Review: Before I Knew by Jamie Beck

Before I Knew by Jamie Beck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This romance grabbed me immediately and never let go. I did not want to put it down for anything. I think part of that was that the novel focused on relationships not the sex. It was very thoughtful and went deep into the emotional components of the story. I found that satisfying and a relief. Sometimes, romance can start to feel like they’re all about sex. It was nice to read one focused on a relationship as a whole. Now, there is a lot of angst here by nature of the story itself (loss, grief, suicide, etc.). It’s not necessarily a happy romance although it ultimately gets where you want it to go. This is nitpicky but the main character’s name – Colby – kept throwing me as it felt like a masculine name and yet she’s a woman. Other than that there isn’t really a thing wrong with the story that I can think of. I loved this reading experience and feel like it was a romance with heart and soul. I’m eager to see what’s to come with this series (this is the first in a new series).

NOTE: Thank you to the publisher for providing a free ARC of this book for an honest review.