Nicole Deese’s Before I Called You Mine

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.

Review

I’ve read a number of Nicole Deese novels and even though the premise of this book did not quite draw me in, because of how much I’ve enjoyed her other books, I requested it anyway. My thoughts:

What I liked

Adoption. I don’t know much about the process of adopting a child, but I thought the author did a good job of describing all that’s involved including the ups and downs and all of the emotions that a potential parent deals with. It’s obviously not an easy avenue to go down and I like that the author did not shy away from that.

Family drama. I love romance, but I also love reading about the dynamics of family. Lauren’s decision to adopt is one that brings a lot of things to the surface between her and her mom and her sister. I thought the way everything unfolded felt natural and organic.

Spiritually, the book deals with trusting God, particularly when you don’t understand why things are happening the way that they are.

What I didn’t like

The reason I wasn’t crazy about the premise of this book was because I felt like a focused conversation could solve everyone’s problems. But, I was hoping that I was wrong and that there would be something else happening that would drive the story.  I was not wrong. I understood Lauren and where she was coming from. I just did not understand why she just didn’t lay everything out on the table from the get-go. Since I felt like one conversation would have wiped out half of the plot, it didn’t quite work for me.

Romantic scale: 7.5

Overall, I was not a huge fan of this book. There wasn’t enough of a story to really draw me in.

**I received a copy from BethanyHouse via Netgalley. My opinion was not affected in anyway.**