When You Knew by Jamie Beck

An unlikely couple must decide what truly defines family.

Gentry Cabot’s rebellious life comes to a screeching halt when a one-night stand leads to a sobering new reality: motherhood. Exhausted and overwhelmed, the former wild child struggles to raise an infant on her own. After a lifetime of feeling like the odd Cabot out, Gentry knows that what her son needs most is family. For his sake, she plans to rebuild bridges with them, but first she needs a little help on the home front.

Humanitarian worker Ian Crawford has devoted his life to service. Forced to temporarily return stateside, he’s eager to head back to Haiti to expand the nonprofit he just founded in his late father’s honor. He can’t do that without money, so when Gentry offers a hefty paycheck for a short-term gig as a live-in nanny, he can’t afford to say no. Ian expects to deal with a barrage of privileged problems. What he doesn’t expect is how quickly being a makeshift father transforms him.

Despite his growing attachment to Gentry and her child, Ian still has his dreams, and Gentry wants a full-time dad for her son. When the baby’s father reenters the picture, will Gentry and Ian embrace the family they’ve formed or end up worlds apart?

Book 3
Buy Links

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~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance

Gentry has always been on the outside, looking in. She was envious of her half siblings and even though they have never had a close relationship, she has always tried to get their approval. She has also sought the approval of her mother – something she has wanted her whole life. When Gentry winds up pregnant from a fling, everyone in her family seems to have an opinion. Gentry knows that she has to step up and be the mother that she never had. When reality sets in and she realizes how difficult it is, she knows that her family will be all too willing to say, "I told you so."

When Colton needs to see a doctor, at the behest of her sister-in-law, Gentry allows for Ian, an EMT that Sarah knows, to come and check Colton. That starts this strange relationship between Ian, a person who has dedicated his life to serving others, and Gentry, someone who was given a lot, but never the thing she truly wanted.

Ian judges Gentry's lifestyle right away. Having grown up under the direction that luxury is something to be ashamed of, he has a difficult time even sleeping on a bed. What he begins to realize, when he spends more time with Gentry is that even though she might have a luxurious life in things, her life is poor in love and relationships. When Gentry questions Ian about his reasons why he has lived his life in service, Ian is not quite willing to look in on himself – he's not liking what he's concluding.

This is a story about learning that sometimes, you have to do what is right for you and your own family. Sometimes, seeking approval will only result in disappointment and finally, standing up for yourself is absolutely necessary. Ian and Gentry's journey was a push-pull of grey areas and in the end, both have to decide if being together is truly what will be best for themselves and each other.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the Cabot series, and each builds wonderfully on the last. For that reason, I would definitely recommend that you read them in order. Here we get Gentry’s story now that she is a new mum. Having changed her mind and kept her baby, she is always worrying that she did not do the best for her son.

Gentry has so many hang-ups from her childhood, many of which seem entirely justified I must say! Her half siblings are so together, and her parents run Cabot Tea with one of them. She feels obliged to work there too, but it is not what she wants from life, especially now she is utterly in love with her baby son. When fate decrees that she needs a temporary nanny, Ian comes to mind. He is soon to leave for Haiti, but as an EMT he will care well for Colt.

Ian has been following his father’s dream for decades, and can see no way past it, even though his feelings for Gentry (and Colt) have grown as he lives with them. There is just too much he still has to do in Haiti.

As these two people try and work out what is going on between them, other forces come into play. I love the chaos and yet they rely on each other for calm. We also get an update on Sara and Hunter, and get to enjoy Colby and Alec’s wedding. Gorgeous new installment, thank you.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
Gentry's decision to keep her son has caused waves in her family and she doesn't know if there's any calm in this storm. She's determined to be a better mother than her own, to give Colton everything she didn't have.

From the outside looking in, people would wonder what that might be. Gentry grew up in a wealthy family, with a mother and father who are leaders in the business world and two successful siblings. What she didn't have was the attention she craved from her mother, the closeness that she's seen other brothers and sisters have or the proud looks she's seen fathers give their daughters. Instead, she's been criticized, overlooked, and talked down to.

Her greatest fear is being a bad mother, so when her sister-in-law suggests that Colton needs to see a doctor, she gives in and allows Sara to call the EMT who helped deliver Colt. Ian arrives and suggests that she call the doctor. When the doctor confirms an ear infection, Gentry feels like a failure until she hires Ian as the nanny until Colt is well enough to go to daycare.

Ian is only in town to collect his things from his ex-fiancée before heading back to Haiti. He works in disaster areas, carrying on his father's legacy of helping others. When he agrees to help Gentry, its only to save enough money so that he can purchase a plane ticket back to Haiti to continue his relief work.

