What do you think?
Rate this book
Searching For Forever
Dr. Natalie Jenner’s life is going exactly according to plan. She has the house, the family, and the perfect job. On paper, she has it all. But when she meets Charlie Thompson, the charming young paramedic, that perfect life is shaken inside out. Natalie quickly realizes what she’s feeling for Charlie can’t be explained by anything other than love. Natalie wages a war not only with death in the emergency room, but also with herself, as she navigates the consequences of a life with Charlie. The more the two battle to save lives together, the more in love they fall. But will Natalie be brave enough to face losing the security of the life she’s always known? Or will she face losing Charlie instead?
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2014
24 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Emily Smith
7 books38 followersEmily Smith was born and raised in a small town in New Hampshire, where she started writing at an early age. Her grandmother was a children’s author, and she comes from a family of English teachers. Searching For Forever is Emily’s first full-length novel and first venture into the publishing world. When she isn’t writing, which is rare, Emily works in the medical field. She has been an EMT for years and is currently in school to become a physician assistant. She lives in Boston with her partner, where they try to escape to Provincetown as much as possible.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 23, 2016
3 1/2 Stars. This book is about an established married doctor that becomes infatuated with a younger medic. How did this book make me feel? Nauseous. While reading, I couldn't stop thinking something bad was going to happen. It's not always easy to read stories of infidelity. Even though, I have more compassion when the person doing the cheating is in a horrible marriage or realizes they are gay. But at least leave the husband or boyfriend quickly. This book was about a so-so marriage and a long, long affair. So yes, it was harder to read. Parts of this book flat out bothered me, but it made me feel something. The author pulled out those emotions in me, and for that I giver her 3 1/2 stars.
May 23, 2017
If you enjoy fast paced medical drama and don't mind a love story born out of adultery this books is for you!
Little to fast paced for me and there was a little too much angst than I would have liked however it had great characters and the story itself was heart wrenching but in a lovely way.
3.5 stars ✨
Little to fast paced for me and there was a little too much angst than I would have liked however it had great characters and the story itself was heart wrenching but in a lovely way.
3.5 stars ✨
January 13, 2018
Somewhat uneven, particularly in the beginning. The infidelity story line was definitely uncomfortable to read, but I admire Smith's courage in tackling it.
August 30, 2014
*Spoilers*
The writing is too rushed and the plot is full of ridiculously unlikely situations, but what really bothered me was the couple. Nat, to be specific. At thirty-eight, she acts like one those crazy girls from Teen Mom - you know, when they neglect their children because they’re too busy trying to have a love life? I didn't mean to be too judgmental, but when Nat’s daughter, a disabled child, spoke for the first time and she almost didn’t give a shit because she was worried about Charlie, I was done. I mean, FUCK! I don’t care if you're cheating on your husband, but the girl IS your daughter and she needs your time, your attention and your love. Nat is always working, always chasing Charlie, always being extremely rude to her husband… She can’t even see that her daughter is growing up without her. Honestly?
One more thing: Charlie is the perfect match for Nat. *insert sarcasm here* The 25-year-old paramedic makes Nat feel young, beautiful and desired. But Charlie also takes, little by little, what she wants. She didn’t show maturity while Nat struggled to come to terms with her sexuality and, later on, with her public coming out. She proved to be selfish AND manipulative. Not my thing.
*ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley.*
The writing is too rushed and the plot is full of ridiculously unlikely situations, but what really bothered me was the couple. Nat, to be specific. At thirty-eight, she acts like one those crazy girls from Teen Mom - you know, when they neglect their children because they’re too busy trying to have a love life? I didn't mean to be too judgmental, but when Nat’s daughter, a disabled child, spoke for the first time and she almost didn’t give a shit because she was worried about Charlie, I was done. I mean, FUCK! I don’t care if you're cheating on your husband, but the girl IS your daughter and she needs your time, your attention and your love. Nat is always working, always chasing Charlie, always being extremely rude to her husband… She can’t even see that her daughter is growing up without her. Honestly?
One more thing: Charlie is the perfect match for Nat. *insert sarcasm here* The 25-year-old paramedic makes Nat feel young, beautiful and desired. But Charlie also takes, little by little, what she wants. She didn’t show maturity while Nat struggled to come to terms with her sexuality and, later on, with her public coming out. She proved to be selfish AND manipulative. Not my thing.
*ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley.*
September 24, 2014
This is a very intriguing, beguiling, and amusing story about an unusual up and down courtship of sorts. For one there is a woman, who is a doctor, married to a fairly bland guy, but he loves their premature daughter as if she were the center of the universe. Another woman is a new in-house medic at the same hospital where the female doctor works. Let the sort-of-courtship begin!
