She’ll juggle your balls.For Stella Allesandro, chaos is good. She’s a rising star at a leading sports publicity firm. She’s known throughout the industry as the jock whisperer–the one who can tame the baddest of the bad boys in professional sports without losing her signature smile.But Cal Hartshorn is an entirely different kind of chaos.He’ll fix your broken heart.This former Army Ranger and … your broken heart.
This former Army Ranger and now-famous cardiothoracic surgeon fails at nothing…except talking to a woman he’s adored from afar. Whether on the battlefield or operating room, he’s exacting, precise, and efficient, but all of that crumbles when Stella is in sight.
Cal always knows–and gets–what he wants, and now he wants all of her. His forever girl.
But Stella isn’t convinced she’s anyone’s forever.
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Loved everything about this book! No one writes awesome banter like Kate Canterbary!
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Kate Canterbary’s work. Before Girl is another delicious book from her. And it has some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a long, long time. It’s steamy, as you expect from Kate, but perfectly balanced with a ton of heart and real emotion.
I loved this story.
Kate Canterbary always writes the most heartfelt love-stories with all the wit and smut you could possibly want. And Before Girl is no exception.
And it has such genuine and lovable characters. Also, what really takes this story to the next level is the humour. I laughed out loud several times. So it’s somewhat of an emotional roller-coaster. But then again, those makes the best reads.
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Ohmigoodness, what a great new word to add to the lexicon…MANBRICK! Cal Hartshorn is THE manbrick of Before Girl. He’s swoony, sweet, smart, and oh so manbricky. (FYI Manbrick and Manbricky are now part of my Grammarly library, all is good in the universe) If you don’t know what a Manbrick is, you MUST READ BEFORE GIRL to find out! Just following along with Cal was so much fun and heart-tappingly enjoyable.
We got to see those characters we loved so much from the Walsh series and a bit more of one of the grumpiest guys ever (Stremmel). Let me tell you even the beloved Manbrick at his lowest point was still not as grumpy as Mr. Grumpy-pants Stremmel. His story is going to be epic! But that’s a story for another day. This book was cruising along. I’m finding out what Cal is short for, enjoying the heck out of the beefy Manbrick’s story and the lovely road before him and Stella and WHAMMO! We hit a pothole the size of Boston. UGH. Poor, poor Manbrick. But things work out as they should.
I honestly can say I enjoy each of Kate’s books more each and every time she adds another character to this favorite Boston bunch. Or the New England crowd. Their personalities are quirky, snarky, slightly damaged at times, endearing, and woo do they ever stick with you after the last page. Do yourself a favor, meet the Manbrick. You will thank me.
I waited so long for this book.
I’ve been a massive fan of Kate Canterbury for many years, every book is different from the plots and characters but it’s the love and dedication you feel with every turn of the page that will keep coming back for more from her.
Stella is full of confidence, a rising star in her job as a publicity manager.
Cal a master in the operating theatre and was as a army ranger fails at nothing well except talking to the one women who has his heart.
Cal and Stella really grow together there is definitely something about these to that has had me captured. I laughed and got emotional it gave me everything I look for in a brilliantly good read.
Cal is such a great alpha hero. Broody, quiet, and sexy but also sweet and even a little awkward at first with Stella.
You do not want to miss Kate Canterbary’s latest romance, Before Girl. It’s everything I love and expect from one of her books – an interesting plot, smart humor, smoking hot chemistry, memorable characters and a swoon-worthy love story. I can’t even describe how much I love Cal. He’s a quiet, sexy alpha-hero but also sweet and a little awkward when he first talks with Stella. He is absolutely adorable, and they are a brilliant and believable match. Before Girl delivers all of the feels!
Katy Canterbury is a fairly new author to me, I’m late to the party and slowly catching up on her books but her writing is amazing. She draws you in from the very first page and keeps you captive throughout with her intriguing characters and plot.
She has delivered a brilliantly fun, sexy book filled with wit and red hot chemistry-filled romance. honestly you can feel the sexual tension between Cal and Stella sizzle off the pages.
I had actually read Spire,Erin and Nick’s story so it was lovely to see them again, well Nick anyway. I am now going to read Riley’s story as I am seriously intrigued.
I love Kate Canterbary, but I am truly kicking myself for waiting so long to read this book. I am so in love with Cal and Stella from the instant meet up feelings and attractions Stella not knowing how to prices all these super intense feelings…. I just love it all so much. It might be my new Kate Canterbary favorite. I was always team RISD before.
Easily one of my favorite books by this author. Stella and Cal together was perfection. They’re each great on their own but as a pair, I really loved it! The chemistry was amazing and as always, the author delivers a very strong story with great writing.
