It Was Always You

by Sarah K. Stephens

Love hurts but the truth can kill.

Morgan isn’t sure about her new boyfriend, Justin. Considering the childhood trauma she encountered, Morgan wants to be grateful for the relationship. But a fight with Justin leaves her feeling shaken.

Before the couple go on a romantic weekend trip, Morgan attends an appointment with her neurologist, Dr. Koftura, who has monitored her since an accident she had when she was seven years old. Morgan has a history of sabotaging her romantic relationships and the Doctor is concerned that she is following the same patterns with Justin.

On the day of their trip Justin’s behavior becomes erratic and he runs the car off the road into a tree, killing himself and hurting Morgan.

When she awakens in the hospital to find that Justin is dead, Morgan has little time to grapple with this loss before detectives arrive to question her about the crash.

As it becomes clear that the detectives believe Morgan is responsible for Justin’s death, Morgan must unlock the secrets of her past in order to prove her innocence.

But can she really trust her own mind?

 

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime

277 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 22, 2019

About the author

Sarah K. Stephens is the author of seven novels and a developmental psychologist at Penn State University.

Although Fall and Spring find her in the classroom, she remains a writer year-round. Her writing has appeared in LitHub, The Writer's Chronicle, Hazlitt, and The Millions. Sarah's books include the psychological thrillers A Flash of Red,  It Was Always You, The Anniversary, Isolation, The Good Life, The Killing Kind, and The Girl in the Fire.

Sarah loves using her psychological training to craft darkly human stories with killer twists. When she’s not plotting death and betrayal, she can be found enjoying the pleasures of country life with her husband and children in Central Pennsylvania.

E-mail: skstephensauthor (at) gmail (dot) com

Sarah enjoys attending Book Clubs and other literary events.  E-mail with your inquiries.

Facebook: @sarahkstephensauthor
Instagram: @skstephenswrite

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morgan was a victim of a hit and run accident when she was a child. She suffered minor brain damage at that time, but seeing her neurologist all these years has helped immensely.

There was only one bauble in her road of recovery ..... she has an ex-boyfriend that she stalked. She thought he was keeping things from her, lying to her, and finally he couldn't take anymore. Morgan actually accosted him at home and he would up calling the cops and issuing a restraining order.

That has been a few years back and now Morgan is seeing a young man, Justin. But it looks like she's following the same patterns with him. She thinks he's become mysterious, not sharing with her. Has he really changed .. or is she sabotaging her relationship herself?

Justin takes Morgan for a romantic weekend. On the way, he becomes erratic, finally running the car off the road.

When she comes to in the hospital, police are waiting to talk to her. They believe that she was responsible for the accident. Morgan is having doubts about what she actually remembers .....

I thought I had this one figured out ... but then the author threw a fastball and I wound up way out in right field with all kinds of my own doubts.

This is a very well written psychological thriller with unpredictable twists and turns. The characters are finely drawn and lend credibility to the story telling. The ending came as quite a surprise.

Many thanks to the author / Bloodhound Books for the digital copy of this most riveting psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Vina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah K. Stephens’s book “It Was Always You” begins very well. The book moves at a good pace. A young woman, Morgan, and her best friend, Annie, brought up in the turmoil of the system,and Morgan’s new boyfriend, Justin. Her relationship with Annie is perfect. But Justin is another kettle of fish. There are bends and turns, bumps and jolts. Someone is tormenting Morgan, and she is bewildered. Brought up bounced from foster home to foster home has been traumatic. Has she lost her mental balance? Or is somebody trying to gaslight her?
A book that reads well till it doesn’t. I was disappointed with the last portion of the book, veering as it does, into obscure terrain.
But then, that’s me. Your experience may be different.

