Before and After

The Vals

De: C.P. Cabaniss

Narrado por: Casey Montgomery

Can before and after become now?

Valancy has lived two lives: before and after. Before grief devastated her, she was bold and fearless, with boundless dreams. After, she pulled into herself, leaving that life and its people behind for one of routine and order that promised safety.

A decade later, her well-ordered life is thrown into disarray when Will, her best friend from before, shows up in her after. As the two reconnect, Valancy's old dreams begin to rekindle and she wonders if her before and after can become a better now.

©2023 C. P. Cabaniss (P)2025 C. P. Cabaniss

A sweet, wholesome romance around Christmas!

This was really cute! The audiobook was well narrated, and the story was fun. It was almost novella length, which isn’t a bad thing. It’s perfect if you’re looking for a wholesome Christmas themed romance.

So sweet and wholesome!

Oh my goodness!!! This is the cutest story ever!!!! I don’t usually read holiday or contemporary romance, but I fell in love with this story more every minute. It was so sweet and well paced!

Valancy Is a broken but beautiful character, and the love triangle was not overused or cringe. I really appreciate how the love triangle ended, it was very mature and respectful.

I love the guy she ended up with so much! They are a perfect pair and have a healthy, adorable relationship.

I love how every character, even the background ones, were given personalities. They were so great!! Especially Bill and Monica.

I was absolutely entranced by the narration, Casey Montgomery did a fantastic job! I Highly recommend listening to this audiobook!

Negatives: Nothing at all!

Romance: Yes!! It’s so cute! Just kissing and holding.
Magic: No. But this story was magic unto itself!
Gore: None
Cussing: None

tender and sweet story of loss and recovery with romance

This was the first book by C.P. Cabaniss that I've read/listened to and I'm glad I took a chance on her. This story is sweet and tender, full of grief, loss, and recovery. Sometimes you need old friends to help you find yourself again. The narrator was wonderful and easy to listen to. There are no swears or alcohol and level 1 kisses only. Third Person single POV. Present tense.

Wonderful story of Growth and love found again

Language🤐: Clean

Romance❤️‍🔥 : Kisses only

⚠️Loss of family member⚠️

Tropes/Micro Tropes
Day before Thanksgiving
• Second Chance Romance
• Friends to lovers
• Old Friends reunited
• Single POV
• Old and new meeting
• Finding dreams again

This story was a such a sweet story! I really enjoyed seeing Valancy's growth and coming back into herself! It was interesting to see the complex emotions that Valancy had to navigate as she is confronted with her pass when Will runs into her in the airport it has been a decade since she had seen him and she has created a whole new life separating her pass from her present. It was interesting to see her awaken to the fact of this separation of herself and learning to blend these parts of her life together. I found her quite relatable and fully enjoyed seeing how Valancy grew throughout this story! It's wonderful to see her learn how to dream and discover herself again! I feel like I could related in my own personal journey of discovering who I am even though it's very different than Valancy it made the story that much more enjoyable!

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of this story! It was really enjoyable to listen to the narrator did a wonderful job with it!

My personal reading is a 4.5 happily rounded up for Audible! Definitely a great story for those who love second chance romances and growth of wonderful characters!

Love this!🥰

this was such a sweet childhood friends to lovers story. 🥹
I love the way that Will inspired Val and made her feel at ease with him🥹💖 he was such a gentleman and sweetheart🥰 them meeting up (accidentally) and dancing at the airport was adorable🥹
the narration was amazing! the voice actor that a really good job on doing the voiceover🥹🫶🏼 it was clear and concise🩷

tropes:
✈️childhood friends to lovers
✈️travel photographer MMC
✈️single POV
✈️Christmas volunteering
✈️caring MMC
✈️themes of healing and finding something that you love doing

spice: kisses only (level 🌶️)
no swearing