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Before I Knew His Name
She should have walked away.
It was only a rainy road.
A black car.
A stranger offering her a ride.
Sarah Lowe said no.
She had no idea that the man behind the wheel would soon become impossible to forget.
Robert is older, controlled, confident—and far too mysterious. Every meeting with him feels like another coincidence, until Sarah begins to wonder whether coincidence has anything to do with it at all.
And then she learns who he really is.
Matt’s uncle.
Matt has been part of Sarah’s life for years. Safe. Familiar. Easy to understand.
Robert is none of those things.
With Matt, Sarah knows exactly where she stands.
With Robert, every boundary begins to move.
What starts as curiosity becomes attraction. Attraction becomes secrecy. And the closer Sarah gets to Robert, the more she realizes how little she actually knows about the man she is beginning to trust.
Because Robert has a past.
People he does not want to talk about.
Questions he refuses to answer.
And secrets that do not seem willing to stay buried.
Sarah knows she should be careful.
But knowing when to stop and actually stopping are two very different things.
How far would you go for someone you want—if you were never completely sure who they really were?
Before I Knew His Name is an emotional age-gap love story about forbidden attraction, friendship, secrets, difficult choices, and the dangerous distance between wanting someone and truly knowing them.
It was only a rainy road.
A black car.
A stranger offering her a ride.
Sarah Lowe said no.
She had no idea that the man behind the wheel would soon become impossible to forget.
Robert is older, controlled, confident—and far too mysterious. Every meeting with him feels like another coincidence, until Sarah begins to wonder whether coincidence has anything to do with it at all.
And then she learns who he really is.
Matt’s uncle.
Matt has been part of Sarah’s life for years. Safe. Familiar. Easy to understand.
Robert is none of those things.
With Matt, Sarah knows exactly where she stands.
With Robert, every boundary begins to move.
What starts as curiosity becomes attraction. Attraction becomes secrecy. And the closer Sarah gets to Robert, the more she realizes how little she actually knows about the man she is beginning to trust.
Because Robert has a past.
People he does not want to talk about.
Questions he refuses to answer.
And secrets that do not seem willing to stay buried.
Sarah knows she should be careful.
But knowing when to stop and actually stopping are two very different things.
How far would you go for someone you want—if you were never completely sure who they really were?
Before I Knew His Name is an emotional age-gap love story about forbidden attraction, friendship, secrets, difficult choices, and the dangerous distance between wanting someone and truly knowing them.
- GenresRomance
747 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 20, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 1, 2026
3.5 stars-
I had a chance to check out this brand new author as the synopsis of the story intrigued me a bit.
From the beginning, the story had a different flow than a traditional romance. The pacing is different. The vibe is different.
We meet multiple characters and get to know them through their friendship, their outings, and the enjoyment that they have with one another.
Then we start to see a relationship grow and build. It causes strain and issues between the friends. It’s unconventional to a degree and what a romance genre would call “forbidden romance“.
The Romance slowly grows, builds, and the relationship works. It’s comfortable and sweet But His background is a mystery and he doesn’t always tell the full story.
So when the author chooses a different route for the ending than what is typically expected in a romance story, I’m not overly surprised.
Because this book isn’t just about the romance. It’s about our main character and the changes that she goes through. Not only is she experiencing heartbreak but she’s growing up.
It takes you until almost the end of the book to realize the twist in the story. It’s different. It is
a romance that is not a typical romance.
The conversation between characters is humorous but shallow. There is no in-depth connection and we are left with more questions than answers.
Overall, the book is entertaining, and it reads quickly. But don’t expect a typical romance with a sweet HEA.
* I was given in advanced copy, and all opinions are my own
I had a chance to check out this brand new author as the synopsis of the story intrigued me a bit.
From the beginning, the story had a different flow than a traditional romance. The pacing is different. The vibe is different.
We meet multiple characters and get to know them through their friendship, their outings, and the enjoyment that they have with one another.
Then we start to see a relationship grow and build. It causes strain and issues between the friends. It’s unconventional to a degree and what a romance genre would call “forbidden romance“.
The Romance slowly grows, builds, and the relationship works. It’s comfortable and sweet But His background is a mystery and he doesn’t always tell the full story.
