When You Loved Me

by Beatriz Williams

A young widow returns to her late father’s New England estate, only to be drawn into the hunt for the rumored pirate treasure that consumed his life, in this thrilling and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Husbands & Lovers.

Local history insists that a legendary pirate buried his treasure somewhere beneath Windward, the decayed Cooper estate on Winthrop Island, but Lucy Cooper never trusted the fable that broke her family apart. When a widowed Lucy returns with her young daughter to grieve her estranged father, she discovers the property’s buried under a mountain of debt, and Ben Ressler has just turned up on her doorstep.

Thirteen summers ago, a teenaged Lucy never meant to fall in love with Ben, a Dartmouth football star vacationing next door at the Peabody estate, and the object of an all-consuming crush by Laura Peabody, Lucy’s best friend. Those two weeks with Ben were the best and worst of Lucy’s life, dooming her friendship with Laura. Now Ben’s returned to live quietly in the Peabodys’ caretaker lodge, after a fatal accident ended his dazzling NFL career. He’s also the last person who saw Lucy’s father alive.

As Lucy reconstructs her father’s troubling final days, she uncovers his research on the frozen winter of 1717, when a desperately wounded pirate sought refuge on Winthrop Island with an enigmatic healer. To Lucy, this history points the way to a different kind of how to forgive yourself for the mistakes of the past and earn a second chance at love. But just as Lucy’s long-buried emotions sear to the surface, a shocking turn of events reveals that someone else on the island will do whatever it takes to claim the fabled plunder.

A timeless story of love and atonement, When You Loved Me maps both a centuries-old treasure hunt and the intimate territory of the human heart, weaving together past and present as only Beatriz Williams can.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Mystery, Summer, Summer Reads, Historical

464 pages, Hardcover

First published June 23, 2026

Reviews

[vicky ꨄ︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

I devoured this book up, literally could not put this down. I was instantly drawn from the first page. It’s a very beautiful story The story does span out between three timelines - present day Lucy, teen Lucy and Hephzibah Winthrop (one of the settlers in 1717). I absolutely loved to read each and every timeline. At first I was a bit anmoyed about having Hephzibah pov but I grew to love it. Having to read about the whole treasure mystery was very interesting and I loved watching the whole mystery unfold. Punkin is an immediate icon, she took over this whole book. Adored her from the first moment we met her. This child is honestly the most intelligent person. She is such a charming child.

The whole teen timeline did piss me off at times which is why it isn’t a 5 star. Personally Laura threw me off so many times during that timeline but so did Lucy. Lucy honestly should’ve told her from the start. But I love their friendship especially towards the end of the book.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.


———————————————


𐙚⋆°. preread

I requested the book because the synopsis sounds intriguing so I’m curious to see how I’ll like it.

[Larissa Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

If a man’s proposal to me includes the following: “…laying my balls out on the table for you…” I AM SAYING NO

There was a lot going on in this book. Pirates, high school sweethearts, cancer, girls basketball, step sisters who are in rehab, step dads laundering money, amputees, buried treasure, attempted murder, a girl named “punkin,” the greatest song writer of this generation (a man named monk), and a football player who actually murders someone on the field. I do think we could have cut some of these unnecessary aspects and about 150 pages of this book (quite literally shy of 500 pages?!) and had ourselves a much more neatly packaged story.

The story itself drags on and on yet seems to suddenly skip ahead to something that you’re wondering how you got from point A to point Y so quickly (the rekindling of Ben and Lucy, for example). The dual timelines were confusing and not well labeled (then/now, i’m not keeping the years straight so I can’t be bothered with that). It is also SO classic to have someone live their lives devoted to something (Lucy’s dad and the treasure on his land) and then Lucy shows up and finds the treasure within 13 minutes (okay, exaggerating but basically).

I didn’t connect with any of the characters but found the death of the football player resulting in Ben’s seclusion to be such a random and unnecessary plot. Here is the most famous ex football player ever becoming a girls basketball coach, no one will notice. It was just so unnecessary and truly added so many extra pages to the story.

This was my first Beatriz Williams book and while i’ve heard good things about her, unfortunately I don’t think her writing or stories are for me. Thank you to Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ashlee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHEN YOU LOVED ME by Beatriz Williams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Winthrop Island (and Monk Adams) has a special place in my heart, and it was so wonderful to be back. I read this book on vacation and it was the perfect book to binge. Typically with multiple timelines, there is always one I am less interested in and skim over. But not in this book! I was hooked extremely fast and could not put this book down. I swooned, I laughed, I cried, and I never quite guessed what happened to the treasure!

