Before You

Before #1

by Rhianna Burwell

Blake Meyer's life has crumbled in front of her. After the worst year of her life, she is back in Minnesota with nothing more than a bruised ego and broken heart. That is, until she meets Oliver, her brother's best friend. What starts off as a dislike for Oliver, soon grows into something more than either of them expected. When faced with a choice between family and love, Blake has to decide if her luck will finally turn, or if her life will blow up in her face, again.

Before You is #1 of the Before Series and best understood after reading Before Now, the prequel.

Genres: Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Chick Lit

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2022

About the author

Rhianna Burwell is an Amazon best seller in erotica. Author of the Before series and the She Teaches Him series, available on Kindle Unlimited, she takes pride in writing spicy, realistic, and deeply satisfying romance and erotica. Rhianna currently resides in Minnesota, where—when she’s not writing erotica hot enough to melt all the winter snows—she enjoys curling up with her cat, avidly watching Grey’s Anatomy, and reading—her current fav is alien romance. Rhianna loves to hear from readers, who can connect with via any of her social media links.

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rhianna...

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/rhiannaburw...

TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@rhiannaburwel...

Reviews

[Brittanica Bold · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading the prequel, Before Now, I was emotionally drained but ready to be filled with happy, emotionally drunk little butterflies with Before You.

Ultimately, I felt this book focused so much on the "I can't be with you because I'm friends with your brother" thing, that I became quickly disinterested. Like, I get it, you don't want to ruin your friendship with your only friend, but then don't even start a fling with his sister who just got cheated on and assaulted...or, like, have a legitimate conversation with your friend??? I felt for how quickly Oliver was willing to drop Blake, he really should have judged the situation better beforehand. In my opinion, it made no sense for him to be flabbergasted by her ex cheating on her, and then sleep with her and ditch her immediately knowing he's her first kiss, let alone lay, after the assault.

With Blake, I still loved her introspective thoughts, but I felt she definitely had less of them and the quality was waning. She went from having super complex and rich emotions and thoughts to essentially being a high schooler again. I did not love that for her character.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Matthew Coffey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before You is a breathtaking book about a girl being caught between what’s familiar and what’s new. After leaving her broken heart and dreams in Chicago, she comes to Minnesota to start over when she meets Oliver, a boy with his own set of complications and backstory, and also happens to be her brothers best friend. I don’t want to spoil anything, but this book is an amazing read. Love, lust, trust, forgiveness, and familial bonding is all featured in this book. I’m so excited to see what Rhianna Burwell has in store for Blake’s best friend, Taylor, which she teased in Before You. This is FOR SURE an author to follow

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blake and Oliver . . .

Blake Meyer is a small town girl recovering from a very devastating experience in New York. She is naturally seeking something that will give her a feeling of safety again, so she goes back home to begin to heal.

She meets her brother’s best friend, Oliver. He does make some mistakes, but can he help her to begin healing and regain some trust?

[Cassie Minadeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. It is honestly an amazing representation of the healing process after you’ve been sexually assaulted. The ups and downs, struggles, and learning how to trust yourself again really touched me. Really happy I read this.

[Alice Bradfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

Relying on kindle unlimited during a&e wait was a risky move

[Macee Grisenti · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to start off saying this book contains retelling of a sexual assault and I will reference it so this your content warning.
I have never been SA so I can’t say this with any backing but it seemed like she didn’t have enough time to get back into a physical relationship. Her first time kissing someone was in a car after she was assaulted in a car and that seemed like it should have been a bigger trigger. (Again I am not a survivor so maybe it is)
That aside this story was about finding oneself after a major trauma and I loved that Blake realized she needed to love and accept the new her. It was so beautiful to watch her fall back in love with herself. I also liked how she held her ground with not forgiving Oliver right away. Oliver messed up and it was great to see both parties understanding that and not just sweeping it under the rug after a simple “I’m sorry”. That’s not real life. This story was a quick read and I am interested in Taylor’s story. I was hoping we’d get to hear more about her only friend from New York!

[MidnightBookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book: Before you


I decided to give this book a chance because I knew it was going to make me believe in love again….
I had the chance to talk and exchange opinions about books with Rhianna so I knew her book was going to be awesome!

Disclaimer: This book content sensitive subjects so please be mindful of it!


Blake is a small town girl who went through an traumatic and life change event while living in NY, something that will change and affect anyone, after this she decides that in order to gain her happiness and move on she must go back to the only safe place on earth she knows HOME…
Oliver is a hard working, passionate and very loyal friend, he’s not looking to fall in love anytime soon but it only took him one look and he was ready to jump and run marathons for Blake….
I want to say that maybe for some of us Blake healing process was “Fast” but I think all that it takes is Willingness and the right person to bring us back from the darkness and show us that after the pain and struggles happiness can be found

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this romance story with all of the characters. The two main characters were Blake and Oliver.

Blake has had a hard time with life this year. Not a thing has gone right this year. She has returned to her family home in Minnesota. She hopes that with being back home that things will look better. While a family dinner she meets her brother best friend. She not sure of him but after getting to know him soon become interested in him.

Oliver has had a hard time. His father has past way. And no one is left in his family. He been living on his own and with out friends. When he meets a guy at work they become best friends.

This was a fun story to read. It had action, adventure, secrets, and drama within. It has a few laughs throughout.

I received a complimentary copy via Booksprout. This is my honest unbiased opinions.

[Ella Channell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book drove me nuts. It focussed too much on the fact that she was his best friends little sister and the trigger warning wasn’t approached the way it should have been. Especially being a touchy subject like it was. The characters Carter and Oliver didn’t take the news the way I think they should have. They under reacted and it could have been written differently.

I found that Blake was too whiny and repetitive. Not sticking to the one thing and changing it to something she shouldn’t be feeling or doing after her incident.

(I don’t mean to make people mad with any statements that I have said.)

[Natasna]

The continuation of Blake's narrative was nicely written and emotionally charged. The author did an excellent job dealing with a delicate issue and the ramifications that may occur when things go wrong. There are no spoilers. I'd want to start by mentioning that this book involves a recounting of a sexual assault.
It lacked the depth I had hoped for, and I wished for more in a variety of areas, including character development, scene length, and strong personalities from side characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[anneke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t as much of a serve as the prequel was. It lacked the depth I would have hoped for and I wished there was more in a few different ways including character growth, scene length, and strong personalities from side characters. I loved the main characters. Blake is so relatable and Oliver said some of the cutest things I’ve ever read. The pacing was weird and the ending felt rushed. It’s a decent romance but not one of the best.
(free arc review)

[Tracy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before You
Book 1 of Before Series

by
Rhianna Burwell

After her world fell apart, Blake moves back home to Minnesota to try to rebuild herself and her heart. When she meets Oliver it is NOT love at first sight but they do grow closer and he helps her rebuild her trust and herself. Beautiful story about how the right thing or person can help heal you after such a devastating trauma. Great read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Haz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This pick up from before now prequel, the story was very intense and highly emotional I like Blake character but still trying to warm up Oliver he can sometimes comes across a bit dense sometimes but overall a good story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good story that held my attention from the start. I loved the first person point of view which is a deal breaker for me. The writing was good and the characters were developed. Really recommend this one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before You by Rhianna Burwell is a good, and enjoyable spicy emotional romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[L H · Rating 4 out of 5]

The continuation of Blake's story was well written and continued to be emotional. The author did a good job with a sensitive subject and the fallout that can come when things happen. No spoilers.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Vy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, it felt so raw & relatable but like……the second act break up????? At their grown ass age?????? A bit embarrassing ngl but I get it & I really did enjoy the characters & story overall

[Rachel Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blake and Oliver meet when she flees back home. He is best friends with her brother so it should put her off limits, but will it stop them being together.
I like how it is told from both points of view.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Karly Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book regardless of not being able to connect to the MC personal traumas.

I really loved how the male love interest responded to her past trauma and how their slow burn really blossomed naturally.

Good spice 🌶️— 2.5 / 5
Plot ✔️

[C. Paddison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Takes Trauma Lightly

While the love story is sweet. I just found some of the scenes surrounding overcoming her trauma as an unrealistic representation. It feels like everyone, even the main character, took her trauma really well. It was odd.

[Esmae O’Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute quick read, brothers best friend<3

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh 😅😅