Dr. Natalie Jenner pretty much grew up in awe of her dad and followed in his footsteps. She is even a doctor at the same hospital where he worked. Additionally, it doesn't sound like Natalie is madly in love with her husband. Actually, it seems as if she married just because she was reaching that *age*. This is the first clue that perhaps Natalie may not be completely aware of her true orientation. Second clue is how intense her feelings are for the new medic at the hospital. However, since she is not really clued in, it is hard to be positive about what is happening for quite a while. She does seem to have some extremely overwhelming and possessive feelings for this new female medic. This most definitely fuels one of the oddest kind of romances I have ever read. Nevertheless, I found it incredibly engaging. It is really a blast. Marvelous!
Charlie, Carol Anne Thompson, appears to be a successful and captivating player in the modest local lesbian social scene in a semi-bustling small community in Rhode Island. She makes no bones about being out. Perhaps, since she is so astoundingly proficient at her job, she doesn't seem to cause any uncomfortable ripples because of her sexual orientation. Curiously, it does seem that Charlie is a bit smitten with Natalie, but does eventually find Natalie's odd interest/non-interest tiring and bewildering. One of several mysteries about Charlie is what happened in regard to her nearly full scholarship to Dartmouth medical school many years ago. Charlie certainly shies away from this topic, other cohorts are curious, and Natalie is positively fervent about getting to the heart of that piece of history. I adored Charlie for how marvelously sensitive she was about what I would have to call Natalie's extreme preoccupation with everything about her. Charlie is fantastic. Magnificent!
This book was unquestionable a lot of fun. The on-again, off-again, then sometimes totally on to be once again being totally off, relationship between Natalie and Charlie ingeniously unfolded in between all the medical emergencies and employee downtime activities. Plus Natalie's little girl Samantha, affectionately called Sammy, provided a whole host of gosh-oh-golly moments and adoring adult adulation. She is a wonderful and charming defusing character that provided some magical balance. This is a winner. It should not be missed. Delightful!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Dr. Natalie Jenner pretty much grew up in awe of her dad and followed in his footsteps. She is even a doctor at the same hospital where he worked. Additionally, it doesn't sound like Natalie is madly in love with her husband. Actually, it seems as if she married just because she was reaching that *age*. This is the first clue that perhaps Natalie may not be completely aware of her true orientation. Second clue is how intense her feelings are for the new medic at the hospital. However, since she is not really clued in, it is hard to be positive about what is happening for quite a while. She does seem to have some extremely overwhelming and possessive feelings for this new female medic. This most definitely fuels one of the oddest kind of romances I have ever read. Nevertheless, I found it incredibly engaging. It is really a blast. Marvelous!
Charlie, Carol Anne Thompson, appears to be a successful and captivating player in the modest local lesbian social scene in a semi-bustling small community in Rhode Island. She makes no bones about being out. Perhaps, since she is so astoundingly proficient at her job, she doesn't seem to cause any uncomfortable ripples because of her sexual orientation. Curiously, it does seem that Charlie is a bit smitten with Natalie, but does eventually find Natalie's odd interest/non-interest tiring and bewildering. One of several mysteries about Charlie is what happened in regard to her nearly full scholarship to Dartmouth medical school many years ago. Charlie certainly shies away from this topic, other cohorts are curious, and Natalie is positively fervent about getting to the heart of that piece of history. I adored Charlie for how marvelously sensitive she was about what I would have to call Natalie's extreme preoccupation with everything about her. Charlie is fantastic. Magnificent!
This book was unquestionable a lot of fun. The on-again, off-again, then sometimes totally on to be once again being totally off, relationship between Natalie and Charlie ingeniously unfolded in between all the medical emergencies and employee downtime activities. Plus Natalie's little girl Samantha, affectionately called Sammy, provided a whole host of gosh-oh-golly moments and adoring adult adulation. She is a wonderful and charming defusing character that provided some magical balance. This is a winner. It should not be missed. Delightful!
NOTE: This book was provided by Bold Strokes Books for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
May 11, 2023
A Lesfic NTR?
A story of love and discovery; from the viewpoint of a semi-sociopath.
Synopsis: Natalie Jenner is a good doctor, with a husband and a child. Her and her husband have been growing apart for some time, but they both love their kid. Into Natalie’s life comes Charlie, a beautiful and confident and talented paramedic. Natalie quickly grows obsessed with Charlie and then initiates a relationship with her.
I suppose I should put in a spoiler alert here, because I’m going to go into some of the things that I did not like at all about this.
