Counting Down to You is a romance about Sophie and Adam, high school sweethearts who drift apart after a terrible accident. Following the accident, Sophie sees numbers in everything, including how long someone has left to live. She’s tried desperately to save people before their death date but has been unsuccessful. One day she runs into Adam but finds he has a strikingly low number. She’s torn between embracing the days she has left with him or continuing to push him a way to prevent herself from getting hurt.

This book had my emotions all over the place. I was back and forth on how the book would up until the last chapter. The idea of Sophie being able to see everything in numbers was really intriguing to me and I loved all the characters. I’d rate this book 4/5 stars. ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC.

Sophie and Adam used to be childhood sweethearts. Then Sophie got into a car accident that killed their friend Lily, and retreated from her friendship group as she felt responsible for the accident.

She also received a brain injury and now sees numbers everywhere - from numbers of tiles in a bathroom to how many days someone has left to live. It's not something you can go broadcasting around, and it drives Sophie mad.

Ten years later she has become a quilter doing memory blankets, and one day Adam, now a teacher with an eight year old daughter, comes to the shop she works in. She realises she still has feelings for him but does everything to put him off when she realises his number is only 24 days. She has tried before to save people with a low number but has never succeeded as they just died a different way instead, Iike her beloved mentor Joan.

There are flashbacks to the time of the accident ten years ago, and both Adam and Sophie get a POV. This works well to get to know both of them. I don't know much about maths and Möbius strips but I loved the side characters - Adam's daughter Wren, Joan, Sophie's boss Bernard and old Walter who'd rather know what fate has in store for him.

While I had nothing against Sophie's weird magical realism condition, I thought it was solved a little too quickly and illogically at the end, like the author didn't know how to actually deal with Adam's probable death. Also that stalker thing was a bit weird and overblown.

It was lovely how Sophie and Adam found together again and became a little family unit with Wren, plus Adam and Wren getting a closer father-daughter bond too. I liked this a lot more than the author's previous book "Meet Me on the Bridge". The book reads well and is a nice slow-burn second chances romance, if you don't mind magical realism and maths talk.

This book made me feel like I was actually at the beach and I absolutely adored the characters. Such a sweet love story! Loved every minute.

@currentlyreading__
Book 26 of 2025

The second book of June was a really beautiful one and one which should be on your pre-order list. Big thanks go to the author Sarah J Harris, the publishers and @NetGalley for the ARC. I read (and loved) One Ordinary Day at a Time in March so was thrilled to receive Counting Down to You. Sophie is our FMC who, after an accident, sees numbers everywhere and these correspond to how many days they have left. So when Adam, her first love returns, she finds that he has only twenty-four days left to live. After failing to save so many people, why would she want to get involved with Adam once again when her heart is sure to be broken?

I love Sarah’s writing- warm, full of heart with characters I care about. And I love a dual timeline too! I love a bit of magic realism so this tender, emotional page turner had all of the elements to make me smile. A definite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. Thank you @sarahjharriswrites.


Out 15th July - pre-order now https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0D31YD2LL/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

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You know when a book is good, because you want to re-read it as soon as you've finished reading it the first time! I was hooked straightaway on this. The love story is very cleverly written. I love the mathematical references. Adam, Sophie, and Wren are wonderful characters. And Adam is swoon-worthy! The story weaves between past and present, and honestly, I can only say good things about this book. All the side characters are interesting and add to the story, just like the pieces of fabric all add up to make an amazing quilt. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Counting Down to You is a poignant novel that makes you think about relationships and what we do with the time we have left. What if you knew exactly how many days your loved one had left on earth? How would you spend it? Would you tell them? Would you help them make memories, fix regrets, or try to cram a lifetime into a few days or weeks?

When she wakes up from a tragic accident, Sophie discovers numbers everywhere, including above people. She realizes this is a lifetime countdown and vows to never date someone with less than 55 years left to live so she can have a lifetime of love ahead of her. But, she continues to compare them to her high school sweetheart--Adam. Despite her devastation at their breakup, Sophie refuses to contact him--not wanting to know how much time he has left. An unexpected run-in has her questioning everything--How Adam can still make her heart race and how he only has a few weeks left to live. Is it possible to change the clock?