So when the author chooses a different route for the ending than what is typically expected in a romance story, I’m not overly surprised.
Because this book isn’t just about the romance. It’s about our main character and the changes that she goes through. Not only is she experiencing heartbreak but she’s growing up.
It takes you until almost the end of the book to realize the twist in the story. It’s different. It is
a romance that is not a typical romance.
The conversation between characters is humorous but shallow. There is no in-depth connection and we are left with more questions than answers.
Overall, the book is entertaining, and it reads quickly. But don’t expect a typical romance with a sweet HEA.
* I was given in advanced copy, and all opinions are my own
September 20, 2026
"What starts as curiosity becomes attraction. Attraction becomes secrecy. And the closer Sarah gets to Robert, the more she realizes how little she actually knows about the man she is beginning to trust." XOXO Writer
This is a slow burn romance that moves along at a steady pace. Ostrowski's style is a little different but it I think it works. I enjoyed the slight change of style.
The characters are well developed, and the scenes are vivid. Robert is a bit of an enigma, I'm still trying to decide what he's hiding. Sarah is young, and makes mistakes. Their friends, and frenemies play a role in this building romance also.
This isn't your typical romance, there's a twist, and it's unexpected. My only real complaint is the dialog, there are places that it's difficult to decifer who is speaking, you can figure it out though.
It's an easy, fast read. I really hope there is a sequel, it would be cruel to be left hanging like this.
3.5☆☆☆* rounded up
I received an Review Copy of this book from the author.
This is a slow burn romance that moves along at a steady pace. Ostrowski's style is a little different but it I think it works. I enjoyed the slight change of style.
The characters are well developed, and the scenes are vivid. Robert is a bit of an enigma, I'm still trying to decide what he's hiding. Sarah is young, and makes mistakes. Their friends, and frenemies play a role in this building romance also.
This isn't your typical romance, there's a twist, and it's unexpected. My only real complaint is the dialog, there are places that it's difficult to decifer who is speaking, you can figure it out though.
It's an easy, fast read. I really hope there is a sequel, it would be cruel to be left hanging like this.
3.5☆☆☆* rounded up
I received an Review Copy of this book from the author.
September 3, 2026
**Author’s note**
As the author of *Before I Knew His Name*, I obviously cannot review this book as an independent reader, so I want to be completely transparent about that.
This story is very personal to me because I wanted to write about imperfect people, complicated emotions, difficult choices, jealousy, trust, secrets, and a relationship that does not fit into a simple definition of right or wrong.
Sara and Robert’s story is not meant to present an ideal romance. It is about two people carrying their own fears, mistakes, and emotional baggage, slowly trying to understand what they mean to each other.
I wanted the romance to develop gradually, with tension and emotion being more important than explicit scenes. I also deliberately chose a bittersweet and somewhat open ending because, for me, not every meaningful relationship has to end in a perfect fairy-tale way to change someone's life.
I know this book will not be for everyone, and that is completely okay. More than anything, I hope readers will feel something while reading it and form their own honest opinions about Sara, Robert, Matt, Liv, and the choices they make.
Thank you to everyone who gives this story a chance.
— XOXO Writer
As the author of *Before I Knew His Name*, I obviously cannot review this book as an independent reader, so I want to be completely transparent about that.
This story is very personal to me because I wanted to write about imperfect people, complicated emotions, difficult choices, jealousy, trust, secrets, and a relationship that does not fit into a simple definition of right or wrong.
Sara and Robert’s story is not meant to present an ideal romance. It is about two people carrying their own fears, mistakes, and emotional baggage, slowly trying to understand what they mean to each other.
I wanted the romance to develop gradually, with tension and emotion being more important than explicit scenes. I also deliberately chose a bittersweet and somewhat open ending because, for me, not every meaningful relationship has to end in a perfect fairy-tale way to change someone's life.
I know this book will not be for everyone, and that is completely okay. More than anything, I hope readers will feel something while reading it and form their own honest opinions about Sara, Robert, Matt, Liv, and the choices they make.
Thank you to everyone who gives this story a chance.
