Before I Met You

Written by Lisa Jewell

Narrated by Helen Duff

The rich, captivating story brings together Jazz Age London, a forbidden interracial romance, and the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her grandmother.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Aug 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781666585872

Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including The Family Upstairs and Then She Was Gone, as well as Invisible Girl and Watching You. Her novels have sold over 10 million copies internationally, and her work has also been translated into twenty-nine languages. Connect with her on Twitter @LisaJewellUK, on Instagram @LisaJewellUK, and on Facebook @LisaJewellOfficial.

Reviews for Before I Met You

[Cilica · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lisa Jewell's stories are original and insightful into people's emotions. This book is one of my favourites.

[mark whittaker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another good one, Lisa. Enjoyed the depth of the characters, and the realistic inner-most thoughts most of us have, but rarely dare to share. The Audiobook narration was pretty much spot on, painting vivid pictures in one's brain. Enjoyed the glimpse into London life, and the accents.

[Felice Bickmore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable listen. I didn't know beforehand where the story was going to take me. I feel like it might have been little rushed summing things up at the conclusion but that just means I wanted more.

[Margaret Squires · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As other reviewers pointed out, the beginning developed at a very slow pace. Once the plot started moving along, I couldn't quit listening to the book. It was a very intriguing story with unexpected plot twists for the characters after the Great War. The more predictable modern characters provided a solid tapestry that allowed the complex back story to develop with its intense emotional impact. Excellent, thought-provoking book.

[Janese Hardy · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This has been my least favorite Lisa Jewell book so far. It was so slow to get going and I kept listening, knowing I love her other books, and it just never really got good. Bummer!

[Vicki · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the 2 love stories. I enjoyed both time frames.

[suzywells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really great book! Lisa is quite the story teller! Hated for it to end‼️

[jude · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed it very much. Good characters, good plot, well done

[Riese Carden · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a lovely story this was! The writing was good and even though some parts weren’t happy , it was a great book.

[Terri Keehan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such an amazing story. I enjoyed every minute of the book!

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about a young girl who moves to Guernsey with her mother and step father and ends up looking after her step grandmother up until she dies. The will leaves some money to an unknown person and the granddaughter sets off to London to try to find this person uncovering an unknown history about Arlette that the family had no idea existed. This book gives details about the experiences of two women from Guernsey living in London, the one in the 1920s, the other in 1995. Arlette goes to live with wealthy family friends, takes a job at Liberty's where she is surrounded by glamour and luxury. She gets involved with the jazz scene and falls in love with an exotic clarinet player. 75 years later her step granddaughter Betty follows her in search of a mysterious beneficiary of her will. Her lot is to take a studio flat in Soho and work at Wendy's. It's wonderful to compare the lives of the two women.

In another way, this review I have enjoyed all of the Lisa Jewell novels that I have read so far, including this one - but it was not my favorite. I already know this author's style so I expected a slow build up, but this one took me even longer than usual to get into; and I felt the story was kind of weak. There was a dual timeline and I liked the story of the present (well, early 1990's) better. Betty Dean was a really likable main character, a young girl having a good time on her own for the first time in London.

I cared much less about the story of Arlett and her adventures in the roaring 20's. I thought that it was an odd decision by the author to have Arlett be Betty's "step-grandmother" instead of her real grandmother. It seemed an unnecessary detail that made Betty's determination to uncover her story less compelling.

In any case, Jewell comes up with a resolution that ties the two stories together in a way that, as is her trademark, is satisfying and bittersweet.

[Charlotte Bellis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my all time favorite Lisa Jewell's. Adored the story ❤️

[toni ga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful story!! I absolutely love Lisa Jewel and this is now a favorite!

[Jill Kirby · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

L-O-N-G Way too much descriptive text that's just filler. It lends nothing to the story. I have no idea why this book has such a good rating.

[GMunro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my favourite Lisa Jewell book (to date). The characters' stories are so well developed and interwoven in both time settings, it made me really want to know what happened in everyone's stories.