I really enjoyed meeting Sophie and wrestling with her through her ability and its impact on her relationships. I found myself wondering what I would do with her feeling of guilt, inevitability, and how I might relate to those I care about. Her trust issues seemed so foundational to her character, and I loved watching Adam and others help tear that down and rebuild her as an adult. Sophie and Adam's relationship had so much redemption--for themselves individually and as they explored second-chance romance. I found the poignancy of their decisions and growth of their relationship to be raw and relatable. I do wish some of Sophie's conflicts with others had not been resolved so easily and conveniently. I think it would have been great to see how Adam helped her through some of those trials. I also felt that the character that had been created with Sophie would have made some different decisions, especially regarding Adam in the beginning, but I understand why the author chose to convey the story the way she did.

Readers who want to ponder some deeper life questions while enjoyed a well-crafted story and compelling characters will enjoy this book.

3.5 ⭐ rounded up to a 4 for Goodreads. What would you do if you could see how many days everyone had left to live? If your whole life changed after one tragic accident when you were a teenager and you haven't been able to look back? Guilt and shame overwhelm you and you wish you could change that one night.

The premise of this book was really interesting and I liked the way the story was told. The dialogue felt stilted and unnatural to me, this the 3.5⭐ rating. The book did make me think about how I would feel and what I would do if this was my life.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC to enjoy.

Sophie tragically had an accident that left her with a bizarre new trait... she can now see numbers everywhere. More importantly, she can now see the amount of days that someone has left to live....

I feel like this had a really promising plot, one that I personally have seen before, but I'm not sure it quite hit the mark for me.

When I started this book, I really enjoyed it and it captivated me to read more and find out more about our main characters. I really enjoyed the side characters that Sophie interacts with, perhaps even a little bit more than our MMC. I found our MMC a little bit tiresome after a while, and wasn't a fan of his personality traits.

That being said, I really enjoyed the relationship being portrayed with our FMC and MMC. This is a second chance romance and I could really feel their bond returning throughout the book.

I think the one big thing I couldn't get over, was how the book was written. I wasn't a fan of the overly used exclamation points (that being a personality trait of our MMC) and also the dialogue between a number of characters. Personally, I felt that the dialogue in some scenarios were a little bit juvenile.

I do think this would be a nice and easy read, especially for summer. I feel like a lot of people would enjoy this book a lot more, especially if you do not have a preferred writing style.

thank you netgalley for the arc!

this book has a very good and promising premise, and i think it was quite original. we follow sophie and see how she sees the world after a car accident, changing her life forever. it was very interesting to be able to see from her perspective. exploring her relationships with other people was lovely, i loved the little time we spend with joan and the friendship between her and walter. the romance was good but not remarkable, in my opinion. i liked the addition of wren (though i'm not gonna say who she is as to avoid spoilers!).

i do think the book was a little bit too long. i found myself somehow forcing myself to continue in some parts, mostly around the middle. but the pace picked up by the end, and i read through that in a breeze. also, in the adam chapters sometimes i did not vibe with the writing style and words/sentences used, though i understand is to portray adam's personality (which, to be honest, i did not really like. indecisive people make me nervous).

overall, this was a nice read. nothing out of this world, but enjoyable and different to other romance stories i've read. if you enjoy the genre, i recommend this book!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Just finished Counting Down to You by Sarah J. Harris and honestly… I’m still thinking about it .

Such a unique idea, with a dual POV and dual timeline that worked so beautifully ✨ I loved both characters and how their stories slowly came together—it had me hooked from the first page .

This was my first book by Sarah J. Harris but definitely not my last! Her writing is warm, emotional and totally absorbing.

Huge thanks to Amazon Publishing, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC 💌
#CountingDowntoYou #NetGalley

This book broke me in the softest, most beautiful way. I cried. I smiled. I held my breath more times than I can count. And I finished it feeling like my heart had been cracked open and gently stitched back together. An absolutely beautiful read.