— XOXO Writer
August 28, 2026
This book surprised me because the part that worked for me best wasn’t the romance, it was Sarah’s growth throughout the story. She starts out wanting answers and certainty, but by the end she learns how to move forward. I also liked how her relationship with Matt and Liv played into that growth and gave the story more emotional weight outside of romance.
My biggest issue was the repetitiveness. There were a few stretches that felt like the same cycle of misunderstanding, waiting, and uncertainty. Since I’m not a romance reader, it started to drag out for me. Still, I like where Sarah ended up emotionally, and I think the booked worked better as a story about personal growth rather than a traditional romance.
My biggest issue was the repetitiveness. There were a few stretches that felt like the same cycle of misunderstanding, waiting, and uncertainty. Since I’m not a romance reader, it started to drag out for me. Still, I like where Sarah ended up emotionally, and I think the booked worked better as a story about personal growth rather than a traditional romance.
September 15, 2026
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 Stars
🌶️ 1/5 Peppers
I received an ARC/review copy of Before I Knew His Name in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion. As always, any opinions or thoughts expressed here are entirely voluntary, 100% my own, and were not influenced in any way. This review reflects the version of the manuscript I received and read as it was written as of September 15, 2026. Any edits or changes made to the book after that date are not reflected in my review.
For anyone wondering about the spice level, I would put this at 🌶️ 1/5 peppers. Sarah and Robert do have a sexual relationship, so there is intimacy in the story, but the actual sex is handled primarily off-page/fade-to-black rather than described explicitly. You know what happens between them without being given graphic sexual scenes, which keeps the spice level very low for me.
There were definitely things I enjoyed about this one. The story opens with Sarah walking in the rain and noticing a mysterious man in a black sedan, and that immediately had me curious about who he was and where the story was going. I also liked Sarah and Robert together, especially during their quieter moments. Their teasing, messages, meals, drives, and ordinary conversations gave their relationship a natural chemistry, and I liked that Sarah was stubborn enough to challenge Robert rather than simply going along with everything he said.
Robert himself was probably what kept me the most curious. There are hints throughout the book that there is much more to his past than Sarah knows, and some of the things he says about his former life, the people he once did business with, and choices he isn’t proud of had me coming up with all kinds of theories. I genuinely wanted to know who this man really was and what he had been involved in before Sarah knew him.
I also have to give Anita credit because she surprised me. I expected her character to go in a much more predictable direction, and I appreciated that she was allowed to have complicated feelings without simply being turned into the jealous woman used to create drama.
Where this one lost some stars for me was mostly in the pacing, emotional depth, and the amount of uncertainty I was left with by the end. I don’t mind a slow burn at all, but there were quite a few everyday routines and transitions that made the story itself feel slower than it needed to. I would have happily traded some of those moments for more emotional development between Sarah and Robert. I believed their attraction and chemistry, but I wanted more of the deeper conversations and vulnerability that would have helped me really understand how that attraction grew into love.
I also wanted more of Sarah outside of Robert and Matt. So much of her emotional world revolves around the two men that I never felt like I knew enough about what Sarah wanted for herself, what she was working toward, or what she imagined for her own future. Giving me a little more of Sarah as an individual would have made me more invested in where her life ultimately took her.
My biggest struggle, though, was the number of questions I still had when I finished. Some unanswered questions are great because they keep me thinking about a book afterward, and Robert’s mysterious past definitely did that. But I eventually reached a point where I wasn’t sure whether certain things were intentionally being kept mysterious, whether they were setting up another story, or whether I simply wasn’t going to get those answers.
Even the way the story is framed left me wondering whether Sarah is meant to be looking back on a real or fictionalized relationship from her past while deliberately protecting certain details and identities. If that’s intentional, it could explain quite a bit of the secrecy throughout the book. I just wasn’t completely sure that was what I was supposed to take from it.
The ending itself has something I really liked. Without spoiling it, there is a small callback to the beginning that shows how much Sarah has changed. She hasn’t suddenly forgotten everything she felt, but she has learned that she can keep moving forward even without having every answer. I thought that part was handled nicely.
