Until I Met You

By Tari Faris

Book Overview

When she hears that the small town of Heritage, Michigan, is looking for a new librarian, Libby Kingsley jumps at the opportunity. Little did she know the library is barely more than a storage closet stuffed with dusty, outdated books. What the community really needs is a new building. But the only funds available are those being channeled into the new town square, and the landscape architect in charge of the project wants nothing to do with her plans.All Austin Williams wants to do is get the town square project finished so he can do right by the family business and then extricate himself from the town that reveres the brother who cost him so much. But the local media and the town's new librarian seem to be conspiring against him at every turn. Will the determined bookworm find her way into his blueprints--and possibly even his heart?Novelist Tari Faris invites you back to the small town with a big heart in this second book in the Restoring Heritage series.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800736486
• ISBN13: 9780800736484
• Release Date: September 2020
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

fantastic contemporary romance

"Forgiveness is never deserved. It's a gift. If you earn a gift, it's not a gift anymore - it's a wage... Unforgiveness breeds anger and bitterness. I don't want that for me. And I don't want it for them. Because that kind of bitterness spills all over those close to you." What an incredible novel. Until I Met You is one of the best summer reads of 2020! Tari Faris' second novel will make you laugh, dance with joy, sob with the heartbreaks yet remain hopeful as two couples find themselves and each other in a small Michigan town called Heritage. This book has everything a reader could ask for in an inspirational contemporary romance book - fun antics and great banter between Austin and Libby, achingly beautiful friendship with regrets between Nate and Olivia, outside forces pulling the brothers Austin and Nate apart, broken pasts that need to be forgiven, and grace that covers all. You will never want to leave Heritage once you step inside this town and get to know the people who make Heritage what it is. I would recommend reading the prequel novella and the first book in the series to acquaint yourself with the cast of characters; it will make for a richer reading experience. Nate's brother Austin is in town just to rebuild the town square as a landscape architect so that he can resuscitate his family's business. Luke's sister Libby becomes Austin's next door neighbor and is also new to town as the town librarian hired to resuscitate the library. Their first encounter starts on the wrong foot and their interactions go further sideways every time they meet. Austin's grumpiness and Libby's anxiety both hide their past hurts but their softer and sweeter sides emerge as their relationship blossoms. Nate, the pastor in town, and Olivia, a journalist whose roots are in Heritage, are not newcomers to the series but their story finally plays out in this book. Nate's struggle with his past and truly accepting forgiveness and Olivia's frustration with finding peace and fulfillment in love and career are so real, raw, and heart-wrenching. I received a copy of the book from Revell/Baker Publishing Group and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

I love this book!

*Sighs dreamily* This book made me want to pack my bags and move to Heritage. Until I Met You was amazing! I loved the characters! Each one was so unique and loveable. Libby was so real and relatable. The romance was sweet and had me melting. The plot was great. I really enjoyed everything about this book. There was great faith content! God used this book to speak to me. I love how He can use fiction to speak to us. It was clean and just so amazing! Tari did an amazing job! I love her writing style and can't wait to read more by her!

forgiveness

Forgiveness. That's what this story is about. The town of Heritage is a special town with unique characters. The main story is about Austin Williams who comes to town to landscape the town square and in the process meets Libby Kingsley the town's new librarian. They both have relationships in their pasts that they must overcome in order to trust each other. There is a relationship between brothers that needs healing along with forgiveness. One of my favorite parts to this series is Otis the town hippo (a statue). A very enjoyable story with a strong spiritual message.

Romance With Lots of Drama

Libby moved to Heritage to begin a new job as the librarian and have a fresh start after a traumatic event. At the same time, Pastor Nate’s brother, Austin, moves to Heritage as well to begin landscaping work and to help keep a close eye on their father. Soon these two spend more time together and begin to work together to get the library opened. Meanwhile, Olivia and Nate keep dancing around the idea of a relationship, but secrets of Nate’s past creep up on him straining his friendship with Olivia. In some ways we can all relate to each of these four characters and the conflict they go through. Until I Met You will leave you cheering, crying happy tears, and rooting for each of these characters until the very end. I graciously received an advance reader copy of this book from Revell for review. All opinions are my own.

Love this series!

I've loved Tari Faris since her first prequel novel, P.S. Goodbye and her first in the Restoring Heritage series, You Belong to Me. And Until I Met You is a wonderful continuation of the stories of people in Heritage, Michigan. This book actually tells the stories of two couples, Austin and Libby who are both new to Heritage and Nate and Olivia who live and work there. I remembered Nate as the pastor in the previous book so I felt like I knew him and was more anxious to hear his story. The theme of forgiveness is a huge part of this story. Austin really struggles with this, his anger and his need for perfection. Nate has a history of which he has not forgiven himself. And these two are brothers with a lot of other things going on in their lives! Tari has a wonderful way of writing clean, inspirational fiction. Her books flow and are easy to read. Recommended!

Another great read by Tari Faris!

Until I Met You by Tari Faris Book 2 in the Restoring Heritage series Rating: 4/5 Tari Faris definitely knows how to portray such heartfelt characters with their own strengths and weaknesses. The reader is once again drawn into the small town charm of Heritage and it's fun to "see" characters from the first book. For me, this story was not only about romance but it was about the relationship between two brothers. Austin temporarily moves to Heritage to do a landscaping job but refuses to live with his brother, Nate, who already lives there and is the local pastor. Austin meets Libby, his neighbor who also just arrived to become the new librarian. The two have their own pasts to deal with and overcome in order to move on with their lives. Nate is battling his own demons of the past and finds it hard to give himself a chance at love with Olivia, Libby's new roommate. Olivia is tired of waiting for Nate to make up his mind about them and tries to find a journalism job out of state. Can these two couples find a way to work together and find forgiveness and love? These intertwined love stories were masterfully written and the depth of brother's characters was very well done. The incorporation of faith and forgiveness was vital for the characters and I was impressed with how the author dealt with the effects of holding onto unforgiveness. My thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Read Review Rejoice's Review of Until I Met You!

I was in love with this book before I even knew what it was going to be about. Before I knew the title, and before I knew who it would be about. From the book's description, I expected "Until I Met You" it seemed that the story would focus on Libby and Austin, and I was pleasantly surprised that we also get to follow Nate's and Olivia's story and we finally get to see what happened with them and where they go from "You Belong With Me" which I loved! "Until I Met You" has so many things I love … Broken guys, brothers who are at odds and must figure that out, two girls who become fast friends, a librarian, and so so many more things. After finding several new favorite books this year, I have quite the list to break down to find my top five or ten favorites this year … And, this one? Well, it parked itself in the first place. I love, love, love the changes we see in Austin and Libby, they grow so much and their romance is very well done. There is a bit of kissing that isn't graphic, just a warning, there is kissing. Now, I've said I love this book, I want to be clear that this book is clean, but, it deals with hard topics. Warning!!! Spoilers!!! Warning!!! Nate's sins come to light. Since we knew that the tattoed pastor was a former bad boy we could expect this, I just want to say that I am impressed with how well Mrs. Faris handled Nate's past. Among which was that he had a son with an old girlfriend, that he didn't know about since the mom said she would get an abortion. This is clean enough and done in a way that my younger sisters were allowed to read it since the consequences of their sins are shown in a light that can help young readers to learn from the characters’ mistakes. I'll even go so far as to say that this can be a good book for moms and daughters (12 and up) to read together as a learning experience. I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book to come out … It is so far away! I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.