I also felt like I could SEE this adapted into a film while I was reading it.

When her father died, Lucy returns to Winthrop Island with her daughter to settle her father affairs. Now that she is back she is forced to face her lost love, her messy departure, and her fathers obsessions.

Perfect if you like:
•Second chance romance.
•Mystery!
•Atmospheric setting.
•Unforgettable characters.
•Heartbreaking moments.
•Slow burn.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Mood: 🍞🍫🫗

🚪: skip chapters 18 & 29 (minimal details) for explicit intimacy details.
⚠️: explicit language.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. From the first paragraph I was instantly drawn in and know that this is a book I will absolutely return to. It is a beautiful story full of loss, love, forgiveness, and healing.

Lucy Cooper has not been back to Winthrop Island in thirteen years. Now a widowed, single mother, she must return to childhood home following the death of her father. He has left behind a mess of research, clues, and a crippling amount of debt in the pursuit of discovering the treasure rumored to be buried on his land.

But the biggest surprise of all is when Ben Ressler shows up on her doorstep. Lucy hasn’t seen or heard from Ben since her last summer on Winthrop Island, when life was simple and they were just teenagers in love. She knows that Ben has had a career in the NFL, but has no idea why he would be back living on this small island. As they reconnect, she discovers the devastating truth of his return and realizes that some loves are never lost.

The story spans three timelines—present day Lucy, teenage Lucy, and Hephzibah Winthrop, one of the first settlers on the island in the early 1700s. These three narratives draw you in as the mystery of the buried pirate’s treasure unfolds and we learn the truth of Lucy and Ben’s past. Some of the chapters were so suspenseful I couldn’t put the book down and others so emotional I couldn’t stop crying.

This book is both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and I just loved everything about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Meliss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

New England and pirates and second chance romance with a hot football player.

I really liked this one! The alternating timelines were all equally as interesting; reading about Lucy and Ben’s first and second chances at love balanced out the difficult and oftentimes gruesome lives of Winthrop Islands earlier inhabitants. Lucy and Hephzibah’s lives on the island were vastly different but there were echoes of their stories within each other’s.

Also, I have only read one other book by this author but I always love when previous characters make an appearance!

[Angie Miale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had serious FOMO watching reviewers hand out five-star ratings to When You Loved Me, and I’m happy to report that this one absolutely lived up to the hype for me.

I enjoyed Beatriz Williams’s Husbands & Lovers, but I loved this one even more. When a finished copy arrived from my friends at Ballantine Books, I immediately pushed aside my carefully planned reading schedule and buddy-read it with @jenn.newm.reads. Despite being 464 pages long, we binged it in a day because it was impossible to put down.

One of my favorite things about this novel is how confidently it blends genres. This isn’t just a romance or just historical fiction. It’s a second-chance romance wrapped in a family mystery with a lost pirate treasure hunt woven through the middle. Somehow it all works.

Lucy Cooper returns to her family’s island after her father’s death while raising her young daughter, Elise—known affectionately as Pumpkin, one of the cutest child characters I’ve encountered in a long time. Back on the island, she reconnects with Ben, whose NFL career was cut short by injury. Their history is complicated, partly because Lucy’s best friend Laura once had feelings for him, and old wounds have never fully healed.

Alongside the contemporary storyline is the mystery surrounding Lucy’s father’s research into a lost pirate treasure dating back to 1717. The historical chapters took a little while for me to settle into, but once everything began connecting, I was fully invested.

I also have to give a shout-out to the family tree at the beginning of the book. More authors should do this.

My criticisms are relatively minor. There were a few character motivations early in the novel that didn’t entirely convince me, and there are a couple of moments where you’ll want to grab the characters by the shoulders and tell them to stop overcomplicating things and admit they love each other already. I also agree with other reviewers who have noted that the title and cover don’t quite capture the adventurous, genre-blending story inside.

Still, those are small complaints in an incredibly engaging novel. The mystery kept me guessing, the romance kept me rooting for the characters, and the pirate treasure storyline added a layer of fun that made this stand out from other historical romances I’ve read recently.

This is one of my favorite books of June and, so far, my favorite Beatriz Williams novel.

[lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first from this author!

review to come

[Kelly (eclectikollection) Abrams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Regrettably, I’m giving this 2.5 stars.