At the same time, I personally needed a little more clarity or closure. I didn’t necessarily need every mystery surrounding Robert explained, but I wanted to understand whether those unanswered questions were intentionally being left with me, were leading somewhere else, or were simply part of Sarah’s experience. If this is where Sarah and Robert’s story truly ends, I also would have loved even a small glimpse of Sarah farther into the future so I knew what her own version of a happy ending eventually became.
Overall, Before I Knew His Name had an interesting foundation, natural chemistry between its leads, and enough mystery surrounding Robert to keep me wondering about him long after I finished. For me, a tighter pace, more emotional depth between Sarah and Robert, more development of Sarah outside her relationships, and a little more clarity surrounding the story’s framing and ending would have made a significant difference.
There was enough here that I wanted to understand more; I just finished with too many different questions and not quite enough clarity for this to become a four- or five-star read for me.
Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.
🌶️ 1/5 Peppers
I received an ARC/review copy of Before I Knew His Name in exchange for nothing more than my honest opinion. As always, any opinions or thoughts expressed here are entirely voluntary, 100% my own, and were not influenced in any way. This review reflects the version of the manuscript I received and read as it was written as of September 15, 2026. Any edits or changes made to the book after that date are not reflected in my review.
For anyone wondering about the spice level, I would put this at 🌶️ 1/5 peppers. Sarah and Robert do have a sexual relationship, so there is intimacy in the story, but the actual sex is handled primarily off-page/fade-to-black rather than described explicitly. You know what happens between them without being given graphic sexual scenes, which keeps the spice level very low for me.
There were definitely things I enjoyed about this one. The story opens with Sarah walking in the rain and noticing a mysterious man in a black sedan, and that immediately had me curious about who he was and where the story was going. I also liked Sarah and Robert together, especially during their quieter moments. Their teasing, messages, meals, drives, and ordinary conversations gave their relationship a natural chemistry, and I liked that Sarah was stubborn enough to challenge Robert rather than simply going along with everything he said.
Robert himself was probably what kept me the most curious. There are hints throughout the book that there is much more to his past than Sarah knows, and some of the things he says about his former life, the people he once did business with, and choices he isn’t proud of had me coming up with all kinds of theories. I genuinely wanted to know who this man really was and what he had been involved in before Sarah knew him.
I also have to give Anita credit because she surprised me. I expected her character to go in a much more predictable direction, and I appreciated that she was allowed to have complicated feelings without simply being turned into the jealous woman used to create drama.
Where this one lost some stars for me was mostly in the pacing, emotional depth, and the amount of uncertainty I was left with by the end. I don’t mind a slow burn at all, but there were quite a few everyday routines and transitions that made the story itself feel slower than it needed to. I would have happily traded some of those moments for more emotional development between Sarah and Robert. I believed their attraction and chemistry, but I wanted more of the deeper conversations and vulnerability that would have helped me really understand how that attraction grew into love.
I also wanted more of Sarah outside of Robert and Matt. So much of her emotional world revolves around the two men that I never felt like I knew enough about what Sarah wanted for herself, what she was working toward, or what she imagined for her own future. Giving me a little more of Sarah as an individual would have made me more invested in where her life ultimately took her.
My biggest struggle, though, was the number of questions I still had when I finished. Some unanswered questions are great because they keep me thinking about a book afterward, and Robert’s mysterious past definitely did that. But I eventually reached a point where I wasn’t sure whether certain things were intentionally being kept mysterious, whether they were setting up another story, or whether I simply wasn’t going to get those answers.
Even the way the story is framed left me wondering whether Sarah is meant to be looking back on a real or fictionalized relationship from her past while deliberately protecting certain details and identities. If that’s intentional, it could explain quite a bit of the secrecy throughout the book. I just wasn’t completely sure that was what I was supposed to take from it.
The ending itself has something I really liked. Without spoiling it, there is a small callback to the beginning that shows how much Sarah has changed. She hasn’t suddenly forgotten everything she felt, but she has learned that she can keep moving forward even without having every answer. I thought that part was handled nicely.
At the same time, I personally needed a little more clarity or closure. I didn’t necessarily need every mystery surrounding Robert explained, but I wanted to understand whether those unanswered questions were intentionally being left with me, were leading somewhere else, or were simply part of Sarah’s experience. If this is where Sarah and Robert’s story truly ends, I also would have loved even a small glimpse of Sarah farther into the future so I knew what her own version of a happy ending eventually became.
