I think the reason I enjoyed this book so much is because I found the MC so incredibly relatable. And if I'm being honest, it's not the good things about her that made her relatable to me.

Audrey is having a mid-life, mid-wedding crisis when her "what-if" guy from the past shows up to her wedding as a plus-one. But really it's so much more than just that; Audrey has some trauma she has been ignoring for years, mother issues, and overall feels like she is still just trying to find herself so getting married feels like a big task.
Audrey is flawed. Very flawed. But in the most relatable ways. The most relatable to me was her learning what love/relationships really are and what they need in order to be successful. So. Damn. Relatable.

I loved the growth Audrey had. I loved the side characters. I loved Josh/James. It was a great book. I can't wait for more people to read it when it comes out this fall.

Thank you to NetGalley, publishers, and Sophie Cousens for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is my third Sophie Cousens, and I really enjoyed it!

I found this to be really relatable as someone in my mid/late-twenties in a long-term relationship. I loved the overall message that being in a real relationship is not like fate where everything magically falls into place - but requires work and actively choosing each other. There will be moments where you spend a Friday night ordering toilet paper and toothpaste off Amazon, but there will also be Spring morning walks where you look over and feel a surge of gratitude and adoration for the person in your life. This resonated with me deeply, and I like how the book normalized having doubts.

I love Sophie's writing and she is an auto-buy author for me. I like her books incorporate themes of fate/destiny, and how genuine the romance is between the two love interests.

REVIEW - 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 🌟

Audrey is getting ready to marry Josh - this is where the story begins. Josh and Audrey are opposites in every way. He is the picture of stability and she is flighty and unpredictable. And as the wedding day begins, everything starts to go wrong. Are these bad omens? Is Audrey making a huge mistake? She wonders if the differences between them are too great to overcome. Enter Fred - the “one who got away” six years ago. He is so different from Josh and exacerbates her fears that she is making a huge mistake. Is there one great love - a soulmate for every person? Was it Fred? Or can your great love be a wonderful life with your best friend? Is it fate? Or choice?

This question engages me and the way it is addressed is really well done. The book is told in multiple timelines and is more than the simple story of Audrey/Josh/Fred. Cousens does a masterful job of using these backstories set in between the hours beginning with the rehearsal and moving beyond the ceremony to help us understand the influences in Audrey’s life that have made her the woman she is now. Her relationship challenged mother, her deceased father, her friends - all play such a huge role in her development.

Audrey isn’t a perfect character. She has self esteem issues, anxiety and can be self focused. But those traits make her so relatable. I really felt for her and was cheering for her to make the right decisions for her. I could not put this one down!

Although this book is a “romance” I would not classify it as a romcom. To me it is more women’s fiction - a book written for a female audience to make us think - and in this case, we are thinking about love. What’s better than that?

Thank you to NetGalley, Sophie Cousens and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF for me. It just doesn't have the same magic of her other books, and I also heard from others this one was open door, which is something I try to stay away from.

Before I Do starts with a bang as the bride, Audrey, comes running out of her wedding that did not happen with a bump on head. This wonderful story tells the tale of Audrey's life from many years, many months and hours before and after her wedding. We learn that Audrey is trying to decide how she views love.

In Before I Do the author examines the theme of if falling in love with someone is a choice or if a certain person is your destiny. I loved watching the very relatable characters mature and change throughout the story. The back and forth timeline held my interest while leading me to believe I already knew the ending while in reality I only knew part of the story.

I am a huge fan of Sophie Cousins, and was so excited to read Before I Do. The author has a way of weaving in thoughtful themes with humor and the grittiness of life. I appreciate the depth of her writing and how she explores the harder themes of life in such a relatable and profound way. This was a wonderful story that I will continue to think about long after I turned the last page. I highly recommend this story.

I received a complimentary copy and was not required to write a positive review.

If you enjoyed One day in December and Always, in December, chances are you’ll enjoy Before I Do.

The book is written in different time lines, and it’s done very well. The story flowed well and made sense. There was a strong theme dealing with choices we make and fate, which Sophie Cousens addresses nicely. Audrey felt very real as we watched her go through changes and struggles throughout her life, making her even more relatable. It’s a romance novel, but not an overdone clichéd plot.

Thank you to Penguin Group-Putnam and Netgalley for an ARC of this book! I’ve willingly read and reviewed it. All opinions are my own.

BEFORE I DO is my third Sophie Cousens book and has firmly cemented her as one of my must-read authors.

Audrey is getting married to Josh, yet after a series of events dubbed “bad omens” by Josh’s grandmother, Audrey’s anxiety is getting the better of her. And then the man she shared a single incredible day with arrives at the rehearsal dinner with Josh’s sister, making her doubt everything she ever thought she wanted. Cousens intricately weaves three different timelines and two stories of love together to create a story that examines how many of us get tied up in the “what if?”s and imagining how life might be different if only a single event had swung in another direction, rather than trusting our guts and where we know ourselves to be.

