A beautiful, beautiful book. Characters to fall in love with, Serendipity, chances missed, fate being cruel, laughter, tears, a warm and fuzzy feeling throughout the whole story. Not fluffy and silly, just clever and brilliant. I didn’t want it to end! Thank you 😊

This isn’t just a typical romance book. This book is full of life lessons, zany characters and laugh out loud moments! It’s a book about friendship and family. It’s about creating your own luck and finding yourself first so you can love another. Great feel good book that will have you cheering for the characters and eager to see where fate takes them!

I absolutely devoured this book in 24 hours! An absolutely perfect feel good story - I’m so in love with the ending! Predictable but amazing nonetheless

I love that it just isn't about romance! I love the characters, the relationships. This book had my heart! It was a lovely read and I was smiling throughout. Amazingly written! Will definitely be one I pick up to re-read in the near future!

What a great debut from a new author. This is a contemporary love story featuring "love twins" jinxed Minnie and privileged Quinn. Minnie's jinx started (and is especially bad) around New Years which is also her birthday and also the day Quinn stole her name (as well the cash prize for being the first baby born in 1990). Despite being from such different worlds Minnie and Quinn are inexplicably drawn to each other, finally meeting on their 30th birthdays having crossed paths unknowingly many times before.

That's really the essence of this - fate and finding your "player two" - which is great and something I believe in (kinda) but the number of near meet cutes for this pair was slightly unbelievable. That said the author has an effortlessly easy writing style, cleverly intertwining the present-day story with these past fateful moments. As well as being told across multiple timelines, there's also two points of view Minnie's and Quinn's which is one of my favourite narratives.

Both main characters were engaging. I mean who couldn't like warm, funny, jinxed Minnie who takes losing her coat with house keys, getting puked on and locked in a of all night in her stride because that's just a typical New Year's Eve for her. But, like Minnie I fell for "cardboard girl" Quinn, a boy who seemingly has it all (looks, money, success) but because of family responsibilities can't entertain love, like the story of a penguin at a zoo who fell in love with a cardboard cutout that couldn't love him back.

There's lots of laugh in this and not just provided by Minnie's bad luck. One of my favourite moments being Leila's dream over-the-top Disney themed proposal complete with singing animals, knight in shining armour, mermaids and nutella pancakes only for Leila to reveal she had no recollection of ever having 'asked for such a thing.

The big thing I enjoyed about this was that it wasn't just a romance or even a romcom. It was about relationships in general between friends, family and of course of the romantic variety. It was also thought-provoking and dream inspiring with its sub plot of Minnie's pie business and typical New Year's Eve question of "where do you want to be this time next year?"

Finally, I enjoyed the London setting - who knew you could actually wild swim at Hampstead Heath?

Although this is essentially a romance novel there’s much more to it which makes it a more interesting read. Minnie and Quinn are born a minute apart on New Years Eve/Day in 1989/90. Their respective mothers Connie Cooper and Tara Hamilton are so different both in personality and background, as Tara exudes a wealthy background. The story takes us through various New Years Eve and Day events until Quinn and Minnie truly find each other.

The strongest element of the book is the characterisation which is very good. There are a lot of very likeable characters such as Minnie, Quinn and Minnie’s best friend Leila, some who are a bit quirky and colourful, some are a bit selfish or slightly negative so there’s a really good cross section of people and they all feel real. There is a good injection of humour some of which is a bit snarky, some is of the pun variety and there are plenty of fun, feel good moments. Tara suffers from anxiety which can from time to time almost cripple her and this is very well conveyed and it shows the impact that it has on Quinn but also how much he cares and tries to be supportive which is heartwarming. The book shows the importance of family bonds and friendship - even very unlikely friendships between Tara and Connie which becomes extremely important to both of them but especially Tara. It helps to lessen the effects of her anxiety and I think this is a positive message about reaching out to people. The conclusion of the book is fun but lovely.

My only reservations are the flitting about from different New Years Eve celebrations which feels a bit disjointed although I could see the point the author is making about how Minnie and Quinn keep passing through each other’s lives prior to 2019/20. There’s a good contrast between the differing experiences of the pair of them as Quinn’s tended to be more expensive than Minnie paired down celebrations. Minnie’s references to her bad luck which is a label she is given from birth becomes a bit wearing and I much prefer Quinn’s make your own luck approach! However, neither of these reservations spoil what is a good book.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read, with a good message, some fun and heartwarming moments and so is a perfect piece of escapism.

With thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK/Cornerstone for the ARC.

This time next year by Sophie Cousens a fated five-star read. This maybe wouldn’t have been such a great story for me if I wasn’t born almost ten years to the minute earlier than these pair Quinn and Minnie, so the fate of that made me smile, and I am a sucker for a fated story. There were amazing characters to this story, and I really enjoyed the story line, I just found the pace a little too quick at times for me, I felt like I was flipping scenarios a little fast, but honestly that was a miner thing and overall I really enjoyed the relationship building in this one. Pick it up and give yourself a go as it will whisk you away and make everything right for a few hours.

This Time Next Year is a decent read. It has an original storyline, as well as a number of humorous scenes and memorable lines. Unfortunately, the frequent shifting between past and present makes it difficult to follow at times. I would often forget what the date had been prior to a flashback, so when a date was listed after the flashback, I was unsure how much time had passed in the present-day timeline.

Sweet book with well written characters. I recommend reading/gifting this book around the holidays or to anyone who is about to turn 30. Minnie has just enough foible to make her interesting but not enough to turn her into a cliché. Minnie and Quin’s individual New Year’s Eve experiences were fun to read and made their relationship more realistic.

#ThisTimeNextYear @SophieCous

I love love loved this book and every last one of the characters. It was like throwing a warm blanket on, you know?

Minnie Cooper (I know, right!) was born on 1 January and all her life she has felt jinxed especially on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day. Her mum puts it down to the woman in labour at the same time as her stealing her name, Minnie should have been called Quinn!

A chance meeting 30 years later, sees Minnie run into Quinn during one of her mishaps. Never in a million years would she have thought they would get on so well. This is a story of love but also so so much more. It is a story of friendships, lost chances and relationships.

My favourite relationship is that between Minnie and her best friend Leila. How we all would love to have a friendship that pure (sigh!).

This book is absolutely amazing so what are you waiting for - get reading!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Have you ever thought "where would I be this time next year?" I know I have, so many times. What about New years eve, counting down until midnight, getting all of your goals and wishes lined up. Yep? Meto! Sophie Cousens gives us an extremely relatable book with This Time Next Year. Two babies born on the same day of the same year, just minutes apart. One is a name stealer :P and the other one has terrible luck for most of their life.

When their lives cross paths, will they turn into star cross lovers or......

Cousens uses a writing style that is so easy to follow, the story is also one anyone will be able to relate to. all the characters are likable which makes it an easy all night page turner.

Be prepared to be razzle dazzled with a year of emotions in one book!

5/5 stars

Minnie's birthday is on New Year's Day, she has always felt this was bad luck, really that her life was nothing but bad luck, starting the day she was born. Her chance meeting with her "name stealer" Quinn makes her believe that her bad luck won't be running out anytime soon. Quinn and Minnie were born on the same day, in the same hospital, but have lived very different lives. The growing friendship/relationship between them teaches us that we are not always as different as we think we are.

I thought this was an enjoyable book and it was easy to get caught up in the story of Quinn and Minnie. I tend to enjoy books that go between story lines and years, however, this one felt a bit hard. The past story lines of how the characters met at various points throughout their life was a bit confusing. It was not done in a chronological timeline and left me a bit perplexed at points.

I would recommend this book, I felt it was a quick read, overall good story line with some fun characters.

