Event planner Lauren goes to work at a small resort in New Hampshire to strengthen her resume in order to land her dream job in Boston. On her short-term assignment, she digs into so many aspects of the business and gives some great suggestions to the owners. Her role is challenged by the owners’ son, Jonah, who envisions his own self running the family resort.
An accident leaves Lauren with memory loss; her recovery journey changes the course of her life. Jonah vows to be by her side, no matter where the changes take Lauren.

Another beautiful romance from Denise Hunter. Loved this beautiful story of second chances and falling in love.

Cute story! It wasn’t my favorite but I found myself rooting for the characters and wanting Lauren’s memory to return. It did feel a little anticlimactic though which was a little disappointing. Denise Hunter’s stories are usually more impactful. This one felt like it didn’t quite get there. But it was still cute. I’m glad I read it.
I received a digital copy from NetGalley. I was in no way required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

3.75 ⭐️ no spice
this book would be perfect to read in the fall, but still I enjoyed reading it in the winter time! if you want cozy hallmark vibes that will make you smile and swoon but also with a little bit of depth I’d recommend this as a quick and easy read!
I love that it was fast paced and the mmc was very sweet and head over heels for the fmc ❤️
thank you Netgalley for an audio ARC for review.

3.5 ⭐️

The beautiful cover drew me to this book and it was a good one to read in the Fall.

Jonah and Lauren don’t like each other much when she is hired for temporary work on his family’s rustic resort in rural New Hampshire. But they quickly fall for each other! Then Lauren falls from a ladder and loses the past several months of her memory. She doesn’t remember any of their romance and is eager to get back to her big city life.

I liked the dual timeline (pre/post accident) style. I also really enjoyed the topics of foster care and adoption from an adult perspective. However, it was hard for me to relate to Lauren and I wasn’t extremely invested in their love story. I loved the setting, but could have used a little more of it. Loved the dog and Jonah’s family! 😊

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book to read and review.

After a devastating heartbreak, Jonah Landry doesn’t expect to fall deeply in love with another city girl. When Lauren Wentworth shows up at his family’s small New Hampshire resort to help generate more business, Landry knows that the prickly (but pretty) woman will never be more than a thorn in his side. Until she isn’t. They slowly forge a friendship, which leads to love. Jonah has a ring in his pocket, and the scene is set for a romantic proposal when an accident changes everything.

Lauren wakes up in the hospital room surrounded by beeping machines and a man she can’t stand—Jonah Landry. Even more terrifying? He claims he is her boyfriend! Her only memories of Jonah involve mud-splashing, stonewalling, and derision. She reacts with panic, and surprisingly, Jonah graciously removes himself from the room. Despite forgetting four months of her life, Lauren knows her objective—finish her internship at the Landry’s and take up the event-planning position promised to her in the city.

Will she ever remember how she and Jonah fell in love? Jonah must navigate Lauren’s amnesia by giving her space and allowing their relationship to start again. At what point does he break the news that she gave up the offered position in the city so she could stay in New Hampshire?

Lauren might not remember an entire summer, but she does remember her birth mother and growing up feeling abandoned and unwanted. In her vulnerable state after her brain injury, she must navigate the old hurts while dealing with the new reality—Jonah isn’t at all as she remembered. Maybe her mother isn’t what she remembered, either.

Can two star-crossed lovers ever find their way back to each other when one can’t remember the story of how they went from enemies to lovers?

What I Loved About this Book

Denise Hunter takes on the enemies-to-lovers trope by adding a fresh twist. Readers who have lost sight of what made them fall in love with their significant other will relate to Jonah's problems as his dedication remains constant even though Lauren has no good memories of him.

One star off because the description/back-cover blurb is a bit misleading, as the Dr. Carson character appears in only three scenes early in the book, then disappears for the bulk of the book, only to be mentioned in passing once more near the end. So all the while I was reading this, waiting for the implied love triangle to begin, but it never did.

A second star off because the whole premise was a bit too similar to Hunter's previous book, The Goodbye Bride, in which a woman in a small New England town falls, hits her head, and loses her memory. In that book, she forgets she is broken up with the man she thinks she still loves. In this story, Lauren forgets that she's fallen in love with the man she thinks she hates. A slight nuance, granted, but still close enough that I couldn't stop recalling TGB while reading this book, nor stop comparing the two, which frequently pulled me out of the story.

That said, it was still an enjoyable enough read to hold my attention from start to finish in one sitting! And I LOVED Graham. <3

I received a dARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

Before We Were Us is a sweet tale about two people that find their way to each other twice to reach a happy ending.

I enjoyed the switching between past and present and the way the story unfolds. The story as makes you think about how quickly things can change, but that doesn't have to mean things are over.
The writing is done well, the setting is vivid, and the characters are believable. This is a quick read that is easy to stay immersed in without getting bogged down in something too heavy.

If you like sweet romance and hope in your books, then this is one you don't want to miss.

