Before I Saw You

This book is cute and romantic, and an easy read for those wanting a quicker read. I loved the characters and definitely felt the romantic part, which is a big ol' plus for me. My qualms come in near the end - the story itself, though quick, got too rushed at the end and left me feeling like it could have gone on a bit longer/not ended as abruptly. That said, I enjoyed the read and would recommend to my fellow romance lovers. That and, as I usually comment on, the cover is beautiful.

Interesting Premise. Perfect Execution. Apparently I'm a bit different than the smattering of the current 300+ Goodreads reviews I've read of this book so far (just over a month prior to publication, so kudos to the Gallery Books/ Simon and Schuster marketing team - which is where I got my own copy from).

Why?

Because I thought this was a challenging premise for any author to work from, much less a debut author... and yet Houghton nails it, to my thinking.

The entire central conceit here is that you've got two people who are badly broken and trying to heal, who happen to randomly find themselves forced to be next to each other in a rehabilitation ward for weeks on end, and somehow fall in love - despite one of them insisting on keeping their curtain closed, thus precluding both from ever seeing the other's face.

This was a great tale that had light and heart where it needed to, forced the tears to come pouring out of your eyes in others, told convincing tales of the disparate injuries and recoveries, and wrapped all of this up in a standard Hallmarkie type finish. (Yes, this is billed as a romance, so noting that the couple does end up together is no spoiler here. :D)

If this is what we can expect from Houghton, this reader for one is very much looking forward to seeing what else she has. Very much recommended.