I’m alway excited to hear when Denise Hunter has a new book coming out. Before There Was Us is one I was looking forward to reading. There were parts after Lauren lost her memory and four months of her life that I thought she doesn’t deserve Jonah. He was so understanding and kind and she was downright rude to him. I understand her upbringing played a part in her trust issues but I wanted to like her more because of what she’d been through but at times she just seemed mean. She did redeem herself and I’m glad it ended the way it did.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc and getting to read this story early.

Readers who like second chance stories will enjoy this sweet story. Lauren only needs to have completed this successful job at a quaint little campground before landing her dream job. But things go awry when she instantly dislikes the owners’ son. Lauren reminds Jonah of his ex-girlfriend so their “friendship’ is off to a rocky start but soon they fall in love. When Lauren suffers an injury things dramatically change. How will they mend their relationship? Or is it too late? Sweet, enjoyable story.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction, NetGalley and Denise Hunter!

Oh my gosh I did not see the first twist coming! Do you believe in fate? True Love? You will definitely love this story! I was hooked right away with Jonah and the resort. Lauren was perfect even though it was just a summer thing. Then in the blink of an eye the summer was gone. This is such a well written story with lots of twists, turns, ups and downs. Well done! I highly recommend this book.

This was a cute story with a beautiful setting. I am a sucker for close knit family run businesses so this really delivered.

I loved the dual time aspect of this book of before and after her fall. It was interesting to see the parallels.

Amnesia would be incredibly hard to deal with but there were times I felt that Lauren could have done better and her reluctance to try annoyed me.

I was thankful that eventually she came around and opened herself up.

I loved the glimpses into their childhoods. I liked that they had commonalities that helped them relate to each other.

Overall very cute.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

I was looking forward to read this because I was curious to see how the author would put a new spin on the classic “amnesia” story line. I liked the enemies to lovers component because it made the amnesia more of a problem!

Before We Were Us was a unique romance that will make many readers happy; it just didn't turn out to be my cup of tea. I liked the concept of the story, and I don't necessarily have any problems with the book's execution. This could be a good choice if you are a romance reader who loves tension and drama. It was a little too much tension for my liking as a reader.

This is a sweet book, as usual from Denise! I really enjoyed the dual timelines as their love story was told and unfolded along with the memories lost due to an accident. It was very interesting to have questions linger as a reader along right along with Lauren. I adored Jonah's patience and how he loved Lauren well no matter what. An enjoyable read for fall!

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the chance to read this newest release from Denise Hunter.
Alternating between present and past timelines, a couple must reexamine their relationship when one of them suffers an accident that causes memory loss. It is a great premise that is a very enjoyable, engaging, romantic, "clean" read! If you like Hallmark movies and need a sweet escape pick this one up!

An achingly beautiful story about love lost and found.

Jonah and Lauren are deeply in love and looking towards a life together forever. That is, until an accident leaves Lauren with no memories of their love - only the memories of when they first met and despised each other.

I think this might be my favorite Denise Hunter book yet.

Jonah was such a wonderful MMC. He was hardworking, devoted to his family, thoughtful, and only wanted what was best for Lauren. My heart ached for him, having to navigate through loving a woman who didn't remember him as anything more than someone who rubbed her the wrong way.

I loved Lauren as a FMC. She was passionate and hard-working, always striving for her dreams. She had a lot of baggage, not just relating to her accident, and she grew so much throughout the book.

I loved the setting in New Hampshire. It gave me all the cozy fall feels.

This book literally had me smiling and crying throughout. And the part where the title of the book comes into play...so good! Highly, highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson Publishers and NetGalley for the eARC.

Before We Were Us definitely made it to my top favorites list for this year. This is a spin on a second chance romance and I'm here for it. Denise Hunter ripped my heart apart and slowly pieced it back together. This is one that will stick with me for a long time coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction | Thomas Nelson for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Before We Were Us! This story would make a wonderful Hallmark movie (with more depth). A beautiful story of enemies to friends to dating to hopefully an engagement, when an accident happens leaving the beautiful college graduate with a degree in hospitality without her memory of the last few months. All she can remember is the enemies part.