1. Natalie is… kind of awful. She plays Charlie hot and cold constantly. In fact, I’d say about 80% of the book is her telling and convincing Charlie that she wants Charlie, using Charlie and then as soon as she gets what she wants, she goes back to ‘I can’t lose my family’. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
2. The husband. Throughout the book, it seems like Natalie’s husband is trying to make things work. They have a child who seems to be special needs of some sort, and he gave up his business to take care of said child. He does have a bit of martyrdom complex, but at the same time, Natalie definitely doesn’t help the situation, seemingly constantly looking down on him.
3. The gaslighting. Natalie cheats on her husband. When he confronts her, she tells him that there’s NO MAN that she is cheating on him with. For 2 years. 2 years she cheats on him, growing more and more distant, using her job to ignore him, and from the way the story seems to unfold, basically dumping their child on him and a babysitter. I’m not saying that he’s a great guy, but he definitely seems like a victim of Natalie’s casual cruelty.
4. Natalie’s constant jealousy. She won’t give Charlie the time of day half of the time, and as soon as Charlie is around someone else, then Natalie freaks out. It’s toxic.
5. The culmination of it all. The husband, who has spent the entire book being very even-tempered, and putting up with all of Natalie’s emotional abuse, at the very end, somehow does a complete 180, hulks out and assaults Charlie. It felt like a lame attempt by the author to force the reader to view Natalie in a sympathetic light. It felt like a very forced way to conclude the story and wrap everything up in a bow.
Overall, it’s just… not that good. It was a slog to read through, and not nearly as entertaining as other stories written by the author. The main character is very difficult to empathize with, and even the love interest, Charlie, isn’t as likable as she could be. I’d say it’s not worth picking it up.
A story of love and discovery; from the viewpoint of a semi-sociopath.
Synopsis: Natalie Jenner is a good doctor, with a husband and a child. Her and her husband have been growing apart for some time, but they both love their kid. Into Natalie’s life comes Charlie, a beautiful and confident and talented paramedic. Natalie quickly grows obsessed with Charlie and then initiates a relationship with her.
I suppose I should put in a spoiler alert here, because I’m going to go into some of the things that I did not like at all about this.
1. Natalie is… kind of awful. She plays Charlie hot and cold constantly. In fact, I’d say about 80% of the book is her telling and convincing Charlie that she wants Charlie, using Charlie and then as soon as she gets what she wants, she goes back to ‘I can’t lose my family’. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
2. The husband. Throughout the book, it seems like Natalie’s husband is trying to make things work. They have a child who seems to be special needs of some sort, and he gave up his business to take care of said child. He does have a bit of martyrdom complex, but at the same time, Natalie definitely doesn’t help the situation, seemingly constantly looking down on him.
3. The gaslighting. Natalie cheats on her husband. When he confronts her, she tells him that there’s NO MAN that she is cheating on him with. For 2 years. 2 years she cheats on him, growing more and more distant, using her job to ignore him, and from the way the story seems to unfold, basically dumping their child on him and a babysitter. I’m not saying that he’s a great guy, but he definitely seems like a victim of Natalie’s casual cruelty.
4. Natalie’s constant jealousy. She won’t give Charlie the time of day half of the time, and as soon as Charlie is around someone else, then Natalie freaks out. It’s toxic.
5. The culmination of it all. The husband, who has spent the entire book being very even-tempered, and putting up with all of Natalie’s emotional abuse, at the very end, somehow does a complete 180, hulks out and assaults Charlie. It felt like a lame attempt by the author to force the reader to view Natalie in a sympathetic light. It felt like a very forced way to conclude the story and wrap everything up in a bow.
Overall, it’s just… not that good. It was a slog to read through, and not nearly as entertaining as other stories written by the author. The main character is very difficult to empathize with, and even the love interest, Charlie, isn’t as likable as she could be. I’d say it’s not worth picking it up.
February 15, 2017
Got as an audio book.. the pace seemed slow, but then ended in a rush. Dr Jenner didn't want people to know about the relationship and then in what seemed like minutes was telling everyone. I am also not a fan of infidelity, that is the reason for my lower rating. I did like Sammy and her interactions with all the characters.
October 23, 2014
This is the story of a ER Physician who has the career, the family, and a stay at home husband who cares for her disabled child. Then she meets Charlie and is immediately attracted almost to the point of obsession. She has to decide which direction she wants to take in her life that with Charlie or with her husband and child.
Pros: Obvious medical background adds authenticity. It is a typical story of an affair and the angst the woman feels when she's cheating.
Cons: Lack of connection with the main character. I found I didn't like her and her behavior toward any of the other characters- her lover, her husband or her child.
The description of the story does not indicate that this is a lesbian themed story and I feel it should have indicated this for the readers who don't want to read this type of story.
Would I recommend? No.
Pros: Obvious medical background adds authenticity. It is a typical story of an affair and the angst the woman feels when she's cheating.