This was my second Beatriz Williams book, and after loving Beneath the Stars, I was excited to read this one, especially because the premise had so much potential. Buried pirate treasure, messy past relationships… it felt like a story I would love.

Unfortunately, this one just didn’t fully work for me. It started off strong, but the story felt underdeveloped and was hard to follow between the dual timelines, which I usually love. The overall pacing wasn’t consistent—it would drag at times, then suddenly something important would happen, and I was left like “wait how did we get here already?”

I really liked the idea of the pirate treasure storyline, but I wanted more of an actual treasure hunt aspect. That was the most interesting part to me and I kept wishing it went deeper there.
I also had a hard time connecting with the characters. I wanted more depth from them, and the relationships—past and present—never fully drew me in. Punkin was definitely the standout for me though; she felt more grounded than the adults half the time.

And this might just be a me thing, but the repeated use of certain words, especially “honey,” really started to stand out and pulled me out of the story.

Even so, I love Beatriz Williams’ writing and I’m excited to read whatever she puts out next, as well as explore more of her other work.

[Kailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beatriz Williams’s When You Loved Me is the best kind of bait-and-switch, a familiar, second-chance romance that slowly unravels itself to be something messier, a literary fiction about grief, memory, family lore, and the idealization of home and a past love. Safe to say I LOVED it!

The novel follows a widowed single mom, Lucy, after she returns to Winthrop Island following her father’s death and becomes drawn into both a treasure hunt (that her father was obsessed with) and a reunion with Ben, a former NFL player and her first love. This setup, specifically the pirate/treasure aspect, sounds almost whimsical, but Williams’s use of mystery as a tool to excavate family secrets, old wounds, and soured choices that have shaped both Lucy and Ben’s lives.

Beatriz Williams’s ability to evoke place and atmosphere is absolutely one of her writing superpowers. Her settings feel tactile, Winthrop Island’s coastal landscape, and elegant homes. All of the details she renders create the melancholic mood, especially at the beginning of the novel, when Lucy returns to Windward, the decaying Cooper estate, and finds decay—old, mushy cereal still in bowls, and evidence of her parents’ marital demise (a torn section of banister from a thrown bed).

To me, Lucy was absolutely the strongest part of the novel. Lucy feels like a real person I could meet. She’s practical in a way that doesn’t feel cynical, and deals with financial and emotional realities in a way that is developed and real. She looks back on her first love fondly, but she doesn’t romanticize the past or act as though reconnecting with Ben will magically solve her life.

Ben is equally interesting because Williams breaks the trope of a “perfect” male love interest. Their teenage romance holds weight in Lucy’s memory, but adult Ben arrives carrying disappointment and loss of his own. He’s an older, quieter version than the past golden-boy version of himself, and part of the tension comes from Lucy realizing she has to decide whether she still loves this new person, not just the one she remembers.

Their love story is less about electric chemistry (though it’s really there) and more about timing. Williams creates longing and yearning so well through scenes of conversation and pauses, through a shared history rather than dramatic declarations of love. At times, their miscommunication was a tad frustrating, but it felt true to who the characters were nonetheless. I think it would’ve felt wrong for them to begin bearing their hearts to one another early on.

At times, the mystery subplot feels a bit more elaborate than necessary; however, it unexpectedly strengthens the romance and plot rather than distracting from them. I really enjoyed the search through Lucy’s father’s notes, which mirrors Lucy and Ben revisiting their pasts.

This is a more mature love story rather than an epic one, and boy, does it stick the landing. Thanks so much to the lovely people over at Ballantine for an eARC of this book via NetGalley! It absolutely surpassed my expectations!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.25 stars)

Thanks to PRH Audio for my free listening copy, and to Ballantine Books for my gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.

Football. (Stay with me, don’t run away!) Pirates. Buried treasure? Widow Lucy Cooper returns to Winthrop Island from France with her 7-year-old daughter after her father tragically passes away. She’s surprised to encounter her old flame Ben, a now-disgraced football player who is hiding himself away on the island at the same time.

In 1717, Hephzibah Winthrop, her sister, and her brother-in-law encounter runaway pirates who end up living with them during a brutal, grueling winter. This timeline takes a little longer to really get going compared to the modern ones, but I found that it really pulled me in by the middle to end of the book.