Cal and Stella – otherwise known as the man-brick and sweet thing, made for a fun read as they got to know each other and tried to navigate between the different expectations they both had in regards to a relationship/non-relationship.
Cal, an ex-army ranger, now surgeon, had SO MANY feelings for Stella. I have to say that initially I thought he was a little over the top with his obsessive/slightly stalkerish ways with Stella, but he definitely grew on me throughout the story.
Stella is a strong, independent woman, with a job she excels at. It’s a time consuming job, and she has convinced herself the lifestyle she has grown accustomed to is all that she needs. She doesn’t need a relationship, she’s anti-commitment, she has non-dates when needed to meet her needs. AND THEN Cal bowls her over when she’s least expecting it, turning her carefully structured life upside down.
Of course there was a little bit of angst, but overall this was a fun read. Stella’s family added humour to the story as well, her Mum and Dad were hilarious.
This book was unexpected and wonderful. I received an advance copy for an honest review and I am a big fan of the author. What I enjoyed the most about this book was the female lead, Stella Allesandro, who unabashedly owned her actions, behaviors and outcomes, and simply did not give a flying “duck” what others may think about it! This type of female is not written very well or very often, and Kate mastered her within these pages.
Cal Hartshorn is enamored with the female as he runs each morning at the pond near his apartment. He is a bit shy, a bit awkward at times, and has built this woman up in his head over the past eight months. The fateful day the two characters meet is the beginning of a glorious and instant romance.
The two main characters are in their thirties, and the author does a great job identifying their experiences and the lessons each learned along the way. Cal is convinced himself that he can weight out Stella’s determination to commit. Stella hangs onto things longer than she has a use for them. When the climax of the story occurs, you almost do not believe the reason because the two characters feel so real. Only the gifted author can make your heart break and your need to scream loudly for the characters to wake up simultaneously.
This book is a departure from what Kate normally writes and while you see some familiar characters, the book really is all about Cal and Stella. And it is definitely worth your time to explore their story.
Cal and Stella’s book was adorable. This book showed how everyday people work through issues most people have. Their relationship was one of my favorites of all time! I loved Stella and how outspoken she was, however I’m more like Cal and I love seeing how two different people can work things out!
Kate Canterbary strikes again. Why do l love her books so much? The main reasons are the characters and the writing. This book is no exception.
In all of Kate Canterbary’s book, the heroine is a strong determined, accomplished woman who knows what she wants in life. Nevertheless, she’s still a human being and underneath she has her fears, weaknesses. Stella is a 35-year-old sports agent handling difficult famous athletes.
Then she encounters the male character. If you’re into billionaires or jocks, and damsel in distress these books are not for you. Kate’s men are what I call real dreamy ones. Sexy, ideal man. Here, Cal is an ex-army rangers surgeon.
Despite their obvious attraction to each other, Cal is shy around women and even more with Stella, so we enjoy how they get to discover each other, their sexy flirting. We’re dealing with mature adults with their hurtful background.
This love story is wrapped with wonderful writing. Kate Canterbary always has the right words, the perfect nickname. For instance, Stella’s first encounter with Cal leads to call him the Man-Brick.
The secondary characters are also worth it. Sremmel, the grumpy Cal’s surgeon colleague is going to have his own book later in 2020, I can’t wait.
This book is a standalone spin-off of the Walsh series. If you haven’t read it yet, put it on your TBR, you won’t regret it.
Fans of Kate Canterbary have been patiently awaiting Before Girl since pieces of the story popped up in her reader groups back in 2016. Well, I’m here to say that it was totally worth the wait! Cal “Man-brick” Hartshorn and Stella Allesandro hooked me then and their full story is nothing short of amazing.
He has waited months to work up the courage to speak to her and she doesn’t want a typical romantic relationship. She gave up on that dream half a lifetime ago. He literally knocks her off her feet and pushes through all of her walls. She just needs to realize that she is not destined to repeat her past and that his love for her (complete with his dirty, growly words) is all she will ever need.
Before Girl – Kate Canterbary
Before Girl is the story of Dr. Cal Hartshorn (from The Walsh’s) and the object of his months of study on the running/walking path in the park, Ms. Stella Allesandro.
Cal as mentioned has been “watching” Stella when he does his daily runs through the park. For months! He has been watching her but never getting up the nerve to talk to her. One day, Cal runs right into Stella who is sure she was about to be attacked by a raccoon-possum evil monkey stegosauras hybrid. He knocks her over and there are minor injuries, which of course our Dr. Cal can fix, because he is prepared with a medical kit in his car.
