Disclosure: I requested and received a free copy of this book. Post contains affiliate links; I may earn commission if you make a purchase.  Opinions shared are mine.

Sometimes it’s easy to peek into the window of someone else’s social media posts and be a little wistful…jealous, even.  After reading All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin, I can easily and honestly say that I’m so grateful for my husband and children.

Initially, I was drawn to this book because I loved Giffin’s writing style in her Borrowed & Blue duology.  After only a few chapters in Nina’s lavish Nashville life, though, it was clearly so different than expected.

Nina, the main character in All We Ever Wanted, hails from Bristol, TN.  How I enjoyed reading about familiar places in both Bristol and Nashville.  That always makes me happy!  It also lent an air of authenticity and realism to the story.

The story switches between three characters.  Nina, Tom, and Lyla all give their viewpoints of the heated situation, which involves a sticky blend of underage drinking, prejudice, affluenza, and sexual victimization.  Although I definitely felt sorry for Lyla, I didn’t think she was completely without blame.  No matter what, though, I couldn’t help thinking, “What if that were my daughter?  What if that were my son?  What if that were my husband?”  There’s a huge message about parenting and living the life you teach/teaching the life you live.

It took me a long time to finish this book.  I enjoyed it very much, but it wasn’t a page-turner that made me want to stay up all night.  I did want to find out what happened to the characters.  There was so much back-and-forth gossip between parents, kids, and everyone in between.  I would have been okay with skipping to the final chapters just to find out how it ended.  Though I would definitely read another Emily Giffin novel, I prefer the lighthearted kind that doesn’t seem so much like a problem I’d see in real life.  Sometimes I’m okay with living in a fairy tale world.