2.5 Stars.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having a hard time with a “star” rating. The first part was fantastic! Quick, suspenseful......then for the “gripping psychological thriller” part. Ugh. So much crap thrown into the ending to try to get the gasp of shock from the reader.it worked, but probably not the way the author intended. Stick to one “twist”. Awful

[Jessica Lesaicherre · Rating 1 out of 5]

*spoilers*

So, this was an easy read. I give that to the author because I was able to read the book and enjoy it, somewhat.
The book starts off fine. And I’m rooting for the main character and you feel bad for her lousy luck. I’m super pumped for the main character to have over come the foster system and strive and do so well.
The suspense was ok. I feared for the main character which is good but I didn’t understand why or what was going on with her because the author was vague with that detail.
Then when the twist came out I was pissed. But, I kept reading. The whole plot then became stupid. A Dr. doing all this to a kid of her husbands drug dealer. Like, what? The mom didn’t even care for the daughter so the torment was for no reason.
I was hoping for another twist at the end that would make Justin not her brother and that he was alive and captured somewhere. The fact that a brother would manipulate his half sister to fall in love with him and have sex with him made me want to vomit.
I am not even sure why the author felt the need to have that twist. I would have rated this a 4 even with the weird Dr. plot but with the brother/sister action it ruined the whole book for me.
I would not suggest this book nor will I read this author in the future.

[ruth leon d’cruz ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - plot twist i didn't see coming

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

So the whole plot is revenge. Preposterous! A neurologist plans revenge on a little girl because her drug dealer of a mother supplied her husband (who by the way is a psychiatrist) and then he died of a drug overdose. And then that neurologist agrees to provide drugs to the mom/dealer but before that happens the protagonist (Morgan) gets hit by a car and her mom gets arrested. So no drug dealing for the neurologist! Then revenge begins. I’ll say it again, preposterous!

Also her boyfriend is her half brother (gross).

Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

[Honestmamreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cracker of a mystery this book is. I read this in one sitting it was so good.

This story is narrated from the point of view of Morgan, we see the story unfold through her eyes. Bearing in mind that she talks of a trauma that she had as a child, and that her memory of her childhood is minimal. Plus we also get to find out that she is clearly paranoid over small things. So, for the majority of the story we are left to guess wether what she is saying is believable. This adds to the mystery element of the story.

I loved this story because we didn't know who to trust, and at each turn of the page something would be revealed or an event will happen that has us questioning every little thing. As each character is introduced and their relationship to Morgan transpires I was changing my mind constantly on what the outcome of this story would be. I can safely say I didn't figure it out at all, and that is the beauty of the storytelling here.

Stephens has done an amazing job of hoodwinking the reader, I look forward to reading more from her.

[Mariam Mohsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 plus stars... This book was so marvellous and surprising, and the best thing I really loved about it is the communication between the best friends no matter what happens with them, since friendship is one of the most awesome and important things in life.. and I really appreciate every single friend of my friends, without you, I would never survive, and as Morgan's friend was saying: and Morgan remembered her best friend's words always: " I try to tell myself the rest of me will heal too. Survive and thrive. It’s what I do".. so let's survive... Altogether..

[Mahayana Dugast · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were numerous plot twists and a surprising ending that kept me entertained. I will read more from S. K. Stephens.

[Carm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, easy read. An unreliable narrator, with a history of trauma and psychological issues makes you wonder if she’s being gaslighted or if she really is crazy. No one was trying to reinvent wheel here. It was one of those books where you formulate a bunch of theories and then they all end up being true. This was the kind of softball beach read I was looking for.

[Sarah K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Who do you trust?" tagline is no joke. This psychological thriller keeps you guessing, and there are some seriously twisted characters. Also, I loved how the cover looks like a cracked phone screen, which becomes a plot point in the book. ⠀

I received a copy from the author.

[Caron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This book was very interesting with a few well done plot twists. I still found it a bit predictable. The characters were pretty dynamic. Good read.

[Diabolica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good. Wow, it's been a while since I've been blown away by the plot of a book.

[Laura Terrazas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this very much! However, I can't get over the big boyfriend reveal... 😬 (3.5)

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong start / Weak conclusion. Really enjoyed the beginning but the plot didn’t continue down the premise it began. What was a psychological thriller with an unreliable, distrusting narrator and a suspicious new boyfriend spiraled out of control into an absurd family affair. It had real potential as a romantic suspense!! 😕

The entire conclusion is weakly written with the characters telling the story of “what happened” “how they did it” and “why” in an extremely drawn out way. Such a copout of actual story writing.