There is nothing Jonah Landry wants more is to run his family's beautiful, rustic resort in New Hampshire with his enemies to girlfriend, to soon to be fiance, until the accident happens.

Lauren Wentworth had an extremely difficult childhood after her mother abandoned her and she went from one foster home to another. A high school teacher influenced her to turn her life around and make something of herself which she has been doing ever since. She worked hard to pull herself out of the difficulties of the past and get a degree in hospitality.

Jonah and his sacrificial love for Lauren brought tears to my eyes, especially when he wants the best for her, even if it's not him. I love how the story uses flashbacks to give the reader details of how Jonah and Lauren started as enemies and how they became friends, and their sweet romance. He remembers everything and she doesn't. I really enjoyed this story and how Lauren needs to figure things out on her own, and Jonah lets her do that.

I enjoyed the storyline, characters, setting, the surprises, the dog, the light faith thread, and the sweet friendship of Jonah and Lauren after they got off to a rough start.

Denise Hunter fans will love her latest!

Thank you to the publisher Thomas Nelson and Net Galley for allowing me to read an early copy. All opinions are my own.

Another wonderful book by Denise Hunter. It is a good clean romance that was hard to put down. I will definitely read from this author again. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Very good story. Lauren wanted to be an event planner and she was promised a job at the first of the year but she needed some experience first. She went to work at a very small resort and worked for Jonah who she clashed with immediately. Gradually, they fell in love. On the day he was planning to propose, she fell from a ladder and lost all memory of him and their love. She remembered him as her ill tempored boss, but didn't want anythin to do with him. He was heartbroken, but understood and hoped she would get her memory back. They started working together again and became friends. She went back to Boston and got her dream job but it didn't take long for her to realize she loved him still (or again). The story had some sweet parts, some romance, some tales of foster care and a wonderful HEA

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Before We Were Us is a beautiful story that pushes the boundaries of love, patience, and the limitations we sometimes put on ourselves. The New England setting made the perfect backdrop for Jonah and Lauren’s second chance romance (with a twist). This novel takes readers into the deeper layers of true love and the definition of family. Another great hit from Denise Hunter.

Denise Hunter never disappoints. She had written another novel about temporary traumatic amnesia a while ago but this book definitely has a different feel to it. I loved Jonah and his steadfast, unwavering, sacrificial love for Lauren. Lauren was quite prickly for most of the book but, given her ugly past and her unrelenting climb out of helplessness, this was to be expected. Just like Jonah, I admired Lauren's determination, grit, drive, work ethic, and incredible creativity. I fell in love with Pinehaven resort and the beauty of New Hampshire, as well as Jonah's lovely parents and younger sister. The story had chapters of flashback to give the readers a detailed backstory of how Jonah and Lauren started as enemies and fell in love. Their friendship and subsequent romance were sweet, tender, thoughtful, and delightful.
I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Thomas Nelson via NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed reading Before We Were Us, set in a small town in New Hampshire. Lauren’s mother abandoned her when she was young, which led to Lauren growing up in different families in the foster care system and not feeling like she belonged anywhere. Her childhood experiences made her fiercely independent and slow to trust.

Jonah’s family own the lakeside cabins and resort where Lauren is working while she waits for her dream job to start at a corporate events management company in Boston.

The story opens with Jonah and Lauren madly in love and planning their future life together. Lauren’s accident steals her memories of her relationship with Jonah and she’s confused when he behaves like he’s her doting boyfriend.

I love how the amnesia trope plays out in the story. We experience the depth of emotions and angst as Lauren deals with the consequences of her head injury and Jonah struggles with being rejected by the woman he loves. The story isn’t predictable and I kept turning the page all the way through to the satisfying and romantic story ending.

I recommend Before We Were Us to contemporary romance readers who like second chances amnesia stories with a twist on the enemies to love trope and a light faith element in the story.

Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Sinopsis en español:

Ella no puede recordar. Él no puede olvidar.

Cuando Lauren Wentworth se despierta en el hospital después de caerse de una escalera, tiene más preguntas que respuestas. Muchísimas más. Sabe dónde está: en la naturaleza de New Hampshire. Pero aparentemente ha perdido los últimos cuatro meses de su vida. ¿De verdad está pensando en renunciar a su trabajo soñado en la gran ciudad por un puesto en un resort rústico? ¿Y cómo su némesis número uno se convirtió en su adorado novio?

Jonah Landry queda destrozado al enterarse de que Lauren ha olvidado todo el verano que pasaron juntos. Aterrado por perderla para siempre, decide ayudarla a recordar su profunda conexión mientras ella termina con su obligación en el resort. Pero pronto se hace evidente que Lauren no quiere recordar haberse enamorado de él ni replantearse todo el curso de su carrera. Quiere fingir que el verano nunca sucedió y seguir adelante con su vida. Sin él.

Mientras Lauren vuelve a la rutina habitual de trabajar en el resort con Jonah, se siente aliviada de que sus recuerdos no hayan regresado y sigue decidida a su futuro en la gran ciudad. Pero a medida que el otoño da paso al invierno, comienza a ver destellos del Jonah que había olvidado. ¿Podrá resistirse al amor constante de este hombre paciente? ¿O su corazón está destinado a su propia caída libre?


Reseña:

Es una historia tierna.

Tanto Lauren como Jonah tienen sus povs, los capítulos están tanto en el presente como en el pasado. Me gusto lo de ambos tiempo porque se puede apreciar como fue su cambio de odiarse a amigos a enamorarse, y luego el sufrimiento de él porque lo olvido y no saber si debería luchar por ella o dejarla cumplir sus deseos. Por el otro lado vemos que es lo que motiva a Lauren a no querer enamorarse y no querer intentar recordar.

This cozy read gave me the warm fuzzies and had me hoping for a Hallmark adaptation.

Lauren and Jonah are a couple in love, until a fall from a ladder causes Lauren to lose months of her memories, forgetting the days of their courtship. She is set to leave the small town where they fell in love soon for a job, and Jonah can only desperately hope that her memories return in time.

The setting of fall in New Hampshire was everything I needed right now, with the lush descriptions of the beautiful lakeside cabins and the sounds of leaves beneath their feet. It was all giving fall, perfect for my current mood! I loved the storyline and the way the pieces fell into place, loved seeing the flashbacks to Lauren and Jonah falling for each other in a very enemies to lovers / insta love kind of way, and loved Jonah’s family. No hint of spice here, the door is firmly closed for the entirety of this sweet and wholesome read. It would truly make an absolutely delightful Hallmark movie, with the heartwarming sentiments, elements of forgiveness, and deep relationships.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

“Before We Were Us” by Denise Hunter was a sweet and beautiful story about Jonah and Lauren love story and how they came together. I loved the different writing story of going back-and-forth between past and present time. It kind of gives you perspective as Lauren losses her memory of the past 4 month due to an injury. Beautiful sentimental ending to their love story.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Publishing, and Denise Hunter for an eARC copy of “Before We Were Us”.

This book makes me so happy! Definitely one of Hunter's best (and that's saying something).

When I started reading it, I panicked for a mo' that I'd done my usual: start book 2 or 3 in a series without having read book 1. It felt like I came into the middle of a story already happening (which, granted, is true); I also hadn't read the back-cover copy in a hot minute, which would have clued me in as to what the plot and conflict might be. LOL. So there's that.

Once I figured that out, I was hooked on both the characters and the story. Even when the MCs annoyed me a bit, it fit in with the story and how they might be feeling/reacting to plot events. And everyone needs a Jonah Landry in their lives, truly. #swoon

Fans of Hunter's other books, especially the Riverbend Gap and Bluebell Inn Romance series, will undoubtedly enjoy this read.

A very, very good read, and a perfect way to finish out the summer.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.