BEFORE I SAW YOU by Emily Houghton is deeply and genuinely moving. Following the stories of Alfie, recovering from an accident that resulted in an amputation, and Alice, who is recovering and grappling with life after having 40% of her body burned in an office building fire and which had her hiding behind a curtain when she is assigned to the bed next to Alfie in a hospital recovery ward. Seeing Alfie and Alice learning more and more about the other, and starting to forge a deeper relationship really captured my imagination. This isn’t your typical romance, and you shouldn’t expect that. But there is something deeply romantic about Alfie and Alice. It was fantastic and really special.

Before I Saw You is about Alfie and Alice’s worlds colliding. After horrible accidents land both Alfie and Alice in the hospital, the two end up with beds next to each other in the recovery wing. Alfie, already somewhat of a veteran, has been at the hospital long enough to form relationships with the others in the ward and know the ins and outs of the hospital. Upon hearing that his new “roommate” (curtains divide them) experienced great trauma and was not talking, Alfie makes it his mission to cheer her up.

Alfie is your classic people pleaser, but his development pushes those bounds. He was good and bad days, cares deeply for others, and battles with his own fears and insecurities. Yet, he always chooses hope and joy. I loved reading his chapters and getting a better glimpse into his thoughts and actions.

Alice was more relatable as a character. Once a workaholic with a singular friend who lives abroad, she spent all of her time in the office…until the fire. Forced to face the consequences of her choices, she withdraws from the world further through silence. I cannot imagine the depth of pain—both physical and emotional—that burn victims experience. Alice struggled immensely with the change in her appearance and it was heartbreaking to read at times.

I could not put this book down! The majority of the book was set in the hospital where the pair were healing which only built the anticipation for their respective releases. I really enjoyed how the author developed both the characters and plot. I did have a few complaints, but they weren’t big enough to dock a star. I understood how Alfie and Alice could love each, but I still feel like it is different from being “in love.” Having a mutual attraction is necessary for a true love relationship and that was lacking (due to not seeing each other until the end). Also, the end felt a little abrupt to me. I definitely felt like it was hopeful, but it left me with so many questions.

This book is perfect for fans of Close Enough to Touch and Me Before You. It’s heartbreaking but also healing, and leaves you with a hopeful feeling.

I adored this story and the two characters, Alfie and Alice. Both have been involved in traumatic experiences (amputation and fire) which have landed them in the hospital, with their beds next to each other. They are separated by a curtain, but that doesn't stop them from getting to know each other and support each other through a difficult time. Alfie is a bright light on the floor, drawing people together and spreading joy, while holding on to his pain and guilt. Alice is lonely, alone and afraid after being burned over 40% of her body in a fire. She is trying to find a way to move forward after such a traumatic event. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline quite a bit. I was only left wishing for more from the ending; it worked but I wanted more and to see what the future brought for both of these two characters. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a super cute romance story. I really loved both Alfie and Alice. Just goes to show that looks aren't what's really important in a relationship. ;)

HJ Recommended Read!

In Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton, Alice Gunnersley has never felt so helpless in her life. Used to taking the world of London finance by storm and working more hours than anyone else on her team, she simply doesn't know what to do with herself when she wakes up in St. Francis Hospital after a horrific accident. When Alice was moved out of the ICU, she had no idea that she'd get a chatty neighbor in the next cubicle. Or that Alfie Mack would become her source of entertainment and comfort in the stark hospital ward. Unwilling to let anyone see her, Alice relies on Alfie's lovely voice–and the occasional holding of hands through the curtain–to get through the long road to recovery. But her heart somehow becomes involved. Can a relationship between them work if they've never even seen each other?

Stuck in a hospital bed, recovering from a terrible traffic accident, Alfie tries to be the upbeat guy in the ward who keeps everyone's spirits lifted. Or annoys them. He can never tell which with some of the patients. So when a new neighbor is brought in and no one is allowed to see her, he's intrigued. Alfie does his best to charm Alice. Not an easy feat, evidently. But eventually it works and they form a bond the likes of which can only happen in such an extreme situation as they find themselves in. That's why Alfie questions himself when his interest in Alice takes on a more romantic edge–not just that of a friend. Are his feelings for her real? Or is it just the closeness of being cubicle neighbors, sharing their daily lives for weeks on end?

A touching, humbling look at healing and learning to fully live again after trauma, readers will be hard-pressed to not fall in love with Emily Houghton's emotional debut novel, Before I Saw You.

