 30.
Now, they are 30 and single. Their parents find out about their agreement and want them to get married.
After years without seeing each other, they will learn to know each other again, to be best friends again... And to fall in love!
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book.

Rachel and Sebastian were childhood best friends who were there for each other, but grew up and apart, until more than a decade later when they reunite and the possibility of fulfilling a childhood pact rears its head.Both main characters' lives are heavily impacted by their families and as each decision revolves around the pact,they find themselves questioning the validity and validation of love for a successful happy future.The story started well enough and maintained a steady pace throughout, so it kept me engaged and anticipatory.Had a hard time rationalizing Rachel's decisions and behavior at times, even in the setting of her disappointment at the direction her life has taken,but Sebastian's steadiness kept the novel from becoming too tedious and predictable.Also liked the fact that Sebastian's innocence did not dilute the intimacies in the book.Quite an enjoyable read that stayed true to the title.

Great book and great story, I just felt there was a little something missing. Not sure what. I did love it. It just didn’t keep me engaged, or have me overly rooting for the heroine, until the last few chapters, then I was all in. When Rachel was younger she was a bit of a ball buster, as she got older she lost her fight and became a little lacklustre, and if I’m being honest a little whiny. That aside, I really liked the rest of the crazy characters, Sebastian and his mum appealed greatly to my sense of humour, romance and love. I love geek next door turns into mega successful hunk stories, and all said and done it was a sweet enjoyable friends to lovers romance, you know the one, a pact is made if neither one is in a committed relationship by a certain age. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, this is my honest review.

I have read numerous CD Reiss novels beginning with the Drazen family to her more recent Edge series but none have impacted me like "Only Ever You" has.  I loved this story so much and am borderline obsessed with Sebastian. He was so charming, honest and steadfastly in love with Rachel. It has always been her for him and it was so touching watching their love story play out. I loved this story so much and never wanted it to end!

Reiss remarkably pens a lovestory between two childhood bestfriends and neighbors who make a wedding pact at sixteen years old to wed if they are single at thirty. But when the once strong, sassy and protective Rachel sees the sexy, successful and handsome Sebastian, she wonders where her nerdy and often bullied bestfriend went and is shocked by her strong feelings for him.

I felt this was not only a love story between Sebastian and Rachel but a powerful story of a woman, now lost and trying to find her place in the world, reconciling who she is now against the formiddable young girl she once was. Rachel was strong and sassy but her self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy coupled with her burgeoning feelings for Sebastian created a quagmire of epic proportions. I loved how human and relatable she was and how Sebastian made it a mission to uncover the strong and self-assured woman he knew she was deep inside. 

I was captivated with every word the author wrote as we watched Rachel come into her own with the help of the man that remained a constant in her life. He was her true sanctuary and with him by her side, she would always find her way home. Gahh! I loved every single think about this breathtakingly emotional story! Bravo! 5 stars! ~Ratula 

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.

Review published: http://bit.ly/2I5Wy49

I really like the friends-to-lovers trope and the blurb was very promising. Rachel and Sebastian were friends ('a long time ago... we used to be friends') and living in the same street when they were teens. Rachel was very feisty and always defended Seb as he was a bit of a nerd. He was totally in love with her and at 16 they make a pact to marry when they are 30 and have no others in their lives. They even write a contract and of course this contract is still in Seb's possession when Rachel hits 30 and is still single.

Rachel is disappointed in the way her grand life plan has stalled. Her career is not taking off and she is still single. When she visits her parents she sees Seb again - after 10 years - and their parents talk about the contract. I had a bit of an issue with the way the story was told. It was a bit stilted at times and the conversations seemed off.
Seb is hoping Rachel will honor their contract but Rachel is only busy with herself. I actually did not like her very much. The parents just hire a wedding planner and stuff and I was like : What?!

I have read this author before and really enjoyed her work. This one is a miss for me, unfortunately.

Gosh, I'm not really sure where to start. This was the first book that I have read by CD Reiss. Only Ever You was a cute little story about friends becoming lovers. I felt like the book was long but I don't think anything could have been left out. I loved how Seb and Rachel did get their happily ever after!

***spoilers ahead*** I love second chance romance stories. This is core of this story is cute. The story seems a little convoluted with everything going on. Lots of plot points that don’t tie together. You feel Sebastian’s love but Rachel’s seems somewhat forced. As if she decided it was a good idea since he loved her first. Would she have returned to him sooner rather than later? How much longer would he have had to wait. Yet again he had to go chasing after her. She ran away, put in no effort, and yet he still went after her. That’s why it is hard to believe her full love for him.

I wasn't a fan of the heroine but the book was good. I love me an enemies to lovers romance
Thanks Netgalley for the Arc

This was a very cute read. Friends to lovers romance although the heroine was a little on the annoying side at times. I did enjoy the writing and thought the story was good. The sexy times were good as well!

I couldn't connect with this book at all.
I really didn't like the heroine.
For the safety gang, there is mention of previous relationships and some ex drama.
No intimate scenes with anyone other than the Hero and heroine.
No cheating.
HEA.

Well, CD Reiss has done it again. I've read many of CD's other novels and was left panting while wondering what happened to the time. After, Only Ever You, I was left with my heart warmed, my breathe hitched, and smiling at the world. Only Ever You, was endearing and sweet, with all of the feels for a light summer read. This story is the kind of tale that makes you want to fall in love with the guy, or girl, next door. It has all the feels, all the sweet and tender moments, and certainly all the charm. CD does all this, while making her characters real. Rachel IS the girl next door, who is strong-willed and capable, but has her doubts about her life, responsibilities, and her true self. She worries about family, friends, ding the right thing. Hello! That's most women at some point in their life, hopefully. She is an every-woman on some level. Sebastian, is the guy across the street everyone eventually wants to meet. He knows who he is, now, and knew what he wanted THEN. He is an every-man most guys should aspire to in a tender way. Putting the two together in this lovely story is just the right kind of pairing to melt your heart and make you believe that dreams and contracts made on notebook paper can turn into something enduring.