For Hunter and Sara, getting married was easy. It’s staying together that’s the true test of love… business and Sara grieving their failure to start a family, he’s suddenly facing the crushing loss of both.
The relentless ambition that Sara once admired in Hunter is now driving them apart. Each missed doctor’s appointment, neglected dinner date, and family squabble accentuates their differing priorities. Still, Sara struggles to create the home life they’d envisioned, until unsettling developments—both personal and professional—push them to the breaking point.
When love is put to the ultimate test, can Hunter and Sara stop fighting each other long enough to fight for their marriage?
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Jamie Beck writes with intelligence and insight about issues so many women face. Her characters are flawed and layered and completely relatable. She hasn’t written a single book I haven’t loved.
Once again, Jamie Beck has delivered a well-written, emotional, heartbreaking and beautiful story of love, life and loss.
In the second installment of the Cabots we learn more about Sara and Hunter Cabot; both very likable characters that have hopes, dreams, flaws and a lot of love for each other. One of the things I love about Jamie’s books is that she tackles real-life obstacles like letting work take over your life, losing yourself in your own pain, and failing to communicate with those most important to you.
I always hear people say, “If they’d just talked, none of this would have been an issue.” Well, yeah, that’s true. Sadly, it’s a problem a lot of people have. We’re afraid to open up, to let even those we love see our deepest, darkest dreams and fears, and Sara and Hunter are no different.
Plus, there’s life getting in the way and wearing you down and Sara and Hunter have plenty going on with their struggle to have a child, complicated family dynamics, being torn in multiple directions, and watching their dreams slip away. No wonder at times they’re short tempered and impatient with the other, not to mention focused on different priorities. There were a couple of instances where I wanted to reach out and slap both of them. People can be so stubborn and close-minded. At the same time, I totally got it…life is not easy.
Yet even when I thought all hope was lost and my heart was broken beyond repair for these two, Jamie Beck gave me hope. Sara and Hunter truly love each other. They’re good people, they just need to grow and learn that life requires flexibility.
I smiled. I laughed. I cried, all the while rooting for these two and that love would win in the end. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a complex, well-layered story with rounded characters that you can relate to.
Emotionally riveting story that had me cursing both lead characters. Hunter is trying so hard to keep his family business from being sold out from under him and at the same time trying to keep his marriage from dissolving because his wife cannot get pregnant. Sara wants nothing more than to have a baby. That is her whole existence and this is her last attempt at IVF. When this one doesn’t work and Gentry finds out she is pregnant she decides she is going to have Hunter and Sara adopt her baby. Yeah, right. Also, Sara starts volunteering at Angel House and planning to foster children. There are so many twists and emotional turns, again cursing these two who really needed to stop and communicate with each other. This was a great addition to this series and I am looking forward to the third book.
So I loved the emotional journey that Sara and Hunter took in this story! I will say that I was shocked that Sara didn’t try IVF a third time. Its most effective on round 2 and 3, and if it meant that much to her I would think that she would take the third round when the odds were still in her favor. After round three the effectiveness plateaus, but a fertility specialist would have encouraged her to try one more time if they had invested this much financially and emotionally into the process. But I have to say the resolution to this one was sweet! Can’t wait to see how motherhood is going to effect Gentry!
This series is really good! I highly recommend you read them. Jamie, I live in Alabama!
Jamie Beck does a great job of creating believable characters with story lines that mirror real life. I could easily reread this series again!
I loved the first book in this series, but did not enjoy this installment. Hunter and Sara have been married for 14 years and have been trying to have a baby for the past two years. Sara is devastated when their most recent IVF doesn’t take. She throws herself into a local shelter for drug addicted and abused women, where she get’s overly involved with one of the women nod her son Ty. She also jumps on the chance to adopt Hunter’s sisters baby from a one night stand, knowing that this sister is notoriously flaky. Hunter is trying to deal with all of this disappointment, in addition to deal with what he feels is a betrayal by his father trying to sell the family tea business. While the writing was up to Jamie Becks usual high standards, I really disliked Sara. She is a complete self-centered narcissist. She is upset because Hunter doesn’t react the way she thinks he should. In addition, the side story of the shelter and the baby Ty made Sara seem a little obsessive and stalkery. Sara also has no compassion for her husband and his need to keep the family business. And when things go south with the adoption, after Hunter warned her that it might happen, she seems to blame him. Sara finally realizes that she needs to share in some of the blame for their problems, but it felt like a little too late.
I tend to not read books that hit too close to home because it’s hard to read about characters going through something so much like something I’ve experienced. I decided to read All We Knew anyway because I enjoyed Before I Knew so much.
My favorite thing about this book is that it takes place after “I Do” when real life starts and all of the hardship that sometimes comes along with marriage. Hunter and Sara have always seemed to be the perfect couple but when the life they planned isn’t turning out as perfect as they dreamed, their relationship is truly tested.
This book was heartbreaking and uplifting. At times, it was hard to get through everything Hunter and Sara had to endure but their triumphs made the hard parts easier.
Great book about trials and triumph. I really enjoyed the entire book. Read it in one seating. Looking forward to the next installment of the series.
I loved, loved, loved All We Knew by the amazing Jamie Beck, book two in her Cabots series. Ms. Beck truly knows how to create a wonderful and emotional story between two people deeply in love but having reached a point where flaws can no longer be overlooked as they are eroding the love they have one another. Warning: do not read this book without tissues nearby.
Hunter loved Sara from the day he met here but he also loved Cabot Tea, the company his dad founded and where Hunter worked his way up as he learned the company. Hunter needed structure and order, but most of all he needed Sara’s love and trust. Sara wanted to be a mom and have a family like the one she remembers growing up in more than anything in the world. However, for some unknown reason her body betrayed this wish and refused to grant this wish, even through IVF. Sara needed to find something to focus on and found it at Angel House, a place for displaced women and children. There she found a purpose for her life and a fulfillment, even if she became too attached to the residents. As Hunter focuses more on keeping the company from being sold Sara feels left out and distant from him, even taken for granted. Were the ties that held their marriage together fraying and sending Sara on a downward spiral? Another factor in all of this upheaval for them is Gentry’s, Hunter’s half-sister, unexpected pregnancy, initial decision to give the baby to Hunter and Sara, and later to change her mind. Sara and Hunter need to find a way to put their love and marriage back on track without feeling taken for granted.
I really loved reading this book and had trouble putting this book down. Ms. Beck is a wonderful story teller, drawing me in and not letting go until I read the last page. I highly recommend this book to other readers and can’t wait to read the next book in this series, Gentry’s story.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
I enjoyed book 1 in this series , and was looking forward to Sara’s and Hunter’s story.
I have to confess I have mixed feeling about this book.
The best part of this story is that it is well written.The author presents to the reader not only the struggles and effects infertility has on the couple but also family dynamics , especially when it involves step -mother, step-sisters, as well as the interactions between everyone . She also gives us a glimpse at a home for women trying to overcome domestic abuse and/or drug use.
All that said, I didn’t find Sara or Hunter to be the most likable characters. They were both a tad self -centered and unwillingly to see each other’s point of view. The angst got tiresome and repetitive. From personal experience I what they were dealing with, but somehow they didn’t seem to want to move forward.
It wasn’t until the last 20% of the book, that I finally got to like them a little bit.
For me , it was more of a 3.5 star. I want to point out , that I have a great deal of respect for the author, and know that writing any story, especially one like this one, takes a great deal of time, research and dedication.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.