Hunter has a special talent in dealing with sensitive subjects in a Touching and gentle manner.
My heart ached for Jonah. How tortuous for him to have his love lose her memory and not remember their relationship.
His heartbreak became mine and yet as Lauren comes to realize what her heart has remembered all along, it was the way things had to occur.
The ending is perfect and you may need to grab a tissue for some waterworks and Lauren finally finds her home.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I have loved all of Denise Hunter's books but this one left such a bad vibe in my mouth and I DNF'd it.

This story started out so sweet, and then the accident and my heart broke. I felt so bad for both of them, but especially Jonah. I enjoyed getting to read about their story from the beginning and understand how they went from enemies to lovers, but it was still hard for me to read the post accident sections. There was some nice growth on both ends, and I was happy by the end.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

"Before We Were Us" is a second-chance romance of an unusual sort. Although this couple is in love for the first time and hasn't broken up, Lauren suffered a head injury that erased the last four months of her life. Unfortunately for her boyfriend, Jonah, that means she's forgotten every detail of their enemies to lovers transition. So far as she's concerned, he's still unbearable; not the person she can't bear to live without.

As they each try to navigate this odd alteration of their circumstances, it forces them both to think about what they really want out of life (and who they most want it with).

Overall, I felt it was a well-written story, and I truly enjoyed Jonah's patience with everything. His focus on Lauren's happiness, even if that didn't include him, was touching to witness.

Thank you to Denise Hunter, the publisher and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

For Jonah and Lauren it wasn't love at first sight it was more I don’t like you and you irritate and bug me for tons of reasons .

Lauren wakes up in a hospital and doesn’t understand why this man who gets on her nerves is in her room professing his love and saying they’ve been dating for several months , why would she ever date or like him?

And so the story begins - Lauren fell from high in a barn and now has amnesia forgetting the last few months and how she fell in love with Jonah and in fact changed her whole life because she fell in love with Jonah .

Jonah is traumatized . He was about to propose to Lauren and instead she falls off the ladder and now can’t remember anything about him except she doesn’t like him.

This is a beautiful yet haunting story of lost memories , rebuilding a relationship, regret of a missing relationship and yet a rebuilding of love . This story shows that a love lost can be rebuilt.
A beautiful love story .

Thank you to netgalley for the story in exchange for an unbiased review .

I'm in the minority so take this with a grain of salt. Lauren was absolutely awful. I gave her the benefit of doubt, because well, she lost her memories. But, after a point, it became very annoying. I hated the way she treated Jonah, and the fact that she didn't even seem interested in remembering was... weird, to say the least

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a great book!

I really enjoyed this - but then again, I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read by Denise Hunter.

This heartfelt read takes you to New Hampshire and a resort where Lauren (a resort manager hired for the year) and Jonah (the owners son) have fallen in love and are looking forward to their future together. That is, until an accident causes Lauren to lose her memory. And she loses only the last 4 months - when Lauren and Jonah went from almost-enemies to true loves. Jonah cannot believe that the love of his life cannot remember falling in love with him. And worse, it doesn’t seem like she wants to remember.

It’s an emotional ride for sure - all Lauren can remember is not getting along with Jonah, which is devastating to him. We as the readers get to relive the last summer. We get to see how, reluctantly, Lauren falls for Jonah, the Landry family, the resort and New Hampshire. Now, all she can remember is the new job she is supposed to take in Boston after the holidays. We sit on the edge of our seats wondering if Jonah can make her fall in love with him again or if Lauren is joining her new company as an event planner.

Highly recommend. The characters are relatable. The story, while tragic, is engaging. I would watch this on a Hallmark movie.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a good read! I read it in one sitting! I have always loved Denise Hunter's books. I would definitely recommend this one.

A beautiful romance between Lauren and Jonah, until hardship causes it not to be. The way they work through it is inspiring yet heartbreaking. I recommend this book and this author.

Before We Were Us by Denise Hunter
A city girl named Lauren falls in love with small town Jonah. Everything is perfect. They’re even about to get engaged. But then, she falls off a ladder and loses the past several months of her memory. Lauren’s feelings are back to how they were when she first met Jonah. And they didn’t start off well. You might even say they were more enemies than friends. Poor Jonah is heartbroken as he realizes the love of his life no longer loves him. How long will it take to win her love back?

A few of my favorite things…
-the small town autumn setting
-Hallmark-y vibes
-the whole idea of falling back in love after losing memory
-the cute rescue dog
-the idea of running a rustic resort in a small town

I didn’t care for…
-sometimes the sexual attraction between the two MC’s seemed to be a bit more the focus of the story than I would have liked

Know that…
-it’s a fairly clean romance, but there is a good bit of kissing and focus on strong attraction
-it’s labeled Christian fiction, but the Christian element doesn’t go much deeper than quick prayers

Perfect for…
Women looking for a feel-good autumn-y book or audiobook.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Denise Hunter is one of my favorite women's fiction authors and I was so grateful to receive this ARC from NetGalley. This is a fall romance that I started and couldn't put down! Another winner!