Thank you NG & Boldwood Books for an e-arc!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Liv's boyfriend, Kit, disappears on a hike, she thought her life was over. Her family and friends helped her with the grief. Eventually, she found love again. On the morning of her wedding, Liv steps through a door way and finds herself in a flat, seven years earlier, with her boyfriend Kit. She has six days to figure out what's going on with her boyfriend, and try to stop him from leaving.

I enjoying reading this book, read it in one day! It was an emotional rollercoaster for me. There were so many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat.
This book contains a mix of romance and mystery. The dual timeline was engaging, offering a fascinating look at the characters' past and present.

I recommend this book!

where to start? This book pulls you in from the beginning. loving each character and invested in Liv’s love stories and her heartbreak. Twists and turns and unexpected developments take the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. A bit of time travel where you’d least expect. And an ending that ties it all up neatly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The One Before the One had that touch of turning back time that I love to read about it. The ability to actually impact that timeline is always 50/50 depending on the author and in this story I was curious which way it would go given the premise. The story focuses on Liv, who is about to get married to James. James just so happens to be the brother of Kit, the boyfriend that Liv was deeply in love with when he disappeared seven years ago. When moments before her wedding Liv finds sentimental gift that harkens back to her relationship with Kit, along with a note that seems to indicate he is alive, our timeline rewind occurs.

From the jump it’s important to note that the possible ick at James and Liv’s relationship is addressed and as a reader it’s easy to understand after four years of Kit missing how Liv and James could begin a relationship leading to a wedding a further three years down the line. And getting to see Liv go back to her life with Kit 6 days before his disappearance was helpful in setting the stage as to why she was so in love with him as I thought our look back might reveal he wasn’t so great. What it instead reveals is why Kit disappeared along with helping Liv feel confident in which of the brothers she really loves. Towards the end we get a twist that may or may not have been anticipated, but what follows will warm your heart.

A hard book to reveal and not spoil, but if you’re into stories focused on looking back to the past, romances, and a little mystery sprinkled in this is a solid book to pickup.

This book was interesting and drew me in at first, but it didn’t blow me away by the end.

I would say the first 45% of this novel keeps you on your toes, but after that it seems to drag on. I liked the whole mystery aspect but it could have been played out better. The flashbacks for Kit were also a bit boring and I wanted more substance to them.

I did like the overall concept. It’s very interesting to get to relive a week of your life with someone you lost. I hope to go back and reread this one someday and maybe I will get more out of the experience.

I can see myself reading other works by this author in the future.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

read it in one day! it was very interesting and it felt like multiple plot twists in one. it definitely kept me on my toes the entire time. i will say it was pretty wordy. so because of that i did skip a bit and still felt like i wasn’t missing anything. i definitely think the book could’ve done without a few chapters. other than that i did enjoy it. i loved seeing everything unfold and finding out the truth about kit. also james mom is such a ugh mom! i also wished we’ve gotten more of Liv with her true love (i won’t spill the beans on that) you’ll have to read to out! thank you again for allowing me to be apart of this ARC and allowing me to give an honest review ! it was a good one.

wow. this book was something, it got me stunned for real if this is the unedited version i can’t even imagine what will be the edited one, it was so GOOD.
This book mixed up mystery and romance so well and it got so many plot twists especially during the last 10 chapters it got me shock so many times that i had to go back to see the clues the author gave in the book.

the characters are just so well written, i seriously love the protagonist, she was such a girl boss in so many ways especially after every thing she endured, her true love (I’m not going to say who 👀), at first i was kind of septic but when you compared the first few chapters and the middle to the last one, it makes so much sense.

overall i COULDNT put down this book, i really recommend it, read it asap !!

thanks netgalley & boldwood books for this incredible arc !!

Triggers: addiction

I was very intrigued by the premise, and I was not disappointed! This book is an absolute emotional rollercoaster, and I was not prepared for the twists and turns. There were many moments where I was mindblown and just stared at the words with a shocked look on my face. I read this in one sitting: it was a page turner (I wanted to know what happened to Kit), and there were a lot of tears and heartbreaking moments.

Liv was having a seemingly amazing life with her boyfriend Kit, until one day he disappears and is presumed dead. Seven years later, she has found a second chance at love with... Kit's BROTHER (not a spoiler, but I was like OH.), James. On the morning of her wedding day, Liv suddenly finds herself back in time, a week before Kit disappears. She decides to use this opportunity to save Kit and stop him from going on that hike that led to his disappearance. But what does this mean for her current relationship with James? As she relives the days before Kit's disappearance, there is so much more than meets the eye.

This book combines romance, mystery with a paranormal twist, has a dual POV, and makes you go through emotional hell. At first, I was thrown off by James and Liv's relationship born from their shared tragedy, but their connection and relationship was portrayed as very intertwined with Kit's disappearance but also kind of separate and somehow, it worked. Liv is such a strong character and I loved how she was bold and a fighter but also still full of love for the people she cares about. She knew what her path was and never wavered from her purpose. She's struggled with a lot of tragedy in her life, and I was first and foremost rooting for her happiness. The author leaves small clues throughout the book that really come together during the last few chapters, but I was NOT expecting this book to go the way it did. This book is ultimately about redemption, healing, and second chances. I was very happy with the ending and with the character arcs (no spoilers), and I definitely need several days to process this book.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

When Liv’s boyfriend Kit disappeared on a hike, seven years earlier, she thought her life was over. But with the help of their family and friends, she’s pushed her way through the grief, and now, miraculously, she's found a way to love again.

Until the morning of her wedding, when Liv steps through a doorway, and finds herself, somehow, back at the flat she shared with seven years earlier, six days before he left. Now, Liv has a chance to live those six days over, and change everything. If she gets this right, she can find out why Kit leaves and stop him.

But can she save him? And if she does, how will she choose, between the man she loved then, and the one she loves now?

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

Wow, just wow. I haven't read a book that gave me goosebumps. If the unedited version gave me chills, I could not imagine reading the full, clean version for the first time.

GET THIS BOOK. It has romance, mystery, and an unreliable narrator. It's just so good and would guarantee give you a book hangover.


Edit: This is a reminder to write a full analysis review. Thank you, Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liv y Kit estaban enamorados, muy enamorados. Su vida era maravillosa hasta que un día él desaparece en un viaje, nunca es encontrado y es dado por muerto. Años después, ella logra sanar e incluso se vuelve a enamorar. El día de su boda, descubre algo sobre Kit que podría cambiarlo todo. Cuando intenta descubrir la verdad, es transportada siete años atrás, seis días antes de la desaparición. Ahora tiene la oportunidad de cambiar el pasado, pero, si lo hace, ¿qué ocurrirá con su futuro con James?


Me encantó. Desde el principio, la historia empezó con fuerza y nunca perdió intensidad. Estuve atenta todo el tiempo, tratando de no perderme ningún detalle. Por ejemplo, cuando llega el capítulo en que se revela quién es la otra persona que está narrando, tuve que regresar a los capítulos anteriores para ver si había pistas que me había pasado por alto.

Me hubiera gustado leer más escenas de Liv con su gran amor (no diré quién es), pero solo de ellos dos.




Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.