The Girl I Was Before is Ginger Scott's eighth novel. I have read every single one of them from the first one, in order, right down to this one. Allow me to share with you, something that is highly unlikely to happen between myself and another author: Ginger Scott is the ONLY author who has earned FIVE STARS from me on EVERY other novel she's penned. This one is NO different.
The third and final (we think) installment in The Falling Series, this is the story of Paige and Houston. From the first two books in The Falling Series, fans will recall that Paige is Cass' fraternal twin sister and that they are absolutely nothing alike. When we first meet Paige all the way back in This Is Falling, the story of Nate and Rowe, she is one of Rowe's roommates along with her sister Cass.
We learn that she's the "sorority type" that she likes "hot" athletes who are preferably fraternity brothers and, we also find out that she's a HUGE snob. She goes through the second book in the series, You and Everything After, the story of Nate's brother Ty and Paige's sister Cass, as the same young woman and we find that she's the same at the beginning of this novel as well.
But this time around, Paige has a lot to make up for in regard to her sister Cass (sorry, you have to read the first two to know what that is). Paige also finds out something about her sorority sister and uses social media to her advantage. Or is it to her advantage since technology can be used right back? Even if it's NOT TRUE.
Enter Houston Orr (tribute to Bobby Orr!!!!!). Houston is hardly even close to the type of guy Paige likes. Until she finds herself wanting to like him. And then she finds herself confused because Houston wasn't what she had planned for herself. I fell for Houston almost immediately after being introduced to him. He's tall, nice looking, he's intelligent, and while he's got a nice body and is athletic, he is not an athlete. At first, it might seem he's the pushover, nerd-geek kind of guy. Frankly, I happen to love nerd-geek type of guys. In fact, I married one. Houston may be a nerd-geek type of guy but, he's no pushover. Well, one of the characters in this novel DOES have Houston wrapped around a finger. But again, I can't tell you about that either. But it's worth reading just to find out about it.
Houston is a refreshing character and a much different type of guy than what some of us may be accustomed to in a Ginger Scott novel. Like Mason Street from How We Deal With Gravity, Houston is a little bit older, working, and has other responsibilities he needs to take care of on a daily basis. Houston also has a lot more baggage than many of the other male characters we tend to see in Ms. Scott's novels. However, you're going to love and enjoy all of these differences.
And when Paige's and Houston's worlds collide? The Earth moves!!! The sizzle was hot right away too. These two don't peak and come back down either. Once they begin to rise with one another, they keep on going.
When you get to halfway through this novel, you will wonder what you are going to do when you're finished the other half of it. I sure did. That's never happened to me before. Another Ginger Scott first for me.
And finally, because if I don't wrap it up, I'll just go on and on about this novel, finally, I have to thank Ms. Scott BEYOND just providing me with an advanced reading copy in trade for an honest review. I have to thank her double for allowing me to get my hot little hands on this for a much needed brain break from the hardest college class I've ever taken in my life. And that's after a Bachelor's degree, Nursing school Part One and an endless amount of certifications over the years. I literally wrote to Ms. Scott and told her "I NEED Paige!" THAT was one of the better decisions I've made while taking a class. And I'm convinced I'm getting an "A" because of hard work but also because she gave me what I needed to breathe. This novel wasn't just an amazing read, it was a REVIVAL!
The Girl I Was Before is available right NOW! You can order it pretty much everywhere. I would highly recommend that you order this one and grab up the first two, start reading now, and savor every single second you have with all of these characters.
As for the ending, well, I can't tell you that either. I can say that you will be pleased with it. And, I can tell you to read the Acknowledgements after you've read this novel. Ms. Scott talks about what she may or may not do in the future so don't dare skip it.
