Before I Knew
Series: The Cabots #1
Paperback and e-book, 354 pages
Published August 22nd 2017 by Montlake Romance
Author Jamie Beck returns with an engrossing series about family, friendship, and starting over. In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love.
On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.
Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.
But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.
National bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than one million copies. She is a Booksellers’ Best Award and National Readers' Choice Award finalist, and critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly (including a starred review), and Booklist have respectively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.”
In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.
Published August 22nd 2017 by Montlake Romance
Author Jamie Beck returns with an engrossing series about family, friendship, and starting over. In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love.
On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.
Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.
But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.
My thoughts about Before I Knew ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First line—"Of all the dilemmas Colby Cabot-Baxter had faced in her twenty-nine years, none had tortured her like this one."
I enjoyed this book immensely and I was immediately swept up in the lives of Colby and Alec. They both have a lot of baggage and secrets that impede both their working relationship and their friendship. I was never sure how everything was going to turn out.
This is a story with some great characters and the author writes the story in a way that kept me interested in their lives. This is only book #1 in this wonderful series and I'm really going to have to read more so I can find out how everyone is doing.
Check out the whole series on Goodreads.
I received a copy of Before I Knew from Goodreads in exchange for my honest review.
About the author
In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.
