From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You … room next to yours at Senior House.
You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more.
We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other.
Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding…
I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello.
After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half?
Mmore
Everyone has the one that got away — but what if they came back?
Before We Were Strangers explores that idea. Grace and Matt were together during their senior year of college, and split up to pursue their respective dreams. They marry separate people, they lead separate lives for 15 years, until one day when they see each other on the subway.
Told in alternating perspectives between Matt and Grace, Before We Were Strangers is a then-and-now romance in the best way. I liked this one a lot more than I was expecting too, though I will say that the alternating voices were a bit difficult to tell apart. Nothing was distinct about either one, but in a strange way, that made the store more cohesive. Definitely recommend this one for people exploring the romance genre like I am!
Oh my goodness, this book was AMAZING! I loved the characters and the way their story flowed. I could not put it down, I read it in a day!
Beautifully written!
Before We Were Strangers completely blew me away. I wasn’t expecting what Renee had in store for me, and let me tell you, that blurb barely sums up how crazy this story is. Like I’m seriously struggling to put my thoughts together to explain just how much I enjoyed Matt and Grace’s tumultuous journey–from their funny first encounter to the moment when they finally reunited. I connected right off with these two. I felt their joy, their sorrow, and their love. Every page felt real. The characters felt real, and their emotions felt real. I simply can’t get enough of them and I’m beyond happy with the way things worked out, even if so much time had passed where they were separated.
I loved going back to their time in college and learning about Matt and Grace. They were both from different backgrounds, but drawn together through art and something else. Something intense and true. They began as friends and that blossomed into so much more. It’s funny how they were so in love with each other before even realizing it, and once their feelings were clear it was definitely hard to deny.
I hated the circumstances and the misunderstandings that caused their separation, and at times I was mad at them too. There were moments where maybe they should have fought harder for each other and not just give in. I mean, their love was so strong that even after fifteen years, they still couldn’t move on. I had predicted a little about what happened to Grace, and it sucks that Matt missed out on that and wasn’t there for her during that particular time. And even though it’s not their fault and someone horrible fueled the problem, I felt that Grace could’ve tried to speak to Matt face-to-face, regardless of what she was led to believe because she was following his career and had an idea of what he was doing, while Matt had no clue whatsoever as to how to find her. But hey, their love wasn’t perfect and it didn’t work out immediately for them. And it’s sad that all that happened to a couple who wanted to be together so badly, but life is crazy and some things happen for reason, especially since both got to live out their dreams and experience a world apart for a while. No matter how long.
Aside from the awesome characters and storytelling, Carlino did a great job bringing New York city to life in both time period. Her words sucked me in fast and I couldn’t stop reading. I literally had to force myself to put down my kindle and go to sleep. The story is just that good. And like I said, the characters are fleshed out wonderfully. Everything about them felt real and their relationship was easy to root for. I also loved LOVED the ending. It had me smiling and tearing up with excitement. Gosh. I have to stop here before I give too much away. This is my second Carlino novel and I’m so happy to have discovered her because she’s a terrific writer that knows how to tug at the heart. I highly recommend this one!
Stories like this is why I read. The perfect getaway into a world with amazing characters and lots of love. Where I get to fall in love and cheer them on for their HEA.
Matt and Grace are perfect together. I fell in love with their fast friendship. Then I fell in love with their mutual respect and easy going relationship. And then… I fell in love with their love
To be young and in love. To be free from baggage of life. To have no regrets and the hope for a perfect future with the love of your life….
When life happens. When others get in the way of happiness. When all the what IF’s will Forever remain unanswered. Because they don’t matter anymore. It won’t change a thing. That’s Heartbreaking.
But given a second chance it’s time to make a choice. Forgive. Try to forget. Move on.
I think 2nd chance trope is my favorite. Even though it hurts. Every time it hurts. Because the time lost without each other is something they cannot get back.
This was an unexpected treasure! I laughed, I cried, I laughed and cried s’more. This book wasn’t on any lists, Why????? I read this book in 2016 and finished in 2017, It was a great ending to a new beginning for 2017!
I could say so many things about this book. You just simply need to read it, then hopefully review it in words I could never express! BTW, this is so up there with Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us”
JMI
Happy Reading!
A beautiful second chance romance
If you haven’t read anything by this author, you need to right now! Ms. Carlino continues to blow mw away with the heartbreakingly beautiful stories that she writes. Matt and Grace meet their senior year of college and soon become best friends and eventually more. What once was casual turns into a bond that will last a lifetime. But after they graduate, circumstances push them apart and their futures become a series of missed connections. I enjoyed the fact that the author decided to tell their story in a present/past/present setting. It was nice to see a style stand out against the “usual” telling with flashbacks. BEFORE WE WERE STRANGERS was a wonderful story that hit me straight through the heart.
This was my first book by Renee but it won’t be my last. I was recommended this book by all the amazing bloggers and my favorite authors. My Facebook timeline was full of ARC reviews of this book, and how all of them LOVED it. But what eventually made me read this book was the description. I never buy books without knowing more about it (unless it is by a favorite author).
Normally I HATE flashbacks in second chance romances, it doesn’t hold my attention that much. BUT in Before We Were Strangers the flashbacks were essential to the story. For me the flashbacks were the best part of the book. I just loved how Matt and Grace met and how their friendship and relationship developed. I normally don’t like the whole college romance, but this one I really liked, probably because Matt wasn’t you standard manwhore/player college jock. There was chemistry/attraction from the start but they took it slow, which I really loved because this resulted in Matt and Grace becoming best friends before lovers.
I hated one person in this book. If you read the book you know who I hate. I will not say more because I feel like it will spoil it a bit. I really liked that this book took place in NYC, I visited the city last year and could imagine most places mentioned in the book. I cried some tears when I was reading why they lost touch, I really felt so bad for Grace. I wanted to jump in the book and give her a big hug! Not everything was resolved when they were reunited again, they were a lot of things that they had to talk about which was very emotional.
I gave this book 5 stars because it was different and I wouldn’t change anything about it. The writing style was really good. I will definitely check out the other books by Renee.
BEFORE WE WERE STRANGERS was the novel that got me hooked on Renée Carlino. I ADORE this story and this gorgeous book now lives on my all-time favourites shelf.
I don’t often read second chance romance stories. Not because I don’t enjoy them. It’s just most of the time they don’t appeal to me. The synopsis on this one is probably one of the best ones I have ever read and it immediately had my attention.
“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” ~Leonard Cohen
I read this pretty much in one sitting. This book was equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking. I have never read a book by Renee before. I did meet her at a signing in Chicago and she was adorable and so nice but her books just kinda sat on my TBR list. Those pretty book covers calling at me telling me to hurry up. I will be getting to them ASAP now that I know how amazing she is as a writer. I’m kicking myself that I haven’t gotten to them yet. The writing was one of my favorite things about this book. Renee is an amazing writer and I will be all over anything she puts out now.
I like that she had this book in parts. Present, Past, Present, Future. I was so glad because this gave me the whole picture as opposed to just being told what happened back then. I got to live it with them.
I really recommend you read this book. It is an amazing book about meeting the right person at the wrong time. This will be on my top books of the year list. It was just so damn beautiful.