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  • Before I Met You

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Lisa Jewell
  • Narrated by: Helen Duff
  • Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (378 ratings)

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Before I Met You cover art

Before I Met You

Written by: Lisa Jewell
Narrated by: Helen Duff
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Publisher's Summary

After her grandmother Arlette's death, Betty is finally ready to begin her life. She had forfeited university, parties, boyfriends, summer jobs - all the usual preoccupations of a woman her age - in order to care for Arlette. Now she's ready for whatever life throws at her, and, since the will included a beneficiary unknown to her who lives in the city, she heads there to find the mysterious woman....

In 1920s London, Arlette is starting her new life in a time of postwar change. Beautiful and charismatic, she's drawn into a hedonistic world, but then tragedy strikes, and she flees back to her childhood home....

When Betty's search leads her to a man - someone who meant the world to her grandmother - the secrets of Arlette's past may help Betty find her own way to happiness in the present....

A rich detective story and a captivating look at London then and now, Before I Met You is an unforgettable novel about two very different women, separated by 70 years but united by big hearts and even bigger dreams.

©2013 Lisa Jewell (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

What listeners say about Before I Met You

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • B
  • 2020-10-21

narration didn't work for me

The narrator speaks fast but makes very long pauses, so it's difficult to adjust the speed to a comfortable overall level. And the tones... it was too distracting. couldn't finish it, though I tried.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Beach Listen

Lovely voice - interesting, multi-layered story. Bit of a mystery and a few romances and some fascinating history. All in all, a perfect summer listen!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story, awesome performance

Certainly 4 1/2 If I could. Engaging characters, interesting story. The narration was superb- will be seeking out more from both the narrator and author.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story skillfully narrated.

I loved the interweaving of the poignant story of Arlette with the unravelling of the mystery of Clara.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it!

the story was great and the narrator has an amazing voice, very well done, I recommend it .

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Adored this book!

I loved this book in its entirety.
The story is just phenomenal and touching.
If you’re considering this as a read, think no more - grab it and start!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slow, but worthwhile

It took me a long time to get into the story. However, I did thoroughly enjoy it in the end.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I’m glad I didn’t waste a credit on this.

Maybe it’s just me but I prefer a narration rather than have the book “acted”. The characters accents were very annoying, I felt the narrator was trying to define the characters by their overly strong accents. Because of this I found it hard to like or empathize with them. ( other than the Godfrey Pickles character) Story was ok but predictable. Not my first Lisa Jewel novel but my least favourite.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Mesmerizing

This is my favourite book so far from Lisa Jewel. I loved the characters and the story: of how the past and the present came together. I was sad to finish as I truly loved this story.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

great story, love multiple timelines. a bit of romance, but nicely put into the world

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1 person found this helpful