Overall, Before I Knew His Name had an interesting foundation, natural chemistry between its leads, and enough mystery surrounding Robert to keep me wondering about him long after I finished. For me, a tighter pace, more emotional depth between Sarah and Robert, more development of Sarah outside her relationships, and a little more clarity surrounding the story’s framing and ending would have made a significant difference.
There was enough here that I wanted to understand more; I just finished with too many different questions and not quite enough clarity for this to become a four- or five-star read for me.
Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.
September 21, 2026
ARC Review
Before I Knew His Name by XOXOWriter.
The story is about Sarah Lowe and the unexpected turn her love life takes. On the first day of her summer vacation, she has a very strange meeting with a mysterious stranger. She tries to forget about it and goes out with her best friends to have some fun, but there she meets the man again. Robert turns out to be her friend's uncle.
There is an instant attraction between Sarah and Robert, but Robert is full of mystery. The fact that his nephew also has feelings for Sarah makes everything even more complicated. But the heart wants what the heart wants...
Their relationship puts her friendships to the test. Will Sarah be able to experience her first real love, even when things become complicated?
This was quite an interesting story, focused on feelings, relationships, and the complicated emotions that come with them. I liked the variety of the characters. Sarah was more introverted and serious, Liv was vibrant and loud, Matt was calm, while Robert had that dark and mysterious personality.
One of the main parts of the story was the complicated relationship between Robert and Sarah, with its forbidden feeling, age difference, and emotional baggage. I also liked the other side of the story, which focused on Sarah's friendships and how they dealt with revelations, difficult emotions, and changes in their relationships.
I especially liked Sarah's sarcastic sense of humor, which added some fun moments to the story.
Even though the ending wasn't the happy ending I expected, I actually found it perfect for this particular book. My only issue was with some of the dialogues. At times, they felt a little repetitive, and I would have liked to see more developed conversations instead of mostly short lines.
Overall, this was a good story that I enjoyed reading. It was an interesting look at love, friendship, complicated feelings, and the choices we make when our hearts get involved.
Before I Knew His Name by XOXOWriter.
The story is about Sarah Lowe and the unexpected turn her love life takes. On the first day of her summer vacation, she has a very strange meeting with a mysterious stranger. She tries to forget about it and goes out with her best friends to have some fun, but there she meets the man again. Robert turns out to be her friend's uncle.
There is an instant attraction between Sarah and Robert, but Robert is full of mystery. The fact that his nephew also has feelings for Sarah makes everything even more complicated. But the heart wants what the heart wants...
Their relationship puts her friendships to the test. Will Sarah be able to experience her first real love, even when things become complicated?
This was quite an interesting story, focused on feelings, relationships, and the complicated emotions that come with them. I liked the variety of the characters. Sarah was more introverted and serious, Liv was vibrant and loud, Matt was calm, while Robert had that dark and mysterious personality.
One of the main parts of the story was the complicated relationship between Robert and Sarah, with its forbidden feeling, age difference, and emotional baggage. I also liked the other side of the story, which focused on Sarah's friendships and how they dealt with revelations, difficult emotions, and changes in their relationships.
I especially liked Sarah's sarcastic sense of humor, which added some fun moments to the story.
Even though the ending wasn't the happy ending I expected, I actually found it perfect for this particular book. My only issue was with some of the dialogues. At times, they felt a little repetitive, and I would have liked to see more developed conversations instead of mostly short lines.
Overall, this was a good story that I enjoyed reading. It was an interesting look at love, friendship, complicated feelings, and the choices we make when our hearts get involved.
September 9, 2026
Bittersweet!
I received an ARC and this is my honest take of the book.
I enjoyed reading this book! It follows the unexpected, lovely, romantic story of Sara and Robert, featuring age gap.
Until the very end, the author did not reveal what exactly is the affiliation in terms of work and past of Robert's character which adds up to the mystery.
