As someone who never wanted children, I had a hard time relating to Nikki, the main character. She and her husband, Kyle, have tried IVF several times, all which have failed. In her determined quest to have a child, Nikki resorts to desperate measures. In doing so, she lies to Kyle and of course, those lies have consequences.

The consequences of Nikki's lie lead to chaos within her marriage. I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say, her lie lead Kyle to react in a way that brought on more consequences.

I really struggled to like Nikki and in fact, it wasn't until the very end that I tolerated her.

Overall, it was the last third of the book that I enjoyed the most. Nikki learns that family isn't always what we're taught to believe. Family comes in many forms and ultimately, it's what we create for ourselves. I kind of enjoyed watching her get knocked down a peg or two.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing ARC. #AllWeCouldStillHave #NetGalley

An emotionally charged novel about finding happiness and contentment in a marriage no matter what circumstances life throws at you. Nikki and Kyle Sebastian are reeling emotionally and financially from multiple failed IVF attempts. However, Nikki's desperation to try one more time throws their relationship into chaos. Will they be able to find love and happiness again? To find out do read this latest from Diane Barnes. An easy to read, heartwarming story. I loved most of the characters as well as the storyline. I won't say more because I dont want to do spoilers but this an entertaining and engrossing read. Women's fiction with substance!!

Thank you Netgalley, Lake Union Publishing and Diane Barnes for the ARC.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Interesting story about a couple who wants a child. They go through rounds of IVF but unable to conceive. Her husband cheats on her and now they are left with a new issue and potentially a new life.

A story of a couple using IVF and their frustrations, leading to a brief separation that leads to an unplanned pregnancy…and decision making. Lots of soul searching and past being revealed. Interesting….but I found it a little slow to read.

This love tale is really genuine and uplifting. It's a narrative about the difficulties of infertility, but it's also about family dynamics and psychological damage.

You'll want more from this page turner. It's a tale about the capacity to discover love in unexpected places as well as about love, hope, and forgiveness. It is deeply moving and depressing, yet also joyful and inspiring.

It deals with letting up of one desire and pursuing a another one. It's about making an effort to save a failing marriage rather than simply giving up on it. It's about getting back in touch with your loved ones and discovering who you are.

I didn't anticipate enjoying it as much as I do. Received this copy from NetGalley.

This is an amazing story. It’s a story about love, hope, forgiveness and the ability to find love in different places. It is very emotional and sad, but at the same time heartwarming and hopeful. It’s about letting go off a dream and finding a new one. It’s about not just giving up on a struggling marriage, but actually trying to work it out. It’s about reconnection with your loved ones and finding yourself. I didn’t think I would love it as much as I do.

The characters were well written and very reliable. The main character had an amazing development throughout the book.

I can and will definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to read something realistic and heartfelt.
This only reason why I didn’t give this book 5 stars was because I felt it was a bit to fast paced. It could have used an extra 100 pages.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing, the author, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
This book was so beautiful, emotional and heart-breakingly realistic.
I felt for every single character and the dilemmas they were going through, especially the MC of course. I loved how the author so accurately portrayed all the difficulties of relationships and all the mistakes the characters made, while making the reader understand their reasons and not be able to judge them for being human.

This is a powerful and moving story about the challenges of infertility and relationship dynamics in modern times. The author does an excellent job of capturing the emotional toll that infertility can take on a couple, both together and individually. Very contemporary...the characters are all well-developed and relatable, and the plot kept me interested.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Niki and Kyle are desperate to have a baby. They have tried multiple IVF procedures with no success. Kyle wants a break but Niki is so desperate that she will try anything to have a baby. So begins the story of secrets, lies and new beginnings. This was a well written story for our modern times 4 stars

A moving portrait of a marriage in crisis, All We Could Still Have is a story of forgiveness, hope, and love. Any couple that has faced fertility issues or longed for a baby to bring home will relate deeply to Nikki and Kyle. Nikki, in particular, is such a relatable character. You feel her desperation and hurt with her as much as you do for her. Despite the heavy subject matter, I came away with a heartwarming feeling of possibility. Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, but that doesn’t mean things can’t still work out. There’s beauty in the unexpected.

This is a very heartwarming and heartfelt love story. A page turner that will keep you wanting more.
It is about a couple who love each other deeply and want a baby so bad. They try IVF until they can't afford it anymore. Then the deception begins. Nikki wants a baby so bad she's willing to put her marriage in jeopardy. Then Kyle betrays her and here we go.

Will they find their way back to each other and can their love be like it was before. Will they have the baby they both wanted so bad.

This is such a good book. Full of love and happy times and sad times. You will have a few emotions reading it. They are a likable couple and you will want them to prevail.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

This book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Not only is it a story of the rigors of infertility, it’s also about family dynamics and emotional trauma.

