Denise Hunter has written a beautiful love story about Lauren and Jonah an unlikely pair that work together and slowly fall for one another. As all love stories they face the unthinkable an accident that pulls them apart in the most heartbreaking way. This is a book for all Hallmark lovers. A sweet story that pulls at your heart. It’s not hard to get truly invested in these characters and root for their love story.
A perfect quick read and a few tears maybe shed. This was my first book by Denise Hunter and I can’t wait to read more.

5 stars!

The book follows Lauren and Jonah who work at Pinehaven resort in rural New Hampshire. Lauren falls and loses the last several months of her memory and she doesn't remember falling in love with Jonah and wants nothing to do with him. Follow their journey to learn if they can survive this, or if Lauren decides to move on.

I loved the dual POV between Jonah and Lauren, and the flashbacks to the memories than Lauren lost so that we as readers get the whole story.

This was such a feel good, Hallmark movie vibe book, but there were still so many emotions and serious things happening. This book makes me so excited to head up to Vermont/ the NE this fall! Highly recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the chance to read this book!

Before We Were Us is a delightful story with down-to-earth characters. The story centers around the emotional relationship between Lauren and Jonah. This book pulled me in from the start and kept me turning pages to the end. I had to know just what this couple's future would hold. Thanks to author Denise Hunter, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Recent college graduate Lauren Wentworth is working for a year at Pinehaven Cottages in New Hampshire while waiting for her dream job in Boston to become available. She has immediate sparks - both good and bad - with the owner's son, Jonah Landry, who also works at Pinehaven. They end up falling in love but things change when Lauren has a fall from a ladder in the Pinehaven barn, and she can't remember the past few months of her life - including her love story with Jonah. As Lauren recovers, she is just eager to get through the year and go back to Boston, while Jonah hopes their relationship can be rekindled.

I wanted to read Before We Were Us because I love Denise Hunter's books! This novel was no exception. It is a standalone read, which is a nice break from series.

I loved the little community of Pinehaven! The author does such a great job at describing this charming, rustic place, the Landry family, and day to day life in a rural New England resort.

Lauren was initially hard to like - she was unhappy with this charming place and aspired to a more glamorous city event planner job. She became more likable as her story unfolded, including her difficult early years in foster care and her hard work to change her life.

Jonah is a wonderful book boyfriend - strong, sensitive, and caring. I also liked his family ... and Lauren's adorable rescued Jack Russell mix, Graham.

I recommend Before We Were Us for fans of women's fiction, and especially for other readers (like me) who enjoy rustic resort settings like Pinehaven.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Before We Were Us by Denise Hunter is a touching romance set against the charming backdrop of a New Hampshire resort. When Lauren Wentworth suffers a fall and loses the past four months of her memory, she’s bewildered to discover that her big-city dreams are now entwined with a rustic resort and Jonah Landry, her supposed nemesis turned boyfriend. As she grapples with these new realities and her lost memories, Jonah faces the heartbreak of seeing the woman he loves forget their summer romance.

Jonah’s devotion and patience shine through as he tries to rekindle Lauren's memories and mend their fractured relationship. The emotional depth of their story is compelling, especially as Lauren struggles with her conflicting feelings and her desire to return to her former life. The setting of the resort adds a picturesque quality to the narrative, enhancing the story’s cozy and heartfelt atmosphere.

Despite its endearing qualities, some aspects of the plot felt a bit rushed, particularly Lauren’s shift in feelings towards Jonah. Her initial reluctance to accept her past decisions and her sudden change of heart towards the end may come off as abrupt to some readers. Nevertheless, the book’s portrayal of love’s enduring power and the setting’s charm make it a satisfying read for fans of second-chance romances.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was very sweet. I flew through it in about two sittings, and I really enjoyed the premise of this story.

The setting of this story is beautiful, and I felt fully enveloped in it with the way the scenery and the cabins were described. I’ve never been to that area of New Hampshire, but I have been similar places, and reading a whole novel based in a place like that made me really miss the times I was also in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

I also adored Jonah and his family. They were nothing but sweet and kind throughout the story, even if Tammy did tend to meddle a little bit. Though, I do think she was entirely justified in doing so. Jonah felt really authentic to me, and I’m not sure I can articulate why. He just felt so real, and I felt so sad for him for having to deal with constant heartbreak over and over again. Lord knows Lauren didn’t make it easy on him.

As for Lauren, she irked me quite a bit. I didn’t dislike her, and I did understand her reasoning for how she was acting at times, but I just don’t understand why she wouldn’t want any of her memories back. If I lost 4 whole months of my life, especially *important* months, I’d want to get them back??? I’d want to know why I made the decisions I did, especially if they were good enough to turn down my supposed dream job??

And not only that, Jonah deserves a medal for putting up with her antics. That man was nothing but respectful and kind and caring and loving to her even AFTER she stepped on his heart over and over, and she still didnt recognize the effort he was putting forth. Yes, sometimes she would have feelings of remorse, but then she would ignore them and go back to being rude to him and keeping him at a distance for funsies. I can’t blame Jonah for being miserable, I would be too, watching someone I planned to marry hate me from a distance.

