When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams | Dual Timeline Romance
When You Loved Me is my first ever book by Beatriz Williams, but she may now have me hooked on dual historical/contemporary romances!
Review of When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams
I have never ready anything by Beatriz Williams, but as I was researching summer romance books I was intrigued by the seaside setting and pirate drama of When You Loved Me.
Well. I found out SO many things.
First, this is one of a series of interconnected books set on Winthrop Island, which (I think) is based on Fishers Island in the Long Island sound.
Next, When You Loved Me is a hybrid historical/contemporary romance. With pirates, two romances and a lot of mystery and drama. Ordinarily I would say that this is too much for one book, but Williams is a truly masterful writer who managed to draw me into ALL of it.
Lucy Cooper is recently widowed and reluctantly returns to Winthrop Island with her young daughter after her estranged father disappears. She’s immediately plunged into DRAMA: a debt her father owed that could take all the house proceeds, the unexpected appearance of the boy she loved as a teenager, and a story of pirate treasure that enthralls Lucy’s young daughter, Punkin.
Can Lucy recover from losing her husband, save her father’s house, keep the precocious Punkin out of trouble, and avoid falling in love with Ben again, all while telling herself that the pirate treasure has to be just a legend? You’ll have to read more to find out…
When You Loved Me had:
- A story within a story that included Lucy’s narrative and also the journal of Hepzibah Winthrop
- A quirky New England island setting
- Themes of healing from heartbreak and forgiveness
- Publication date: June 23 2026 by Ballantine. Thanks so much to them for the advance review copy.
When You Loved Me is perfect For:
- Book clubs who are bickering over a historical novel vs a contemporary one. Or clubs where half the people want to read something serious and the other half wants romance.
- Readers who love a juicy, complex, immersive story that leans toward women’s fiction but also has an emotionally complex romance.
If you’re looking for more summery romance books:
My Master Post on New Summer Romance Books for 2026 has all the top summer romance books you need to know about. Be sure to check it out and download my ultimate Summer Romance Reading Guide!
I also have two summer quizzes for you to take, my Find Your Perfect Summer Trope Quiz and my Choose Your Summer Romance Adventure Quiz. Take them both and get book recommendations based on your answers!
- My Master Summer Romance 2026 Post – all the summer books in one place!
- My Find Your Summer Adventure quiz!
- Grab My Summer Romance Reading Guide with a checklist of ALL the summer romances I could find, plus a bingo card, a coloring reading tracker and more!
