Only You: The spell-binding, epic debut romance that will break your heart

by Celeste Daniels

Dani and Jones have been in love before, but they don’t know it yet.

Dani, a music student at Howard University, finds herself tormented nightly by dreams of doomed lovers. While she tries to focus on her future, her life turns upside down when she meets studio guitarist, Jones.

Not only does she instantly fall for him, but as the two grow closer, Dani discovers a world-shifting her ‘dreams’ are actually past memories of her and Jones. They might just have met, but Dani and Jones have loved each other in different incarnations over many lifetimes.

Through Paris in the 1880s, as the daughter of a wealthy landowner and a lieutenant ordered to protect her, in London as strangers trapped together in The Great War, as well as 1940’s Detroit as an underground boxer and doctor, Dani and Jones have found each other again and again.

Dani’s dreams foretell that each past version of their lives ended in tragedy … will they now get the love story they always deserved to have?

A sweeping, epic, timeless romance that fans of V. E. Schwab and Gabrielle Zevin will adore.

Nic Daniels is a poet and content editor. Born in Decatur, Georgia, Daniels has lived abroad in Europe and Asia, having experience as one voice of many in the African American, southern culture and being the only Black person in a room. When not writing about romance and time travel, she is pursuing her master’s in library and information science and chasing after her Lab-Rottie mix, Kobe.

Sèverine Howell-Meri has a voice full of natural energy perfect for audiobooks. You may have seen her in the hit Amazon TV series Hanna or in the National Theatre’s production of Standing at the Sky’s Edge. When she is not acting she has a YouTube channel where she documents the process of getting auditions and an agent and she speaks French and a bit of Spanish.

Rhashan Stone rich and trustworthy voice is perfect contrast to Sèverine’s energetic voice as the male narrator. He has narrated over 10 audiobooks including the hilarious Charlie Changes Into a Chicken series. When he is not narrating he is acting in both TV and film most notably from Delicious and Baptiste.

2025 Nic Daniels (P) 2025 DK Audio

Genres: Romance

Audible Audio

Published September 11, 2025

Reviews

[YanaKeii · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this storyline of going back and forth between lives and Dani discovering these past lives. Some of them did seem a bit thrown together. My fav past life was was the first one in Paris it was given great detail and may have stayed too long. While the modern day life was a bit iffy I did find myself getting bored in some parts but over the historical romance part was my favorite. Book vibes are travelers wife and Beverly Jenkins, lol.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I dnf'd at 54%... I liked the premise of two people whose multiple past lives have always had them come together but then have their lives end prematurely each time. The chopping from the current timeline to previous times and in the process starting completely different stories, felt like a disconnect, and I then had no interest when we got back to the present day characters.
From what i read, I enjoyed Sabine and Damien's story the most.
Thank you to Netgalley and Canelo for the arc for review.

[Lilli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overview: The Only You by Celeste Daniels is a blend of romance, historical fiction, and speculative fiction, with a touch of magical realism. The story follows two characters whose lives are mysteriously intertwined across different timelines. In each incarnation, they meet, fall in love, and ultimately face tragedy, leaving the question of fate, destiny, and the meaning behind their repeated connections hanging in the balance. Through multiple lifetimes - from historical settings to contemporary ones - the novel explores themes of love, loss, memory, and, at moments, race and identity.

My Thoughts: This book reminded me of Our Infinite Fates, with its focus on two characters finding each other across lifetimes. I really wanted to enjoy it, but ultimately, it didn’t fully work for me. At the start, the present-day characters were recounting their previous lives through dreams, which I thought was an engaging concept. However, as the book progressed, the present-day storyline faded into the background, and it began to feel like I was reading several unconnected short stories rather than one cohesive narrative. I did enjoy the individual character stories within each timeline, they were interesting and well-written but the transitions didn’t feel seamless, and the overarching storyline never came together for me. By the end of the book, I still wasn’t clear on why these two characters were destined to keep meeting, falling in love, and dying in different timelines. There were some strong elements here, especially in the exploration of different historical moments and the subtle discussion of race, but as a whole, I felt the novel lacked the cohesion to tie everything into a satisfying conclusion.

[Yolanda Galiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley and Hera for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance.

I love reincarnation love stories so when I read this book’s synopsis I was immediately in. Unfortunately, my expectations weren’t met in this case.

In “Only You” we get to know Dani and Jones, who live in Washington in 2013. Dani has lots of dreams and she has come to terms with the fact that they are her past-self memories. When she meets Jones in a music class, she knows he’s the man she has been in love with in her other lives; he knows it too. Sadly, it never ends well between them, it feels like they are always destined to suffer. Their love is damned.

While we meet Dani and Jones, we also meet their old selves: Sabine and Damien in Paris in 1895, Selene and Demir in Detroit in 1946 and a bit of Sarah and David in London in 1915. Their point of view were the best thing of the book. In Sabine and Damien’s timeline the author touched lots of interesting topics such as colonialism, racism and politics; I wouldn’t have minded reading an entire book on their story, they were the most interesting characters. I liked Selene and Demir’s story as well: the love story between a boxer and his boss’ soon-to-be doctor girlfriend.

So, if I enjoyed the story, why didn’t I give “Only You” more stars? The answer is that the stories weren’t well balanced. I liked the past stories more than the present ones, when I felt like I should have loved Dani and Jones’ more, since they carry the weight of their past-selves burden. It was an okay story, but I didn’t connect with them as I did with Sabine, Damien, Selene and Demir. Also, I would have loved to know more about Sarah and David, the reader doesn’t get to know them at all.