I also felt like Lauren’s decisions (?) were a little rash, at times. I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. I just can’t understand how she would spend months *deciding* to hate her person, only to find a ring he bought for her and suddenly she loves him again? It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I know she was burying her emotions for a while, but she never gave them enough attention for her realization and declaration of love to make sense to me. And she was so stubborn about moving back to Boston even though she clearly didn’t want to go. I feel bad for everyone involved in her back and forth on those decisions.

Overall, this book was nice. I enjoyed the time I spent with it, but I did feel that maybe Lauren’s feelings/decisions could have been elaborated upon a bit more, just because they felt a little out of the blue.

3/5 stars

With it early into my holiday I'm gravitating towards light chick-lit, and this fit the bill. The believability pushed things from the start, when the male lead was planning on proposing the very night that the female lead fell from a ladder and lost the last four months of her memory - the time they knew each other. But I was happy to extend the believability as it's a sweet story of sacrificial love, and I appreciated the author having both leads be either adopted or in foster care.

Uplifting if non-demanding.

It was only supposed to be a summer job- a job before her real job in Boston-but now Lauren has to rethink her life. This is a sweet romance about two young people and their thoughts about the future, Lauren loses 4 months of her memory when she falls off a ladder at Joshua's parents' resort in New Hampshire. She doesn't remember that they become good friends and she doesn't know the depth of his feelings for her. This is all about how they work things out. While these two are, ahem, young, they are well drawn relatable characters, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me about the ending.

"Jonah Landry elected to stay busy on the day his entire future hung in the balance."
What a great way to grab your reader and swing them right into the story! Denise Hunter has spun a tale so engaging you will not want to put it down until you reach the last page, last paragraph, last sentence, last period!
Jonah is a strong willed yet sincere and somewhat insecure individual trying to find his place in his world and in his family. Oh he has a family and is loved dearly but he still is trying to find that spot for him.
Lauren is a go getter and what she wants is to get through the nine months as temporary manager of Pinehaven Resort and get her covered position at Glitter. That was her dream job, not some place in the wild, without all the city amenities she was used to.
Jonah and Lauren don't hit it off too great as coworkers and things get even more complicated after Lauren has an accident and suffers a traumatic head injury
Hunter really tugs at the heart with the emotional battle both Jonah and Lauren embrace. Is it harder to remember and let go of the one you love or harder to not remember and not fight for the one you used to love?
Poignant and emotional!

Enjoyed!

This new book by Denise Hunter is set in Pinehaven, New Hampshire and centers on Jonah and Lauren. I think this is a stand-alone.

I would classify this almost as a second chance romance due to the circumstances, although it starts out as grumpy. By the time August arrives, Lauren and Jonah are in love, he's ready to propose, but then an accident happens and Lauren loses all memory from April to August. This is where the second chance comes in for me. Their relationship goes back to grumpy, but will Lauren's memory ever return so she can remember their love? Give this one a read and find out! The setting is beautiful, Jonah is wonderful, Lauren is a bit snooty but has promise, and Jonah's parents are wonderful.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

This one was a 4.5 star read for me.

This one was a pure delight and I absolutely loved the romance in it between Jonah and Lauren. The only reason I didn't say five stars was because the ending felt a bit rushed. Overall, it was a great story and the amnesia storyline was handled well. It didn't feel too cheesy and was really enjoyable to watch Lauren find a different path to the life she had decided on right before her fall.

Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a unique love story. This book shows two people who at first don't like each other. but as time goes on their feelings slowly start to change for each other and they fall madly in love. Until the main character hits her head and can't remember any of the last 4 months (aka the time they spent falling in love with each other) what she does remember is when she didn't like him. so when she finds out they were in love, she's understandably confused. this was a lovely story. it showed how deep his feelings were for her and how deep their love was for each other.

I happily received a copy of this novel, and I so so wanted to finish this book in time, which I normally do, but I wasn't able to finish this for the time this book was given me :( (*internally crying*). Even though I can't write a full review yet because of that until I am able to finish it in another way, (I mean, I do really want to purchase it one day and read further, because I'm intrigued!!), I do am going to say that the pages which I was able to read (around 100 pages), the book felt very sweet, heart-warming, cosy and charming. I actually couldn't stop reading. It reminded me a bit of a Hallmark movie, but in a better and more deep emotional way, if that makes any sense. -`♡´-

Throughout this novel, we follow a couple: Lauren and Jonah. They work at Jonah's family resort of cabins in rural New Hampshire. Lauren has a dangerous fall from a ladder and ends up in the hospital forgetting the last several months in which she was starting to get feelings for Jonah and eventually dating him. The thing that she remembers of her time with him, is her arriving at the resort and not liking him at all when she fist meets him. And, frustratingly, she doesn't remember them falling in love. And so, the novel goes back and forth in time between the present and them falling in love over the summer.