How cool of a premise is this one, right? The thought of two strangers who are stuck in neighboring beds in a recovery ward yet have never laid eyes on each other but have a strong connection? It definitely sparks the imagination. And it was a setup that was perfect for some very intimate scenes that were raw with the deep emotions between Alice and Alfie. I must say that Houghton did a fab job of adding nuances and light touches each time Alfie and Alice interacted that showed how their friendship–and attraction–slowly grew over time. I loved that progression. It rang true and was heartwarming to think of them not only falling for each other but also helping each other keep their spirits up when there was a setback or issue.

The cast was superbly done. Of course workaholic Alice and super nice guy Alfie (loved his sense of humor!) were the main characters and whose POVs this was told through, but the supporting characters were wonderful. Everyone from the other residents on the ward to the nurses and doctors to Alfie and Alice's friends and family, they held their own and added unique aspects to the story itself. It is important to note that it was mainly set in the hospital, so some of the events were sad as well as the setting was rather bleak at times. But the budding friendship between Alice and Alfie more than made up for it. That was the bright spot in their tough day-to-day life they had to endure while they recuperated–which was equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring.

Keep your tissues handy! Before I Saw You will bring out every emotion imaginable with Emily Houghton's lovely prose and will leave you with a sense of hope for our stellar main characters with that sigh-worthy surprise ending.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange of an honest review.

Wow what a story. Different.

Heartfelt, emotional, Good read.

I enjoyed Before I Saw You! It was a different story aspect than I normally gravitate towards, but I enjoyed the way the story unfolded and how the characters developed. It's a sweet book that will touch hearts as the characters learn to live with their circumstances and find a mutual love for each other.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Before I Saw You by Emily Houghton, published by Simon & Schuster is an outstanding read. The author simply nailed it with this debut novel, gave me all the feels, the story checked all my boxes.
Alice and Alfie are characters that are through a lot. Both meet at a hospital, are totally different from each other, are on different points in their lives. The only common is a tragedy they survived. This book is raw and gritty, with some pretty graphic scenes - consider you warned, best have tisssues at hand.
Two battered chracters who have to decide if their relationship continues or if they go their separate ways.
Outstanding, unputdownable, a read in one sitting cover to cover story that is an absolut must read.
I recommend the book, 5 stars.

This touched my heart and soul in so many ways. The characters never expected to find love and healing as they met each other. Are they destined? You'll have to read more. You won't be disappointed. Be sure to have a tissue handy because it's beautiful and moving.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: long term hospital stay, amputation, burns, trauma, depression

This book I think is suffering from the weight of the blurb and its classification. It is more about two people's journeys recovering from near-death experiences, how they both handle it differently but also connect. The approach of never seeing each other was interesting but I was also left wanting more. More sensory descriptions or other feelings. The book was primarily told through dialogue. If I wasn't told they had feelings, there was not much romance in this book at all. To be frank, it fits with how heavy it is and what the characters are going through.

The ending is very rushed and then abruptly ends without the emotional payoff, almost as if it's a cliffhanger (it's not). There's a lot of emotional depth but this one left me wanting more unfortunately and the ending really frustrated me with what I spent time on.

Rating: 2.5

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

“Our scars are simply the marks of our stories. They show we lived a great life, and most of all that we survived it. Don’t hide your story away in the shadows.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for the chance to read and review an early copy of Before I Saw You.

Not going to lie.. this was totally a request based off the cover alone because it is gorgeous. You can’t tell but it’s a very deep blue ans it’s so pretty!

This book has a really interesting concept that I thought was done well. We have Alfie and Alice who are on the same rehab unit after both suffering traumatic accidents. The catch? They’ve never seen each other’s face.

I thought this book was good but repetitive. It felt at times that it was being dragged out and then the ending was super rushed. There was a lot of internal dialogue and not a lot really happening that made this book seem SO long. It’s 100% a slow burn romance that left me disappointed at the end. It took soooo long for our characters to get together that it feels more like a chick-lit than a romance. I also thought that Alice was quite annoying, and repetitive as well about her feelings surrounding what happened and I wanted to smack her at times.

Alfie is the cutest and he loves his puzzles. He befriends an elderly gentleman on the unit who he’s sarcastic with, and I was more interested in their relationship than Alfie and Alice. Is that bad? Probably.

The author does a good job at showing us how different life can become in the blink of an eye and I liked that message.

Overall, not a bad book necessarily but nothing really memorable took place in my opinion.

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover, which is absolutely gorgeous. This book made me all kinds of emotional and I absolutely loved it. Alfie and Alice are both patients in a hospital ward after being in accidents. He lost his leg, and she suffered burns to 40% of her body. While Alice won't allow anyone besides the medical staff to see her and won't even speak, Alfie is determined to get her to open up. Reading about their friendship through a curtain was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I enjoyed all the other characters as well. Only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the ending was SO abrupt. How could it just end that way?? I wanted more! However, I will definitely be purchasing my own copy when it is released. Thank you so much NetGalley and Gallery books for the eArc!

