Release Day Review: Before I Ever Met You by Karina Halle
Genre: Contemporary Romance
I first met William McAlister when I was just a teenager.
He was handsome, had a beautiful wife and was on the verge of success, having just joined my father as his business partner. Mr. McAlister was full of smooth charm, but back then he was barely a blip on my radar. Just a family friend.
Fast forward ten years: I’m 25 years old and a single mom trying to make things right for her seven-year old son. I’ve made some mistakes, grappled with my demons and now I’m back in the city of Vancouver, getting a second chance at a better life.
I’ve started by working for my father’s production company as an executive assistant. My first day on the job and I already know I could have a promising career there.
That is until I see Will McAlister for the first time in a decade.
Now recently divorced and as sophisticated as always, Will has gone from being my father’s friend and business partner to something so much more.
We’re both older, for one thing, and he just oozes this worldly confidence and stark sexuality. Combined with his tall, muscular build and sharp suits, strong jaw and bedroom eyes, Will has turned into one hell of a distraction.
A distraction I’m having a hard time staying away from, considering his office is right across from my desk and I work with him in such close proximity.
But it’s just a harmless crush, right?
It’s just an innocent fantasy of screwing him on his desk, right?
It can’t ever be more because he’s my father’s best friend, business partner, and my boss.
Right?
Wrong.
Before I Ever Met You is a contemporary standalone romance, a light-hearted swoony read that will make you believe in love again
He was handsome, had a beautiful wife and was on the verge of success, having just joined my father as his business partner. Mr. McAlister was full of smooth charm, but back then he was barely a blip on my radar. Just a family friend.
Fast forward ten years: I’m 25 years old and a single mom trying to make things right for her seven-year old son. I’ve made some mistakes, grappled with my demons and now I’m back in the city of Vancouver, getting a second chance at a better life.
I’ve started by working for my father’s production company as an executive assistant. My first day on the job and I already know I could have a promising career there.
That is until I see Will McAlister for the first time in a decade.
Now recently divorced and as sophisticated as always, Will has gone from being my father’s friend and business partner to something so much more.
We’re both older, for one thing, and he just oozes this worldly confidence and stark sexuality. Combined with his tall, muscular build and sharp suits, strong jaw and bedroom eyes, Will has turned into one hell of a distraction.
A distraction I’m having a hard time staying away from, considering his office is right across from my desk and I work with him in such close proximity.
But it’s just a harmless crush, right?
It’s just an innocent fantasy of screwing him on his desk, right?
It can’t ever be more because he’s my father’s best friend, business partner, and my boss.
Right?
Wrong.
Before I Ever Met You is a contemporary standalone romance, a light-hearted swoony read that will make you believe in love again
**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**
"Life is short. And when you find what makes your heart beat, your soul sing, then you have to hang on to it."
I tend to avoid reading office romances, and if I do give them a chance I either love or hate them. I was really excited about Before I ever Met you because one it is written by Karina Halle, two it is a single parent romance, and three there is a 16 year age difference between the main characters: Jackie is 25 and Will is 41. As mentioned in the blurb this is a "light-hearted swoony read" so don't expect angst. I had faith in Karina to come up with a different office romance, something that hadn't been done a million times. I was glad to see she didn't turn to cliches (which I can't stand).
"How is it that life can be so crazy, so chaotic, so scary, and yet one kiss from you and all of that goes away."
She did an amazing job with Will, he wasn't your typical workaholic cocky boss. He was very professional, charming, generous, kind and easy to talk to. Even though Jackie was 16 years younger than Will, she acted very mature. Never did I get the impression that these two weren't on the same wavelength. The development of their relationship was very organic, and it had a great flow. They were attracted to each other but never crossed any lines. Also I enjoyed reading how Will interacted with Tyson, Jackie's seven-year-old son. Before I Ever Met You is a great contemporary romance with amazing characters. I highly recommend this book if you are in the mood for some light and sweet romance.
About the Author:
Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling author of The Pact, Racing the Sun, Sins & Needles and over 25 other wild and romantic reads. She lives on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.
Halle is represented by the Waxman Leavell Agency and is both self-published and published by Simon & Schuster and Hachette in North America and in the UK.
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