Despite it’s many flaws toward the end, it’s a decent audible overall and recommendable as a free audible-plus listen.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one had great potential. It had a strong start, but towards the latter half of the book and especially the ending, including the many deviations the plot took, it became rather disappointing. It probably could've went many different ways, but how it all came together didn't really do much to make it a recommendable book for me. Also, how many times do we need to know that the air is cold outside? The writing of all the reveals also conveniently got situated inside the character dialogues. I was invested in the beginning, then I just wanted to get it over with. Some people might end up liking it better than I did, so I'll leave it up to you.

[Jeanne Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful trip into mental anguish, manipulation, and malice

Author masterfully misdirects our perceptions as we try to figure out what Morgan's problems *really* are and which are simply errors in someone's perception of what has been going on in her life. No spoilers here, but this is definitely a book that will get you thinking. Recommended

[Richard Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent thriller.

[Madalyn Beyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful. The plot is unbelievable and downright ridiculous. The beginning you feel the suspense and wonder what happened, but when it begins to be revealed it’s just utterly ridiculou.

[Kathlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

What in the sweet home Alabama did I just read.

[Back_Porch_Reader (Stacy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being involved in a hit and run as a small child ended up leaving Morgan Kalson in the foster system and unwanted by anyone. The only people who has been any kind of constant in her life was has been her neurologist that has been seeing Morgan since the day the accident happened and her best friend, Annie. Having troubles with a past relationship, her neurologist has convinced her that she should just avoid dating altogether. And Annie always has her back. But does she?

Not taking the advice of her doctor, Morgan has done it again and this time she’s in love. Her and her new boyfriend, Justin, has just set out for a romantic get away, after making up from a recent argument. But is this getaway what they need right now or has Morgan’s past showed its ugly face again?

I’m giving this one 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I love how Sarah kept the pace of this read fast and right to the point. Never saw that ending coming though. I have to admit this was a good page turner, but……I expected just a little more suspense on the part of the boyfriend. But I will leave your opinions up to you. I will definitely recommend this to my friends and family! Enjoy the read!

[Kaitlynn Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually rate this 2.5 almost 3 stars, there was just a lot I had issues with. The authors writing style kinda annoyed me. She over described almost everything. Like girl just say Morgan was tired, you don’t have to say “she felt like an Olympic runner after running the 50 yard dash”. We don’t need a metaphor for everything. Sometimes simple is better. But other than that, I was invested until the end. I didn’t necessarily see the plot twist coming, so that was a nice change for me, but I felt like the reasoning behind the doctors vendetta was weak. You constructed a 20 YEAR PLAN just because your husband was a drug addict? And I didn’t like that the mon was a bad guy but truly a “good guy” at the end. Idk, I think it could’ve had a stronger ending had it either been Annie or just Morgan going crazy. But all in all it was a fun quick read.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was all over the place for me.
The very beginning, I struggled to get into the story. But then it hooked me. I was fully on Morgan’s side trying to figure out what happened with Justin, why he crashed the car, how to prove her innocence.

But then there were the twists. It took a very strange turn that ruined the whole story for me.

[Deb Urbano · Rating 3 out of 5]

A psychology professor is involved in an accident. Did she cause it and forget the details due to mental instability? This story contains sharp turns and hazardous conditions! It was a quick read and I was not certain of the perpetrator until the reveal.

[Beth Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twist and turns!!!!

[Chloe Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Good story line with twists. Some predictive and some not!

[J.Castro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story line, ending had potential of being better but still good, it was kinda hard to keep up with but that could be because I was still hooked on my last book, xoxo ares Hidalgo 🥹💘

[Amber Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The twist at the end was strange and hard to follow. Otherwise, I enjoyed this book

[Kailee Vaccarino · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad, just not memorable

[Kaetlyn Mason-Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this as a quick read and am SO glad I did! Perfectly placed twists and turns! Highly reccomend!