This book was fantastic! I fell in love with both Alfie and Alice's stories individually immediately. The way their stories then intertwined together in the rehab center was absolutely fantastic, the ups and downs they went through (helped each other through) was so amazing. The secondary characters were so lovable and genuine. I loved it so much. The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because it ended so suddenly and I just wanted a little more from the ending. Maybe there will be more to Alfie and Alice's story.

I loved this book! It was heartwarming and strong. It was exactly what I needed with everything going on in the world! A happy little escape!

I loved this book. Deeply and genuinely - it caught me early on with an intriguing premise - following the stories of Alfie, recovering from an accident that resulted in an amputation, and Alice, who is recovering and grappling with life after having 40% of her body burned in an office building fire and which had her hiding behind a curtain when she is assigned to the cubicle next to Alfie in a hospital recovery ward. #NoSpoilers but reading and seeing Alfie and Alice learning more and more about the other, and starting to forge a deeper relationship really captured my imagination. This isn’t your typical romance, and you shouldn’t expect that. But there is something deeply romantic about Alfie and Alice. It is one of those books that I can’t wait to read again and make my sister read so we can talk about it. It was fantastic and really special.

I really did enjoy this story. It was a story about life and death and in between, I feel. It’s about finding your confidence and loving who you are, no matter how you look. I loved Alice & Alfies story. It took me a while to fall in love with Alice as she was very standoffish to start but I really did like her character and I could emphasize with how she felt and how hard it must have been for her. Alfie, though, I just fell in love with right away. He’s spirited and funny and happy and a jokester. I wish there would have been more of the Alfie/Alice story outside the hospital but maybe that just means a second book?!?

Life can change in an instant and everything that was once important now lands at the bottom of the list. Love and friendship exist on a deeper level when tragedy and healing are thrown in. I enjoyed the emotional journey beyond the eyes that this book took me on.

Alice was trapped in an office fire, surviving with forty percent of her body covered in burns. Alfie was in a car accident in which he lost a leg. Both were suffering traumas even beyond that when they were moved into neighboring little hospital cubicles. Though a curtain always separates them, they form a deep bond based on conversation and shared grief. When that time wears out, they both have to decide to take that risky and terrifying step back towards the real world and whether it should include someone they've never seen before.

This was a sweet book. When it was compared to Me Before You I was nervous, but I think I like it a lot better than that. Think How to Walk Away, one of those stories that is so heartfelt and touching that you can't stop yourself from finishing it in one night. It was very close to a five star read for me, the authenticity of a relationship based on communications alone is so appealing. The differences between the characters really got me too, the angsty Alice and the cheerful Alfie who have really both been misunderstood in so many ways over their life times.

The only thing that really took a star away for me was how there were a couple of moments where something very dramatic was built up to and then it was pulled away completely. I won't get into spoilers, but I felt that there could have been a bit more closure on multiple elements of the story line. I am the kind of person who likes to know everything about characters that I get attached to and I got extremely attached to Alfie and Alice and felt at a loss. That's a positive and negative, I wish that I knew more but I can't help but respect that the author inspired me to want so much more.

The only problem with reviewing advanced reader copies is that I have to wait until I recommend this book to all my friends. Big thank you to NetGalley for providing me such a great book in exchange for an honest review. I would totally recommend this for contemporary romance fans and people who are looking for something that's sad but uplifting.

Thank you @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the advanced copy of this book.

I was honestly drawn to this book because of the cover and when I read the description, it seemed like a perfectly sweet story to use as an escape.

Sweet, yes, but it doesn’t stop there. This is the story of Alfie and Alice, two patients in the hospital, both recovering from tragic, life altering events. They slowly get to know one another, all while Alice stays hidden behind the curtain around her hospital bed. They form a beautiful friendship as they help one another heal from both the physical and the emotional wounds.

This book is NOT fast-paced, the story slowly develops, which felt perfect to me, given the complexity of the characters’ backstories and current situation. Houghton’s storytelling is deeply emotional, yet she manages to keep things light with the banter between various characters. The result is a book that will make you smile, laugh, and probably even cry.

If you are looking for a romance, I don’t feel like that falls into that category per se. This is perfect for fans of Me Before You.

Really loved Alfie! He was my favorite character and made the book so much more enjoyable. Think the story of overcoming hard obstacles was beautifully told.