The concept of the story intrigued me very much as well as the setting of the book. The characters felt real, layered, and human. In the beginning, I wasn't so sure yet if I would feel myself caring for them so much, especially because I felt like Lauren was quite harsh on Jonah. I felt quite sad for him. And even though I am not entirely feeling a connection with her yet, I do am starting to feel for their situation and I am rooting for them to rekindle their love for one another and that Lauren gets her memories back. (Jonah is such a sweetheart! He's so caring throughout it all!) The writing style is wonderfully pleasing and beautifully written and creates a very warm feeling. The author truly has a way with telling and showing a story. I also really liked the dual time line, that we get to see the time before and after Lauren's accident. I was immersed in the story. So, overall, I'm starting to really like this book and feeling myself beginning to care for the characters and wishing them the best, and I can't wait to read further. ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review. ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡
ps. once i own a copy of the book, and have finished reading, i will write an update and full review!!

This is a delightful escape into charming small-town New Hampshire, where city girl Lauren finds more than she bargained for during a summer job at a family-owned resort. As she waits for her dream job opportunity in Boston, she unexpectedly falls hard and fast for Noah, who is also the resort owner’s son. But when an accident leaves her with amnesia, Lauren's feelings for Noah are anything but romantic, so he has to find a way to win her heart all over again. This heartwarming, closed-door romance is an emotional story. To me, it's all about second chances and bravely facing the challenges in our past. I thought the amnesia subplot was skillfully written and I felt like I was experiencing the picturesque setting in real life. Before We Were Us is a must-read with a happy ending! Loved it!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions shared here are my own.

This is a really good book. I enjoyed it so much! This book is a love story about Lauren and Jonah who meet at Jonah's family's rustic resort when Lauren comes to work for them for 9 months before she starts her dream job in Boston. When they first meet, they can't stand each other. Then, over time, they fall in love. Lauren is involved in an accident and her memories are lost to her. She doesn't remember falling in love with Jonah. She only remembers before they fell in love when they didn't like each other. Jonah is crushed. Unbeknownst to Lauren, the accident happened on the day Jonah was going to propose marriage. Lauren finishes her time at the resort then moves to Boston for her dream job. A lot of things happen after she leaves. Will Lauren's memory come back? Will Lauren and Jonah get back together? Read this book to find out. I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

Jonah and Lauren's love faces a heartbreaking test when an accident erases Lauren's memories of their relationship, leaving her only with memories of when they disliked each other. The story explores the emotional complexities of love, loss, and rediscovery as Jonah supports Lauren, even if it means letting her go. Their journey, filled with pain and hope, showcases how love can endure despite the challenges of change and forgotten memories.

Overall, Before We Were Us has a fantastic premise. Despite the sometimes odd pacing and rushed scenes, Hunter delivers a couple you care for deeply. This was heartfelt and sweet with many unexpected twists.

Love conquers all! Including amnesia that makes the person who hated you then fell in love with you hate you again.

WOW. This book was so creative. Such a fun idea and a really great book. The writing was sweet, the romance was great. I loved the flashbacks that showed their love story the first time around even as they were on this second journey together. The female MC was so hard to like at times because it was CLEAR that this guy was trying to be there for you and she had zero intention of giving him a chance. But as the backstory unfolded, it was understandable why she was a little guarded. I still think she should have tried harder. But I loved how Denise Hunter drew us into their emotions and showed their faith coming in handy in the hard moments of life. Great book that kept you guessing until a VERY SATISFYING conclusion.

Jonah had plans and within minutes those plans are changed. Lauren suffers a traumatic brain injury and loses the past four months.
This was a heartbreaking story. I felt so sad for Jonah and a bit upset with Lauren. It’s a good story that will have you reaching for some tissues as it goes on. You won’t be able to put it down!

Before We Were Us is an Interesting title and a wonderful book by Denise Hunter . Her books are also ones that I want to read!

The blurb: She can't remember. He can't forget.

Lauren had the world at her feet. Newly graduated, Working at her dream job in the city and looking to her future position as a project manager after a summer as a temporary manager at a rustic cabin resort. She will be headed back to her new position with a wealth of experience, a new fur baby (Graham) and affirmation that her people skills have been appreciated by the owners and guests at the resort. With only a few weeks to go completing this assignment, a bad fall from a ladder stops everything.

Lauren has lost her memory of the last months at the resort. She doesn't remember falling in love with Jonah. In the hospital, she remembers she had a crush on the handsome intern, Carson, but nothing else. Carson encourages her to let the memory come back on its own. Jonah struggles, with this loss. She doesn't remember falling in love with the owners of the resort and yes, their son Jonah. And Jonah knows it all but how does he help the woman he loves? And does he really know all the story?

How she processes and moves forward, remembering the romance, the story draws you in. And even if you expect that happy ending, how does it unfold?

For an ARC of this book by Denise Hunger and a copy from Netgalley, this is my honest review.