Before You by Marni Mann Published by Self-Published on October 22, 2019
Pages: 295
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
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From USA Today bestselling author Marni Mann comes Before You, a new contemporary romance and a devastating examination of the things we find, the things we make, and the things we lose.
It was supposed to be a typical work trip. New York to San Francisco, window seat, exit row. Maybe a mimosa.
Then, seat 14B sat down. When our eyes met, the flight became anything but routine.
I could pinpoint the moments in my life where everything changed forever.
Meeting Jared on that flight was first.
Falling in love with him was second.
Discovering the secrets he kept was third.
Putting my broken self back together and forgetting what I learned would be difficult. Forgiving Jared would be impossible.
He said, before me, nothing mattered. But after him, nothing would ever be the same.
Before You is a unique and unpredictable book with a mystery that kept me guessing up until the end.
Billie and Jared’s relationship is told in alternating first person points of view, and I enjoyed the way their story unfolds. We know fairly early on that Jared is lying to Billie, but I had no idea what secrets he was hiding or if he was even a good guy.
Where the book suffers is in the disjointed integration of an additional storyline. Honey’s story is one long flashback and I had trouble keeping up with the jumping timelines. Unlike the rest of the book, this storyline is told in the third person. I felt unconnected to Honey and Andrew and was always anxious to return to Jared and Billie’s story. The prologue also threw me because while it seems to add to the mystery, it is only thinly connected to the main plot and really rather unnecessary.
Two strong main characters, an age gap romance, some action-packed moments, and an intriguing puzzle make up the backbone of the book and are the main source of appeal.
Recommended for fans of:
Age gap romance
Mysteries
Food critics and foodies
About Marni Mann
USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann knew she was going to be a writer since middle school. While other girls her age were daydreaming about teenage pop stars, Marni was fantasizing about penning her first novel. She crafts unique stories that weave together her love of darkness, mystery, passion, and human emotions. A New Englander at heart, she now lives in Sarasota, Florida, with her husband and their yellow Lab. When she’s not nose deep in her laptop, working on her next novel, she’s scouring for chocolate, sipping wine, traveling, or devouring fabulous books.
I was considering reading this one until you got to the part about Honey’s storyline. Flashbacks can really ruin a book for me. Great review!
I’m in the minority on this one. Everyone else I know loved it, but time jumps can drive me nuts. LOL