Review: Before You by Amber Hart!

Some say love is deadly. Some say love is beautiful. I say it is both.

Faith Watters spent her junior year traveling the world, studying in exquisite places, before returning to Oviedo High School. From the outside her life is picture-perfect. Captain of the dance team. Popular. Happy. Too bad it’s all a lie.

It will haunt me. It will claim me. It will shatter me. And I don't care.

Eighteen-year-old Diego Alvarez hates his new life in the States, but staying in Cuba is not an option. Covered in tattoos and scars, Diego doesn't stand a chance of fitting in. Nor does he want to. His only concern is staying hidden from his past—a past, which if it were to surface, would cost him everything. Including his life.

At Oviedo High School, it seems that Faith Watters and Diego Alvarez do not belong together. But fate is as tricky as it is lovely. Freedom with no restraint is what they long for. What they get is something different entirely.

Love—it will ruin you and save you, both.

Before You is such a beautifully written, moving and powerful love story. (And an amazing debut novel!) It is unique, not only because of the wonderfully poetic writing or the use of two languages, but because it features a diverse couple (and secondary characters). There is definitely not enough of this in books today. I had heard a great deal that Before You was similar to Perfect Chemistry, but I have yet to read that one, so I thoroughly enjoyed being able to read this one first. I love all the messages the book features about being yourself, escape, and starting anew. 

Before You is as gritty and dramatic as it is sweet. There is a great deal of heavy matter in the book: violence, drugs, and prejudice, among other things, but they made the book even more special and the messages even more powerful. It is so much different from most contemporary romances out there. Despite being over 300 pages, I flew through this book. It is an incredibly entertaining and fast paced read that will have you crying and smiling within a few pages. The author does a terrific job painting a vivid picture through words that is honestly incredible.

Before You is told in the points of view of both the main characters. Normally I do not care for dual POVs, but in this case, it really worked out well and gives the reader the opportunity to understand each character. I love that they both are broken by tragedy in the beginning, but can finally become whole together through love.

I am very much looking forward to the next two books!

If you are looking for a contemporary romance that is beautifully written and unique, definitely check this out out!

5/5