Particularly in the back half, the mystery suspense took over and I was fully locked in. I had so many theories about what was really going on and my earliest one was wrong, leading me to feel like I had a lot of apologizing to do to one of the characters!

My only minor gripe might be just a me thing - I’ve really been craving character-driven stories lately and I ended up feeling like I didn’t really know Lucy and Ben as well as I wanted to. If you go in knowing this story is more plot-driven though, you should be fine. I also couldn’t quite get on board with Lucy’s daughter’s nickname that was often used as her actual name - but again, just a me thing!

This was the longest of the three recent Winthrop Island books and even as a slower reader I did not feel like it was as long as it actually was, which I think tells you everything you need to know!

Audio thoughts: Because of my schedule this past week, I ended up doing a lot more audio listening than eyeball reading. In a perfect world, I think I’d have read more of this one with my eyes vs. ears. All the performances were very good, but it was a little tricky to keep track of the plot and characters, especially in the 1717 timeline.

[MrsHarvieReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before You Love Me by Beatriz Williams is a powerful story of love, friendship, grief, and forgiveness, with a side of treasure hunting. The ambitious plot features Lucy, a widowed mother of a 7-year old, who returns to her childhood home on Winthrop Island to settle her father’s estate after his sudden disappearance. Lucy has to sift through her father’s lifetime of research into the rumored pirate treasure left on his estate. She also has to confront Ben, her first love, who is living quietly next door after a fatal accident ended his professional football career, and Laura, her estranged best friend. Exerpts from a 1717 diary, related to the missing treasure, are woven in between the fast paced story.

I’m already a huge fan of this author, but this story grabbed me from page one and wouldn’t let go. In a bit of a departure, this book is a lot more suspenseful and steamy than what she’s written before. I was shocked by the violence and consumed by the breakneck pace of the plot. I was completely invested in the complicated, often messy, and thoroughly human characters, especially my new book boyfriend, Ben. Lucy’s precocious daughter, Elise, and Laura’s sassy 99-year old grandmother stole every scene for me. And I was stunned by how drastically my feelings toward Laura changed with her remarkable story arc. It was also fun getting to catch up with Monk and Mallory from Husbands and Lovers. This book gave our buddy read a lot to discuss, and I think it would make a great book club pick. I loved this well written, cleverly plotted, thought provoking book and can’t wait to recommend it to all of my friends! 5/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you @randomhouse @ballantinebooks #partner for the #gifted finished copy to read and enjoy and @prhaudio #prhaudiopartner for the ALC!

Well this was quite the surprise!! I was looking for something that hooked me right away, so I messaged @me__alley to ask about this book because I thought she had read it. But she was like, “I haven’t but I’ll start it tonight if you want to start it tonight and we can buddy read” and then we buddy read it at nearly the exact same BREAK NECK pace over the next 25 hours. We finished within ten minutes of each other and were often on the same exact page. What a ride! And we both loved it! Honestly, a book that can get me to binge it THIS FAST is an automatic five stars.

This book was just so dang readable!! And it had a little bit of everything. Mystery. Intrigue. History. Pirates. Parenthood. Secrets. Treasure hunting. A Love story. Family drama. Football. An absolute perfect seven year old. Flashbacks. A propulsive plot. It was quite the genre-bender, honestly.

I did some of it on audio throughout the day and enjoyed both narrators immensely. If you prefer to consume books on that format, I highly recommend listening!

Now, the book isn’t without its faults. I’m not sure the cover or the title actually match the vibe of the book? Additionally, even though the spice was extremely brief there were some sentences that were very icky. But I’m willing to overlook its misgivings, because of just how bingeable the book was. I was completely lost in it and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. It has been a WHILE since a book sunk its hooks in me like this.

All is well.

🔥🔥 Three *brief* open door scenes with some outside chatter

[Sarah Weeks-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I don't have children because they'll never be Punkin?

Another masterpiece, 10/10. No notes. At this point, I'm moving to Winthrop Island (do Massachusetts Winthrop descents get a discount?)

[Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When You Loved me
By: Beatriz Williams
Pub Date: June 23, 2026
Publisher: Ballantine Books

Williams always gives the reader a new, highly detailed, interesting novel which keeps my attention. Her new England novels always touch on a different era and story line.

Windward is a New England estate haunted with rumors about treasure. Lucy is a young widow who is trying to settle her father’s estate. She finds out quickly that the property is fraught with debt. Her crush in her early days, Ben has arrived at the estate.