I really enjoyed Sarah’s previous books.

In this one, Sophie develops a form of synaesthesia where she can see numbers everywhere. From the dimensions of things, number of tiles on the floor to how many days someone has to live. And she finds what she sees very hard to share as people wouldn’t believe she could know that which takes a toll on her mental health which is threaded through the story.

But despite that being in the background, on the surface it is a light romance that is fun. I did find it a bit repetitive in the middle but was propulsed to the ending which I enjoyed.

This reminded me of the brilliant “Numbers” trilogy, but a more grown-up version!

When Sophie looks at a person, she sees how many days they have left to live. It can be wonderful, to see someone with literally their whole life ahead of them and it’s also difficult and devastating when she sees someone with a very short time left. After trying to save someone who meant a lot to her and failing, Sophie knows that you can’t change fate. So when her one true love, Adam, reappears in her life, with only 24 days left, Sophie is bereft.

This was a quick, fun read, predictable in places, but with a lot of heart at its core. I often feel, in romance books, that I want to give the potential couple a shake and tell them to just flipping communicate! This was the case here, at times, but then how do you tell someone their time is almost up?

Enjoyable with some touching moments.

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah J. Harris and Amazon for an ARC of this book.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up

The storyline of this one was really interesting. It reminded me of a K-drama I watched a long while ago called About Time, so I was instantly drawn!

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style of this book. It made it a bit difficult to get through. There was an excessive amount of exclamation points, which the MMC does mention for some odd reason, and apostrophes being used rather than quotation marks really threw me off. I don’t usually include anything about the writing in reviews, but I am including it here because it affected my reading experience.

Sophie and Adam’s story was a lovely one to follow. Second chances aren’t easy to write, but I feel like it fit so well in this story. I also loved seeing Wren open up to Adam. It was a very wholesome story.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to ARC read this!

After surviving a devastating car accident as a teenager, Sophie is left with an unusual condition. Everywhere she looks, she sees numbers…the measurement of things, how many leaves on a tree, the degree of angles around her. As annoying as that may sound, it’s not the worst part. She also sees a specific number whenever she looks at a person. She sees exactly how many days they have left to live. At first she tries everything to prevent people around her from dying, but eventually she realizes there’s nothing she can do to change fate. So she learns to live with it. And then her high school sweetheart walks back into her life. Their paths may have gone in different directions but the passion is still there. Can Sophie open herself up to love again? Or will her condition prevent her from taking that chance? This was a really good story, different from what I normally read. It’s kind of a romance, but it’s also a lesson on living each day to its fullest.

the premise of this book was so promising! i was really interested with the fact that our fl sees numbers and that our ml is a math professor!! this read so easily like a rom-com.

special mention to wren - i loved her character a lot (which is surprising, because most books that include children doesn’t actually make them feel or talk like kids!!).

overall, i enjoyed this book! thank you, netgally, for the arc!!

The premise of this book sounded amazing! Sort of like The Measure but only 1 person knows your "end date". But I really struggled to get into this one unfortunately. I didn't find the main character all that likeable and all the talk of number was kind of a slog to read through. But the idea is interesting so maybe it's just not for me. I honestly think this would be better as a movie!

While the pacing may feel slow to some, the emotional payoff is worth it. It’s not just a story about trauma — it’s about survival, love, and finding the courage to speak up even when it’s hardest.

Sarah J Harris excels at books with a hook, and this one is no exception. When Sophie has an accident which leaves her able to see how many days each person has left to live, it is an added complication when the love of her life returns to her, ten years later, with only 24 days before his untimely death. Sophie’s anguish at how to manage her emotions and deal with this dilemma is beautifully drawn out, as is the relationship she begins with him and his young daughter. Amongst the will-they-won’t-they, the emotional push-and-pull of a romance novel, several poignant themes are woven throughout the narrative: the importance of friendship and family ties; the idea that it is the small moments in our lives that matter, because we really don’t know how much time we have left. Funny, sad and hopeful, this is a great concept that will keep readers guessing until the very satisfying end.