Adore Sophie Cousens' books!! I just discovered her a few months ago and have been reading through all her books non stop!! Add her and this book to the top of your list!!

Chloe is feeling a little lost. Between recovering from a bad relationship, moving back in with her parents and feeling stuck in her job as a PA for a small production company- she dreads receiving an invite for her college reunion. She is nowhere in her life where she thought she would be and doesn’t feel like she has met expectations as “most likely to succeed.” An opportunity to try out a new, modern dating experience called the Perfect Partner, leads Chloe to meet Rob. He is everything she could ever want or need in a partner, but that perfection comes with a catch that Chloe’s not sure she can truly accept.
Rob joins her at the reunion in order to boost her image and confidence. Chloe reconnects with her old friends Sean- a Hollywood screenwriter and director, and John- a musician and music producer. Sean and Chloe were inseparable in school until he admitted his feelings for her which she didn’t return. John and Sean were best friends and Chloe let her relationship with Sean affect her friendship with John. Looking back Chloe realizes that she was too focused on her self and missed out on connections and relationships that could have ended up being more than she could hope for. Now she’s stuck between staying with perfection and finding herself in something imperfect and real.

I honestly don’t know how to feel about this book. The writing was wonderful and full of Sophie Cousen’s signature wit and charm. However, the story itself didn’t resonate with me. I yearn for another book similar to This Time Next Year or Just Haven’t Met You Yet. Overall, And Then There Was You has an intriguing story and is timely with where we are at as a society.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Cousens has a knack for writing rom-coms that are equal parts funny, heartfelt, and clever, and And Then There Was You might just be my new favorite from her. Chloe is such a relatable heroine—thirty-one, stuck in a job that doesn’t quite fit, and dreading the ten-year reunion that threatens to expose all the cracks in her carefully constructed façade. Her mix of vulnerability, humor, and resilience made her someone I wanted to root for from page one.

The reunion setting was pitch-perfect, full of nostalgia, awkward encounters, and “what ifs.” Add in Sean, the former best friend turned successful film director, and Rob, the too-good-to-be-true dating service match, and you’ve got a story that balances romance with self-discovery in a truly satisfying way. The banter sparkled, the emotional beats landed beautifully, and the twist with Rob added an extra layer of intrigue that I did not see coming.

What I loved most, though, was the way this book explored not just love, but identity and self-worth. Cousens has such a gift for reminding us that sometimes going back to where we started is the only way to figure out where we’re meant to go.

Charming, witty, and full of heart, And Then There Was You is an absolute delight. If you loved Just Haven’t Met You Yet or Before I Do, you’ll adore this one too. Sophie Cousens proves yet again that she’s one of the best voices in contemporary romance.

Thank you Putnam Publishing, NetGalley and Sophie Cousens for the ARC of this book.

I’ve read several of Sophie Cousens’ books, and I’m always enjoy her ability to create stories that are captivating, heartfelt, and entertaining. I was so excited to receive an ARC of this one, but I’ll be honest—this didn’t quite feel like Cousens’ usual storytelling style.

Chloe is a hopeful romantic who is constantly trying to meet the expectations of others. She wants to feel successful and achieve all the things. But life hasn’t exactly gone according to plan, and the thought of attending her college reunion fills her with dread. She was one voted to be most successful in her class and many of her friends saw her as a rising star. She afraid for them to see a life and career that hasn’t turned out perfectly. So she enlist the help of Rob—her seemingly perfect match who checks every self created box. But as Chloe begins to unravel holes in her memories of college, she’s forced to question whether Rob is really what she wants and needs… or if there’s something more true waiting for her.

This story had some really fun, unexpected surprises, but for me, certain elements felt overdone while others felt underdeveloped. I found myself wishing for more depth into Chloe’s college years and more time to truly build out the true love story. The ending, in particular, felt rushed, as if there was still more left to explore. In many places, the timing and pacing felt off.

All in all, it was a good read—but it will not strike as my favorite from Cousens. It took me longer to get through than her other books, partly because I struggled to connect with certain elements of the story.

If you love contemporary romance with a unique twist of modern technology, this may be one to add to your list.

4 ⭐️ This story captures the messy, flawed, and unpredictable nature of love through a woman’s search for connection—even if it means dating an AI robot—only to realize that real love might have been beside her all along. Heartfelt, funny, and surprisingly tender, Sophie Cousens reminds us that the imperfections of human relationships are what make them truly beautiful.

This ARC was provided by Putnam via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ✨

I've read one other Sophie Cousens book, and I liked it. This one? Not so much. The story follows Chloe, who attends her ten-year college reunion at Lincoln College, Oxford, worried that she hasn’t lived up to her “most likely to succeed” title. She lives at home, has a dead-end job, and is anxious about how she compares to her former friend Sean Adler, now a successful film director.

