Sophie Cousens' witty writing hooked me right from the start. Her storytelling has that perfect mix of humor and heart, and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. Chloe felt like a modern-day Bridget Jones. She was messy, relatable, and utterly charming.
I'll admit, I didn't see the sci-fi twist coming, and that element didn't totally work for me. But the love story and Cousens' signature style more than made up for it. Her ability to balance sharp humor with genuine emotion kept me turning the pages.
Overall, this was a delightful, funny, and heartfelt read-perfect for anyone who loves witty rom-coms with a unique twist..

I can’t finish. I know dating is hard and it’s honestly the worst but an AI robot man thing? I can’t do this. I really like Sophie Cousens other books but why? Why a robot? Was she that desperate for a book idea. I DNF this book- 0 stars but it’s making me put at least 1.

Chloe’s life isn’t where she hoped it would be when her college reunion rolls around, so she signs up for a matchmaking service and is paired with Rob, who seems almost too perfect. The story starts out fun and quirky with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but the unexpected AI twist pulled me out of the rom-com vibe I was hoping for. While the writing is witty and engaging, I personally preferred the more grounded relationships over the speculative angle. Overall, it’s a lighthearted read that some will find clever, though it wasn’t quite the romance I wanted.

Imagine not being here you quite pictured yourself, and your reunion is coming up.. Yikes. Enter the perfect stand in date, or not.

Dating is a crazy scene. At least that is what Chloe Fairway has found. She has gone on countless dates where the guy was a dud. Feeling down in the dumps, she runs into a friend who tells her about Perfect Partners. Chloe reaches out to them, and they introduce her to her perfect match. This is where the book takes a sci fi twist. Others were not a fan of the twist, but I enjoyed it. 

Chloe ends up taking her perfect match to her college reunion. She reunites with old friends, and maybe even finds love there. By the end of the book Chloe turns into this strong woman who accepts herself for who she is. Life doesn’t always work out the way that we planned, and Chloe spent so long wishing her life looked different. At the end she realizes that she needs to go after what she wants, instead of living in the past.

I loved this book so much. I had trouble putting it down, and the situations that Chloe wound up in, I laughed hysterically. Richard the dog was one of the best parts of this book. If you want me love a book, just throw in a cute dog and I’m sold. 

Sophie Cousens did a great job with the execution of this book. Perfect Partners felt like something that could be in our not so distant future, with the way technology is developing.

I just could not suspend reality enough to believe any of this storyline. It distracted me from the main characters and their story.

Chloe's college reunion is coming up and her life is not exactly where she wants it to be. She didn't succeed in her career goals, she is single, and living with her parents. On top of that, her ex-best friend is super successful. She figures what she needs to feel secure at this reunion is a boyfriend & an old coworker tells her about a matchmaking service she should try. The only problem... the men are robots.

Obviously, at this point the story got a little weird. She is paired with Rob who is everything she is looking for in a man, so she decides to play out the trial and bring him to the reunion.

While she hopes to mend things with Sean, her ex-best friend who expressed his love for her many years ago, she realizes she also needs to mend things with John, the friend she lost touch with due to the fall-out with Sean.

John is so thoughtful, and I'm not sure why she didn't see it sooner. Rob is as well but... he's a robot, so I would've liked more John and less Rob.

I'm making the story sound very weird, and it is, BUT it's also very sweet and a good read. The love story part is definitely reminiscent of the other Sophie Cousens books that I love and there were times that I couldn't put it down. I would recommend this book!

and then there was you was extremely funny!! her sharp banter and quirky situations had me laughing out loud, which is what really makes this story stand out. the thing i loved most about the story, or rather what made it super witty, is something i can’t share, so i really hope other reviews don’t spoil what i refuse to reveal, because it’s such a fun surprise. there’s a very unique character who ties everything together, and really brings on an interesting layer i simply was not expecting.

why i rated it 3.5 stars? a few reasons:
1. unfortunately, i struggled with the past storyline; all the theater talk dragged on for me, and i ended up skimming a lot of those chapters which sucked because chapter 1 seemed so promising.
2. i was so confused on who the love interest was, there were too many boy toys involved here.

overall, it’s really a delightful story. it was a tad bit of a let down since i was expecting something fun and swoony but the humor more than made up for it!

