Before This Ends by Aurora Rose Reynolds
POV: Dual 1st Person
3rd Act Break-Up: NO
Tropes: Single Dad; Found Family, Small Town; Spin-off; Instant Connection
Series: Before Series book 2
Type of Series: Series of Standalones
Rate: 5/5 Stars
Release Date: March 25, 2024
PoP: 59%
Before This Ends is a poignant and heartwarming story about creating a family of you own. We met Emma in Before We Fall and Miles in Until Willow, but you do not need to read those books in order to enjoy this story.
Miles is a single dad to Winter, and he has a great relationship with the mom. And I love that these are two people that co-parent well. While there is some tension created, as the story unfolds, you get an understanding of why that happens. Although, you don’t want to like Hazel because of it… don’t worry, it doesn’t cause strife with the progression of the couple themselves.
Before This Ends opens with Emma having a live-in boyfriend. They aren’t moving forward, and when friends share exciting news, she realizes that what they have is not what she wants or needs. So she takes time away from him to think things through… Enter Miles… he is the brother to her best friends boyfriend, so they meet that way. And as any Aurora Rose Reynolds book… BOOM. But of course, their start isn’t the easiest. With Emma just taking time, she isn’t looking at anything or anyone, until she sees that she could be settling if she stayed with her current beau.
Miles is a guy that hasn’t had a relationship for a long time. He dates, but nothing has been serious enough to bring those women around his daughter. Emma on th either had has come into his life via Tucker and she establishes a relationship with Winter that way. And Winter loves her. Miles sees her out one night and decides that while it might not be the best choice especially if things go south, he is taking a chance on them.
What follows is a healing process for all involved. Emma lost her parents, and still harbors trauma from that. Miles lost his mom and has worked though those feelings in in the past. I love the love he shows the people in his life. He loves hard and wants to make sure that those around him feel that too.
He makes the most of the time has with Winter and creates an amazing home life for her with so much support from those that a love her hard. One of my favorite parts of this story is where Emma wants to get to know Miles and at night, or little moments she says… “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”
Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and ARR does an excellent job telling the story of these men who have created a great one. There is so much love bleeding off the pages, and it was a story that I wish didn’t end.
Check out my review of book one: Before We Fall
Becky and I chat with author Aurora Rose Reynods on this Happy Hour.