Chloe ends up at a shady dating agency, where she is paired with Rob, a human-like android so perfect no one would guess he isn’t real. She takes him to Oxford for the reunion, reconnects with Sean, and also starts to rekindle a friendship (and eventually a romance) with John, a friend she treated really badly when they were in school. Eventually, she decides that a perfect robot isn’t what she wants, Chloe and John get together, Rob goes back to the storage room at the dating agency, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Where this book fell apart for me was in the characterization—particularly Rob. He’s meant to be the sweet and attentive perfect boyfriend, but I couldn't get past the fact that he’s a MACHINE. His dialogue and behavior swing wildly from perfectly human to weirdly mechanical, and rather than being endearing or charming, he's just sexy R2D2. The idea that Chloe even considers sleeping with him is, frankly, gross. Another female character actually sleeps with her robot partner, with the implication that “once you’ve experienced perfect sex with a robot, nothing else will compare.” Wow, thanks for making women look like the shallowest creatures on the planet.

John is his own kind of weird. He lies about his emotional support dog, who isn't, in fact, an emotional support dog -- John just wants to take him everywhere. That's kind of uncool. He's also in a LOVE TRIANGLE WITH A FREAKING ROBOT. At one point Rob gets disconnected from his power source and collapses. John is doing CPR on a robot who isn't breathing, who then suddenly sits up and says hi. He's freaked out by this, but not enough to do anything about it. He just buys Chloe's nonsensical explanation like an idiot. This is not how life works.

Chloe confesses to her classmates, they all say "oh shucks, that's ok, even though we've all spent the weekend befriending someone who isn't real," and then the friends confess their own inner fears and failures. Never mind that these people all went to OXFORD and they've all already succeeded beyond most of our wildest dreams just because of that. I don't feel bad for them. And I don't want to hear any more about what any of them are wearing, for crying out loud.

I'm sure this book was meant to show that messy, imperfect human relationships beat perfectly programmed companionship -- that our imperfections are what give our relationships depth. A machine like Rob is endlessly patient and charming, but he'll never challenge or surprise you. Okay, Sophie, message received. But it's not enough to save this book for me.

1.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I loved this book! The fake dating in this book was so cute! I also loved the other relationships in this book.

Sophie Cousens is one of those authors I trust to always deliver a good time, and And Then There Was You was no exception. Her writing is soooo easy to get lost in! I also actually ended up enjoying the central theme of human vs. AI relationships. I’ll admit... I was side eyeing it at first (an android boyfriend.... really? in 2025?), but by the end I appreciated how it made me think about what “perfect” actually means in love and life and as always, Sophie Cousens characters are fantastic. Just like in Is She Really Going Out With Him, you leave the book loving every character you met (obv except for the character you are not meant to)

That said, the romance in the beginning left me a little weirded out. Rob was fun, but I honestly wish he had stayed in the “supportive friend/professional companion” lane instead of dipping into love interest territory... and when the actual love interest showed up, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me because the synopsis never mentions him (fun!). It took me a while to adjust, but I did end up liking how things wrapped up in the end!!

A highlight moment for me was totally the bus scene. Seeing everyone drop the act that Chloe was struggling with as well all weekend and admit their truths was equal parts hilarious and heartwarming. It nailed the book’s message that no one really has it all together, even if it looks that way from the outside.

Overall, while this isn’t my new favorite from Cousens (Is She Really Going Out With Him still holds that crown 😍), it was a quirky and charming story that left me smiling. A lot of people are going to judge this book purely based on the fact that it even mentions AI, and while I don't fault people for having their opinions on it, I am just looking at this book for what it is. A story! I believe there was some inspiration pulled from AI chatbots for accuracy (since Sophie mentions this in her authors note), but this book felt so familiar to Sophies voice

I’d put it at 3.75 stars, but rounding up to 4 for NetGalley because Sophie’s storytelling is just that good.

This book is particularly relevant to our current environment. Sophie Cousens delves into the world of AI but does so in her usual lighthearted, fun way. The story was interesting and made me think about the world we are currently living in and what it may look like in the future as AI becomes more prominent and expands. Yet she kept her trademark humor and made me laugh out loud throughout the book.

It was so easy to relate to Chloe. Sometimes the life we thought we would have doesn't end up being the life we live. When Chloe is invited to a college reunion, she doesn't want her classmates to see her as a failure. Enter Rob, the boibot she has on a trial run. Rob is the perfect guy. But as Cousens shows us, being a perfect boibot isn't always what is needed. I enjoyed following Chloe on her reunion weekend and seeing how things unfolded.

I absolutely love Cousens' writing style. She always has a way of pulling me into the story immediately and making me feel as though I am catching up with friends. I love the humor she injects into the stories and the way she can make me laugh out loud at the antics of her characters. With this book in particular, I enjoyed the way she used AI as part of her storyline. She made me think about the future and perhaps gave a glimpse of where we could be headed. I think it is great in these times that we are reminded to detach from technology and stay connected to real people and real things. She does an excellent job of bringing this to light in the story.

This is definitely a book I will recommend. Sophie Cousens has quickly become a must-read author for me. This book was a delight to read and one for the keeper shelf!

Thank you, @putnambooks, for the #gifted eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Ten years after her college graduation, Chloe isn’t living the life she thought she would be, so she enlists the help of a mysterious dating service to help her find a 10/10 plus one to take to her reunion.

