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Lily Seabrooke
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Not Like Before Kindle Edition

by Lily Seabrooke (Author), Jacqueline Ramsden (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 221 ratings
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Lola never wanted to be on camera alongside an A-list star—but maybe Mackenzie is everything she needs.

History professor Lola Barnes never cared about celebrities, and filming alongside superstar actress Mackenzie Vale isn’t exactly on her bucket list. But there aren’t a lot of experts on Mackenzie’s hometown on the remote Celadon Isles, so when the studio filming a deep dive of Mackenzie’s backstory comes knocking, no isn’t really an option.

This exposé is the last thing Mackenzie wants to do. She’s had a good run as an actress without the ravenous press finding out she’s trans, but keeping it that way when the media is digging around in her childhood and with her gossipy family isn’t going to be easy. But it might be her last shot at her dream casting—and her agent doesn’t take no for an answer, anyway.

And it isn’t any easier when Mackenzie is immediately head-over-heels for the gorgeous professor they tapped to film with her. And it isn’t any easier when going back to the isles means confronting all the things Lola ran away from there over twenty years ago—and that the only thing comforting her is a bond with the last person she’d ever expect to fall for.

As a tight filming schedule, a nosy agent and a relentless director force Lola and Mackenzie to face the ghosts of their pasts, will they crumble in the face of everything they ran from once? Or can they find strength in one another and be more than they were before?


Not Like Before is a 90,000-word grumpy/sunshine celebrity romance with a trans woman lead set on a fictional island where everyone is at least a little gossipy, and is the second collaborative novel between Lily Seabrooke and Jacqueline Ramsden. Features a celebrity actress made of pure sunshine and a historian who’s secretly soft under the surface, a meddling ex, Mackenzie’s meddling family, Lola’s meddling friend who loves Mackenzie more than she loves life, and Mackenzie’s agent, who is, unsurprisingly, meddling. Content warnings for on-page sex, a toxic ex, parental abandonment, gambling addiction, implicit threats of outing, a panic attack, falling off a boat, Hope being a fangirl, Taron being smug, and of course, the granny bra incident.
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  1. Print length
    340 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 9, 2023
  5. File size
    1122 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CJRD2R1C
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (October 9, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 9, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1122 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 340 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 221 ratings

About the author

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Lily Seabrooke

Lily Seabrooke

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Lily Seabrooke is a lesbian, trans woman, and author of sapphic romance that stars food, because odds are, at any given time, she's hungry.

Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.​

You can find her on Twitter to be in the know on everything she’s doing, or you can sign up for her mailing list and be the first to get book announcements and free copies of her books before they release in exchange for honest reviews.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
221 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Writing, Great Story
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2024
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What an awesome book this is, with good writing throughout and a great story with amazing characters. I loved visiting this world. It's such fun when you can't put a book down because you just have to know what happens next. Ugh, and it's done so well!
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, Cute story
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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I am a sucker for the whole sapphic actress genre so this was a treat, especially with the whole trans secret thrown in!
Although I really did enjoy the story I was a little put off by the way Mackenzie portrayed herself as a bit of an airhead. You could tell that underneath she was a very intelligent woman although she came across as a bit of an innocent.
But aside from that I really did enjoy the story thoroughly!
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Carolyn G. Manuel
5.0 out of 5 stars The Professor and The Star
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2024
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Professor Lola Barnes is an expert on the Celadon Islands and culture. Mackenzie Vale is the brightest star in the movie industry and from Celadon. Lola is hired to be the geek who teaches Lola about her history. They both have secrets they want to keep but so much can go wrong. A wonderful story with lots of interesting details.
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Issy W
5.0 out of 5 stars loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023
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This was a really beautiful story, and I loved every moment of it. Mackenzie, a trans actress, pretty, successful, but not always completely clued in, and Lola, professor and researcher, very much a strong woman. They both have their secrets and hurtful pasts, but this is their story. Of how they were thrust together for a tv series on an island that is of importance to both of them, and everything that developed between them.

It's a story of love, acceptance, of finding and reaching for what you want, and dealing with nasty exes. It's heartwarming and heart wrenching, their relationship adorable, and Mackenzie is so cute. They really are beautiful together.

It's a wonderful tale that pulls you in, makes you laugh and care, and will leave you with beautiful memories afterwards.
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Jennabeebs79
4.0 out of 5 stars A Grumpy - Sunshine Delight
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023
I love it when two amazing authors collaborate and Lily Seabrooke and Jacqueline Ramsden have done an amazing job with, Not Like Before. Their style of writing is seamless and honestly, you'd never know that two people had written it. The dialogue is smooth and the descriptive details are vibrant. The fictional Celadon Isles are beautifully described and if it was a real place, I'd absolutely love to visit.

