I really enjoyed this story. Ally and Owen are attracted to each other right from the start. But, Ally’s past, and her job as Owens daughters teacher makes her hesitant to start a relationship. But, their relationship slowly builds. This book was a fast read, but I found at times, it jumped around. Like, the characters could be doing one thing, and in the next instant, we’re doing something different. While this didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story, it was confusing at times. But I look forward that to reading the other books in this series. This book was a quick read, and definitely recommend it if you like a sweet, romantic story.

2.5 stars. I didn’t really enjoy the first half of this book much. Ally is likeable, but I just felt meh about Owen for too much of the book. Ally is obviously a good person, plus I appreciated that she was 5’11” and “curvy”, which is a nice change from the petite leads in most rom-coms/romances. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between them until very far into the book. Although there were moments early on where it seemed like Owen was a little too forward (him pushing her hair behind her early the second or so time they met). There were also multiple times where he mentioned he “always gets what he wants”- huh? That doesn’t sound like something a good guy is going to tell a woman. Even the fact that Ally told him no multiple times but he still pursued her is a little off putting.
There some odd or cheesy things said multiple times in the books including; him “branding” her (I can’t stand when this term is used in romances- I can’t help but roll my eyes every time), he asks her to take her hair down and says her hair “fascinates “ him (what!?!), and he says he decides to “woo her over” (is this an Australian thing? Here, it’s to woo someone or win someone over, not woo someone over).
I didn’t get why everyone close to the main characters seems completely obsessed over whether or not they’ve had sex. It’s just weird and creepy. They also seem to insist on being told every detail. It’s just kind of gross, to be honest.
I did really appreciate at one point in the book where Ally had done something that upset Owen that he didn’t overreact and storm out or cut her off. He actually behaved like a real life adult and went on with their relationship treating her with kindness and respect. That was refreshing.
One of the last things I didn’t love was the characterization that the dream for all good women is to have children. This is such a common idea in romances. There are plenty of good people who have no interest in having their own kids- I’d love toes that in a rom-com.
Overall, the book was just okay. I can tell there will be future books featuring Ally”s teacher friends, but I don’t think I’ll check them out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Book Throne Publishing for allowing me access to this eARC!

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.
Overall I didn't really enjoy this book. It maybe due to the fact that it was Australian. I found it was quite repetitive in the first half with all the lusting going on.
On the positive side it was well written with interesting characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Book Throne publishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the cover of this book and read the synopsis I thought it would be a cute, cheeky read. In places it is, but it was also much more, the author manages to deal with tricky subject matters in a fun and easy to read way.

Single widowed Father Owen enrols his Daughter Charlotte into a new school, on meeting the head teacher Ally he realises she is the one for her and he will have her in his life. The pairs friendship develops but Ally is holding back and trying to stay professional, guarding her own feelings and those of Charlotte who is still reeling after the death of her month from cancer a few years before.

For me personally the pace of the book just felt off, the two main characters are obviously very attracted to each other and have an almost init-love situation however it takes in my opinion too long for anything to happen and even when it does there were no fireworks. I would read other books by the author.

A light yet enjoyable read for anyone who wants to detach for a bit and set foot into another world unlike their own. Ida Brady sets a scene you feel you know intimately.

When I read romance books I tend to drift more towards romantic suspense more so than the basic romantic fiction but I found this book to be a nice change from my typical choice. I prefer to read stories that has romance blooming between two characters but also one that brings some wonder as to what is going to happen next, has a lot of excitement and mystery to it. This particular book doesn’t have that suspense factor but it does have a love story that actually feels like one that any regular person could have and that’s what I like most about it.

I wasn’t able to really get a connection to the characters, I felt more like I was watching from the sidelines which is one of the bigger reasons as to why I gave only three stars for this read. I like to feel as if I am there with them, going through every step, every hardship with the characters and this story lacked that bond. I couldn’t really feel the hurt that they were feeling, the love that was blossoming between Ally and Owen, and even though I was glad for the happy ending, I was unable to feel true excitement for them. I like being able to fill in some of the blanks when it comes to characterization as it allows me to envision the person as I see fit, but I do like to have a good view as to how the author sees them and there wasn’t much of that either. There was a slight description of how their eyes, their face, their hair looked, but that was about it. And even then it was difficult to really see in the mind what the characters truly looked like which is one reason for the disconnect. Another reason as to why I didn’t get much of a connection to the characters was because there wasn’t much detail as to anything with them, such as their living spaces, their lifestyles, their actions; it was more of a telling rather than a showing of the characters. I needed more.

Another reason as for only the three stars is how the story is written. Well, not the plot itself as it was a good storyline and I really loved how normal the characters are. Even though I couldn’t get a true connection to the characters themselves, I really liked how they were so much like a normal person; they had normal jobs with normal life issues. But the sentence structure bugged the shit out of me. If a lot of the periods were replaced by commas and semi-colons it would have made reading it go a lot smoother as I’m one, that when I see a period, my mind stops for a second before moving on so it became quite choppy as I was reading through.

Another thing that I look for in a book is a good, catching title and book cover and both confused me with this one. I could slightly see the title fitting in with what the story was about but I think there could have been a better option. I can’t really think of a more catchy title at the moment, but I’m sure there’s one out there. The part that confused me the most though, between the two, was the cover. I don’t get what was about the chocolate covered strawberry as there wasn’t a single one mentioned within the entire story. A chocolate bouquet was mentioned a few times throughout, but nothing about strawberries.

Another thing that caught me off-guard, and in this case it was more me than the author, was that I didn’t realize it was taking place in Australia. Because of this, some of the words and their spelling threw me for a loop for a moment as well as how they describe the jobs of the characters, particularly that of Ally. Ally is the lead school coordinator for what they call junior school and she’s also the food tech teacher. I can easily understand what a food tech teacher is but the coordinator made me confused as that’s something I’ve never come across before. This is one thing I liked about the book, with it being written by an author from somewhere outside the States, as it allowed me to learn how things are handled in different ways than what I’m used to.

This is a good book to read if you want something lighthearted with a few tense situations thrown in, but don’t expect any surprises or too much excitement to happen. I wouldn’t mind reading the others that will be in the series, however, they won’t be at the top of my TBR list.

Before you were mine is a romance novel that portrays the traumas of a young girl (Charlotte) and the emotional effects that the death of her mother caused on her. Owen, Charlotte's father decides to move his 12 year old daughter from school because she was suffering bullying because when her mother died she withdrawal from everything social and emotional. She doesn't speak or make eye contact with people. Ally is the new coordinator that will help Charlotte adjust to her new school and help her engage in the things that she likes and make new friends. When Owen and Ally meet they feel attracted to each other and Owen decides to do whatever it takes for them to be together.
The good things about the book is that it shows the emotional traumas that events can cause in a child. In this case the fights that their parents had, her mom's death, and the constant fights with their grandparents about her that the only thing that they did to her was affect her more. As well as the abuse that Ally had in her childhood with her parents. I also liked that the problems that Owen and Ally had they started to get more comfortable with each other and started to rely on one another instead of getting away from each other.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book after a couple chapters. I just could not for the life of me get into it. The synopsis sounded really good, but it just fell short for me. I felt the development of the characters were just standard for romance novels. I will recommend this book to friends who enjoy the romance genre more than I do.

Thank you NetGalley and Book Throne for an advanced copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

I received an advance copy of, Before You Were Mine, by Ida Brady. I could not get into this book at all. I did not care for the characters at all.

Thank you NetGalley, Ida Brady and Book Throne for the digital copy of Before You Were Mine. This is my personal review.
Owen and Ally were meant to be together right from the beginning of the book. The chemistry was there and as I read I could see what was coming next, They were both very pleasant people and I liked them both. I would have enjoyed the book more if there would have been a little more of a build up of romance between them. There were a few bumps and hiccups between the two but for me it was just a nice book to keep me reading but I would have liked more of a pop and sizzle in the story.

3.5 stars

Cute & funny, well-written for the most part, & a story with satisfying character growth arcs beyond the romance storyline. I really enjoyed this one.

[What I liked:]

•Owen & Ally have good chemistry. Their insta lust was at times annoying, but their connection went much deeper & I could tell why they liked each other as people.

•Ally’s relationship with her parents, & Owen’s with his daughter/in laws/late wife are all portrayed with depth & nuance. There are great character growth arcs for Charlotte, Owen, & Ally, & Ally+Owen’s romantic relationship has a good development arc too.

•I have many fond memories of my student teaching in a middle school! It was nice to read a story about that unique & special world, with scheduling crises & horrid parents & adorable/hilarious 13-year-olds, & administrative stresses. Ally is a very devoted teacher, & I could tell why she likes her job & why it means so much to her. The school setting, the staff relationships, etc. were all well written.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Very heavy on the insta-lust, in a way that felt over the top. So much time is spent inside the MC’s thoughts with them drooling over each other. It gets boring & repetitive fast. Once they got together, though, this got better.

•The high stakes here: Ally is in a trial position at her dream job, & it’s not professional to date a parent. I could definitely feel how she was feeling guilty about wanting to date Owen, but I wasn’t clear on the details for half the book. Is it formally against the rules to date a parent, or would it just look bad? What are the consequences if they dated & were discovered? Knowing the ins & outs early on would help the stakes feel even higher.

•At some points the prose & dialogue are smooth, but at others the writing gets wordy & the dialogue on the nose. It’s mostly Ally’s conversations with Maddie & Sera that felt forced or just unnecessary. Either her friendships needed more depth, or the scenes with them needed to be trimmed down. There were way too many repetitive discussions about how hot Owen was.

CW: toxic parental relationships, ableist language (from a student, who is reprimanded)

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Thank you NetGalley, Book Throne and Ida Brady for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I have one thing to say about this book... blink and you’ll miss it. Okay, okay, let me explain! While the characters are likeable and the chemistry was definitely there, they went from 0-60 in no time. Like literally the first chapter and it’s already all set up for them to get together. I guess I just wish we had gotten a better build up to them meeting and such. That being said, their relationship itself took a slower pace than the insta-love they felt. This is not a light and fluffy romance. Both Ally and Owen come into the relationship with baggage and have some deep seeded issues to work through, and they need to decide if they’re going to do that together or alone.
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Ally McVeigh has landed her dream job at Woodbury High. But when single dad, Owen Davies walks into her office with a tragic past and anxious daughter in tow, he threatens more than just her career plans.

Struggling to distance herself from the rugged father’s promise of romance, Ally’s fear of commitment turns to hope; maybe she can have her cake and eat it.