𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 '𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲' 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠?

♡

this book follows 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘆 and the events leading up to her wedding with 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵. six years ago, however, she spent one unforgettable day with 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱. the next time they see each other is the night 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘥𝘰, but Fred comes as the plus-one of Josh’s sister. —𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐲 & 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?

♡

the story is told in 3rd person; beginning with a prologue in the present on Audrey & Josh’s wedding day & the following chapters alternate between flashbacks and to the night before the wedding.

it was a rom-com novel throughout, but also a lot about self-reflection & growth and wondering how the choices we make can change the direction of our lives; making us think 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵-𝘪𝘧? …what-if we had made a different choice in the past & what would that mean for our future?

♡

this is actually my first book from Sophie Cousens and i really enjoyed it! i will definitely check out more of Sophie's novels <3


𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 :)
𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 & 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦!

This book has cemented Sophie Cousens as an auto-read author for me.

I've loved all of her books so far!

This one, especially...I was so emotionally invested in the plot that I flew through it. It's told in multiple timelines, with an element of suspense that I hadn't expected. The story felt authentic and universally relatable. Grab it today!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I did not love this book. I think the back and forth got confusing; and I feel the main character blamed alot of her behaviors on previous events. Not my favorite.

What do you do when the one who got away shows up at your wedding rehearsal dinner? This is the conundrum that Audrey finds herself in. Audrey is a fly by the seat of her pants kind of gal, and Josh, her fiance, is a miticulious planner. After Audrey's string of non commital men, her friends and family are happy to see her with someone so well grounded. Audrey is happy, at least she thinks she is, but when she sees Fred she doubts everything. Who knows what will happen next.

This book was a delight to read! The premise is what initally drew me in, but once we started going back and forth in time, I was hooked. I love how the story slowly unfolded, but also kept good pace. This is the perfect light read to get you out of a reading slump!

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens was a book I just had to finish. Audrey is suppose to marry her fiancé , josh, in just two days. But once an unexpected character from her past arrives, she’s just not sure if she should. Listen, Audrey at first was a hot mess to me. I couldn’t believe that she was contemplating blowing up her life for…I’m still not sure. I did enjoy all the flashbacks to Audrey’s past because it helped me understand her. The way it was written I couldn’t help but feel empathy for her. Plus I loved all her best friends and how supportive they were. I enjoyed reading this book and Sophie Cousens has won me over again. 3.5 stars rounded to a solid 4!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As this book opened on Audrey's wedding day, with a wedding that maybe possibly doesn't occur, I wasn't sure that this was going to be the book for me. This book had a high amount of tension around whether or not Audrey is marrying the right person. But as the story unfolded, and your understanding of Audrey and her past grows, I found myself invested in "Who should I be rooting for?" Sophie Cousens handled the multiple timeline, back and forth shifts perfectly! This is a heartwarming tale about navigating the "What ifs" and "What could have beens in life" it is about all kinds of love, not just romantic, but also familial.

In the end, it was heartwarming and devour able. Overall an enjoyable read.

The writing was very good, the past vs. present storyline flowed well together. There was no confusion reading along on my part, brava to Sophie on well established storylines. The writing about the existence of other worlds/us was very near towards having existential crisis myself, as there is so much more we haven’t discovered yet. Audrey’s fears and anxiety’s were felt ver real throughout the book. I love how everything came together for Audrey in the end. Had me there for a bit with Fred, happy that Audrey came to a realization at the end.

TW: sexual harassment, infidelity

Wow, what a beginning! You don’t really expect a story about a wedding to start off in such dramatics. The time jumps start off a bit bothersome bc you want to find out what’s going on, but it was honestly enjoyable after you get further into it because you get so much background information in between the present day situation. I loved how she had such a firm support system, despite it being smaller, and how different they were. Her mother is quite the character and I’m sure we‘ve all known a Vivien (who can’t be single to save their life and unfortunately drags her kid through the muck of it all). We discover that Audrey is experiencing a bit of a soulmate conundrum hours before she is set to say “I Do”, after a boy from her past happens to appear at the rehearsal dinner. Throughout Audrey’s past and present, everything eventually reveals what happens when you get stuck in a cycle of “ What If?”
I won’t ruin all the excitement, so just know that this story is beautiful and deep and kept me waiting for the next happening!

Thanks to Putnam Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest opinion!

I’m in love with Sophie Cousens’ writing - her books make me feel like I’m sitting outside a café on a crisp and sunny fall day with a PSL - just me? I doubt it. She has the perfect balance of sweet and cozy contemporary romance and a more broad fiction, incorporating stories with a bit more weight to them. I also always love the back and forth timeline, getting to piece together present day and the events that led to this disastrous wedding weekend.

