Emma Cooper's The One Before the One is a captivating exploration of love, grief, and the complexities of relationships. The narrative follows Liv, who, on the morning of her wedding to James, finds herself inexplicably transported back seven years to the flat she shared with her first love, Kit, just days before his mysterious disappearance. This time-slip premise sets the stage for a poignant journey of self-discovery and emotional reckoning.

The novel delves deep into Liv's internal conflicts as she navigates her feelings for both Kit and James, each representing different facets of her past and present. The dual timelines are intricately woven, offering readers a nuanced understanding of Liv's relationships and the choices that define her.

Cooper's writing is both tender and insightful, capturing the complexities of human emotions with authenticity. The characters are well-developed, with Liv's introspective nature providing a window into her soul. The supporting cast adds depth to the story, each contributing to Liv's journey in meaningful ways.

While the time-travel element adds an intriguing layer to the narrative, some readers may find certain aspects of the plot predictable. However, the emotional depth and character development more than compensate for any perceived narrative predictability.

In conclusion, The One Before the One is a beautifully crafted novel that resonates with readers long after the final page. It's a testament to the power of love and the importance of understanding one's past to shape a fulfilling future.

I unfortunately just couldn't get into this one :(

I agree with other reviewers that the pacing was a bit too slow.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC. The rating is my own.

The pacing from this was very slow, and I just did not connect with the characters, the time travel, and that epilogue. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

The one before the one is an emotional story full of secrets and can be a little confusing if you’re not fully engaged in the story, it takes you back to past and can confuse the reader specially because is told in third person.
Overall I did like it but wasn’t a fan of it.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 – Emotional and Thoughtful, But Didn’t Fully Click

The One Before the One has a powerful premise—Liv, on the verge of marrying James, wakes up a week before her ex, Kit, mysteriously disappeared. The idea of revisiting a pivotal moment in time is intriguing, and there are definitely emotional scenes that hit hard. 💔🕰️

Liv is a relatable character, and the book explores love, grief, and second chances with heart. I appreciated the emotional depth and the way it tackled big “what if” questions. However, the pacing felt uneven, and the time-travel element wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped—it left more questions than answers. 🤔

It’s a heartfelt story with a unique twist, but something about it didn’t fully land for me. Still, if you like slow-burn romance with a touch of magic and emotional introspection, this could be worth a read. 💫

The One Before the One by Emma Cooper

I loved this book. Full stop.
4.5 stars

I went in completely blind and honestly? If I’d known how good it was, there’s no way I would’ve waited to dive in. Emma Cooper delivers a contemporary romance that is so much more than a love story it’s a layered, emotional journey that absolutely gutted me (in the best way).

UGH... *clutches pearls*

This is not your light and fluffy romance read. It's poignant, raw, and deeply moving. Cooper captures heartbreak, healing, and the complexity of love with such care that I found myself completely swept up. I laughed, I cried, I had to take breaks just to process.

Themes:
Second chances
The one who got away...kinda
Emotional healing
Love after loss
Dual timeline (and done so well)

Would I recommend this book?
Absolutely. The One Before the One is one of those books that stays with you long after the last page. If you love your romances with depth, heartbreak, and hope, this is a 2025 release you do not want to miss.

A beautiful, somewhat crazy story of love told by Emma Cooper that stayed with me long after I finished reading. Told from 2 POVs we see Liv whose Liv’s boyfriend left her 7 years ago., and now as she gets ready to marry his best friend James she is transported back to the times she was with her boyfriend Kit., days before he left. I enjoyed a different type of suspense that this book offered and magic that we might like to believe in. A fantastic read, I couldn’t put it down

Seven years ago Livs boyfriend Kit disappeared on a hike and she thought she'd never get over it. But with the help of her friends and family she pushed through the grief and learned to live and love again. Then on the morning of her wedding she finds herself transported back in time to the last week of Kits life. She's now got the chance to change everything and if she gets it right she might be able to stop him from leaving. Can she save him and if she can how will she choose between the man she loved then and the one she loves now?

I really loved this. This had me gripped from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. This was part romance part mystery part time travel. The mystery aspect had me hooked I needed to know what had happened and why. This was written in dual pov which I always love and I liked being transported back in time trying to piece together the reasons why Kit disappeared. The romance was cute and I liked seeing Liv come to the realisation of who she really loved. This also deals with some heavy topics that are handled really well and I felt this wrapped up really nicely. Highly recommend.

✨Book Review✨

The One Before the One by Emma Cooper

Did this book have me up until 2:00 am because I had to see how it ended? Yes. Did I like it? Questionable.

It’s Liv’s wedding day. On her mind is her past boyfriend, Kit, who went missing on a hike 7 years earlier, who happens to be the brother of her about-to-be husband, James. On the morning of her wedding, she finds herself transported in time back to the week before Kit’s disappearance. Faced with the complicated emotional turmoil of being with Kit again and back to her previously cold and distant relationship with James, Liv must decide where her heart truly lies as she unravels the mystery of what happened to Kit.

This crazy ass plot for sure kept me up past my bedtime, and I think it was the most entertaining part. It feels like something my imagination would have cooked up when I was 16 (in a good way). The magical realism is fun. It’s interesting watching Liv strategize about what to do each day based on what she could remember from the “real” timeline and what she had learned the previous days back-in-time.

The problem, though, is that the plot was mostly entertaining because of its absurdity, and the rest of the novel was lacking. Characters didn’t feel particularly deep or interesting, the writing was just fine, the POV switch was at times frustrating. But the plot twist was very amusing, I thought, and I didn’t see it coming. Overall, I had a fun time reading but wasn’t really impressed with this one. Though I can imagine this making for an excellent book club read just because the plot is so amusing to talk to others about. (I was giving my partner updates the whole time.)

Thanks to @netgalley and @theboldbookclub for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. This is out now for those interested!

📖: (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hmm. I wasn’t invested in it but I kept going and wasn’t annoyed by listening to it so maybe that’s something? It seemed really all over the place and there was a lot going on. It definitely kept my interest until the end though.

4 1/2 stars

This book was definitely a little heartbreaking. It had some side plots that didn't always make sense to me, but they did manage to all come together in the end. It's a lose-lose situation. Liv's boyfriend, Kit disappeared years ago. They never found his body, but it appears that he must be dead with all the time that has gone by. She has moved on and is marrying someone else but then a mystical event happens, and she is reliving the days that led up to Kit's disappearance. As she desperately tries to make a difference and manages to see signs and clues, she keeps wondering what she'll do if events change and he never disappears. Will she still be marrying the other man in the future or will she still be with Kit. She can't decide which outcome she wants.

I really liked the way this story developed. Even though I was initially afraid it was going to feel a little like Groundhog Day (which I am not a fan of), it didn't. Liv lives through each day prior to Kit's disappearance only once...not over and over. It was well-done and I found it to be a solid read that really pulled me in and had me invested in the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy.

This book was great in retrospect but it was not a plot that I could see myself falling for, I chose this book because I do love an emotional plot where the main characters go through emotional growth and realistic growth. I love how a lot of the chapters were short and it contributed a lot to me staying with the story. I do wish there was a bit more character development

I loved this and this was my first read from this author and it won’t be my last. I loved the time splits although did that usual pang when I realise the chapter I had just read and was intrigued to learn more was about to go to a different viewpoint. Loved it.

The One Before the One by Emma Cooper is a story that focuses on Liv, who lost her boyfriend Kit while on a hike 7 years ago. With the sudden loss, she is left heartbroken and alone, grieving for Kit and the relationship they had. She finds love in a place so unexpected...in his brother James. Right before they are about to say their "I dos", there is a shift in time and Liv finds herself back in her apartment she shared with Kit, 6 days before the day she lost him. I really liked the back and forth in time, however, sometimes I felt a bit confused by the sudden shift. This didn't deter me though and I'm glad I kept going because I really enjoyed the book, as well as the way the author ended the story. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves the element of time travel, romance, and the unknown!

This story captured my heart from the very beginning. The characters felt real, the pacing was perfect, and every chapter pulled me in deeper. It was an emotional, unforgettable ride that I couldn’t put down. Beautifully written and full of heart, this book is a must-read for anyone craving a truly moving experience.

Well, what can I say other than this is utterly heartbreaking!
The One Before the One is one of those books which are really hard to write a review for; you have so much to say about it, but you don't want to give too much away. There is so much emotion thrown into every page of this, it's uplifting and deeply moving, it's hugely original and a definite new classic, one which will be read and re-read for many years to come.
This is such a different book from what I usually read. I'm not a magical/time-travel reader; it has to be a really special book in this genre to fully capture my interest, and this is one of them. I loved that all is not what it first appears, and it makes you second-guess things.
This book is an emotional roller-coaster, highs and lows, and so many turns with a few surprises. I loved the short chapters, the characters are lovely and relatable, it's sweetly romantic and will leave you feeling so satisfied and a little raw but really happy.

Just stunning. I had been looking forward to reading this book by the wonderful Emma Cooper, for months - I wasn’t disappointed. It’s beautifully written, a page turner full of love, desperation, heartache and some wonderful twists woven throughout. I fell head over heels in love with Liv, who Emma managed to bring to life through her wonderful writing. Now I just have to wait for the next one

This would have been a 5 star reading for me but the ending ruined it. I don't think the epilogue was needed and it didn't really add anything more to the story, it didn't even answer any of the questions I had!

I really liked the time travel aspect of it with Liv going back to work out what happened to Kit, her first love, before he disappeared. Once she realised she couldn't change anything in the past, she was able to do whatever she wanted or needed to find out the truth. It also meant that she was able to have conversations with her friends that they wouldn't remember - but she would. It's how she learns the truth about James.

I do think James and Kit's mum needed to get her comeuppance. She punished James for being the son of a gay man, even though it was no fault of his and on top of that, she kept him from his dad. She really needed to be forced to see the truth about her behaviour and I think this was an important part of the story that was missing. It should have been part of the epilogue.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I haven’t read and enjoyed a romance (par a novella) for years so I was so excited to find myself really enjoying this and intrigued by where the story would go.

Told in multiple POVs and timelines and with time travel elements and a mystery to uncover, this book felt like much more than a regular run of the mill romance and I think that’s why it worked for me.

I think it could have been a bit shorter but the fact it gripped me at all is pretty much miraculous as I’m a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to romance novels. I can see myself reading and enjoying more of Emma’s books in the future.

Poignant, magical, and emotionally rich, The Second Chance Week is a beautifully told story about love, loss, and the impossible choices that shape our lives. When Liv is suddenly thrown back in time to the week before her boyfriend Kit disappeared, she’s given a heart-wrenching opportunity: change the past, or protect the future she’s built without him. Perfect for fans of Shari Low and Paige Toon, this uplifting novel explores the power of grief, healing, and what it truly means to move on. A tender and unforgettable read