Before We Came by Sloane St. James is a brother’s best friend hockey romance. I love a good hockey romance, despite having zero knowledge of the actual sport outside the world of romance novels. I hadn’t read one in a while, so it was perfect timing when this book caught my attention.
The premise of this book is truly wild. At Birdie’s adoptive mother’s funeral, she discovers her whole life has been a lie. The woman she thought was her mother was actually her kidnapper, and she has a whole family who have been looking for her for years.
When she tracks down her real family, she discovers she has two loving parents and an older brother. Her brother Jack’s best friend Lonan was her first kiss right before her kidnapping. He’s now an NHL hockey player, basically part of the family, and his childhood crush on Birdie hasn’t gone away.
The spark between them is too much to avoid, but with Birdie’s trauma, Lonan’s fame, and the logistical problems with Birdie’s integrating back into her old identity, these two have a mountain to climb if they are going to get their happy ending.
Readers can immediately tell how lovable these characters are. It’s such a cliché, but I want to sit down and have a beer with Birdie’s entire family. Before We Came is told from both Birdie’s and Lonan’s perspectives, and having his perspective included was an essential choice that adds valuable depth to the story.
There is way too much exposition and explanation in Before We Came, especially at the beginning. The readers are handed all the information straight off. The author is telling us everything we need to know in the easiest way possible and it feels very awkward.
There are also some very cheesy lines in this book, some are lovably goofy, and others are downright cringeworthy. At one point Lonan thinks to himself something along the lines of, “She makes this penthouse a penthome” and I almost put the book down right then and there.
The high point of this book, on the other hand, is the spice. It’s super sweet but passionate, and with just enough roughness to keep things interesting. The chemistry between Birdie and Lonan is clear, and this book is worth reading if only for the steamy bits.
Before We Came has romantic comedy vibes throughout. It reminded me a little bit of Lucy Score’s style, although I prefer the Knockemout series to this one. Ultimately, this book was fine. Despite its rough start, I wound up enjoying it by the end. It’s a solid, middle-of-the-road romance, perfect for a summer weekend.
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