Grateful to Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC! 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Chloe is stuck in an unsatisfying job and has moved back in with her parents after her relationship has fallen apart. When she gets invited to her 10 year college reunion, she doesn't feel like she can go and face her successful classmates with where her life is at. While she's hiding in the bathroom during a terrible date, she runs into an acquaintance who tells her about "Perfect Partners", a service that sets Chloe up with Rob, who is handsome and charming enough that Chloe believes she can brave the reunion if he goes with her.

This was a quirky premise for a love story. Chloe and John were great characters and I was invested in their backstory, but the idea of the AI boyfriend felt very creepy and the plotting was somewhat awkward and required an incredible suspension of disbelief. In all, this was fun but was not my favorite of Sophie Cousens' novels.

I flew through this one! Sophie Cousens writing is so engaging and really captures the romance genre without being cheesy.

This was especially great because I did not go into the book knowing which character was going to be the MMC.

I am so glad I received this ARC and will be recommending this book to friends!

I’m generally a fan of Cousen’s books but this definitely wasn’t a favorite of mine.. I was not a fan of the twist. While I enjoyed the characters for much of the book it was confusing who the MMC was going to be. In the end I the themes and messages were apparent and it had a sweet HEA. Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the arc!

I had mixed feelings about this one. The setup was fun and very rom-com: Chloe’s life is in a slump, she’s living with her parents, and she signs up for a dating service just to have someone on her arm at her college reunion. Enter Rob, who seems almost too good to be true. Their interactions are sweet, funny, and gave me those lighthearted vibes I usually want from this type of book.

But then the twist hit, involving AI, and I honestly was not a fan. It shifted the whole tone of the story in a way I was not expecting. I do not mind speculative elements in romance when I know they are coming, but the book is marketed like a straightforward rom-com, so the sudden pivot into tech and AI themes felt jarring.

That being said, Sophie Cousens’s writing is engaging, witty, and easy to breeze through. There are laugh-out-loud moments, and Chloe is relatable in her insecurities and desire to find her place. I think some readers will love the originality and the futuristic spin, but for me, it did not quite match what I was hoping for.

Overall: a charming rom-com voice with an unexpected sci-fi angle that you will either find clever or frustrating. I landed somewhere in the middle.

⭐ 3 stars: I loved the writing and humor, but the AI twist was not what I wanted from this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️ I’ve loved all of Sophie Cousens' books, so I went into this one blind and was definitely surprised by the quirky plot! That said, it still had all the classic Cousens charm and humor I adore. The story follows Chloe as her ten year college reunion approaches. Feeling anxious that everyone else has their lives perfectly together while she’s still struggling and she will see the one who got away, she signs up for a new dating app... where she is matched with an AI robot. The AI angle was definitely unique and fun but hard to buy into romantically. My only real wish was for more of John, the second love interest. We don’t really get to know him until the very end, which left me wanting more.

This was such a clever, modern twist on the rom-com. Sophie Cousens delivers her trademark warmth and wit, but with an unexpected sci-fi edge. The premise hooked me, the reunion setting gave it heart, and by the end, I was smiling through the final pages. The pacing lagged a little in the middle, but the payoffs made it well worth it.


🛑 Spoiler Section 🛑

Chloe’s “perfect match,” Rob, isn’t a too-good-to-be-true human he’s an AI robot, programmed to be exactly what she says she wants. Throughout the book, she wrestles with her feelings, making pros and cons lists to figure out if perfection is really what she’s looking for.

In the end, she realizes she wants someone real - flawed, unpredictable, and human. That someone turns out to be John, the guy who’s been in her life all along. The reveal that John was actually the anonymous “imp” who had been doing small, sweet gestures for her back in college made the romance land with even more heart.