As he gets to know Gentry and Gentry asks questions about his own childhood, does he realize that he is not so different from her after all.

Also Available in the Cabot Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Before I Knew post.

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our All We Knew post.

National bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than one million copies. In addition to being named a 2017 Booksellers’ Best Award finalist, her books have also hit Heavy.com’s Top 10 Romance Novels of 2015 and been selected as a Woman’s World Book Club pick. Critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly (including a starred review), and Booklist have alternatively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking, and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.

Fans can sign up for her newsletter on her website, which includes a fun extras page with photos, videos, and playlists. She also loves interacting with everyone on Facebook

Connect with Jamie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of When You Knew (Cabot #3) by Jamie Beck to read and review.

All We Knew by Jamie Beck

For Hunter and Sara, getting married was easy. It’s staying together that’s the true test of love…

Hunter Cabot deeply loves two things: the international tea company he’s helped his father build, and his wife, Sara. From the moment he first saw her wide smile on their college campus years ago, Hunter fell hard. Yet now, with other family members pushing to sell the thriving business and Sara grieving their failure to start a family, he’s suddenly facing the crushing loss of both.

The relentless ambition that Sara once admired in Hunter is now driving them apart. Each missed doctor’s appointment, neglected dinner date, and family squabble accentuates their differing priorities. Still, Sara struggles to create the home life they’d envisioned, until unsettling developments—both personal and professional—push them to the breaking point.

When love is put to the ultimate test, can Hunter and Sara stop fighting each other long enough to fight for their marriage?

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Rekindling Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This is a story that is wrought with emotion. I cried more than once during this book and it was an emotional rollercoaster.

Hunter and Sara have been married for a while and are ready for their next adventure. Sara's desire to be a mom is overwhelming for her. Unfortunately, they are met with infertility. It's crushing for both of them, but Sara is much more outwardly upset about the outcomes.

Meanwhile, Hunter is trying to figure out why his father is going back on a promise to keep their business in the family. He's frustrated, hurt, and only knows that his legacy is in jeopardy.

Throw in Hunter's crazy family dynamic, and Sara can't help but be the calming voice for all. The dynamic between Hunter and Sara is strained throughout this story and it's like watching a car wreck, but unable to look away.

When Sara finds something that she's passionate about, she throws herself in to it. However, disappointment is again shadowing her life.

Hunter is under more and more pressure to keep his company in the family, but his father becomes ill and then it's a struggle to show loyalty to his father or ensure that the company stays in the family. His dad's new wife and daughter, Gentry, throw in their own drama and you can't help but feel sorry for Hunter. His family is a mess.

Feelings are hurt, people taken for granted, and lives are upended. This book puts you through an emotional ringer and in the end, it's up to Sara and Hunter to figure out whether or not love truly is enough. Sometimes, love just isn't enough.

I hope that Gentry gets a book, as she seems to need some grounding. This was an emotional read, but it was well developed and kept you on your toes.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
This book was a true and honest look at relationships and how, at times, love does not conquer all. I thought the emotions portrayed by both Hunter and Sara were genuine and real. Each person had a unique view of how others’ behavior affected them, yet not seeming to realize that their behavior could be hurtful to the other.

Seeing Hunter and Sara work through their problems, the realness of it all, came through loud and clear.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars of moving, emotional, and complicated real life

This is the second book in the series. I would definitely recommend that you read them in order, as you will understand the family dynamics better, and meet Hunter and Sara before the story focusses on them. It is also a very good emotional read about Colby's past, present, and future.

What Ms. Beck has a great talent for as a writer, is getting under the skin of the lead characters, and laying their emotions open to the reader. Every layer gets unpeeled and somehow neither Hunter nor Sara come out on the right or wrong side. They just have such a different viewpoint and have lost the ability to empathise with the other. They are protective, nurturing, and clearly love each other, but somehow they have lost the ability to communicate their own needs, wants, and desires. It is beautifully written, and deeply saddening as their difficulties pile up and start to bury them.

All of the family members matter in these books, both in the family tea business and their relationships, and have significant impact on how the stories progress. The exchanges can be really valuable, but also really painful. After reading the book, I was quite relieved not to have such complicated interactions with my kin!

At the heart of this book is a love story between two people which has lasted fourteen years, and as it hits a really rough patch, they need to dig deep, and work at continuing to be a loving, happy couple. The struggle is real, the resolution is hard won on both sides, and the outcome is perfect. Thank you, Ms. Beck.

Also Available in the Cabot Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

For reviews & more info, check out our Before I Knew post.

