Who We Were Before

By: Leah Mercer

Narrated by: Simon Mattacks, Henrietta Meire

Zoe knows that it wasn't really her fault. Of course it wasn't. But if she'd just grasped harder, run faster, lunged quicker, she might have saved him. And Edward doesn't really blame her, though his bitter words at the time still haunt her, and he can no more take them back than she can halt the car that killed their son.

Two years on, every day is a tragedy. Edward knows they should take healing steps together, but he's tired of being shut out. For Zoe, it just seems easier to let grief lead the way.

A weekend in Paris might be their last hope for reconciliation, but mischance sees them separated before they've even left Gare du Nord. Lost and alone, Edward and Zoe must try to find their way back to each other - and find their way back to the people they were before. But is that even possible?

©2016 Leah Mercer. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Amazing!!

I couldn't put it down! I listened to it in one day. A beautiful story.

Very Emotional story

This is the moving story of a couple who are trying to cope with their son's tragic death. The story is told using two alternating points of view of each of the parents. Most of the story takes place during a weekend trip to Paris, with flashbacks telling the story of how they met and married. Its’s heartbreaking and intense, because we are able to understand and sympathise with the characters' suffering, motivations and actions. I enjoyed the audio version very much. The reading of both characters was excellent.

Finished too fast

The main reason for the headline is the performance by Ms. Meire. While her voice had the urgency, emotions, despair, and excitement needed, she read far too fast, with not enough dramatic pauses. This almost negated the necessary feelings. It's like she already has the female character's personality and experiences and she's just reading them off as fast as she can. Simon Mattacks, on the other hand, was great as ever. He could actually have read both roles.
The book itself was well developed and engaging, switching off from one character or time to another. I was satisfied with the ending. The story was quite realistic, with every hope built up and then dashed, with characters missing one another's changing views of the relationship,

I wanted more

I wish the ending told us what the characters decided to do. The story was great and how the characters reacted was very true to life. I highly recommend.

Beautiful story, superb narration

For someone who normally reads science fiction, I'm not sure why I started this story, despite its great reviews. I am incredibly happy that I listened to this beautiful love story. I found myself staying up much later than I should have because I was desperate to know what was going to happen next. Even to the last few minutes I still wasn't certain how the story of Zoe and Edward was going to end.

The story is written from the viewpoint of the the two main characters, one chapter from Zoe's perspective, the next chapter from Edward's. The narrators British accents were perfect for the story and the characters they were portraying.

Well done! I think even guys would enjoy this book! It is not the typical woman's love story.