Nikki wanted a baby more than anything in the world. When she realized that her body could not achieve pregnancy without medical intervention, she was willing to spend whatever it cost to have a baby of her own. Her overwhelming desire to get pregnant nearly cost her her marriage and her sense of self.

I loved Nikki’s character. The author didn’t shy away from letting us see the darker side of Nikki and she did so with compassion and an understanding of the topic of infertility.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading “All We Could Still Have” and I highly recommend it. It will be published on November 7, 2023. Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced copy of this fantastic book.

Nikki and Kyle Sebastian have a loving and healthy marriage. It’s only missing one thing they want—children. When the couple is diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” and endures several failed rounds of IVF, Kyle, for both their sakes, is unwilling to bury them deeper in emotional and financial debt.

Desperate to have a baby, Nikki betrays Kyle’s trust in an attempt to try IVF one more time. The choice fractures their once-stable union. Now burdened with suspicion, resentment, and further grief, their little family is falling apart.

Picking up the pieces of their broken home means reassessing their dreams for the future—dreams that Nikki’s not ready to give up. If she can’t find a way to forge a new path forward with Kyle, she may find herself alone at the end of the family tree she longs to help grow.

I want to preface my review by saying that infertility issues do need have more attention focused on it. Diane Barnes did one hell of a job writing this emotional gutpunching story. I felt all the emotions while reading this story. Will recommend to others.

This was a love story about a couple going through IVF in order to have the longed for child. I her desperation to have a baby, Nikki betrays Kyle,s trust and then Kyle betrays Nikki's trust and things between them fall apart badly.The ensuing story tells of how they both deal with the fall out and how they try to mov3 forward with their lives. I did enjoy this book and found it very moving but found it a bit predictable and the ending was no surprise.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book.

This is quite a contemporary book and covers a topic which is heart breaking but often a social taboo, so not discussed and normalised. Nikki is undergoing her third round of IVF and this time she feels, is going to be it. She is desperate for a baby and is shocked when her husband tells her he has had enough. If the treatment doesn't work he doesn't want to try again. Nikki is astounded and struggles to see her husbands perspective. She feels that the financial and emotional pressure far outweigh remaining childless. Kyle, however, feels that being a couple is more important than all the trauma and pain he sees in his wife every time the treatment fails.
The book explores the emotional rollercoaster of infertility, trust and compromise. There were moments when I felt teary and emotional myself, so this book could be triggering for some people if this hits close to home. It is however, a topic that needs to be more mainstream to normalise the pain and emotion tied up in fertility issues.
Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

The despair of not being able to conceive runs through the heart of this novel, forcing Nikki to re-address friendships and relationships. The story takes pace as it goes on with an unexpected twist to Nikki's pain that raises the stakes. Sensitivity written about a subject that will resonate with many readers.

The book starts with the couple struggling with IVF, and while these first few chapters were difficult to read due to emotional heaviness of characters mental state, the book takes a turn in a direction where the main focus becomes a relationship with partner, friends and family. What triggered this turn of event was questionable financial decision FMC made about her money. Her money, I can’t stress this enough. This sets a chain of events that forces characters to evaluate their lives and values.

In theory topics like this are my cup of tea. In practice, this book was filled with women shaming and making women responsible for dumb poo men in their lives did. With friends and family like these who needs enemies? Our FMC definitely not.

Thank You @netgalley and @amazonpublishing for this ARC!

First time reader of Diane Barnes, took a while to get into, kept putting it down, but then picking it up and giving it another go, re-read a few chapters to get back into the story flow, well worth hanging in for, lots of history, emotion, everyday life problems, good all round story.

After failing to conceive “naturally,” Nikki and Kyle Sebastian turned to the medical community for assistance with dismal results – no pregnancy, maxed out credit cards, a debt of $50,000-plus, and a stressed marriage. When the third round of in vitro fertilization fails, Kyle is ready to call it quits, much to the dismay of his wife who is desperate to be a mother. The resulting consequences of betrayal lead to the potential end of their once-happy, stable union. Additionally, a long-held secret threatens to further upend Nikki’s life.

The author addresses the topic of infertility with sensitivity and compassion, illuminating how the dream of having a family impacts a couple as well as their friends and family. While I empathize with the issue, I did not find Nikki to be a sympathetic protagonist. Perhaps it was the effect of multiple hormonal treatments, but her decision-making process seemed flawed and even selfish to the detriment of her marriage. I was appalled at her sister’s uncaring attitude in first foist off a puppy on Nikki who was in crisis and then reclaiming it at her own convenience months later.

Overall, this was an interesting novel that kept me engaged throughout the emotional turmoil of Nikki and Kyle’s relationship as they came to a resolution of their differences. One cautionary note: Because of the nature of the topic, it may trigger some readers who have experienced similar circumstances.