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!

Apparently I am in the minority, but I didn't love this book. The story is about Jonah and Lauren, who have a quick whirlwind romance, until Lauren has an accident and loses all memory of any relationship with Jonah. What survives is her initial dislike of Jonah, so he has to try and respect her current feelings, but also try to make her see what she did fall in love with. I just didn't feel any chemistry between these two characters and I just wasn't invested enough to care about their HEA.

A sweet and heartwarming small town romance with wonderful characters and a great plot that kept me reading until the end of this story. Always love reading this author! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before We Were Us by Denise Hunter is a sweet story that you will absolutely love until the very end! Happy reading!

Before We were Us is a novel of loving, forgetting and falling in love again. What do you do when you forget months of your life and then, as you recover, amazingly find what you put in place was completed. Denise Hunter delivers a novel worthy of reading during this Fall season in a beautiful location. Four stars to a clean, Christian romance of love, loss and finding love again.

I can’t tell y’all how excited I was to read this latest release from Denise Hunter! The New Hampshire setting was perfection, along with the twists Denise takes readers on with this lovely inspirational romance. Grab a cozy blanket and cup of hot chocolate. You just found the perfect feel-good fall read.

Before We Were Us was an amazing read! I'm a fan of amnesia stories and this was such a unique storyline!

I loved how she lost her memory of the summer and therefore her romance with Jonah. It was sad to see him missing their connection, but I loved how he kept trying to win her back.

The book was written in a fast-paced way and I could hardly put it down. I loved the romance and setting.

All in all, Before We Were Us was such a good read and I think fans of contemporary romance will enjoy it. I wouldn't consider it Christian fiction, as the faith element was minimal (I can't recall any). Still a great clean read.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Seven months ago Lauren Wentworth graduated with her degree in hospitality. She had her eye on her dream job, but the boss wanted her to have more experience. She travelled to rural New Hampshire to become temporary manager of Pinehaven Lodge, a rustic family-owned resort. When she arrived, she had an extremely adversarial relationship with the owners' son, Jonah. The more they worked together, that wall came down and they fell in love. He asked her to marry him, and she agreed, giving up the job in Boston and staying in New Hampshire. While working in the barn venue, she falls from a ladder and hits her head. When she comes to, the last five months are gone, and she only remembers the adversarial part of her relationship with Jonah. He is heartbroken and will do whatever she needs to get her memory back and make her happy, including letting her go. She calls Boston to check in and finds out that she forfeited the job, but they agree to give her one more chance. After talking to everyone around her, she finally believes that she fell in love with Jonah, but those feelings are gone. As she finishes out her year at the family lodge, can Johan get her to fall in love with him again.

I really enjoyed this story, although I am not a big fan of the amnesia trope. Denise Hunter does a good job with this story and made me love both Lauren and Jonah. He stole my heart and I was so sad for him, thinking that he had lost Lauren. She was career driven and very good at her job, but I wanted her to either get her memory back or fall in love all over again. Jonah was so sweet and patient with Lauren, only wanting her to remember the happy times that they had. I liked that both of them had issues and past hurts that affected their behaviour before they fell in love, and that is what Lauren remembers. I loved the setting of the family lodge in the woods of New Hampshire. I also enjoyed seeing Lauren work with the family to build up their business. Jonah's family were wonderful to Lauren and had welcomed her to their family. I enjoy Denise Hunter's writing and this was another winner.

Such a sweet story of a man who loves a woman who doesn't remember that love. When Lauren falls off a ladder she doesn't remember that she loves Jonah. She only remembers her disklike for him at the beginning of the summer season when she met him. This is their journey back to each other.

Denise Hunter's books are always a favorite of mine. I alternated between reading and listening to the audio version. The narrator, Kim Churchill, did a wonderful job!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 10 October 2024

Lauren and Jonah have the perfect summer together and fall in love. Then Lauren gets into an accident and can’t remember the summer. She wants to return to her old life in the big city. Joanne has to try and remind her about their love. This was such a romantic story, I couldn’t help but for the characters and I really didn’t want this to end.

Everything is coming into place for Jonah and Lauren, until a traumatic fall takes Lauren's memory, and she can't remember their relationship at all.

A heartwarming romance, in a cozy small town setting, that deals with the different paths of life, and how you never forget true love. Jonah is a good man and does his best to support Lauren throughout, no matter what she chooses, giving her space and time as well as being ready in the wings when she needs him. Lauren struggles choosing between her dreams, and new one that is slowly unfolding. I liked how Lauren and Jonah have good friends to lean on, and how they trust God to see them through.

Overall, this was a heart bending, and heartwarming read, with endearing characters in a sweet small town!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I really enjoyed this book. The book focuses on Lauren and Jonah's relationship, which is blown apart by an accident that leaves Lauren with no memory of her relationship with Jonah. The author tells the story of their relationship with dual storylines of before and after Lauren's accident; one timeline is present day, and the other timeline is the time their relationship was developing prior to Lauren's accident. Lauren and Jonah both had traumas from their childhood that were heartbreaking, and I appreciated reading a book where the main characters worked through their issues in a believable way. I found the book a compelling read, and was pleased how the author finished the book with an ending that wasn't predictable, but satisfying. I'd recommend this book to someone who wants to read something with a bit more depth than the usual "girl meets boy, starts as enemy, ends in love" type of storyline. Solid 4.5 stars, could've made it higher if Jonah didn't call her honey all the time, one of my pet peeves, lol

Before We were Us may be my favorite Denise Hunter book. It is a second chance love story, but not in your usual fashion. Their love story had to overcome obstacles twice due to amnesia. This was fabulous!

This book read like a really cute hallmark movie with lots of hope and aspirations. I loved these characters and this small town, and especially Graham the dog!

What a beautiful story.
The relationship and love between Jonah and Lauren was tested when Lauren had an accident and could no longer remember what they had shared. Jonah lived out the bible verse love is patient and kind as He helped Lauren fulfill her dreams even though it was tearing him apart as they no longer included him. However in the process He was causing Lauren to fall in love with him all over again.
Neither of them had an easy up bringing Lauren more so than Jonah so they both had pasts to deal with but found they belonged with each other. So well written and would highly recommend. Thank you to Denise Hunter and Net Galley for an ARC copy to honestly review.

I received a complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are mine.

Denise can do wrong in my opinion. The book follows Lauren who wakes up from a fall with no recollection of the last four months of her life and with no idea of who her boyfriend is and where her career is going. But Jonah doesn't want her to forget the last four months and he works to ensure she never forgets. I found myself rooting for the fictional man and that should say a lot and reflecting on the power of memories. Well written ,fast paced and intriguing!

A sweet book with a bit of bitterness. The challenges that Jonah and Lauren had me going a bit insane cause omg. Jonah was so understanding towards Lauren, it was so sweet. And how much Lauren grew all through out the book, how she realized that she still loved Jonah.

Denise Hunter's latest books are all ready to go straight to Hallmark. If Hallmark movies is your thing, then this is the perfect fall read for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy--all opinions are my own!