Audrey had such unique relationships with everyone in her life, and the book gave us a look at all of them. Her mom, her older-brother figure/nanny, her best friends, and her fiancé. Each had their shining moments where they might have been skipped over in other stories.

Overall, a gentle and delightful love story!

I have really liked Sophie's books and Before I Do was no exception. This story of Audrey's past and present relationships seems straightforward when you start the book, but there is much more going on behind the scenes. You get her story of love and life in dual timelines. Sometimes a moving timeline can get confusing and feel disjointed, but the back and forth between present and past in this book gives us so much depth and insight into all of the characters. But the characters are so great. The found family is heartwarming. I love the depth that I get in Cousens' romances. My friend Kari calls them "romance with heft" and I like that for this book.

If you have picked up Beth O'Leary or Lindsey Kelk on my recommendation, you definitely want to check this out as well.

I have to say, I really loved the journey of this love story. For a solid chunk of it, I was so torn in this love triangle, finding such lovely qualities in both of the main men of the story.

Josh is the guy that is so easily likable by everyone. He’s handsome in a classic, Abercrombie man way, and he has a heart of gold. Fred, our dare devil, had me itching for more of that wild card, exciting love that he brought to the story.

Our leading lady, Audrey, had me wrapped around her finger. I loved that at times she wasn’t reliable and had issues with being flighty and not knowing where her heart really belonged; Cousens did such a wonderful job of helping her character grow. I really loved getting to know Audrey, and I ended up really really rooting for her.

Overall, I recommend this novel to anyone who loves lost loves reconnected, questions of whether soulmates really exist, complicated family matters, and some really quick wit.

HUGE thank you to NetGalley @netgalley and Penguin Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons

At the beginning of this novel, I was convinced that I knew the outcome of what was possibly going to be a well-versed romance about star-crossed lovers. I’m glad I was wrong.

Audrey is a polar opposite of her soon to be husband, Josh. She flits from job to job trying to find something that fits and Josh is the stable one. After fate possibly intervenes by re-introducing someone from her past, she wonders if her “What-If” guy (Fred) is right for her and not Josh?

Told in bits of her life before and up to the I Do and featuring both Josh and Fred, along with her roommates and mother, we stumble along with Audrey to figure out just who is right for her and make her happiest.

I loved how Cousens wrote this book. I really loved “Bad Jeans Josh” and how he went from being forgettable to being the groom. I was surprised at the amount of twists this book has and thought the ending was satisfying. I’ve added the other Sophie Cousens to my TBR.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC. This book is out today!

"

I have always lived to look up. Astronomy helps us understand where we are from and where we are going. It teaches us humility...I have been privileged to see further and further out into space, capturing images of...millions of stars...not one has outshone the love of my life."

The question in Before I Do by Sophie Cousens, who is quickly becoming an auto buy romance author for me, is who is the love of Audrey's life?.

In this non linear romance Audrey's story starts with her stumbling out of a church in a wedding dress where something has gone horribly wrong. From there we go back one day before she is to say I do to Josh and then we go back 6 years where she fatefully has the best meet cute with Fred involving an old time photo booth. As each chapter goes back to different pivotal moments we learn about her relationship with each man but more importantly we learn about Audrey's relationship with her self, her doubts, her fears, and her dreams.

One of the most influential relationships for Audrey is with her 5 time married mother, her part in the end of each of these marriages and a really creepy encounter with her Mom's would be husband Benedict that made my skin crawl.

Audrey does love Josh but when his sister walks into the rehearsal dinner with Fred, who she hasn't seen in years, Audrey can't help but wonder is this is fate telling her there is a different path in the stars for her.

There is humor, there is romance, but I found this story is about a little girl missing her Dad, reaching for the stars and learning to follow her heart before saying I do.



I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was giddy when I saw that Sophie Cousens had a new book coming out. She has quickly become one of my favorites. Before I Do is the story of Audrey and starts out on Audrey’s wedding day when she is racing out of the church and there is chaos all around. From there, Audrey’s story is told in a nonlinear time line of before and after the wedding, explaining how she got there. And it is absolute perfection. This is romcom at its finest. It has themes of Serendipity in it where Audrey spends a day with random boy years before but they could not find each other in the years that followed but then Audrey meets her current love and her life goes in a different direction. I laughed so much in this book. These characters are hilarious with such witty banter and clever jabs. It is heartwarming and sweet and the pieces all fit together like a perfect puzzle. Pub day is tomorrow and you need this book in your life.

This was the perfect rom-com to distract me from the chaos that always surrounds me this time of year!! Did I feel like it was a believable "wow this could actually happen" kind of love story, nope! But in ways that made it so much better. It was an escape from real life! A love story that made me laugh, cry and question destiny. I also questioned exactly how the story would end, which added to the fun of reading it.

Audrey is about to marry her opposite, sweet Josh. He is exactly what she needs, but there are no fireworks between them. As the wedding day gets closer, Audrey begins to question if Josh is really the one. When Josh's sister shows up with her date, Fred, Audrey's "What if" guy, that she met 6 years prior, Audrey begins to wonder if fate is intervening. It doesn't help that everything that could go wrong on her wedding day, actually goes wrong. Is it all just a coincidence or should Audrey not walk down the aisle?

Before I do by Sophie Cousens is my favorite Sophie Cousens book yet! Audrey is about to marry her fiancé Josh when Josh’s sister shows up to their wedding with Fred, Audrey’s one that got away. Through the twists and turns leading up to the wedding and flashbacks, you learn more about Audrey and Josh’s relationship and the day Audrey met Fred. I loved the characters and the story kept me hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I devoured the first 60% of this book Saturday morning while heading to NJ, and I finished it as I started my trek back to MA Monday afternoon, on the NJ to NY train portion. I previously enjoyed the author's Just Haven't Met You Yet, and her debut, This Time Next Year, is on my TBR bookshelf at home. Before I Do is a sweet and humorous romance that takes place over the course of the days/hours leading up to MC Audrey's wedding to Josh with flashbacks to some of their dating history along with her experience with her mother's many suitors and her previous perfect date with Fred, who she hadn't heard from or seen since - until he walks in as her fiance's sister's wedding date! In addition to this, there are a number of bad omens that make Audrey question her decision(s). I'm not always a fan of shifting timelines, but I felt this was done really well in Before I Do! I think if you're a romance fan and enjoy reading about wedding settings, you'll like this one. I liked it, especially the last ⅓ or so, and I'm looking forward to reading Cousens' first book in the near future. Thanks to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. It's available today, 10/11.

My first read by Sophie Cousens and I must say I enjoyed it. You know what they say, a cute rom com a day keeps the stress away. This book was just what the doctor ordered. It was charming, feisty with of course comedy and romance. A great read

4.5 stars rounded up to 5!

I loved this one. I was a little wary of the plot since I just got married 10 days ago and was afraid I wouldn't enjoy it, but I was so pleasantly surprised. This is the second book I've read by Sophie Cousens, and I'd have to say that each book gets better than the last. Audrey was such a relatable, flawed, REAL character - despite her misgivings, you rooted for her and I loved her and Josh's love story. There was also a great cast of side characters who added to the story, each in their own way. This one kept me on the edge of my seat through out and I even got a bit teary-eyed at the end. Highly recommend for any romance fans!

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Before I Do is out TODAY, October 11!!!

How do you know that you are marrying THE ONE? That’s the question Audrey is pondering on her wedding weekend as one thing after another goes wrong. And when the man who was her “What if?” guy arrives on the scene as her sister-in-law-to-be’s date, Audrey’s questioning of whether fiancé Josh is the right guy for her kicks into high gear. Are Audrey and Josh meant to be? Does she believe in fate?

This is the third novel I have read by Sophie Cousens, and I feel like her writing just keeps getting better and better.

In Before I Do, she adeptly weaves together multiple timelines, revealing how Audrey’s past, upbringing, and family life have influenced and impacted her mental health, sense of self-worth, and current indecision. The novel is full of moments that cause your chest to constrict, sweet moments, heartwarming moments, and some heartbreaking moments, too.

Weddings, in general, can have emotions and stress levels running high, and as the novel progressed, I wasn’t sure if my blood pressure or anxiety levels could take another “bad omen” over Audrey's wedding weekend. Thankfully, I had faith that things would turn out the way they were supposed to be in the end—although, admittedly, I was itching to turn to the last page partway through the novel to make sure that was going to be the case.

This is not quite a 5 star read to me for a couple of reasons—one chapter that had some elements that I didn’t particularly enjoy, that I felt were unnecessary or like they disrupted the flow or the tone of the novel—and revealing the other would reveal a spoiler. That being said, both of the things I didn’t exactly love did add some comic levity to the novel, and I would hop on this emotional roller coaster and read it again.

If you are in a book club, make sure to check out the Before I Do Reading Group Guide included in the back of the book for thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion questions.

I received an advance copy from Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.