Sophie Cousens does it again! I love an author who can flawlessly go from past to present and weave a story. It was fun, yet had depth, and kept me intrigued. It took me a bit to get into, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Be warned though, it isn't as rom-com as I anticipated, and has some depth to it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“Nothing’s over until you stop fighting for it.”

I struggled with where to rate this one for a while. I enjoyed it, but I felt like a lot of what happened was completely unnecessary, or shouldn’t have been emphasized as much, for the way the book ended.

In this we follow Audrey, who is getting married to Josh. The book takes place the day before, during, and after the wedding date. It also alternates chapters of being in the present and past. Audrey begins to have second thoughts about marrying Josh when someone from her past reappears, and that’s where the story starts.

I was looking for a quick romance read and thought this would be it, but it wasn’t. Not much really happened so at times it was difficult to keep interest, and the big “climax” didn’t happen until the end. It was a lot of build up for 75% of the book. Also, Josh was way too forgiving of Audrey during one scene.

The cast of side characters was great. They were lively and funny. Audrey and Josh however fell flat and I honestly didn’t really like either of them. Josh was kind of a prick actually and Audrey too reckless and immature.

The best thing about this book is the accurate representation of anxiety and panic attacks. As someone who has those, I thought the author did a great job of writing about them and the true experience that individuals have when they go through them. I also liked the writing style as well, but the anxiety representation is what really got me, hence why this book is rated a little higher than I planned. It’s also a common theme throughout the whole story and isn’t just in one specific area or scene.

“If you’re going to commit to anything in this life, shouldn’t it be love?”

TW: anxiety, panic attacks, sexual harassment, infidelity

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

This book gave me so many warm fuzzies and I genuinely had no idea how it was going to end up. One of my favorite books of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Before I Do is laid out in an alternating fashion - flipping between the present & the past - showing readers how the characters got to the places they did in their lives. I have to commend the author for her attention to detail on this flipping back and forth, that must’ve been A LOT of work & she laid it out beautifully! 😌 The characters were fairly well developed as well, which is a definite “plus” for this book.

However, generally speaking, this book fell flat for me. It seemed to be a lot of random details that sometimes mattered in the grand scheme of things and other times didn’t. The pace was fairly slow as well, which added to my lower rating of the book overall.

As always, just because it wasnt my favorite, doesn’t mean it’s will be the same for you! Everybody is different!

This book was so good!! I really just loved every second of it. Throughout the book I was so nervous to see how it would end since I love Josh so much, but I was very happy to see that it didn’t end easily either. I loved all the side characters and the funny things that happened at the wedding. It was just humorous and original and I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed the characters , the plot and the setting. The question facing the main character is ingenious and the author really did an excellent job working through the many obstacles she will face to get to the answers. #BeforeIDo #SophieCousens your go to for romance !

I enjoyed this rom-com! I was pleasantly surprised that it had some solid emotional depth to it, with Audrey spending the day leading up to her wedding reckoning with her past trauma and how it has affected her current view on relationships. This book has some extremely complicated timelines and the chapters alternate between different times in Audrey’s past and her present. It was masterfully done, though, and I had no problem keeping up with it. The only reason this was a 4 star for me rather than a 5 is that toward the middle I was feeling some severe second-hand embarrassment and a lot of “where is this going? Why are all of the things happening to everyone terrible?” There is some good comic relief to break up those feelings, though.

Before I Do was a really cute read. I really enjoyed the then and now perspectives. I was rooting for Fred until I read the full history of Audrey and Josh’s relationship. Josh was such a great character and I adored him.

I found myself a bit irritated with Audrey because she just couldn’t seem to let herself be happy. She did have some past trauma and her mom definitely did not set a great example for her.

Overall, I was happy with the ending and gave this one 4🌟 out of 5.

REVIEW FOR BEFORE I DO

4.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam and Sophie Cousens for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my favorite Sophie Cousens book. I enjoyed her previous two, but this one really resonated with me- maybe because I just got married so the memories were fresh, but I know how easy it was to have nerves that day. And your mind can play tricks for sure- and while I had no doubts about the person I was marrying, I can understand how it's possible, especially when you've been holding a torch for someone else for 6 years.

I really enjoyed Audrey's arc- I can tell she is super privileged but I could also tell that she wanted to grow and was truly remorseful for her actions. I also liked how the chapters were alternating, written in opposing timelines that covered the past and the present. I also felt terrible for Josh, and I think it's a testament to the writer and her ability to make you feel so many different things. I also feel like a different storyline could have been picked and had the same effect than the one that happened, but that's just me.