Loyalty, friendship and love will be tested. I always look forward to her novels as I know I will devour them and set aside “real-life”.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Ballantine for the gifted physical ARC and PRH Audio for the advance listening copy. All opinions are my own.

Oh, how I love visiting Winthrop Island! I grab my snack and settle in knowing full well Beatriz Williams will make the trip worthwhile. WHEN YOU LOVED ME is a five star reading experience.

Some books grab readers with a first line hook. This book had me in a chokehold with one of the best first chapters I’ve ever read. EVER. No spoilers, but I promise you will be fully in the story by the time that first chapter ends. Chapter One alone is reason enough to listen to the audiobook. It is executed to perfection.

WHEN YOU LOVED ME is rich with well developed, messy, all too human characters and a tremendous sense of place. The story is told in alternating timelines between the present day, a decade earlier, and the island’s early days when pirates washed up on the coast. Lucy is back on Winthrop Island with her young daughter, Elise, after her father’s disappearance. She is surprised to find his estate a mess and her first love back in residence on the island. The key to salvaging her childhood home might just lie in the copious pile of research her dad left related to his obsession with pirate treasure rumored to be buried on their property.

Williams’s writing is genius. As the storylines converge, she ties the resolution together powerfully such that I had a visceral reaction. I may have cheered out loud. Actually, I did. She also gives the reader one of the best character redemption arcs in recent memory. While the plot and pacing are excellent, it’s the characters that steal the show. From 7-year-old Elise to 99-year-old Mrs. Peabody to the old friends who stop by to visit, the early residents of Winthrop Island, and the pirates who come ashore in a storm, these characters are richly hued and multi dimensional. But it’s Ben who had me swooning. Swooning. And, of course, Winthrop Island is a character in itself.

I enthusiastically recommend the audio version of this book; either alone or in tandem with a physical copy. The narration is performed by Sarah Mollo-Christensen (Lucy), Christian Leatherman (Ben), and Kate Walsh (Hephzibah), and they contribute stellar performances. Their distinct voices make it easy to stay present in the story.

This should be one of the most talked about books of the summer. Expect to see it everywhere. It is THAT good.

[Laurel Ullman-bockert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every minute of this. Delightful twists and turns.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I liked the plot, the premise, and I like Beatriz Williams writing style. This one felt to me a little less show me than tell me. I felt like there were a lot of little conclusions or moving forward of topics, but never knowing how we got there. Loved everything about Punkin. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC.

[Lauren Brenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly this wasn’t my favorite Williams book. I can’t put my finger on what it was missing.
The storyline was good and I enjoyed the story overall, though!

[Alex (Alex's Version)]

This book is ideal for summer reading as it captures the essence of salty ocean air, old family secrets, lingering heartbreak, and the bittersweet feeling of reconnecting with someone from your past. Lucy Cooper returns to Winthrop Island after her father's death with her daughter Punkin, planning to settle the estate and leave quickly. However, she is drawn back into unresolved emotions, her father's obsession with pirate treasure, and her first love, Ben Ressler, whom she never forgot.

He's no longer the unreachable football star that everyone remembers; life has hit him hard, humbling him, and you can sense the weight he carries in every interaction. The relationship between Lucy and Ben felt authentic to me because it's not overly dramatic or romantically excessive. It's quiet, complicated, tender, full of history and unresolved matters, which is incredibly realistic—I know from experience.

It's part love story (not cheesy), part mystery, and part historical fiction, blending well. Lucy, while piecing together her father's last days, uncovers research on a 1717 pirate incident. This guides her to self-forgiveness and a new chance at love. But a twist shows someone on the island will do anything for the treasure.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out now!

Lucy and her daughter are moving in temporarily with her pirate searching husband and is mysteriously disappears into the nearby ocean before they get there. Ben is hiding out after being involved in a traumatic football accident. They haven't seen each other in years; will they be able to help each other out? Not only is Lucy dealing with her father's death or disappearance, but she also is dealing with her dad's lifelong research and obsession with local history, particularly pirates in addition to the multiple people in town interested in her dad's home.

This is a dual timeline story, and, as in most of Beatriz Williams' stories, I preferred the current timeline to the past in this story. It was more interesting and easier to keep track of. Having said that, I really liked the book! I was invested in the characters, I love visiting Winthrop Island (and the characters from previous stories), and the ending of this story wrapped it up nicely.

Recommend!

[Tavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy heads back to Winthrop Island after her father seemingly disappears, presumably suicide. She’s had a tough year, with her partner’s death leaving her alone in France with her child. But her return to Winthrop reunites her with a summer fling, Ben. Complications ended their short relationship, but Lucy and her child are slowly healing from their loss. Pirate treasure and a dual historic timeline also feature in this book.

I liked this Williams book a lot! I was interested throughout and would have liked less of the 1700s storyline but I get why it was included. I wanted Lucy and Ben together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a copy of this book.

[Sue Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐
An engaging historical fiction with pirates, a search for treasure, a mysterious death and romance. Weaving current day, our protagonists' late teenage years with an historical journal of colonial times and an encounter with the dread pirate, Ned Ramsey, during the Great Snow. So many interesting and well-developed characters in this well plotted book. Thanks to netgalley and Ballantine Books for the complimentary. All opinions are my own.

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

At first, I struggled to connect to this book, probably because I was only reading a few pages at a time. Once I gave it the attention it deserved, I was completely hooked. A unique story full of multiple love stories, a mystery, and even pirate treasure Weaving history with the present, it’ll be perfect for long stretches by the beach or pool. Definitely add this one to your TBR! Publishing June 23, 2036.

[Hannah Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beatriz Williams always makes me wish I was a north eastern girl and this was no different. The characters were well developed and the mystery well thought it. I love pirates so the pirate history was a fun addition. I took off a star because it was a little slow at times, but still such a great read!

[Samantha Montanaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 I LOVED THIS BOOK

Beatriz Williams has a way with words and weaving in beautiful story telling! Do yourself a favor and read this book on the beach this summer with a cold drink in your hand. You will not be disappointed! Family, romance, and buried treasure!

Thank you to NetGalley, Beatriz Williams and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Emily Barnes Carnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. I really enjoyed this book. Had a little bit of everything…love, heartbreak, mystery, pirates! Always love a little historical fiction I’m not as familiar with.

Also, I loved seeing a few familiar faces in here from some of her other books. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the advanced copy of this book.

#whenyoulovedme #netgalley

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot going on in this book. Both storylines are beautifully told. Forgiving and moving on are both big themes. The pirate story is so fun and interesting.

[Elnèt Veldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect to enjoy a treasure hunt historical fiction, but this story had so many layers! Beatriz Williams is queen of the dual timeline historical fiction. Husbands and Lovers was one of my favorite books I read last year, and I had very high expectations for this one. I liked the combination of adventure and history with some romance, but I did feel like this story was a bit too long. It could have been cut down by 100 pages and packed more of a punch. I felt the addition of Lucy’s family drama was a bit unnecessary and clouded some of the best parts of the book. Overall though, a beautiful dual timeline novel with New England lore, pirates, a disgraced football star, and parallel love stories that kept me guessing. A fun time!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the very first chapter, this story completely swept me away. It had the perfect balance of mystery, emotion, romance, and redemption, and I found myself thinking about the characters long after I finished the final page.

I especially loved the dual timelines and the way the two storylines intertwined so seamlessly. The past and present narratives each felt compelling on their own, but together they created such a rich and emotional story. Every new connection revealed between the timelines made me even more invested.

The football elements added another layer that I really enjoyed. Ben’s past career and the glimpses into that world gave the story depth without overpowering the emotional heart of the novel. I also loved the pirate treasure storyline and historical details woven throughout the book. The mystery surrounding the buried treasure kept me turning pages, while the historical pieces added so much atmosphere and intrigue.

What stood out most to me, though, was the heartwarming theme running throughout the entire story. Beneath the mystery and romance, this is ultimately a story about grief, healing, forgiveness, second chances, and finding your way back home. Some moments had me completely emotional, while others felt comforting and hopeful in the best way.

This was such an immersive and beautifully layered read, and I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

thanks Netgalley for the ARC, I love this book! I feel like Beatriz has got her grove back.

Masterfully weaved, this tale has a lot going on. Pirates, high school sweethearts, cancer, girls basketball, step sisters who are in rehab, step dads laundering money, amputees, buried treasure, attempted murder, a girl nicknamed “punkin”, the greatest song writer of this generation (a man named monk), and a football player who accidently causes a death on the field. And so much more!

I love to see characters from her other books making an appearance. But you dont need to read the other stories to follow this one.

Secrets, tragedies and a complicated relationship makes this another one for readers to get their hands on. Thank you Beatriz for always delivering books that engage us readers.