Cons: Lack of connection with the main character. I found I didn't like her and her behavior toward any of the other characters- her lover, her husband or her child.
The description of the story does not indicate that this is a lesbian themed story and I feel it should have indicated this for the readers who don't want to read this type of story.
Would I recommend? No.
October 11, 2014
This was an ARC provided by Netgalley and somehow I missed that this was a F/F romance? A little misleading when the couple's names are Natalie and Charlie. This was a DNF at 3% because the writing was horrible. Right off the bat, the author is basically calling Natalie "Dr. Death" and then immediately falls for a nameless in-house medic. I just felt weird about it. No finesse or build up of emotions. I've read plenty of same sex romances but this was pretty lackluster. It wasn't worth finishing, unfortunately.
August 23, 2018
There are things that I liked about this book and some things I didn't. Spoiler alert! I enjoyed the build up of relationship tension between older doctor, Natalie, & younger paramedic, Charlie. The supporting casr & storyline was also good. What I didnt enjoy was the convenience of the ending & Nat's higher moral ground stance after a year or more lying to & cheating on Peter! Overall not a bad read if you don't mind infidelity!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2014
Just a FYI for you all. This is the same book as Getting There by Emile McQueen ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... ), previously published on Amazon.
If you bought that one you don't need this one.
If you bought that one you don't need this one.
January 13, 2019
I had a very hard time reading this and when I finished, I asked myself, 'What this really necessary?'
September 4, 2017
The setting of a hospital emergency room is believable and leads me to think the author knows the environment. The characters were not shallow but not deeply developed it was almost to predictable. The dynamics of their relationship has the quirk of the attration being there but both fighting that for different reasons. Overall it was an enjoyable book. A nice quick read with some potential cold shower moments
June 29, 2020
I feel the author is very brave for tackling a topic like this.
Relationships founded on infedelity are tricky business but someone has to write about them. The story was hard to read not for luck good penmanship or creativity because Emily does a good job, but honestly we are all just junkies for stories, so enjoy.
Relationships founded on infedelity are tricky business but someone has to write about them. The story was hard to read not for luck good penmanship or creativity because Emily does a good job, but honestly we are all just junkies for stories, so enjoy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2022
Great story, great characters and flow. I enjoyed the portrayal of a first time experience for an older woman with a younger love interest. First novel I've read from this author, will certainly watch out for more.
September 7, 2017
Lovely story, where it is pretty hard to put this book down. I am really excited when I discover new writer....I think its a gem 😀
October 22, 2014
Before reading this book, please be aware that it's a F/F story. Charlie is the name of the heroine's love interest and is not fully explained in the synopsis.
While this book is portrayed as a romance novel, I feel that it's more of a womens fiction novel with a F/F love interest than an actually romance novel. This novel follows Natalie in not only her budding relationship with Charlie but also her feelings and life as a Doctor, wife and mother. As far as the sizzle factor between Natalie and Charlie, it's luke warm at best; they're able to find places to sneak a make out session but that's about as graphic as the book goes.
While I don't mind the F/F aspect of the story, I had a huge problem at to how it was written. The first 75% of the book seemed predictable and agonizingly slow. The reason for the two stars was that (FINALLY) at the end of the story there were some uncharacteristic twists, that occurred to make the story interesting. This story could have been so much better with a little more conflict outside of Natalie's mind.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*
While this book is portrayed as a romance novel, I feel that it's more of a womens fiction novel with a F/F love interest than an actually romance novel. This novel follows Natalie in not only her budding relationship with Charlie but also her feelings and life as a Doctor, wife and mother. As far as the sizzle factor between Natalie and Charlie, it's luke warm at best; they're able to find places to sneak a make out session but that's about as graphic as the book goes.
While I don't mind the F/F aspect of the story, I had a huge problem at to how it was written. The first 75% of the book seemed predictable and agonizingly slow. The reason for the two stars was that (FINALLY) at the end of the story there were some uncharacteristic twists, that occurred to make the story interesting. This story could have been so much better with a little more conflict outside of Natalie's mind.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion*
dnf
January 7, 2015I didn't know this was F/F. The names threw me off. I have no problem reading those scenes in books but this book wasn't for me. If this interests you then maybe this is for you.
Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Complimentary copy provided by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Read
March 4, 2016I really enjoyed this book and the characters. I was fortunate enough to stumble onto this author with recently with Same Time Next Week and was hooked. then found this prequel book around two of the sideline characters. This is a book I will read again.
December 14, 2022
The 3.50 stars, are not up to the quality of this book. I hope that Ms Smith is not discouraged by these reviews, below the value of this book, and that she will continue to write knowing that this book is from 2014. I want more books by Ms Smith, please
December 13, 2016
This was such a cute book!! I loved all the ups and downs s and turns!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews