OK I loved this bookkkkkk so much! Cousens is seriously a master at romance and missed-connection/fate twists. Audrey and Fred, after a ridiculously cute 'meet cute', spend a magical day together.... and that is it. Then 6 years later, Audrey is about to marry Josh, only to find herself face to face with Fred the night before her wedding - he is Josh's sister's date for the wedding and derails Audrey completely. Told with an alternating timeline, the reader gets Audrey's backstory and can easily see how both Fred and Josh compliment her..... so what is she to do? It is obvious Fred has feelings for her and remembers their day together. And it is also obvious that Josh absolutely loves her (and she him) and can't wait to say I do. I loved this story and devoured it in two days. The ending was absolutely perfection. Cousens is a must-read for anyone that loves romance, witty dialogue, character's that truly need to grow to learn, and just flat-out charming stories!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my review! Oh @sophiecousens has done it again! This book was so well done with the sheer amount of timelines! What could’ve been a confusing mess, was done in such a brilliant way. It helped to unfold the story in such a beautiful manner. Another thing I loved is other than one truly awful guy, the characters were all so endearing in their own ways! I love a book where I love the side characters as much or more than the main ones! I will say, and this may be just because my wedding was so recent (6/24 and the book wedding was 6/25!), but some of the disasters the day of the wedding made me very anxious! But it’s all okay now, no longer stressed! I’ve read a few “what-if?” stories, and this was was done in an original way and a realistic, relatable way. This is being released October 11th, so run-don’t walk- down the aisle and grab yourself a copy!

Sophie Cousens is becoming a must read author for me. I read one of her books last year and decided to request this one because I liked it so much. She did it again! I really enjoyed this one so let’s take a look at what did and didn’t work for me:

+ I usually hate jumping timelines, but I was hooked from the prologue! There are a few timelines: the present timeline – where Audrey is about to get married. We also follow her childhood to get an idea of her home life and what made her feel underserving of happiness plus how she came to view love and marriage as an adult. Lastly, there is another timeline involving the guy who “got away” – was he the one? I think the way the timelines are written is done so well.

+ Audrey questions if her fiancé, Josh, is really her soul mate or is it that guy, Fred, from the past who she can’t stop thinking about? Is she supposed to follow the signs and fate? Or is she supposed to stick to what’s solid and there for her, like Josh? At some moments the book reminded me of the movies Serendipity and The Wedding Singer…haha – in good ways! I found Audrey so relatable in the ways she questioned soul mates or how she felt about Fred in the past and Josh in the present.

+ I honestly loved Audrey’s meet cute with Fred – I can see why she never forgot about him. But I also fell in love with how she met Josh and how their relationship grew over time. I was Team Josh but because the way the timelines are written, I really wasn’t sure what Audrey was going to do! I was worried for her and it kept me engaged in the story.

+ I love the side characters like her best-friend Clara, who give us a tiny glimpse into her life and dealing with having twins. And Josh’s sister Miranda represented the bridesmaid who is never the bride and feeling bad about it. Honestly weddings bring out the worst emotions in people sometimes. It’s stressful for everyone but I found everyone gathered for the wedding so much fun because of the chaos.

+ This book was full of emotions when it came to the story of Audrey, her dad, and their shared love of astronomy. Then there is her relationship with Josh which in essence is sweet because they are opposites but that’s why they work even though sometimes it got challenging.

~ Oh Audrey was about to throw it all away because she was stressed out about Fred! It was stressing me out because Fred was barely in her life except for as a memory about a day!

~ Audrey’s mother is her own person but she really broke up their family and let Audrey see her go in and out of relationships not even thinking of the consequences. I thought she was lucky Audrey loved her so much and was so forgiving of her constant infidelity. I don’t think i could have been that forgiving! But I think it shows how Audrey was mature enough to let her mother be who she was and not make it her problem – except for Benedict, who is a despicable man.

Tropes: opposites attract, what ifs

Spice Level: 🌶

Why you should read it:
*it’s a heart felt story filled with humor, emotion, chaos, bad omens, and love
*great writing – the timelines really drew me into the story, making me want to find out what happened at the wedding!
*Audrey’s story: her past with her mom and dad, her mom’s infidelity, her own dating choices before meeting Josh, and her what if guy-Fred…I was sucked into the story

Why you might not want to read it:
*Some people might not be a fan of Audrey having cold feet about Josh before the wedding, but marriage is a big step and weddings are super stressful.

My Thoughts:

This story is entertaining, engaging, funny, sweet and heart warming. I was invested in Audrey and her photo booth meet cute with Fred and then boring Josh comes along and what do you know…he’s not that boring after all. I love this story and it just makes me want to read more books from this author!

4.5 star review! I enjoyed this book. I knew within the first few pages that it was going to be great. The multiple timeline style was done so well. It was pieced together perfectly that let you understand how Audrey came to be her present-day self. Even at the 50% mark, I was unsure who was the true match for Audrey. Somewhere between 60-75% I did think things were dragging a bit, but I enjoyed the characters and story line so much I didn’t mind. I would recommend this book to every woman who has been through a wedding experience or plans to wed! A true masterpiece with great insight!

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Summary: It’s the day before her wedding to Josh and Audrey is taken aback by the arrival of one of her biggest “what if’s”, Fred, at her rehearsal dinner. Audrey knows that her fiancé Josh is dependable and loving, but she just can’t shake wondering if love should be more. As a series of events make Audrey second guess everything, she must self-reflect with the help of her mom and closest friends to decide if fate is interfering with her wedding or if she’s been in the right place all along.

𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘋𝘰 traverses the life of Audrey Lavery from a day, six years in the past till the day of her wedding and bit beyond. Ranging from the exhilarating, top of my life to wishing-the-world-could-end, the time jumps cover all her memories which results in a well defined plot.

- ~ -

Audrey begins as a very flawed character but ended up undergoing a phenomenal growth arc.
Her journey only made me takeaway how every person effects our lives in some major or minor ways, how a million different factors have to come together to shape a life... basically the butterfly effect magnified.

Now an aspect, I'd say, the author portrayed quite accurately was the "incident" Audrey faced with Ben. In the said incident, Audrey was doubting whether anything really happened or not and as a woman, I've also often wondered if I exaggerated a certain instance? Could it have been possible it was just an accident, a misunderstanding?

I don't know how others may interpret this or what really went on that night with Audrey and Ben but I do know that no man or rather no-one should have the power to make one feel small. There shouldn't have been a reason to feel anything less than in the first place for the hesitancy to have arisen.

Aside from that, each character added a shine to the overall plot and definitely a bit of that classic British humor.
Granny Parker and Hilary, say what you will, are absolute icons. I feel like they're both cut from the same cloth just generations apart.
And Clara is the best friend of one's dreams.

Well as for the romance, I'll not ruin who it is: the photobooth guy or James but I will say, Audrey sure found her Polaris.

- ~ - 

3.84 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I wasn’t a huge fan of her first book but I wanted to give her another chance. While I do like this one more I don’t think I will be picking up anything else by her anytime soon :/

I love Sophie Cousens! Her first book, This Time Next Year, is one of my favorites and I was so excited when I saw her newest on NetGalley and was then given the chance to read it. It's an adorable, crazy, 'bad omen' filled journey from realizing that the people we end up loving aren't always thrown at us by the universe but are sometimes hidden the least likely person. Audrey's wedding day jitters gave me jitters as we twisted and turned through the last six years of her life. It will definitely be a book a recommend to friends and anyone who needs a good read to make them laugh and think about what it means to actually be on the "right track."

Audrey is at her wedding rehearsal when the grooms sister walks in with her date, Fred who was Audrey’s “the one who got away”. The book jumps from the past to the present telling us the past story of Fred and Audrey and the present struggle in Audrey’s mind of whether or not she is marrying the right guy tomorrow now that Fred has reappeared. More troubling is that all of these bad omens keep occurring which just add to Audrey’s doubts. This is the second book I’ve read and enjoyed by this author. The idea of the book was cute and unique, I really enjoyed all of the characters. I was right there with Audrey rooting for her to go one way and then suddenly my mind changed and I was begging her to do the opposite. This was a super cute and funny start of wedding season rom-com.

Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC of this book.

The premise was exciting, but I struggled getting through this book.
Audrey is a difficult character to read. She has no real goals, and just seems to float along being pushed by everyone.

Clara and Hillary were infinitely more interesting.

And the time shifts are mind boggling. It doesn’t just go back to one time, it goes back to a different one every time and each one gets to the point so slowly.

It was a rough read, but if you like the “mystery man stops wedding” trope maybe this will be for you!

This could end up being my favorite book this year and it is definitely my favorite Sophie Cousens book. I want to be delicate in this review because I don’t want to spoil anything at all. I went in without knowing any details, and I really think that added to my enjoyment of the story.

I usually don’t like books where the timeline jumps around, but this one absolutely worked for me. I can always tell that the writing is masterful when the author takes a trope I typically hate and then makes me love it. This book kept me guessing in the first half and kept me hoping through the second half. I loved every second.

Like every Sophie Cousens book, the secondary characters are top notch. Standouts for me were Hillary (Audrey’s childhood “nactor” nanny+actor, “I’ve done my time as Marius, I’m ready to be Jean Valjean”), Clara the best friend, & Brian the always loyal ex-stepdad.

It’s the story of Audrey and her wedding day, but it’s so much more than that. This book maybe comes the closest to what it means to be in love in real life. I adored Before I Do. I am so grateful to Putnam for providing me with an advance copy of this book. It was a truly awesome reading experience in every way.

My favorite quote:
“I think love is a seed. We choose to plant it, nurture it, and at the end of our lives, if we end up with a glorious old oak tree, with huge branches and plenty of shade, then that’s on us, not the cosmos.”

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨⬜

Title: Before I Do

Author: Sophie Cousens

Genre: Romance

Setting: England

Month Read: August 2022

Book Type: E-Arc

Publication: October 2022

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Pages: 384

*Thank you to NetGalley for the E-Arc of this book. My review is purely my own.




TRIGGER WARNING-
Groping / Anxiety / Infidelity / Family Drama


"We have always looked to the stars for answers, used stores and mythology to help make sense of what is beyond our reach"



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No Spoiler Summary (Goodreads):
Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship; Josh is just what Audrey needs. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey's found herself wondering if Josh really is The One.


So, when Josh's sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey's What If? guy--the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with--Audrey finds herself torn. Surely Fred's appearance the night before she is due to get married can't be a coincidence. And when everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humour?



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Review:
I REALLY LIKED THIS BOOK. The What-If? plot felt fresh to me, and this definitely isn't your typical romance novel, which i also appreciated. I didn't love the book as much as her last (Just Haven't Met You Yet), but I really appreciate what Sophie Cousens brings to the rom-com genre.


I loved a lot of the side characters, and loved getting to know their personalities throughout the novel (and ultimately how each deals with everything that goes on in this book.) If 1 of these 'bad omens' happened when i was getting married I would have lost my shit, so watching Audrey sort of deal with it all was wild to me, and I appreciated her.


The dual timeline was FUUUUUUUN. I loved getting to see everybody throughout the time change from a few years back, up to after the wedding day. Seeing Audrey and Josh's relationship start, and grow, was really heartwarming, and the chapters with Fred were also just a lot of fun. I thought all of this was fresh, and adorable, and I love how Sophie goes through her arc. I highly recommend anyone getting this when it comes out in October 2022.



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Recommendation:
Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

Float Plan by Trish Doller

Book Lovers by Emily Henry



"If only I could rearrange them in a more orderly way, in a shape that made sense to me, then I would understand the story better. Yet logic tells me those stars are millions of light years apart, they care not a jot that they share space in our sky. Are we fools to look for meaning?"



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I loved the different time lines from past and present to give you a full picture. Audrey is about to get married when Fred shows up and she once thought he was the one. She can’t help but feel this is a sign? Then so many bad omens start happening at the wedding and she wishes her father was there to talk to.

Aubrey has had a difficult relationship with her mother and she has been holding a lot of guilt. She is glad Hillary is there to talk her off the ledge.

I just enjoyed all the raw emotion in this book and how vulnerable and real Audrey was that made her so likable and relatable.

This book is about love, relationships, family, friendship, forgiveness, and moving forward. It is just so beautifully written and entertaining.

What would you do if the one that got away shows up to your wedding as your future sister-in-law’s date?

Such an interesting plot line and I loved how you get snippets here and there as you’re reading along. I loved seeing into Audrey’s past to see how she met Fred and all the moments that led up to her falling in love with Josh too. The past and present chapters made the story flow so nicely. Being inside Audrey’s head will have you feeling all the emotions she’s feeling. It’s quite a rollercoaster ride, so be prepared for all the ups and downs. With lots of disastrous and romantic moments you’ll be sure to love this book too!

Thank you so much NetGalley & G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the advanced reader copy.

I love books that go back and forth in time! It all leads up to her decisions for her wedding and I liked getting background knowledge on her choices. I was hooked! I loved the characters and the story development.

Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Cousens!

I hate to say it, but I didn't love this one.... ah! *covers face*
Audrey's "What If" guy shows up unexpectedly the night before her wedding. Her first love. Unresolved love. Question mark of her past. The book is told in flashbacks from her previous relationship to present day occurrences at her wedding. While I loved some of the characters and parts of the story - I just didn't connect with Audrey. I couldn't decide if she loved Josh or just **wanted** to love him. She went from praising him to listing his faults. I found myself frustrated with Audrey for not having a backbone and making up her mind. There was just too much indecision and unsettled moments for my heart to handle. Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a cute, if not forgettable, book. I enjoyed the storyline and writing style, and I even liked the flip flopping timelines which converged at the end of the book. Overall a cute story of love and the challenges of life. Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

'Before I Do' hooks you right away and keeps you guessing til the end. The novel starts with a wedding that seems to have a runaway bride. Next, the author takes you back through the life of the main character, Audrey, right up to the wedding weekend. Granny Parker's "bad omens" were hilarious, but then Audrey starts to wonder if she is making the right choice and how life may have played out differently.

Sophie Cousens' writing style is delightful as always, but I found the characters frustrating and unlikable. In my opinion, I liked 'Just Haven't Met You Yet' much more.

However, this book was entertaining and fans of Sophie Cousens' should read.

Sophie Cousens never disappoints. This was a very quick, enjoyable read & it would make a perfect Hallmark movie!!

I love a good Sophie Cousens romance. While this has one minor hiccup near the end, the story still delights. Before I Do time travels back and forth between Audrey and Josh’s wedding day and the bride’s past where formative days that shape fate and her decisions. At the forefront, at her rehearsal dinner, Audrey faces a man from her past with whom she shared one magical day six years earlier. From there, the wedding day is marred with several calamities, all making Audrey question her decisions. The story takes you in several directions that I didn’t predict. It was a fun journey. In the end you will root for Audrey and her happiness.
Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review. This book releases on 10/11/22.

Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Sophie Cousens for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Before I Do brings us Audrey who is entering her wedding day when she is suddenly confronted with the worst kind of question: is true love only about choosing your partner or is there really such a thing as soul mates? With this book Sophie Cousens gave us something so much more than just another romance story. This story was not only a romance story, but a story of forgiveness, a story of second chances, a story of healing, and a story of family. Relationships play a key role throughout the entire plot: between Audrey and Fred, Audrey and Josh, Audrey and her mom, Audrey and all of her Mom’s husbands (especially Benedict). The book flashes back and forth between several different timelines and jumping around between the years. I thought it would be hard to follow, but it really wasn’t. I found myself being more impatient because I needed to know what had happened in the past as soon as possible. Granny Parker was high-key the best character, providing both comedic relief and sound advice. I honestly expected myself to be Team Fred (the what-if guy from Audrey’s past who shows up at her wedding out of the blue at the date of her husband-to-be’s sister), because I like my rom-coms to be a bit on the unrealistic romance side. However, I found myself firmly Team Josh the entire story and was rooting for him and Audrey to pull out the win. Ultimately, I found this story to be a testament to what true love/commitment actually looks like: hard work, choosing the other person, and happiness.