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Before You Were Mine
She hasn’t seen him since college.
She hasn’t said his name in years.
Now he’s back.Sarai Mitchell has built a life rooted in purpose and steadiness. As a professor at Magnolia State University, she is respected, composed, and quietly fulfilled. She knows who she is now—and she’s learned not to look back at what once broke her.
Then Homecoming brings Nolan Chase back into her orbit.
In college, Nolan was the one place Sarai felt unguarded. Their connection was private, intense, and deeply real—until it wasn’t. Whatever happened between them ended without closure, leaving Sarai to move forward alone and Nolan to disappear entirely.
Now, years later, they’re forced into the same space again when a destination wedding pulls them into close proximity—shared events, shared friends, and too many moments that echo with unfinished history. Nolan has built a successful, enviable life of his own, but the man Sarai encounters is still the one who never fully explained why he left.
As old feelings resurface and long-held truths strain to be spoken, Sarai must decide whether reopening the past is worth the risk of being hurt again. And Nolan must confront the cost of choosing distance when love required presence.
Because some connections don’t fade with time.
They wait.
A clean, emotionally layered contemporary romance about first love, second chances, and the courage it takes to stay.
She hasn’t said his name in years.
Now he’s back.Sarai Mitchell has built a life rooted in purpose and steadiness. As a professor at Magnolia State University, she is respected, composed, and quietly fulfilled. She knows who she is now—and she’s learned not to look back at what once broke her.
Then Homecoming brings Nolan Chase back into her orbit.
In college, Nolan was the one place Sarai felt unguarded. Their connection was private, intense, and deeply real—until it wasn’t. Whatever happened between them ended without closure, leaving Sarai to move forward alone and Nolan to disappear entirely.
Now, years later, they’re forced into the same space again when a destination wedding pulls them into close proximity—shared events, shared friends, and too many moments that echo with unfinished history. Nolan has built a successful, enviable life of his own, but the man Sarai encounters is still the one who never fully explained why he left.
As old feelings resurface and long-held truths strain to be spoken, Sarai must decide whether reopening the past is worth the risk of being hurt again. And Nolan must confront the cost of choosing distance when love required presence.
Because some connections don’t fade with time.
They wait.
A clean, emotionally layered contemporary romance about first love, second chances, and the courage it takes to stay.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2026
About the author
Charlotte Dinnis
30 books40 followersCharlotte loves reading romance novels as much as she does writing them. She spends her days dreaming of new stories to share with all of you. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and son.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 10, 2026
This book made me feel so many things! Charlotte Dinnis makes a romance for the lovers. I felt every emotion from Nolan and Sarai. The pain, the longing, the regret, the hesitation! It was palpable on the pages. Closed door romance with all the feels. I can’t wait for the next installment of the series!
March 25, 2026
Anything that's emotional and mature will always reel me in
I had the opportunity to read this book early as an ARC reader, and these are my honest thoughts.
Before You Were Mine is a deeply emotional second-chance romance that really works when it lets the history between Sarai and Nolan do the heavy lifting.
What stood out most to me was the emotional weight. This is not a light breakup-and-reunion story. The hurt between these two is real, and that comes through clearly from the beginning. When the full truth of what happened comes into focus, especially around the pregnancy loss and Nolan’s disappearance, it gives the romance a lot more depth and makes their reunion feel like something that actually has stakes.
I also liked how intimate the writing felt. The college flashbacks do a good job showing why these two mattered to each other in the first place, and the present-day scenes carry that same sense of unfinished love, regret, and longing. The story understands that chemistry alone is not enough in a romance like this. The emotional history has to be there too, and for me, it was.
What kept this from being a perfect read for me is the structure. The time-hopping makes sense for the story, but at times it slowed the momentum a little. There were also moments where I wanted just a bit more from the emotional resolution. I believed the love. I believed the pain. I just wanted a little more payoff after everything they had been through.
Still, this was a strong and heartfelt read. If you like mature second-chance romance, college-to-adult timelines, and stories where love has to fight through real grief and real damage, this is worth picking up.
I had the opportunity to read this book early as an ARC reader, and these are my honest thoughts.
