Published by Bethany House on March 31, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Christian, Romance
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Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there's only one match she's committed to now--the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first-grade teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency's requirements, she gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw coming: Joshua Avery.
Joshua may be a substitute teacher by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm conviction to waver.
With an impossible decision looming, Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.
What an absolutely amazing story! Before I Called You Mine is both inspirational and thought provoking.
Nicole Deese inspires me to reach out in ways that might look impossible and just trust.
Lauren is such a special heroine: Her heart for children, her desire to follow God. I just loved her.
I also adored Joshua. He was the perfect hero. He was a complete and goofy geek. (what a fun person to have in this story!) He definitely wasn’t what I’d normally consider a hero, but in this particular story, his fun-loving personality made the entire story so much better. I loved seeing their realness, their humanness and imperfections. I enjoyed seeing how their relationship worked (or how it didn’t).
And then, there’s of course the main thread, the main quest of this book, the journey that Lauren was on, the journey of international adoption. It is easy to tell that this is a journey that is very close to the author’s heart. Nicole Deese has written about this journey in a way that made me long to adopt a little girl from China.
This book also deals with other issues that are all-to-real in our lives, in addition to the challenges of international adoption. Lauren faces family difficulties, opposition to her Christian beliefs, opposition to her adoption, and other things that are difficult to process. These issues are written in a way that will challenge your way of thinking, help you to see God in a very real way.
Back to the hero. Joshua is an amazing friend. he is sympathetic, caring, and an all around good guy. I couldn’t help but love him from the minute I met him.
This entire story is just beautiful. Deese shows how God can take those difficult things in our lives and turn out something that is just beautiful, all we have to do is learn to trust in Him.
This is one of those books that is so very beautiful. I found myself struggling to really put into words what all this book did for me, struggling to write a review that really does justice to it. I’m fairly certain it will be one of my top reads for 2020.
This is absolutely a Five Star Read!