The Man I Loved Before
07 August 2025Imprint: Black & White Publishing
Synopsis
Some people go their whole lives without finding the one, but Jenny and Joe always knew they were meant to be. Until they weren't. A freak accident is all it takes to tear them apart.
But Jenny has a secret. Joe never left. He's spent the past five months visiting her whenever she's alone, seemingly just as real - if a little less solid - as ever.
Desperate to spend every waking minute with him, Jenny increasingly isolates herself from her friends and family. But everything starts to change when she meets Luca, the guy now living in her and Joe's old flat.
It's certainly not love at first sight - in fact, they can't stand to be in the same room as each other - but as circumstances throw them together time and time again, Jenny is forced to rejoin the world, and it's not long before she finds herself having fun - something she hasn't been able to do for a very long time.
And then the realisation hits: the more time she spends with Luca, the less Joe appears.
Jenny knows she has a choice to make.
But how will she ever let go of the man she loved before?
But Jenny has a secret. Joe never left. He's spent the past five months visiting her whenever she's alone, seemingly just as real - if a little less solid - as ever.
Desperate to spend every waking minute with him, Jenny increasingly isolates herself from her friends and family. But everything starts to change when she meets Luca, the guy now living in her and Joe's old flat.
It's certainly not love at first sight - in fact, they can't stand to be in the same room as each other - but as circumstances throw them together time and time again, Jenny is forced to rejoin the world, and it's not long before she finds herself having fun - something she hasn't been able to do for a very long time.
And then the realisation hits: the more time she spends with Luca, the less Joe appears.
Jenny knows she has a choice to make.
But how will she ever let go of the man she loved before?
Details
07 August 2025352 pages
9781785307942Imprint: Black & White Publishing
Reviews
This is such a heartwarming debut and the perfect summer read. Jenny and Joe were meant to be so when Joe dies in an accident Jenny is truly heartbroken, but what she doesn't tell anyone is that she still sees Joe but only when she's alone. Then she meets Luca. Will she allow herself to rejoin the world especially when she realises that the more time she spends with Luca the less Joe appears. Wonderful!Nina Pottell, Prima magazine
The Man I Loved Before captivated me from the start, somehow breaking my heart and mending it all at once. There is an emotional depth to this story-both in friendship and in love-that stays with you long after you've turned the final page.Claire Kershaw, author of Head First
A warm, emotional, witty book with a heartbreaking premise that totally delivers. Two gorgeous love interests, real depth, and a protagonist who you want to go for cocktails with - what more could you want?Becky Hunter, author of Meet Me When My Heart Stops
A heart-wrenching page turner with characters you instantly fall in love with.Emily Maple, author of Falling For You