National bestselling author Jamie Beck’s realistic and heartwarming stories have sold more than one million copies. In addition to being named a 2017 Booksellers’ Best Award finalist, her books have also hit Heavy.com’s Top 10 Romance Novels of 2015 and been selected as a Woman’s World Book Club pick. Critics at Kirkus, Publishers Weekly (including a starred review), and Booklist have alternatively called her work “smart,” “uplifting,” and “entertaining.” In addition to writing novels, she enjoys dancing around the kitchen while cooking, and hitting the slopes in Vermont and Utah. Above all, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.

Fans can sign up for her newsletter on her website, which includes a fun extras page with photos, videos, and playlists. She also loves interacting with everyone on Facebook

Connect with Jamie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Google+  ~  Instagram

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of All We Knew (Cabot #2) by Jamie Beck to read and review.

Before I Knew by Jamie Beck

Author Jamie Beck returns with an engrossing series about family, friendship, and starting over. In this first Cabot novel, a legacy of secrets tests old friends seeking a second chance at life and love.

On the second anniversary of her husband’s suicide, Colby Cabot-Baxter is ready to let go of her grief and the mistakes made during her turbulent marriage. Her fresh start comes in the form of A CertainTea, the restaurant she’s set to open along Lake Sandy, Oregon, with help from her family. But when her executive chef quits just weeks before the grand opening, Colby is pressured to hire old family friend Alec Morgan. His award-winning reputation could generate buzz, but their friendship has withered since her husband’s reckless dare cost Alec’s brother his life.

Distracted by guilty secrets concerning the tragedy that changed his and Colby’s lives, Alec self-destructed and lost his famed restaurant. With his career in tatters, he’s determined to use this opportunity to redeem his reputation and to help the woman he’s loved from afar find happiness again.

But secrets have a way of coming out. When Alec’s do, they might destroy the new life he and Colby have rebuilt together.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆☆
An emotional and heart wrenching story from the first page to the last. Ms. Beck brought together well-developed characters that told a story in a heartfelt and compelling manner.

The character of Colby is one of a woman trying to find her place in the world after the tragic death of one of her closest childhood friends and her husband's suicide. Her emotional state is fragile at the beginning, but you can see her slowly regain her confidence and strength of purpose. She doesn't always get it right, but even failing is part of learning.

Alec is the brother of her childhood friend and has been secretly in love with Colby since they were teens. He harbors guilt about the accident that took his brother and the circumstances leading up to the death of Colby's husband. His childhood left him emotionally scarred in such a way that he tends to accept blame for wrongs that others laid at his doorstep, warranted or not.

Each character in this book shows the great depth of soul and heart as Colby and Alec try to piece together their lives again.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This is a tragic story with a hopeful outcome. Colby, Joe, Mark, and Alec were all in this together. However, ego, mental health, and hurt feelings come into play and create a mess of a situation for all involved.

Colby is trying to move on with her life under the crushing guilt over the suicide of her husband, Mark. This was just after the tragic and accidental death of her good childhood friend, Joe. There was so much loss in such a short amount of time that it left Colby kind of broken and battered.

Alec lost his brother in that tragic accident, but he also lost the ability to rectify the hurts of the past. Despite the fact that his father and brother were constantly belittling him, Alec knows that it's time to come home and work – his mother misses him and she's suffered enough.

When Colby and Alec find themselves thrust into each other's business, feelings develop and truths are revealed. Colby will stand up for Alec and Alec will need to learn that sometimes, the risk is worth it.

This is filled with emotions, family drama, and redemption on several levels.

I can't wait to see what happens next!


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first book in a new series and sets up a lot of possible stories for future installments – I cannot wait!

Here is revealed the tragic background to the Morgan and Cabot family rift – and the secrets that have been hidden in an attempt to reduce the pain of others. Of course, in doing that there are lies and secrets which will come out and have further devastating impact on the grieving. But there is hope and new beginnings are being sought – Colby has left her legal career behind to open a restaurant, and her brother Hunter sends her their one-time friend, Alec, to be her executive chef.

I loved the side stories of the opening of the restaurant, of the crazy family dynamics, and the larger than life characters that we will no doubt get to see in future books. But, inevitably, I loved Alec and Colby most of all. They are so damaged, yet so keen to help the other. I feel we get far more of an understanding of Alec and his views, until towards the end, when Colby gains her freedom from her shadows and makes the moves to really move her life forward.

Thank you, Ms. Beck.

Jamie Beck is a former attorney with a passion for inventing stories about love and redemption. In addition to writing novels, she also pens articles on behalf of a local nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth and strengthening families. Fortunately, when she isn’t tapping away at the keyboard, she is a grateful wife and mother to a very patient, supportive family.

Connect with Jamie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Before I Knew (Cabot #1) by Jamie Beck to read and review.