All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

About the book-

Nina Browning is living the good life after marrying into Nashville’s elite. More recently, her husband made a fortune selling his tech business, and their adored son has been accepted to Princeton. Yet sometimes the middle-class small-town girl in Nina wonders if she’s strayed from the person she once was.

Tom Volpe is a single dad working multiple jobs while struggling to raise his headstrong daughter, Lyla. His road has been lonely, long, and hard, but he finally starts to relax after Lyla earns a scholarship to Windsor Academy, Nashville’s most prestigious private school.

Amid so much wealth and privilege, Lyla doesn’t always fit in—and her overprotective father doesn’t help—but in most ways, she’s a typical teenaged girl, happy and thriving.

Then, one photograph, snapped in a drunken moment at a party, changes everything. As the image spreads like wildfire, the Windsor community is instantly polarized, buzzing with controversy and assigning blame.

At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning.

My thoughts-

Nashville is one of my favorite places to visit and Emily Griffin is an author I really like, so I knew I would like this book before I even read it. Bonus points for mentioning one of my favorite hotels in Dallas (not too far from where I live), The Mansion on Turtle Creek! This was a quick moving story line and it didn't take me long to get through reading this one, just two days. I find Nina to be so easy to like and feel empathy for and Tom and Lyla really drew me in as well. The story is told from 3 different view points and I love books that are written in this format because I think it always goes a long way in really setting the scene and getting the full impact of the story having several different view points. The only complaint I have is I wanted more in the epilogue. I liked the taste of their futures but I wanted to know even more. All We Ever Wanted tackles some tough subject matter, but it is done in a way that I think isn't too overbearing. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.