In conclusion, “Only You” is a well-written story about lovers who seek each other through time and always end up suffering, though their stories are not as balanced as they could be.

[Paris Ewulum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, but mostly because of the stories of their past lives.
I loved the detail with the names as well with the girls names starting with 's' and the boys starting with 'd' and I thought that because in the current life it's reversed their story might end differently
Unfortunately, it did feel like the current timeline was a little anticlimactic since Dani spent most of the book trying to prevent the inevitable only for her to continue a relationship with Jones.
I guess the difference between the current life and the past lives is that there was always something preventing them from getting together meanwhile in the current one they weren't ad restricted and had the choice to be together or
use their past lives as a warning and stay away from each other.
They had the luxury to choose.

Another thing was that I found it a little strange that both Dani and Jones had both POV's.
I would have assumed they would only see it from one point of view. For example, Dani would only see the girls' point of view, and Jones would only see the guys.
But then when I realised the names began differently, I thought maybe Jones saw the girls POV and Dani saw the guys.
Maybe I'm overthinking it, but in my mind, it makes sense for them to see only one side of the story rather than both.

The current couple (Dani and Jones) felt a lot of more boring than the others as well maybe thats because it didn't feel as fleshed out considering we don't really learn more about how Dani is researching the dreams. It felt like a lazy attempt at making their story seem as exciting as the other three when it wasn't.
I also think that the use of race and time periods made the stories a lot more raw.

I gave it 4 out of 5 just because of Dani and Jones - there was potential in them remembering their past lives through dreams, which wasn't executed as well as it could have been.

[Anj · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only way to describe this book is epic. It's a story about two star-crossed lovers who meet, fall in love, and are ripped apart in every life time.

You go on a love journey with them across multiple lifetimes, meeting them as their different selves, and you can't help but fall in love with them, and their love. And while in the first life it makes sense why this romance in forbidden, you can't help but wonder why the universe keeps ripping them apart, and why in the present day lifetime, the memories are flooding back.

The story was engrossing and is a great read for people who love historical fictions, or historical romances.

My one gripe was the lack of finality. I felt like I had gone on this journey but at the end, I got off and the story continued without me. I wanted to understand and I don't think I got that.

I would love to read more from this author.

You can read more of my reviews at www.instagram.com/anjsbookhangover

[❤️Tina❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a heartbreaking love story set across numerous lives!

In this book, we have:

✨️Historical Romance
✨️University Setting
✨️Multiple Timelines

When Dani is introduced to Jones by one of her university professors, she has a sudden feeling that she knows him. She begins experiencing vivid dreams that turn out to be memories of previous lives.

They have loved each other across various lifetimes, but not all loves get a happy ending.

This debut novel was such an interesting read! We meet all these characters from different countries and eras and learn all about their lives and the trials they each face due to their status, race, or gender.

It takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions.

Thank you so much to Canelo Collective for the arc of this for my honest review 🫶

[Claneessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first got drawn to this book by the cover that looks absolutely stunning.
I quite enjoyed this story, even though I struggled to feel connected to the present storyline. I loved the past lives chapters, especially the one in Paris and the one in Detroit, but as to the story of Dani and Jones, I couldn’t really feel entertained by it.
I feel like the idea behind this book of two people being linked to each other in different lives was so interesting but the way it was made was not reaching its full potential. It just felt like reading different short romance stories.
I still enjoyed it tho.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this as the premise gave me Our Infinite Fates vibes, but sadly it just didn’t work for me in the end. The idea behind the story is great, but I just wasn't invested enough.

Thank you so much to Canelo for sending me a proof copy!

[Judith Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I completed this epic novel and highly recommend. The writing is awesome, when I read I can picture the characters and the scenes. The way this author writes makes me want more. Don't sleep on this author.

[Shannon Bavister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley and Celeste Daniels for the opportunity of ARC reading this novel.

Only You is a dynamic and powerful read that is centred around main characters Dani and Jones - upon meeting for the first time both characters instinctively know that not only have they met before, they have been lovers in more than one lifetime - while seemingly romantic, both have always faced a tragic and often painful death when the universe puts them together.

The story is split between four different timelines and thus four different couples. Dani and Jones are the present day couple. We are also introduced to Sabine and Damien (from 1880s - Paris), Sarah and Davjd (from WW1 - London) and Demir and Selene (from 1940s - Detroit). We learn each somber story and this is then linked back to Dani and Jones narrative.

Throughout the novel multiple themes are explored such as race and culture (specifically in different time periods), fated mates, as well as societal expectations and experiences.

As a time-travelling novel, the premise is excellent and not a concept I have come across a lot in my previous reading so I was intrigued and excited to read this. I do feel the storylines were at points harder to follow than expected and it’s definitely a read that requires concentration.

I fell in love with Sabine and Damiens story and to be honest I could have read a novel based on them alone, however the other storylines were also gripping and characters were likeable and enjoyable.

A good read that I would recommend to fans of historical novels/romances that aren’t necessarily happy ever after!

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to love this book as it’s a concept which is quite personal to myself but there’s some slip ups with the wrong names and nothing seems to have a concise ending which I also understand but just a little more work could’ve been put into it!