There was so much to love about BEFORE I DO. Though similar to Taylor Jenkins Reid’s ONE TRUE LOVES in that it studies the idea of fate and personal growth, BEFORE I DO definitely offers something new. I loved getting to see into the couples’ pasts to see how they ended up together, especially that of Amy and James ;) And not only was it filled with some pretty eye-opening life lessons (Audrey’s friends Clara and Hillary hit me hard by pronouncing that you apparently don’t need to have your entire life figured out to be deserving of love?!?) but also one of the best/most entertaining apologies I’ve ever read.

The one that got away turns up on your wedding day - the story line pulled me in right away and I enjoyed the back and forth between the wedding weekend and years prior to the wedding. This was an easy, quick read - but is not a light rom-com if that is what you're looking for. This dives deep into family dynamics, questioning relationships and longing for those we've lost.

I didn't love Audrey as a main character and I truly despised Vivien - I actually found myself skipping over partial chapters where it was a lot of Vivien's backstory with past lovers. I also think the story would have been better if the chemistry was stronger between Audrey and Josh and if the ending wasn't so chaotic.

In the end, Before I Do was a unique story and I have not read anything like it before. I enjoyed reading it - Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying I loved this book! The very first line of this book description had me hooked because What would YOU do if ‘the one that got away’ turned up the night before your wedding?!?
I think we’ve all had those ‘what if’ moments at some point in our lives that make us question whether we really have control over our own destiny or if fate has a funny way of intervening and leading us to where we were meant to be.

In ‘Before I do’, we see Audrey have one day of spontaneity with photo booth Fred, that makes her feel alive; a spark that she has never experienced before.
Flash forward 6 years: Audrey and Josh are joined with their family at their Wedding Rehearsal when a series of unfortunate events have Aubrey questioning if she is making the right decision by marrying Josh. While Audrey and Josh are complete opposites, they balance each other out perfectly, and are exactly what the other needs. But when photo booth Fred shows up unexpectedly to the rehearsal dinner, on top of numerous unfortunate events that seem to continue well into the night, Audrey starts to question everything.

Are these unfortunate events signs to revisit the past and see what could be? Or is Audrey reading too much into them and potentially destroying a beautiful relationship?

This book was a very easy read that keeps you wondering who Audrey will end up with until the last couple chapters. It had me laughing out loud while also feeling for Audrey as she navigates through her past to allow herself the future and happiness that she deserves. Before I do’ is definitely a book that will stay with me!

Side note: Granny Parker is my favorite and I couldn’t stop picturing her as the grandma from the movie ‘The Proposal’.

I love Sophie Cousens. Both “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” and “This Time Next Year” were both solid five stars that I LOVED and I recommend to everyone. While “Before I Do” is also a solid 4 star, good summer read. This book explores the idea of your “What if?” guy showing up at your wedding. It asks questions about fate, destiny, soulmates and what “happily ever after” looks like. In the beginning, I found the main character (Audrey) kind of irritating. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and her fiancée, Josh to turn into a jerk but honestly, he was precious and I felt like he was a little too good for Audrey! You become invested in the characters and their futures. The end of the book took a humorous, “Unhoneymooners- like” turn that i liked! And even if Audrey wore on my nerves at times- I liked her by the end of the book. It’s a good one!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group/G.P. Putnam's Sons for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #BeforeIDo #NetGalley

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens
Pub Date: 11 Oct 2022
4/5 Stars

The story begins with the barefoot bride running from the wedding chapel. How many bad omens must appear before she gets the message? I love a dual timeline book. This one flit back and forth from memories of Audrey’s early twenties to the days surrounding her wedding.

It’s impossible not to care for these characters. I was all in from the beginning. I loved that Josh and Audrey’s relationship grew through chance meetings over the years. I loved that I wasn’t sure how it would end with them until close to then end. The scenes with Audrey’s mother’s creepy sculptor boyfriend gave me chills. I recommend this book for all lovers of romantic fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. #BeforeIDo #NetGalley

I love a story that explores multiple points in the main character's life, and this one certainly delivered! Before I Do tells the story of Audrey and Josh, opening on their disastrous wedding day that wasn't and going backwards to show us how they met, how their relationship developed, some of Audrey's life experiences that contributed to her wedding day doubts, all the wedding calamities... and what happened afterward.

It's not often that a romance novel surprises me with its twists and turns, or its outcome, but this one really took me for a ride. Before I Do offered real insight into the way our experiences shape our lives, and the way our assumptions about the behavior of others shapes the way we move through our relationships (romantic, platonic and familial). And the ending was SO satisfying. Well done, Sophie Cousens!

Audrey and Josh are about to get married, but bad things keep happening making Audrey doubt it’s meant to be. Told in alternating timelines it kept me wanting to see what was going to happen next. I loved the aspect of self exploration that also made me think about my own past in a similar way and “what if”.

I really enjoyed this romantic story! I love reading books with dual timelines and loved the characters. Another great read by Sophie Cousens! Thank you for my copy!

Read If you like:
⚛︎ Romance with depth
⚛︎ Love triangles
⚛︎ Multiple timelines
⚛︎ Astronomy

Summary: After a “meet cute” to end “meet cutes”, Audrey and Fred spend an incredible day together in what feels like the start of a relationship destined for greatness. Fast forward 6 years, and Audrey is marrying “bad jeans Josh.”

As bad omen after bad omen begin to unfold before the wedding, including the sudden reappearance of Fred, all but professing his love, Audrey must decide who it is she’s meant to be with and deal with the obstacles standing in her way.

Thoughts: From page one, I knew I was going to like this book. Even with third person narration, Sophie Cousens pulls you directly into her books and into her characters lives, and “Before I Do” was no exception.

These characters were fun to get to know, and Cousens did an amazing job flushing out each and every one of them. While this book is a romance, the added mother/daughter relationship and how it impacted Audrey so significantly is what takes this book from an average rom-com to a romance with more depth.

I am genuinely surprised that up until the midway point, I was completely torn by the love triangle and had no idea who I wanted Audrey to end up with, nor who I thought she would end up with. This is so unusual as I often know who I want to be endgame immediately. Again, I think this is a testament to Cousens’ writing.

This story features multiple moving timelines that rotate back and forth with no consistent order. While it’s fairly easy for the reader to follow, I imagine it must have been incredibly challenging as the writer, to make it all come together in a cohesive way. I am most impressed by her ability to tackle such a difficult style, and I think it is what makes this book so unique.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ★ rounded up to 5

Before I Do was a lot more thought-provoking than I expected. I thought the book was going to be more of a rom-com with Audrey trying to get out of marriage to the wrong man. Without any spoilers, it goes much deeper than that and actual also delves into emotional trauma and how they affect our relationships. The book was really good, but one character does a 180 and I had mixed feelings about it. Overall, I loved the story and would definitely read more from the author.

*Will post review on Amazon upon publication

thank you NetGalley for the arc!

it took me awhile to actually get into the story and even after i did i was already a little too slumped to actually enjoy it.

synopsis:

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 humor?

I loved this sweet story by Sophie Cousens! She has such a lovely way with words and I love her style of writing. Before I Do, much like her past books, played with the ideas of fated mates and how the choices we make determine our future.

In this book, we meet Audrey, who is marrying Josh in mere hours, but then a former flame, Fred, walks in to her rehearsal dinner and she is thrown for a loop. Is this a sign that she is meant to be with Fred? Is she ready to commit to Josh forever?

This book was told in two timelines, the present day counting down to her wedding and a variety of past timelines that gave the reader a picture of how Audrey could be in this predicament. I don't want to say too much because it will easily venture into spoiler territory, but I loved the way this story played out. I loved how Audrey grew as a person and as a partner. Most of all, I loved the beautiful theme of choosing someone and growing that love. This is the type of love story that feels real and solid.

Thank you to Sophie Cousens for continuing to write such lovely books, and thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was actually a masterpiece. I can’t complain about a single thing and enjoyed it thoroughly. Audrey is interested a lot in astronomy, like I am, so her nerdy knowledge was really nice to read. And I also like the characters a lot and got attached to them easily. The book also tells a lot about Audrey's family and especially her difficult mother and I literally liked all of them. Sophie Cousens' stories are always so unique and especially funny! The book tells parts before her ‘I Do’ and after it which made the book varied and kept me hooked! You also can’t guess what’s happening in the end, but the ending shows true love. Audrey’s wedding weekend was also deluged with bad luck and it was so fun to read! And which I liked, there happened a lot in the book, lots of memories, thoughts, inside jokes and trips. There maybe could have been even more about her wedding but it was still a balanced and great book! You should definitely read it because Sophie Cousens writes the best books!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮‘𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫:
☼ hard decisions
☼ lots of memories
☼ triangle relationship
☼ wedding vibes
☼ bad luck

Thanks to @netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a digital copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was very interesting. The book takes place during the span of just two days for the most part but with lots of flashbacks. I found this very intriguing. I have loved Sophie's books so I was really excited about this one. It was not my favorite mainly because some of the middle felt so slow. However, once I read the last page I was pleasantly surprised by how I felt. I ended up really liking the story. Vivien drove me crazy, and I really don't agree with who she is, but she was the only character that I really didn't like. This book also touched on some very tough topics which were hard to read but very empowering.