Thank you to Arrow and Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARC of This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens.

"What do you want to be doing this time next year?" My answer, after reading this book, is to be falling in love with another such wonderfully cozy novel. This Time Next Year is one of those books that makes you want to curl up with a piece of savory pie and a hot cup of tea. Set in London against a backdrop of pies, clocks, gardens, and the occasional owl pajama, this story of missed encounters explores what it means to embrace all the people we love. Though the story centers around Minnie and Quinn, we also follow the lives of their close family, friends, and co-workers. Cousens deftly creates a world of characters and soul-searching fills the reader with hope.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House, and the Author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a wonderful read. Full of Love, friendship, wit and whimsy.
Quirky characters and families that all seemed to come together in the strangest but sweetest ways.
My first read from this Author and won't be my last as I'll definitely be following her and her works.

The story starts as Minnie Cooper (yes, that's really her name) is attending a New Year's Eve party with her boyfriend Greg. She'd much rather be hiding at home away from the jinx that appears on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (her birthday). So far she's already lost her coat, she gets vomited on at the party, knocks into a waiter and ends up locked in a disabled toilet. So as you can see it's not the best time of year for her.

Finly being released from the toilet after spending the night in there. She meets the man who's birthday party it was - Quinn who was also born on January 1st - in the same year, same hospital etc. It transpires that there is a history between them (or their mums at least). Minnie's mum felt that Quinn's mum not only beat her to the 50k prize of first baby born in 1990 but also stole her name choice.

Follow the story across the course of a year as it flashbacks to key moments in each of their pasts. How their lives have intertwined without them realising.

This book surprised me, I was not expecting to like it this much. I did tho, I loved it in fact. Usually while reading about missed chances, with characters that cannot acknowledge their own worth and on top are very superstitious? That´s not really my cup of tea, it drives me crazy if its written wrong. However this was written so well, I´m still not over it. I adored the main characters and even though they had some negative flaws they worked through it in their own way. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed their character development.

I´m not really an anxious person and I don´t really get stressed, to an annoying degree, it was one of the first times someone wrote it in a relatable way.

This Time Next Year is obviously a love story however its not only romantic love, this is a book about friendship, family and most importantly loving yourself. As someone who loves herself to a scary, almost narcissistic degree, it was so amazing to read a little "throwback" to how I got here. Not to mention the fact that the B/C/D plots were equally interesting to read as the main plot if not more so.

It took me less than one day to read this book! I cannot recommend this one enough. Minnie and Quinn had my heart racing in a way that only Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy have before. From the first word you will be hooked into their stories and find their worlds intertwine but never quite meet, and its beautiful when it does.

This Time Next Year is for the readers who loved Me Before You but want a fresh story that delves into mental health and how perception impacts a person's judgement. The novel tells the story of Minnie, a baker and business owner, who runs into Quinn, a man who shares her birthday and was born just a few minutes before her at the same hospital, which allowed his family to claim a prize for being the first baby born in the 90s. The joke in Minnie's family is that all the bad stuff that happens to her is because she wasn't born a few minutes earlier. Once she meets Quinn, she can't stop running into him by accident and through her interactions with Quinn, Minnie experiences so much growth as a character. Unfortunately, this novel missed the mark for me a little bit because I struggled to relate to the main character as she blamed every setback she experienced on anything but herself throughout the first half of the novel. I also would have appreciated more character development on the main characters working with Minnie to better explain why Minnie loved them despite their eccentricities and draw the reader further into the novel's story.
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I found this book to be a lovely, heartwarming tale of two lost souls - born within minutes of each other to completely different families. Some of the book was a bit cheesy but overall the characters were larger than life and told a lovely story.

Love the premise of this book! A cute, fun romance set in London that brings together themes of fate and missed connections, featuring a relationship that seems destined from the start…but then, as it always does, life gets in the way. The ending was full of feel goods, and I was so happy with how things concluded!