Mackenzie is an absolute ray of sunshine in an otherwise cloudy world. She is the type of person that everyone tends to gravitate to because she's compassionate, positive, and effortlessly adorable. She's upfront about her inability to understand sarcasm and figurative language which makes her even more endearing. Her relationship with her family is an integral part of who she is, even though she doesn't visit them often. Her brother, Hunter, is a fantastic addition to the overall narrative.

Lola's prickly demeanor is well-founded as we begin to learn more about her past. I enjoyed her character arc so much. Being a part of her transformation is really special. Honestly, Mackenzie's sunny disposition plays a major role in her arc and I loved watching her go from grumpy to vulnerable and honest about her feelings.

The added drama with Mackenzie's agent, Tanya, and Lola's ex, Taron adds another layer to the overall plot. Fortunately, their drama doesn't overshadow the relationship development between Mackenzie and Lola.

Not Like Before is a wonderful contemporary romance which I highly recommend.
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DrPfohl
5.0 out of 5 stars I fell in love with the lovers
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2023
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Such a great romance. Mackenzie is a dream come true, so sweet, the kind of heroine I love to root for. And Lola, in addition to her excellent name, is just the kind of stuffy professor I love to see blossom under the bright light of a loving soul like MacKenzie. I highly recommend this one. The supporting characters add a lot to the story, too.
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Sydney
3.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to like this more
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2024
I really wanted to like this book. It sounded so sweet and charming, and I loved having another trans MC to fall in love with. Unfortunately, the best I can say about this book is that it is ok.

I'm not really into the himbo vibe, so Mackenzie really put me off from the get go. Lola was kind of grumpy, but not really, so you don't get the full grumpy/sunshine trope. The romance moved way too fast for me. Most of the relationship from friendship to romance takes place over two weeks...by the end of which they have professed their love.

There was a third act breakup. It really shouldn't have been. Lola was completely justified in leaving the island the way she did, but there was no need to breakup the romance. And instead of talking out her concerns with Mackenzie, she talks to her manager instead. The breakup didn't last that long chronologically, but did last a decent amount of the book.

Ok, this stuff is probably just nitpicky...but it bothered me and didn't let me enjoy the book as much. The oldest stone bridge in the US is like 275 or so years old. They made the fictional island everyone is from, that seems to consider NY as "the mainland," over 700 years old. Like, maybe pick something more realistic? Nobody liked Taron, that's a given. But, I didn't like Tanya or Hunter really either. In fact, Tanya should have been fired multiple times just in this book. I also didn't like that they managed to have spice scenes without ever pleasuring the trans MC. That felt like a cop-out, especially from a trans author.
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Cjunkie2000
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Magical!
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2023
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An incredibly well paced story! I especially loved the realness of the character development. I mean, I could feel the trauma of Lola’s past and I could feel Mackenzie’s growing attachment to Lola. I must also comment on the masterfully done humor in the story. Hunter is an ace in the hole as far as side characters go. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a light hearted, well written queer romance.
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Top reviews from other countries

Client Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars If MacKenzie is a sap, so I am.
Reviewed in Canada on October 11, 2023
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It's a beautiful story about finding home, lost family, new family and of course love.

I read a lot of books about film industry and it's always break my heart the reality of it. The horror to have so little private life and too many people think they entitled to know and criticize public figures.

But mostly Makenzie and Lola were absolutely adorable together, theirs dynamics and how they transform in teenagers girls in love when together, it's just too cute.

This book is very funny (Hope, I love you) but also very emotional where I wanted to cry because really Makenzie is too good for this world! And I really hate Taron, I kill them multiples times in my heads, thank you very much. Gloria, Makenzie mum's is of cours the MVP of this book, I love her.

The end of the book is really good because I was very afraid where it's was going sometimes. So I totally recommend Not Like Before or any book by Lily Seabrooke, they are all great!
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Springa
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in Australia on November 9, 2023
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What a story! Excellent writing from two very talented authors with wonderful main and side characters. Enjoyed every page of it.
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Elena Abbott
5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and beautiful
Reviewed in Canada on October 15, 2023
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Definitely deserves a five star rating in my opinion. Heck, more if I could. It's so sweet and cute and wonderful and I loved the portrayal of Mackenzie as just a ball of sunshine while Lola is definitely less so.

Both characters do quite a bit of growing through the book and it's wonderful to see. And truthfully, seeing a wonderful trans woman like Mackenzie get to have the life she does was amazing for me.

I spent my Sunday reading this book and didn't put it down until I finished. 6 hours very, very well spent.
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