As part of his apology he convinces Stella to have coffee with him. They meet up at the coffee shop, apologies are exchanged again, conversation happens and oh yes, Cal asks her to marry him. That after he tells her how he has been working up to introducing himself. She didn’t say yes or no to the marriage proposal, but she did say yes to burgers and beer later that night.
Couple of things to note from the coffee chat, Cal comes across as a very shy “awkward” person, but in reality he is a bit of a filthy talker! Yes, we have a dirty, filthy surgeon in this story.
Stella is a sports publicist and her specialty is that she overhauls images of sports bad boys! One of which shows up in her office between coffee and burgers! Lucien McKendrick – MLB’s current bad boy will be Stella’s new makeover. Remember Lucien’s name, he is going to influence Stella later on in this story.
Two things to note, Cal as far as we know has not had any kind of relationship since arriving in Boston and Stella as we find out had two very bad relationship experiences, so she has decided that will never occur again. To make sure that any new relationship does not backfire she has “calendar boys,” three men who rotate through her calendar for sex only dates. Stella informs Cal she doesn’t do relationships but doesn’t tell him about the “calendar boys” which eventually comes back to haunt her.
Between surgeries, Stella being out of town or keeping Lucian out of jail, the dates (with lots of kissing but no sex) continue. Special note here: since starting to see Cal, Stella has not made any new dates with two of the calendar boys and has put off the third several times. When he asks, does she want to end it, Stella doesn’t respond. This will impact their relationship.
Stella’s birthday comes around, Cal is invited for dinner with the family and what a family it is! Things seem to be adding up, Stella even decides to bring Cal to her home after the dinner party. It’s on! Or maybe not…while she is out of the room a text messages lights up her phone, Cal sees the text and he says he is needed at the hospital, calls a car service and is gone. Stella then finds the text ….. oh damn!
When you think you’ve found the right one it shouldn’t be this hard and you shouldn’t have to hurt this bad. What you need is advice from friends, coworkers and sometimes that jackass client who ends up giving you the advice you really need.
This was a wonderful read and it was great spending more time with the Doctors at Mass General. As usual Kate has taken us through the good times, the funny times, the filthy dirty times, the heartbreaking times and finishes strong with the loving times that each person has always truly wanted.
The best book I’ve read this year. An absolutely stunning read. The witty narrative, the plot, the raw-to-the-bone characters, the flow… all perfection. Cal and Stella appear to be polar opposites when they first meet, the story in between that meeting and the epilog will pull you in and will not let go for a very, very long time. Yep, I’m reading this one again and again!
This was such a great story. I really liked that the characters are not in their 20’s, Stella’s 35, Cal’s 42, that made them more relatable to me. Both have thriving careers, and from the outside look like they have their lives together. Stella’s in a demanding career in sports PR, she’s at the top of her game and has her entire life scheduled down to the second. Fiercely independent, she’s not sure love is for her, she’s worked hard to get where she is and doesn’t want anything or anyone to distract her from the next step. Even though she has so much going right in her life, she carries a lot of insecurities because of past relationships. Cal is one of the nation’s leading cardiothoracic surgeons and a former army ranger. He has the respect of everyone in his field but is terrified to talk to the attractive woman he sees while he’s out for his run every day. I love that Cal is the one that’s nervous and tongue-tied and not Stella, that feels like it’s opposite of what’s usually written. Their flaws are realistic, which made it easier to relate. It’s a great book with fantastic characters, of course, I loved “seeing” a few characters from the Walsh series here.
I love Stella & Cal. They were so great, and absolutely hilarious. From their first meeting in the park, to meeting her family and friends. It was great stepping back into the Walsh’s world you can never go wrong with the fun banter and crazy that ensues.
Sigh….a man sees a woman and knows that she’s it for him. Never talks to her. Never approaches her. Just knows that she is the one for him. When their paths finally collide (literally) it is a wild and sexy ride.
I followed Kate’s snippets about #manbrick in her FB reader group and was hooked from the beginning. I LIVED for #manbrick Mondays. I was beyond thrilled when Kate announced she was going to take those snippets and write a book about Cal and Stella. I was not disappointed. Kate always manages to write these characters that jump off the page. The situations and experiences always feel real. I could be friends with these people or related to them or know them. Don’t even get me started on the chemistry between Cal and Stella. Talk about jumping off the page! The steaminess made my Kindle foggy.
Another joy that I find when I read Kate’s book is the editing is always on point. I am able to read and enjoy a story without getting caught up in editing errors. That’s a pleasure and I appreciate the eagle eye of Kate and her editor.