Reviews with content warning for Child death - Before We Came

I love a couple that just knows but, more than that, I love when the male main character is the one who absolutely knows that he’s in love and she is it for him, not in a possessive way, just in a ‘nobody else will ever compare’ way.

Before We Came is as dark as it is funny. Birdie and Lonan both experienced trauma at a young age, including a shared trauma, and both have lived very different lives that mean that they process that very differently. I would have liked to have heard more about Lonan’s childhood as well as is his existing relationship with his mother, but I suspect it isn’t something that he focuses on much. Instead, choosing to focus his attention on his found family with the Hayes’.

Though I really enjoyed the premise of Before We Came, the writing itself was somewhat lacking. Some areas felt rushed and there were a lot of typos or small continuity errors that affected the rhythm of the tale. What worked really well in this book was the character building, for the main characters at least. I’m intrigued to learn more about the side characters like Micky and Conway, and hope that they get their chance in later books to get their own happy endings.

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kennedy_fontenot's review

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emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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petit_biblio's review

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4.0

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missdaniellexo's review

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kearstenkeepsreading's review

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I loved the basis of the plot of this book! Birdie is great and is handling what is an absolutely traumatic and insane time in her life with such grace and a lot less panic attacks than I would that’s for sure! But I really cannot bring myself to like Lonan even a little bit. He starts out as a player sleeping around which is fine but he truly has such little regard for these women it is gross. And the way he speaks to and about them is just not it. But even with all of that I was okay with him until he CALLED THE MEDIA AND LEAKED BIRDIES STORY SO SHE WOULDN'T LEAVE! This woman just found out that she was abducted by the woman who she thought was her mother and has been reunited with her long lost family after more than 20 years and instead of supporting her and giving her space to find her footing and be there for her you throw a hissy fit and call the media because you overheard a one side conversation. Dude grow up and ask her how she is doing and if she doesn’t tell you RESPECT THAT AND GIVE HER SPACE! Then he basically coerces her into staying with him at his place so she will be safe from the media. Who will keep her safe from you bro!? And then she tells him numerous times I’m not ready for a relationship and things are crazy I can only be your friend and he just ignores her REPEATEDLY and won’t just let her be.

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amylouisereads's review

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dark funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I absolutely loved this. I went into it completely blind after seeing a few people say it’s a series they wish they could read again for the first time.

The storyline was so unexpected and it gripped me instantly, I couldn’t put it down! I do wish we’d seen a little more of the investigation and how it all played out all those years ago, and it skipped a little fast towards the end but I still loved it.

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