Overall, it was a beautiful story of appreciating what you have vs. coveting what you want. While the journey may not have been by cup of tea, the writing was beautiful and it sucked me in.

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. The first 75% felt like a slog, the last 25% redeemed this from being a 2 star (except that epilogue which was just unnecessary and saccharine and almost took it back down to 2). This is not a romance or a rom-com, IMO. Probably better classified as women's fiction or new adult fiction.

I did not connect with Audrey at all. I really struggled with her because she definitely had dysfunction and loads of mommy & daddy issues, but what really bothered me was that she seemed to be fully aware of her issues, and also fully aware she's making some really questionable choices and self-sabatoging. So much of this could have been resolved/prevented if she only had a couple of conversations. I think I'm just not a fan of the miscommunication trope, particularly when applied to wedding day what if shenanigans.

Thank you to @netgalley and Sophie Cousens for my ARC copy of Before I Do.

I'm a bit late in posting even though I read Before I Do a couple of months ago, but life has been crazy.

Audrey is about to marry Josh, her complete opposite, and is having cold feet, wondering if he really is "The One." Her life, and wedding day, are thrown upside down when Josh's sister shows up to the rehearsal with Audrey's "What If?" guy, Fred.

Before I Do bounces timelines between the present and when Audrey met Fred. I did struggle to get into this one, but once it got going I loved how heartfelt the story was. If you're like me and you aren't a huge fan of the love triangle trope, don't write this one off. Sophie Cousens did an excellent job of not following the script of your typical love triangle and second chance tropes and this story was a breath of fresh air in that regard.

I would definitely recommend this book!

2.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the E-Arc. This book just did not do it for me. I thought it was going to be something light and simple and it was not that. I found the MC Audrey annoying and selfish and a major flip flop. I found myself screaming at my phone and wanting to even throw it away. I was even more upset because Ive read another book by Sophie and really enjoyed it. This book was just not it for me.

I enjoyed this quick-read romance of "what if" and the will-she-or-won't-she pull as Audrey vacillates between her prior meet-cute and her current love/fiancé. Cousens does a bit of magic to avoid a classic love triangle trope, and this made for a sweet, soft read for lovers of romance to enjoy.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to preview this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens was a book given to me to read by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens is a romantic fictional book with humor. Audrey and Josh are getting married. The wedding is the current happening of the book. However, there is a second story that starts earlier and highlights various situations that all lead to the present. The two stories wind around each other leading to the Wedding and then they two stories become one at the end.

Andrea has always been considered flaky. Her mother and her boyfriends/husbands seemed to rotate in and out of her life. She has always worried about relationships and usually seemed to be found kissing the worst character at every party.

Josh is steady, thoughtful and organized. He is interested in Andrea, but doesn’t think she is interested in him. Eventually they began dating, fell in love and eventually moved toward marriage.

As the wedding gets closer, odd and unusual events begin to happen, including an old boyfriend showing up. The various happenings make the story more interesting and the reader is left unsure of how the story is going to end! Before I Do by Sophie Cousens reminds us that love is not perfect or static. It is a living moving situation that ebbs and flows through all the days and that forgiveness is always needed. What a fun read!

It is the night before Audrey's wedding, when things start to go wrong at every turn. Including the date her future sister-in-law brings turns out to be the man Audrey spent one magical day with, that she has wondered all these years later if he was the one she was meant to be with. With alternating timelines, we get to see a lot of Audrey's past that has shaped her to be the person she is. Now she has to decide....should she turn away from the future she is about to embark on to take a chance on the "one who got away"?

Thank you Penguin Group Putnim and NetGalley for the copy to review. Before I Do is out now.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I’m just not the biggest fan of duel timelines but that’s a personal preference.

I love Sophie's writing and continued to enjoy it during this book. I usually don't like dual timelines but this was easy to follow!

I really enjoyed this and how it made me think about fate and destiny and the different choices we make. I know I have thought many times, what if? What if I chose this person or this decision then what would my life be like now? This was about opposites attracting, Audrey and Josh, and it was fun to see how their relationship developed. It was told in different time lines but it was easy to follow. I also enjoyed the other characters, their friends and family and seeing the relationship with Audrey and her mom. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I’m a huge Sophie Cousens fan, but I wasn’t sure about this one at the start. The premise, a long lost love showing up to your rehearsal dinner the night before your wedding to another man, left me feeling like I wouldn’t like the ending. But alas, Sophie is a master at spinning a good love story and this one did not disappoint. It is full of heart and I loved how she went back and forth in time to then make all the stories come back to the present time. Highly recommend for fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez.