Happily ever after, or is it? Is there an invisible string tying you to someone else? Are the people you meet in life part of a bigger scheme? For Audrey Lavery, it just might be.
She met her dream man, had her dream friends, a dream wedding, but was missing out on other dreams. These gaps created the ultimate what-ifs and subsequent disaster of her dream love life.

This book was adorable, don’t get me wrong. It was lacking something. Maybe it was a more consistent plot line, less involved characters, but I also needed something to make me like the main characters. All in all, this book showed the importance of honesty and creating a relationship, not letting a cosmic connection be the blame of life.
In my opinion, the timelines were confusing and hard to keep track of. Most characters were un-likable and some were just horrible. It was cute at parts, but the lack of morals from some characters and willingness to cheat kind of ruined it.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of before I do!

Audrey and Josh are getting married! The day of their wedding, anything that could go wrong, does…and anything that should go right, doesn’t. Her day is an all out disaster. Is this a sign that it shouldn’t happen?

Then, an unsuspecting wedding guest from Audrey’s past shows up as Josh’s sister’s date, Audrey mentally spirals wondering if her ‘what if’ boy could really be her soulmate.

Also, I’m not sure if it’s possible to secretly root for the ‘wrong’ guy, only to switch camps within two seconds because he went from hot to not in two seconds flat!

This book and its concept. I adored. All the moments of complete and utter pandemonium before the ‘I do’s’ take place (or don’t?!?) was everything I could visualize in RomCom movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. (OK, so also they might not fit the characters visually, but come on! Favorite romcom category, people!!!)

Overall, I gave this book a 4 1/2 stars!

This book was exactly the sweet, cute love story I needed right now. The story of Josh and Audrey developed slowly but it was beautiful. I also loved the path that Audrey took. Cousens did a great job showing growth and change in her.
My only problems came with the flashbacks. Because the flashbacks jumped around a lot, it often took me a little time to remember where in the past we were and what had or had not happened yet. Also, I got a little put off by the fact that Audrey wouldn’t just communicate and kept everything inside.
At first I felt like the reaction of Josh at the end seemed out of character but as the end progressed I definitely saw how every reaction went well for each character.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for access to this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes when I over think how I feel about a book it loses stars - it’s easy to nit pick - and I don’t want to do this with Before I Do because after closing it up, I loved it. I’m giving this 5 stars rounded up from 4.5 and here are the two main reasons it’s only 4.5.

1 I didn’t love Audrey - it’s ok I don’t have to love a MC to love the book but I wanted to root for her. Instead I felt like I was rooting for an outcome for her (which actually shifted back and forth surprisingly which I think is really hard to accomplish and you don’t find often in a romance!)

2. It’s dual timeline and done well but - minor grievance - there are two different “past” timelines and I wasn’t always able to follow what had already happened in one past timeline compared to the other past timeline - not critical to the plot and overall gist of love interests though.

Lots of good supporting characters and a well written plot. Not too much going on but enough that it doesn’t just feel like the entire story revolves around “the love relationship”.

I thought This Time Last Year was a 3 star comparably so now I’m going to read SC’s other book to see if I loved it as much as this one! So pleasantly surprised!

Thank you for the eARC.

Don’t let the cutesy cover fool you. This isn’t a rom com or at least, I wouldn’t call it one. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s about choices and the roads we take in life (and the ones we don’t take). There were some really funny moments and after reading the wedding scene, suddenly me forgetting the boutonnières for my husband and his groomsmen at my own wedding doesn’t seem like a big deal! I really REALLY loved Audrey. She frustrated me at times, but I related to her so much. Her insecurities about not being sorted out in life with a set job really hit me hard. I also really enjoyed the non linear timeline as we look into Audrey’s past and then back to her wedding day to see why she reacts and feels that way she does. Clara and Hillary were absolutely fantastic. Josh, I went back and forth on, but I felt like overall, he really was a sweetheart. The story absolutely kept me interested the entire time I was reading. This was a really lovely and well written story. And that epilogue though! I was in tears. I loved This Time Next Year and now this one so I think Cousens might be another auto but author for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie Cousens does it again! I think this may be her best book yet. Audrey is a complicated, not always wholly likable main character that we get to see grow into a mature woman by the end of the book. I love this romance that takes a look at what it means, not just to love someone, but to build a life with them. Cousens weaves the different timelines seamlessly together and the format really adds dimension to the story as each piece is revealed.
I had so many genuine feelings while reading this book! It was deeper than many romances and I appreciated it’s emotional intelligence.
Sophie Cousens is definitely at the top of the romance genre.

The streak continues! Three books by Cousens and I have read each one in under 24 hours because I simply couldn’t put it down!

Sophie Cousens has the ability to pick you up, wrap you in such an engaging story where time cease to exist, and then puts you back down feeling lighter than air. I always finish her books with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step, this one was no exception.

Before I Do revolves around that pesky question “What if?” that many of us focus on when we aren’t 100% sure of the decisions we have made. What if we took a different job? What if we dated someone else? What if we didn’t open the door, answer the phone, said yes to the dress? We follow Audrey through her journey where she constantly questions where her life would be if she had gone right instead of left, taking one action over another. To make matters more confusing, she has the chance to relive one of her “What if’s” six years later, on the day before her wedding.

What I liked about this book: EVERYTHING!! The adrenaline from this book was insane. There were moments that I found myself hopping up and down because I just couldn’t take the suspense of what was happening. I would skip ahead just to see the outcome so I could calm down enough to finish the chapter (I have done this with a couple of well written books so kudos Cousens!) The humor of this book is classic to the other two books I have read by Cousens. Her laugh out loud moments will stick with you, even when you put the book down (I rethought what happened to Ben and found myself laughing unexpectedly as I crossed a parking lot. Poor Ben!). What I honestly love the most about Cousens books are the stories within the story. Along with the humor there are real life/relatable situations and struggles. What Audrey experienced as a young adult and how much of that shaped her life was heartbreaking. Josh's story as a young boy, if I could have reached through the pages and hugged him, I would have!

What I didn’t like about this book: Honestly, it hasn’t nothing to do with the story Sophie envisioned but I REALLY would have liked to have seen Benedict get his comeuppance! Again, I know it wouldn’t have had anything to do with the story but I would have taken it as a bonus or a news flash that he was arrested or his career was ruined in some way for being the awful human being that he was.

True to form, Cousens jumps from past to present throughout the story but makes sure the story is still easy to follow. Written with such truth of what love is versus what love should be, this is a book I would definitely read again and recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a light hearted fun read! I really enjoyed the journey of these two characters. I felt like the plot was well written and overall cute story!

Before I Do was a bit of a miss for me after enjoying Cousens previous books. The prologue sucked me right in and I liked the alternating timelines of the chapters, but a lot of the story was very slow for me. I went back and forth with whether I liked Audrey and I really wish her mental health was treated better in this book. As someone who had more of a traumatic upbringing, I kind of felt like it was glossed over instead of getting her the help she needed. Her mother Vivien may be my most hated character in a book so far this year since she didn’t see the way she treated her daughter and the things she said to her and those around her made things worse.

I’m surprised I loved this as much as I did!! This was my first Sophie Cousens book and won’t be my last thats for sure. Similar to One True Loves by TJR and Love The One You’re With by Emily giffin, Audrey is debating between her current love that she is about to marry and a man from her past. While this had a bit of a serious storyline there were plenty of lighthearted and funny moments that’ll keep you laughing and falling in love with these characters. The ending was AMAZING and I was cracking up while reading. Such a cute little rom com that you’ll definitely want to grab!

This book is not for me. I'm not a fan of the main character.


************************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley ******************************

2.5 stars
This book was... fine? I guess? Nothing spectacular. I figured out the entire plot within single-digit pages, so that was a little frustrating. I didn't connect with either Audrey or Josh and didn't find either character to be particularly likeable.
I would not recommend this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

This was a miss for me. Dual timelines are great if done well, but this one was all over the place to me. Audrey was a weak character with a poor attitude, especially about herself and her life. Playing victim all the time got old fast.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Before I Do

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re a fan of dual timelines and the love triangle trope, check this book out. There’s a slight bit of second chance love in there as well!

This story centers a lot around Audrey’s journey in both life and love. Her history with not just another guy but her mother as well show her becoming who she is by the end of the book.

Some parts were a little too drawn out and I almost didn’t know which guy I was rooting for at times. I liked who she ended up with but didn’t leave me feeling the same love for the genre I usually feel.

Sophie’s writing is captivating. She had me on page one and I was unable to put this book down. It was an easy and fast read for me. This is my first book from this author. It’s safe to say I’ll be getting all of her books.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC.

I loved this book. The story really sucked me in from the beginning and I was eager to find out what happened in it. I liked the back and forth timeline and the love triangle. I thought the characters were all relatable and the story had a nice balance of comedy and seriousness to it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I haven’t read a Sophie Cousens book I didn’t love. She’s an auto buy for me. This book is just wonderful. I loved every second of this and read it with the biggest smile. There’s a little roller coaster of what if she marries the wrong guy but I was so ok with it.

Multi-Verse & Multi-Timeline integration? Seamless.

Facing our What-Ifs on a pivotal moment of our lives? Shocking.

Reading how Audrey has grown from her past to current was amazing character development. I think the multi-timelines with this really helped us see how Audrey grew and how her mom, Josh, and Fred fit into her life and their meaning behind their timeline entrances.

This book was full of emotions, rollercoaster of rooting for one, and then not rooting for that person at all. Then rooting for the imperfectly, perfect, relationship. It was easy to read and kept me up many nights to finish the book sooner rather than later. The switching of the timelines was done so well that I never felt lost or had to go back and re-read to “catch up.”

Before I Do was such a great read. I’m a big fan of Sophie Cousens and this book did not disappoint. The book takes place on the day of Audrey’s wedding with multiple timelines. A person from her past brings up many insecurities and makes her doubt if she’s on the right track. This book was funny but also tackled some deep emotional issues and how the past can impact the way we see the world and ourselves. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

It's tough for me to explain a lot of how I felt about this book without spoilers so I'll keep this one short and sweet. It wasn't until about 60% through the book that I realized that I REALLY enjoyed the plot. I for sure thought this was going to go one way but then it didn't and that made me enjoy it even more. This book skips around in timeline and I enjoyed only getting glimpses of situations and not really seeing the full picture until the end.

Forget about the romance and go into this book focusing on the main idea that I think is... It's always easy to fantasize about what ifs but that's just it... those are fantasies.

I highly recommend this book and do your best to go in absolutely blind (except for synopsis!)