Title:  Before You
Series:
Author:  Kathryn Freeman
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  June 21, 2016
Publisher:  Choc Lit
My Rating:  4.5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

When life in the fast lane threatens to implode …

Melanie Hunt’s job working for the Delta racing team means she is constantly rubbing shoulders with Formula One superstars in glamorous locations like Monte Carlo. But she has already learned that keeping a professional distance is crucial if she doesn’t want to get hurt.

New Delta team driver Aiden Foster lives his life like he drives his cars – fast and hard. But, no matter how successful he is, it seems he always falls short of his championship-winning father’s legacy. If he could just stay focused, he could finally make that win.

Resolve begins to slip as Melanie and Aiden find themselves drawn to each other –with nowhere to hide as racing season begins. But when a troubled young boy goes missing, everything is thrown into turmoil, including Aiden’s championship dream.

Read on for my thoughts on Before You.  No true spoilers, promise.

Melanie’s been burned before and she’s not looking for a repeat performance.  Her job dealing with publicity for the Delta racing team puts her in close contact with some of the hottest, most intense and death defying, danger loving men around.  And while the newest team driver might be charming, sexy and pull on her emotions a bit – she’s not going down that road with another driver ever again.

Aiden is chasing an elusive dream.  He needs a Formula One Championship.  He’s lived in the shadow of his legendary father his entire racing career and if he is to ever get out from under that legacy he has to focus and win.  Yet it seems Fate has other plans.

Even though it’s the last thing she wants to do, Melanie finds herself pulled into Aiden’s life.  She really doesn’t want to get to know the man behind the public face, the one who makes jokes at his own expense, the one with the look in his eye that says all is far from fine.  But the attraction is there and it won’t be denied much longer – hard to hide from anyone in the enclosed world of a racing team during the season.

Aiden has long fought issues and when a young boy is tossed carelessly into his world, Aiden has to make decisions – really hard decisions.  The kind that could give him everything he ever wanted off the track, but cost him everything he’s fought for on the track.

Before You is such a well researched, well defined story, one that will put you right in the middle of a Formula One racing team and you’d best hold on tight.  Now, full disclosure here, I am a NASCAR girl – born, bred and probably will be until my dying day – but I’m not a racing snob, I’ve enjoyed Formula One very much over the years.  Each sport has its own unique intensity and draw.  Truth is if it has four wheels, an engine and runs around an oval or a winding road – I’ll watch it and love every adrenaline filled moment.  I’ve followed many racing dynasties over the years, and there is nothing like watching a legend’s son (or daughter) move up the ranks getting nearer to dad every race.

Kathryn Freeman created a familiar world and added to it.  Aiden is fighting demons and rarely wins against the memories and the legacy that he can never match.  His mother is a piece of crap who shouldn’t be allowed to have children – and she’s not done with her shenanigans.  With Melanie he has something different to fight for, something that will outlast any championship – he has a woman who would stand at his side through thick and thin.  While there were moments when I wanted to shake a bit of sense into each of them, their story is rich in emotions, vivid in the depiction of the craziness of a racing team and heartwarming in showing two people what truly matters in life.  Their love.

An intense, believable glimpse into a world most of us will never see, Before You is one of those stories that will draw you in and have you wrapped up tight in the characters’ lives.  This is one of those stories that should be on your reading list.

*I received an e-ARC of Before You from the publisher, Choc Lit and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kingle