Well, that was weird. This book did not do it for me like Sophie’s books usually do. To start, I went in totally blind and was super surprised by the sci-fi twist and honestly didn’t mind it at all! As a romance reader open to sc-fi, I was here for it.

Yet, overall, I felt like this book lacked the magic I have found Sophie’s other books to have. The multiple love interests left me sort of aimless - I didn’t know who to root for and in the end, I didn’t feel the reader got enough time with Chloe and the man she got her HEA with. I didn’t feel overly invested or connected to them.

On the sc-fi front, I felt like the message of why NOT AI was a little heavy handed. And it sort of felt like the lessons Chloe learns over the course of the reunion weekend were a big fat DUH to me. She even reflects on maybe being naive at one point and I was like UH YEAH.

I went into this book blind as Sophie Cousens is an auto-buy for me. I have to admit that my heart sank when I realized there was a sci-fi twist to this story. That being said, I did enjoy this twist on an escort for hire/fake dating trope. It wasn’t what I expected, and that wasn’t a bad thing. The Oxford backdrop for a good portion of the story was perfect. I did wonder why Richard the dog ended up being a fake support animal, Cousens seemed to signpost neurodivergence in John the whole book and it could’ve worked as part of his toolkit, but I guess that’s a missed opportunity. Overall, cute love story with fun characters.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of this book. AI is something I am vehemently against, so when Robert was found out to be an AI robot, my mind immediately forced me to emotionally checkout from this book. It’s definitely different from everything I’ve ever read, and I’m sure there will be a good demographic that will enjoy this book and the plot. Just not for me.

Thank you to Putnam Publishing and Sophie Cousens for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my review
This book was a 5⭐️ read for me personally. I have heard many incredible things about Sophie Cousens and it was an honor to read this early copy. Between hearing good things about the author and seeing this cute book cover I was immediately sold before even reading what it was about. However, the premise hooked me as soon as I read it.
I absolutely loved the writing style and fast pacing of this book. I love the concept of showing up to a reunion with “The perfect partner”, only to realize perfection isn’t always what you really need. The AI partner twist was so unique, it made me laugh out loud while also making me think about what we look for in a partner.
Honestly I am having a hard time finding an aspect I didn’t like, I enjoyed this ride from start to finish.
My favorite aspect of this book was definitely the mystery of not knowing who the “imp” was and trying to figure out who it might be(my guess was right!)
This book was honestly everything I was looking for, funny, clever, heartwarming and thought provoking. And Then There Was You was definitely one of my favorite reads of the year!
I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves rom-coms with a twist and books that will make you kick your feet and giggle like a crazy person, also to anyone that needs a little yearning in their life!

DNF at epigraph.. I get it’s probably meant to be a joke but saying you used ChatGPT leads me to believe that maybe it was used elsewhere in the book too. If not please consider removing that “joke” authors are fighting for their lives against AI. Stop contributing to the issue.

ahh I love Sophie Cousens and really wanted to like this!! But I felt blindsided by the twist and just didn't love it and ended up DNF :/ super bummed because I love all her other work!! This just wasn't for me

I always enjoy Sophie Cousens books, <i>And Then There Was You</i> was no exception.

Cousens is outstanding with character development and really brought Chloe's angst to life as she navigates a college reunion without the life she'd expected to have at that point. I enjoyed Chloe's growth from pretending to accepting and then to acknowledging that her life was not where she wanted it to be--at least yet, and that was reality. The futuristic aspect of the story was thought-provoking and having read the author's note, I appreciate the direction she took with it vs. the other options she considered.

Many thanks to G. P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for gifting me this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for sharing this ARC!

This book...took an interesting turn. Be forewarned, there is a significant plot point that is left vague in the summary blurb.I feel that this should be clearer to readers, given the climate today with artificial intelligence in bookish spaces. I think not being clear is going to unfortunately backfire for a lot of readers.

This was so different than Sophie’s usual formula! I really enjoy sci-fi plots, so this plus Sophie Cousens was so fun. Without spoiling anything, I do think it’s necessary to boldly state that there is an AI character in this and that the plot explores romance in that setting. I enjoyed that aspect and it was really thought provoking. The plotline was well done and kept me interested throughout. Also the dog Richard, was the star of the show for me. The second chance was my favorite part and I loved the MMC. He was so perfectly understated and loved her quietly but took care of her even when she didn’t know he was.Chloe felt highly relatable and it was fun to watch her figure out her life and what’s important to her. Overall, I did enjoy this one and felt it was a solid read. As usual Sophie Cousens balances heartfelt, emotional and hilarious

Thank you Netgalley & G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC of this book! ‘And Then There Was You’ was a sweet & fun romance with a super unique twist. I found myself looking forward to each moment I was able to sit down and read it. I really loved the message behind the book and the growth for the main character, Chloe. There were several laugh out loud moments for me, and I genuinely enjoyed the story. This is only my second Sophie Cousens read, but she’s quickly becoming one of my favorite light-hearted rom-com authors!

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this book the way I wanted to. I’ll try again when I’m in a different reading mood!