I especially loved Chloe’s grand gesture booking time at John’s recording studio and playing an original piece he’d written in college. She had kept it all these years, knowing it was only performed once before their college play flopped. Back then, she had fled home in embarrassment instead of staying to finish the run, and this was her way of making amends and showing him she believed in him. In a perfectly imperfect twist, John didn’t even recognize the piece at first she had to explain she was there for him, playing his song.

Final Thoughts
Smart, romantic, and full of charm And Then There Was You is about seeing beyond the ideal to find something real. I may have liked this one even more than I expected going in.

This was…not what I expected. I was so excited for this book, but it just didn’t work for me. After the twist, the rest of the book was very predictable, including the lessons that the FMC (and the reader) was supposed to learn from her journey. It was a cute book, but I had trouble connecting with the love story given all the other *things* happening.

I appreciated the author’s note at the end—I think she achieved her goal of a lighthearted book. But also, I kind of want to read the drafts she scrapped?! Maybe next time!

3 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the opportunity to read a digital advance reader’s copy!

I want to start off this review by saying that I love Sophie Cousens. She is one of my favorite authors, she always writes captivating books that make me feel warm and happy inside! I love her characters, the settings, the sprinkle of magical realism - she's been a favorite for awhile.

This book had so much potential. I love the idea of a reunion and seeing old flames/friends. Going into this story, I had assumed that it was going a certain way and when it didn't (if you've read this book, you know what I'm talking about), I was so disappointed. I get that this story is kind of set in current times/predicting what may come but it was just too weird for me to get bought into. It was just TOO far fetched and not what I expect when I open a Sophie Cousens book. I was really hoping for a magical realism story line but we got the exact opposite.

HOWEVER, there was some really, really good parts in this book. I absolutely loved the development of Chloe's relationships with a certain someone (not going to say who in case you haven't read it yet!) and that honestly was the reason I kept reading. It was very heartfelt and believable, I could see the relationship playing out before my eyes and I was so invested. I just wish that the other factor mentioned above wasn't included, it could have been perfect if it was written a different way.

I commend Sophie for tackling the new age issues in this book and for putting her own spin on it; sadly, it wasn't for me. I am thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC and hope that others enjoy this more than I did. Because I know for certain that it will be a hit with many others :)

It’s hard for me to rate this book. I do think it will make for some interesting book club discussions, but I was hoping for more of the rom-com moments that I love in a Sophie Cousen’s novel. The twist made me cringe through a good portion of the book, and the one laugh out loud moment for me was too little, too late. Thank you, NetGalley and Putnam/ G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for the advanced copy.

I was so excited when I got approved for this ARC! The last book I read from her, is she really going out with him, was one of my favorite arc reads and recommended it to all my friends! While this started off great, I just felt like this just missed the mark for me. I understand that the premise was supposed to be about the AI boyfriend and all but I just couldn’t get past it for me. My favorite character was Richard the dog, of course! lol While this isn’t my favorite book by her, I’ll still always read Sophie Cousens books!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced eARC.

Sophie Cousens has long been one of my go-to authors for heartfelt, clever contemporary fiction, and And Then There Was You brings her signature charm with a unique twist. While I enjoyed the book overall, it left me with mixed feelings—somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.

What stood out most to me was the character development. The protagonist's journey, especially in light of the unexpected twist, was compelling. Watching her grow and adapt made for an emotionally satisfying arc, and that personal transformation was the highlight of the book for me.

That said, the love triangle element felt a bit off. It added complexity, sure, but something about it didn’t quite land emotionally—it almost distracted from the deeper narrative. The romance, too, felt a little rushed, especially given the story's ambitious scope.

On a more positive note, the flashbacks to the college years were some of my favorite chapters. They grounded the story and gave more weight to the characters' relationships and choices. And while most futuristic stories I read or watch tend to lean dark or dystopian, this book offered a refreshingly optimistic take on that theme—a welcome change of pace.

Overall, Cousens fans will likely appreciate the inventive storytelling and emotional core, even if certain elements feel a bit uneven.

4.5 ⭐️ This was a fun rom-com and kept my attention 😆 I wasn’t sure how it would play out but I think Cousens did such a good job addressing a relevant dating era without letting it overtake a super cute love story. Always a fan of her MMC styles. 🫶