The FMC is young but in many ways possessing a mature perspective in life, Her maturity is expressed through her ability to listen, her openness to explore, and her awareness and humility to accept that she is young and needs to experience things by herself in order to know its depth and implications. The MMC is broadminded and has enough experience to be patient with his FMC. I think, however, it could explore more on the dynamics and challenges of having an age gap relationship. But the circumstance of the MMC is a factor on this tale. I guess there will be a part 2? Will this be a book series?
I also love that it dives deeply on the intricacies of different relationships- friendship, parents and children, family, among others (aside from the romance of the main characters) - it shows its facets and ramifications. I appreciate how it embraces the positivity in exploring the situations while never forgetting to equally delve and show the flaws of each character and the situation tackled. I think it is one excellent strength of this book. There are so much to learn how to handle and manage things about relationships in an optimistic way given that human as we are, it is undeniable that we are by nature flawed.
Five stars for this bittersweet, romantic tale!
I received an ARC and this is my honest take of the book.
I enjoyed reading this book! It follows the unexpected, lovely, romantic story of Sara and Robert, featuring age gap.
Until the very end, the author did not reveal what exactly is the affiliation in terms of work and past of Robert's character which adds up to the mystery.
The FMC is young but in many ways possessing a mature perspective in life, Her maturity is expressed through her ability to listen, her openness to explore, and her awareness and humility to accept that she is young and needs to experience things by herself in order to know its depth and implications. The MMC is broadminded and has enough experience to be patient with his FMC. I think, however, it could explore more on the dynamics and challenges of having an age gap relationship. But the circumstance of the MMC is a factor on this tale. I guess there will be a part 2? Will this be a book series?
I also love that it dives deeply on the intricacies of different relationships- friendship, parents and children, family, among others (aside from the romance of the main characters) - it shows its facets and ramifications. I appreciate how it embraces the positivity in exploring the situations while never forgetting to equally delve and show the flaws of each character and the situation tackled. I think it is one excellent strength of this book. There are so much to learn how to handle and manage things about relationships in an optimistic way given that human as we are, it is undeniable that we are by nature flawed.
Five stars for this bittersweet, romantic tale!
September 7, 2026
An Intense, Complicated, Slow-Burning Journey
Before I Knew His Name is definitely not a quick, breezy romance. At nearly 750 pages, this is a commitment but it’s also a deeply emotional story about flawed people, complicated choices, forbidden attraction, and personal growth.
What kept me invested was the character development. Sarah’s journey from seeking safety and predictability to learning to stand on her own was incredibly rewarding. Robert, meanwhile, is an absolute enigma—older, guarded, and carrying so much emotional baggage that you’re constantly trying to figure him out. I also loved that Matt and Liv have their own presence in the story. They make Sarah’s world feel much bigger than just her romantic relationship.
The romance is a very slow burn, built more on tension, longing, and uncertainty than instant attraction or nonstop spice. That worked for me, although the middle did feel repetitive at times with all the misunderstandings and back-and-forth.
The ending also takes a surprisingly grounded and unconventional approach, which I appreciated even if it may not work for everyone.
Overall, this is a story about messy people making messy choices. If you enjoy emotionally complex characters, slow-burn tension, and romances that don't take the easy route, this one is worth the commitment. This is a 3.75 for me.
Before I Knew His Name is definitely not a quick, breezy romance. At nearly 750 pages, this is a commitment but it’s also a deeply emotional story about flawed people, complicated choices, forbidden attraction, and personal growth.
What kept me invested was the character development. Sarah’s journey from seeking safety and predictability to learning to stand on her own was incredibly rewarding. Robert, meanwhile, is an absolute enigma—older, guarded, and carrying so much emotional baggage that you’re constantly trying to figure him out. I also loved that Matt and Liv have their own presence in the story. They make Sarah’s world feel much bigger than just her romantic relationship.
The romance is a very slow burn, built more on tension, longing, and uncertainty than instant attraction or nonstop spice. That worked for me, although the middle did feel repetitive at times with all the misunderstandings and back-and-forth.
The ending also takes a surprisingly grounded and unconventional approach, which I appreciated even if it may not work for everyone.
Overall, this is a story about messy people making messy choices. If you enjoy emotionally complex characters, slow-burn tension, and romances that don't take the easy route, this one is worth the commitment. This is a 3.75 for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews