Sophie Cousens’ writing is basically my catnip. Her words magically transport me to England and she always reminds me to pack my cable knit jumper and Barbour jacket. I adore her humor and her lovely characters. Before I Do wasn’t my favorite Sophie Cousens read, (that’d be This Time Next Year, thanks for asking) but I really enjoyed it!

Now, before I go any further I must admit that this book likely will not be a fan favorite. I actually imagine there will be some pretty mixed feelings about Before I Do and maybe if I weren't so obsessed with Cousens, I wouldn’t have rated it so highly. The book is very light on the romance but there is a bit of a love triangle situation going on between the main character, Audrey, her fiancé, and a blast from the past. Cousens’ develops her characters so well and they are all so charming that it took me a long time to determine which team I was on.

I love an alternating POV, but Before I Do jumps around a LOT. The book opens up with Audrey outside of the church on her wedding day, where things have clearly gone awry. Each chapter that follows jumps to a period of time “before I do”. I won’t say much more, but this is a unique storyline with some hilarious, heartwarming and real moments. Dating is hard, especially when you struggle to trust yourself and I could relate to Audrey a little too well at times.

I think if you liked Beth O’Leary’s most recent novel, The No-Show you should give this one a try! If nothing else, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with romance reader Granny Parker and my favorite quote in the book: “Thanks to Granny Parker’s preference for a chunky hardback, the mugger was rendered unconscious and later held accountable for his crimes.”

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book; all opinions are my own. Thank you to the NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me to be an early reader.

What if...this question can be asked and answered in a million of different ways. Sometimes, when things get tough, it's so easy to think about the millions of possibilities out there had we made one choice differently, or one thing hadn't happened. This book explores that - what if someone from your past, someone that you had one magical day with, turns up the day before your wedding? Is it fate, or is it just a cruel coincidence? Sophie Cousens delivers yet another thoughtful and thought-provoking novel! I loved her last book, Just Haven't Met You Yet, and was so excited to read this one! You can always count on Cousens for a great read!

Gaaaaaah, this book! 🥰 I loved every intricate part of it!

The story centers on Audrey and Josh’s wedding and time jumps to different parts of Audrey’s life as it pertains to the storyline. I loved this particular aspect because the reader sees those parts of Audrey’s life as she perceived them and how those pieces inevitably affected her.

The characters brought the story to life outside Audrey’s “what ifs” and overthinking. I loved Granny Parker and her tenacious Yorkshire attitude claiming everything little mishap as a bad omen. I mean, I would also be worried about dead bats falling from the church rafters, so maybe she wasn’t too far off. ☺️

Sophie presented a great mix of laughable moments amongst the most emotional and heartfelt. I can’t wait to add this title to my collection October 11th!!! 💕

A million thank yous to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Sophie Cousens for an advanced reader copy of Before I Do in exchange for an honest review!

What if the night before your wedding, the one who got away - that you’d always wondered about - showed up at your rehearsal? Is that the universe stepping in to show you what might have been? Or is it trying to show you what you have?

Before I do was a solid 3 stars for me. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. Audrey annoyed me quite a bit and at times, the going back and forth between present day and six years ago and then three years ago and so on was a lot to remember. I was expecting a little more from Audrey and Fred’s story to believe that she would question her relationship with Josh. I didn’t really love either man in her life. Maybe that’s why it was only three stars for me, I wasn’t rooting for anyone, just the end.

This romance novel is not the standard girl and boy meet cute kind of story. In fact, Josh and Audrey meet several times before Audrey and Josh build their relationship. On the eve of their wedding, however, Josh's sister brings Fred to the rehearsal dinner as her guest, reminding Audrey of their meet cute story and throwing her into a tailspin. Is she making a mistake? Was she meant to marry Fred instead? Is everything going wrong because the universe is sending her a message--to stop the wedding?
As the story unfolds, we see how Audrey's dreams and her reality collide, and we see how she finds her way to make a choice--Josh or Fred!

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

I am a huge Sophie Cousens fan and was so delighted to get access to this ARC! This story was told in different timelines and loved how Sophie tied all of the pieces in! I enjoyed reading about all of the characters and was emotionally invested in all of them! This book kept me guessing and it was amazing!


Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Cousens, and Putnam books for the opportunity to read an e-book ARC!

I was lucky enough to win a digital ARC of BEFORE I DO by Sophie Cousens from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Have a safe and happy summer, and thanks for the early look!

Audrey, is a 30-something Londoner who, through many twists and turns in life, has found herself questioning every choice and her important relationships on her wedding day and asking “What if?” She has a wonderful, supportive fiancé but things really get stirred up when a man from her past turns up as a surprise wedding guest.
This book starts out with a great attention grabber - Audrey has just exited the church during the middle of the wedding and something terrible has happened, but we don’t know what. Then we back up and have to find out what happened. This book has multiple time lines and jumps around a lot. Over all I felt like it works really well and the chapters are arranged to reveal events in Audrey’s life that give insight to her feelings and actions.
Over all, I was surprised at the turn of events in this book and in the last few chapters I was really curious how this would end. Without giving away and spoilers, this did not turn out how I expected it to! I love how much Audrey’s character grows and finds herself, which is not something you often get in a romcom(ish) book. This may look like one book from the outside, but its much more nuanced and rich while still having laugh-out-loud moments.
I received this book as an advance review copy from Net Galley, all opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4851523282

This was a super cute romance. I liked how I found myself rooting for different characters as the story developed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Cousens, Penguin Group Putnam and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t recall ever reading a Sophie Cousens book prior to this one, but she now has me looking to read more of her books! Her rom com was more than I ever could have expected from a rom com. All the in depth details that I always crave were there. I wasn’t left wondering what if. She kept surprising me the entire time I was reading her book. I loved it. I cannot wait to reread it, and I also cannot wait to read more of Sophie Cousens!

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account @ginganinja333 on October 11, 2022.

There are so many things I both liked and disliked about this book!

The beginning draws you right in and I appreciated the different glimpses in time, exploring Audrey’s various relationships. The love story between her and her true love (no spoilers) was phenomenally written.

However, I found many of the characters to be extremely unlikeable. Audrey goes through many different traumas, especially in her youth, but the book doesn’t truly offer her the space to heal from them. She comes off instead like a flighty, uncaring, and selfish person. Her relationship with her mom only adds to the drama, Josh comes off as a pompous jerk, and Fred seems slightly unstable and pushy. I did love Audrey’s relationships with Clara, Hillary, and Paul, plus Granny Parker wins as my favorite character.

This book fell victim to all the tropes that are overused in romance novels of late:
-Cheating Scandals
-Miscommunication/Lack of Communication
-MC wondering how much better their life would be if they’d made different choices and agonizing over them the entire book before realizing they already have what they’ve always wanted/needed.

I really liked both of Sophie Cousen’s other novels, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group/Putnam Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little nervous to dive back into another romance after taking a hiatus after some disappointing reads. I used to read exclusively romances before I burnt out, but this novel was exactly what I was looking for and made me excited to start reading more romance!

I was drawn in immediately from the prologue setting the scene with the female main character Audrey having what I would describe as the worst wedding weekend in history. I LOVE angst in my romance reads and between the love triangle and Audrey’s character development and backstory, I was totally hooked. It was a romance without being overly-romancy, if you know what I mean.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC!

This has all the fun, sweet elements I wanted in a book, so cute! I’d definitely recommend it to my family and friends.

On the eve of her wedding Audrey’s “what if” guy shows up at her rehearsal dinner and it throws her for a loop.
The story proceeds to go back and forth between the present day timeline and significant memories from
her past. Who is the right guy for Audrey and will she end up walking down the aisle?
Sophie Cousens does a splendid job with alternating the timelines. It was easy to follow along and I loved watching the different personal relationships build over Audrey’s lifetime leading to present day. Her friends were a hoot, her and her mothers story was an emotional ride, and the romance was sweet. The book pulled me in quick and I was really happy with how she wrapped it all up.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

Really enjoyed the way the author put the timelines together, and I was in suspense about who the protag would end up with. Very engaging.

This is another heartwarming romantic comedy by Sophie Cousens who has become an auto buy author for me. You first meet the main character, Audrey, as she is stumbling out of the church barefoot and in shock still dressed in her wedding gown. The opening scene sets up what quickly becomes a page-turner of a book as you are drawn into the story of Audrey’s romance with Josh, who is the opposite of Audrey in almost every way, and her chance encounter with Fred, whom Audrey is afraid may be her soulmate. With bad omens abound playing on Audrey’s fears that the universe may be sending her a sign, the author does a good job exploring the events that shaped Audrey and her relationship with Josh. Told through three different time periods, the book explains how Audrey got to the altar with some lingering doubts as she tries to answer the age old question, do opposites really attract or should you look for the one who perfectly reflects you? With well-developed characters and excellent writing, this story will have you rooting for Audrey as she navigates the chaos to make her decision. While having its roots as a romantic comedy, this story also explores some deeper relationship issues between Audrey and her mother, her father, and step-fathers which show the importance of familial relationships and how they shape you later in life. Overall, this is a story that any fans of romantic comedies will thoroughly enjoy!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the chance to read the electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an incredibly well-crafted book! I thought Sophie Cousens did an excellent job shifting between the timelines while telling a cohesive story. I agree with others that Audrey became a bit annoying, but I think that was kind of necessary for her journey as a character; it highlights her growth. I'll admit that at first I was wondering which guy the story was going to skew towards! I feel like I've been there with thinking "what if" when it comes to directions my life could have taken so I really empathized with Audrey in that sense. However, I liked the story and enjoyed reading it!

I loved what Sophie Cousens did with mixing the classic trope with the more common one. there are so many times you meet someone for the first time but the encounter seems mundane but later on has greater significance. I only gave it 4 stars because I didn't like her time in Ibiza, it felt a little forced and too far fetched, especially since a falling dead bat seemed plausible.