Book Review: I Will Never Leave You, by S.M. Thayer

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

TRISH

This morning, I gulped two Valiums as I whipped up the breakfast tray of James’s hangover remedies. Yesterday, after returning from Laurel’s maternity suite, I met with my internist. I didn’t want to be like my mother and fall into depression in the face of James’s affair. Hopping onto the doctor’s examination table, I unveiled my troubles to him, letting him know depression ran in my family along my mother’s line. He put a stethoscope to my chest, the cool metal bell of that instrument causing me to shiver, and slipped a rubberized belt around my arm, pumping it up to gauge my blood pressure. Physically, nothing was wrong with me, and yet, as a precaution, he scribbled a Valium prescription for me. I was skeptical. What were the possible side effects? He told me about the sleepiness it induces, the difficulty in coordination some people experience. “Is that all?” I asked.

It was fun to get inside the head of a character who was so filthy rich that she never had to wonder how to pay for anything—literally anything—she wanted. Unfortunately, in I Will Never Leave You, Trish didn’t use her financial power for good. While we usually have sympathy for a woman scorned, this spoiled woman made it difficult to sympathize with her.

Official synopsis:

Banking heiress Trish and her husband, James, seem to have it all, from a lavish lifestyle to a historic mansion in the nation’s capital. The only thing that’s missing to make their family complete is a baby, so when Trish holds Anne Elise in her arms for the first time, it’s no surprise that she falls deeply in love. There’s just one problem: Trish isn’t the mother.

The baby belongs to Laurel, James’s young mistress. And more than that, James and Laurel want to start a new life together—despite an ironclad prenup standing in their way. When Trish becomes dangerously obsessed with making Laurel’s baby her own, the lovers’ plan to break James’s marriage quickly goes awry. How far is each of them willing to go for happiness?

The telling of this story was perfect. The viewpoint changed between the wife, the man, and the mistress. The wife was ridiculously spoiled, the man was always hustling to have everyone believe he was who he said he was, and the mistress was young and quirky. I kept reading to see how it would all work out, but I didn’t get a solid ‘thriller’ vibe from this book. The characters were a bit too outlandish to be scary. I chuckled a few times at some of the cute turns-of-phrase from the mistress, and the sometimes ridiculous conclusions the wife drew in her drug-induced haze.

I do have to say, since I’m a mother of two children who were breastfed, that some of the hospital and breastfeeding stories with the newborn were nothing close to an average experience. While it didn’t have any real influence on the plot, I would expect a book with a lactation consultant as a character to hopefully consult with one regarding the breastfeeding behavior of the mother and the baby.

Overall, I’d give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was definitely a page-turner, as I wanted to find out what was happening next. The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, but not enough to lead to a sequel. I’d recommend this book for a fun weekend read that doesn’t require a lot of focus.

I Will Never Leave You will be available in stores and online on September 1, 2018.
{click here to purchase}

Becki Bayley has spent the last two days just reading, tending her flowers, and talking to her fish. She also blogs sporadically at SweetlyBSquared.com for the last 15 years or so.