Before You Were Mine is a deeply emotional second-chance romance that really works when it lets the history between Sarai and Nolan do the heavy lifting.
What stood out most to me was the emotional weight. This is not a light breakup-and-reunion story. The hurt between these two is real, and that comes through clearly from the beginning. When the full truth of what happened comes into focus, especially around the pregnancy loss and Nolan’s disappearance, it gives the romance a lot more depth and makes their reunion feel like something that actually has stakes.
I also liked how intimate the writing felt. The college flashbacks do a good job showing why these two mattered to each other in the first place, and the present-day scenes carry that same sense of unfinished love, regret, and longing. The story understands that chemistry alone is not enough in a romance like this. The emotional history has to be there too, and for me, it was.
What kept this from being a perfect read for me is the structure. The time-hopping makes sense for the story, but at times it slowed the momentum a little. There were also moments where I wanted just a bit more from the emotional resolution. I believed the love. I believed the pain. I just wanted a little more payoff after everything they had been through.
Still, this was a strong and heartfelt read. If you like mature second-chance romance, college-to-adult timelines, and stories where love has to fight through real grief and real damage, this is worth picking up.
March 28, 2026
This was my second time reading a Charlotte Dinnis book and I can’t get over how wonderful her descriptive writing is. In both stories, I could very easily envision every scene the characters were experiencing thanks to the very detailed descriptions written. It really helps me immerse myself in the story and now that I’ve seen it twice, I have a feeling this will come with the territory for any other books of hers that I read, so I’m excited to read more!
Before You Were Mine showed two main characters who were once each other’s everything until they weren’t grappling with being reunited after 15 years. As we witness their solitary lives and wonder what broke them apart, we get to see glimpses of how their friendship blossomed into love and witness how they react to their reunion in current day.
Once I learned what broke them apart, I felt so deeply for both Sarai and Nolan and was completely rooting for them as they opened up to each other (and themselves!) about how they felt.
The ending left me very eager to read the two bonus epilogues for these two because I wanted even more time watching them come back to each other!
Before You Were Mine showed two main characters who were once each other’s everything until they weren’t grappling with being reunited after 15 years. As we witness their solitary lives and wonder what broke them apart, we get to see glimpses of how their friendship blossomed into love and witness how they react to their reunion in current day.
Once I learned what broke them apart, I felt so deeply for both Sarai and Nolan and was completely rooting for them as they opened up to each other (and themselves!) about how they felt.
The ending left me very eager to read the two bonus epilogues for these two because I wanted even more time watching them come back to each other!
March 25, 2026
You ever try so hard to pretend something or someone doesn’t exist and slightly succeed only to have that situation/person come back and totally consume your emotions, that is what happens with Sarai and Nolan. Two people who allowed hurt to overshadow the love but when back face to face can no longer pretend that the love isn’t still there.
My favorite thing so far about reading a Charlotte Dinnis book is how easy I can feel the emotion of each character, it truly feels like I am there in each scene. This book touched on a lot of things, but the aspect of finding your way back to love after hurt was very emotional to read. Although time-hopping isn't my thing, it was needed to tell the story.
Also, I loved the extra happy ending I got from Aaron and Janelle (go read Where We Belong).
My favorite thing so far about reading a Charlotte Dinnis book is how easy I can feel the emotion of each character, it truly feels like I am there in each scene. This book touched on a lot of things, but the aspect of finding your way back to love after hurt was very emotional to read. Although time-hopping isn't my thing, it was needed to tell the story.
Also, I loved the extra happy ending I got from Aaron and Janelle (go read Where We Belong).
April 18, 2026
Such a great story that was so realistic. I really felt for Sarai. She moved on in her life after Nolan left. I would have been torn just like her when Nolan came back into her orbit. I am glad their story had some healing and Sarai got her answers for her to move forward. A great story.
March 24, 2026
Part of an interconnected series but can be read as a standalone.
Second chances
Friends to love to enemies to....
Traumatic loss
He's determined to mend fences.
Second chances
Friends to love to enemies to....
Traumatic loss
He's determined to mend fences.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews