I enjoyed This Time Next Year sooo much. The title alone strikes of hope and expectancy and the book cover simplicity and elegance. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised to be thrown into the depth of a beautiful story that traversed every emotion possible. The story crisis crosses back and forth over a twenty year period from the birth of two babies born a minute apart in the same hospital to when they first meet by chance at a party to celebrate Quinn’s birthday, New Years Eve 2019.

Can you imagine being one of two ladies, from different walks of life who meet in the maternity ward of a hospital on New Years Eve - one Tara isn’t coping at all, the other Connie strong and practical. Connie supports and calms Tara throughout her labour, sharing advice and practical tips. Imagine Connie reaction when Tara walks away with £50k pride money for giving birth to the first baby born just after midnight on New Years Day1990 and the name Connie shared she was going to call her baby.

Quinn and Minnie couldn’t be more different but there’s an electric connection that attracts and repels them throughout this book, they couldn’t have been born from two more different backgrounds. Sophie Cousens traversed the class divide and paraded a supporting cast of characters across the pages of This Time Next Year, each and every one of them diverse, with characteristics that created images of them so visible in my mind.

The story was at times hilarious and made me laugh out loud or quietly cringe on behalf of Minnie and the situations she ended up in, she really did seem to have ‘bad luck’ follow her around, something she grew up thinking was because of Tara stealing what should have been her birth name Quinn. Luckily best friend Leila was always there to pick up the pieces. In Leila, Sophie really did get the best friend characterisation spot on. I loved their relationship and hilarity that followed the pair around - ooh to have been a fly on the wall, watching the scenes unfurl for real would be amazing.

This Time Next Year is a fabulous story that spans the ups and downs of life and emphasises how relationships are more important than physical assets and wealth. Family and friends are the strongest foundations.

This was a book that made me smile a lot, I’d love to see it turned into a film - It’d be a real pick me up, perfect for a day when you need a little bit of a pick me up.

A really lovely book, funny with great characters. It was well written, engaged the reader and was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a light, feel good read and would definitely reread it !
Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Uk and Sophie for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I really liked it, but wouldn’t say I loved it.
It was well written but I will say that the plot, although I liked it, it was fairly cliche. Some of the coincidences in the book were also soooo convenient, it was too much to just be a coincidence.
I loved Minnie’s character and the evolution of her.
Minnie & Quinn are both born on the same day, New Year’s Eve 1989. The book takes you through their life until the stars align and they finally meet each other.
There is some snarky humor which I really enjoyed !

This book was adorable! Just an all around feel good story, the only flaw was it being a bit predictable. But it’s definitely the lighthearted story that’s perfect to read when everything else going on in the world is so heavy

This book was super cute and such a fun read! I devoured it and couldn’t put it down!

If you’re after a sweet and captivating story then definitely check this out

This is such a sweet story, grabbed me from the beginning and I didn't want it to end. I loved reading about Minnie and Quinn's love story, and was constantly rooting for them and getting so angry when they were being stubborn. This was just what my heart needed during these different times in the world.

This is a book you wouldn’t expect to grab you, but it does…. Hook, line and page. It is a brilliant story of Minnie primarily and how unlucky she is, especially on her birthday. However as she meets Quinn and she lets go of the fear she notices that the unlucky streak starts to waver and lady luck seems to be on her way.

Brilliant characters and the description makes you work out what happened in the past, not just putting it in black and white. The story flows and there are no if butts or maybes, the reader is allowed to get right inside the story and enjoy watching all the characters and what happens.

I loved every page of this book and looked forward to curling up every evening – highly recommended

Sweet book to end the year with. The supporting characters were the perfect addition. Great lesson on to never judge a person based on their appearance, you never know what problems they may be dealing with.

Very enjoyable. Highly recommended! Just what I needed during these crazy times. Had some Love Actually vibes which is always a good thing in my book!

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, the characters were lovable and adorable, it was wonderfully written and gave me all those cozy and warm mushy feelings! Would definitely recommend!

This was a cute/light rom-com centered around New year's Eve/Day and a perfect way to start the year. Two New Year's babies born 1 minute apart meet each other for the 1st time on their 30th birthdays. But their lives seem to have crossed paths many times before. A mix between current day and flashbacks, a group of quirky friends and a possible jinx makes this a fun read.

#ThisTimeNextYear #NetGalley

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A sweet take on the romance genre. I liked how the author developed the MC relationship over time. The writing is good and I especially liked that there was a character with my name in this book!
The first chapter was quite lackluster and disappointing as it failed to engage me with the story and grab the reader.
On the whole a good book.

Minnie Cooper may believe she was born unlucky (I disagree—I love her name 😂), and she has learned to avoid her least favorite holiday (New Years Eve) in ardent fear of the bad luck following her.

This was such a fun read. The timeline was brilliant—we moved from present (from New Year’s Eve 2019 to New Year’s Eve 2020) to past New Year’s holidays, watching Minnie as a baby, a kid, a teen, and a young adult, though not in chronological order. After she meets Quinn Hamilton, a pseudo-nemesis, she begins to form a friendship, something extremely unlikely.

What a fabulous January read. Highly, highly recommend! Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

The premise of this story is that Minnie and Quinn's mothers were in labor at the same time, in a competition to have the first baby born on New Year's Day. Quinn's mother ends up winning, and steals the name Quinn from Minnie's mother. This begins a life long "curse" on Minnie, and every year on her birthday something goes array. Minnie is now an adult, struggling to get her business off the ground when she meets Quinn one New Year's Eve.

I thought that Minnie was a very hard to like character, and she really disappointed me with her lack of character development for most of the book. While the initial premise of the book really hooked me in, I had higher hopes for this one than how I ended up feeling about it.

What a treat to read this book ahead of time! It is the perfect New Year's read, and I was thrilled to see it included as a Book of the Month pick. This author is on my radar, and I Can't wait to read more of her work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sophie Cousens for my copy of This Time Next Year, for an honest review. This debut novel was a pleasure to read. This story follows the life of Minnie Cooper, her real name and how one day a year causes her such anxiety/bad luck. Minnie’s life seems to be going no where and she can’t find her way. Minnie’s birthday is New Year’s Day and on that day her mother helped another woman deliver. They were in competition to have their baby first. They bond and Minnie’s mom tells the other mom she wants to name her baby Quinn. When the other woman wins and names her baby Quinn, Minnie’a mom feels robbed and tells Minnie this story, her entire life. Fast forward to her 30th birthday when Minnie meets Quinn. At first they don’t realize the story they share. As time progresses , one year, we see Minnie and Quinn meet over and over again. Quinn is wealthy and seems to have a charmed life. Minnie, comes from humble people. Can they find a middle ground? Can they put the past behind them? This is a charming, cute story. The writing is very good and I really liked the story jumping from different New Years Eve’s and different near meets.. i can’t wait to read Cousens next book. This was a four star read for me. I have recommended it on my Instagram page. See my review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I think you will really enjoy this one..

The premise of the book is great. Minnie and Quinn were born a minute apart at the same hospital, their mothers shared a room and supported each other. But one of them stole the others baby name.

Minnie was supposed to be a Quinn, and her mother tells her that ALL the time. The name-stealer-baby took her name and all her luck, bad things happen to Minnie during New Year’s Eve. She has gotten detained, puked on and robbed. So naturally, she prefers to stay at home.

On NYE 2019, she gets locked up in a bathroom, after screaming for hours she falls asleep only to wake up to find her birthday twin, Quinn. He is right there, with her name and her luck.

What transpires between Minnie and Quinn, is a dance of bumping into each other all the time, bad timing and a lot of stubbornness.

We get to see into their separate lives, and how things may not be what they appear. Each of them has professional goals and personal demons to conquer.

I was into this book HARD, my only issue was that it felt really long. I liked looking into their individual lives but I was fed up by 70%, I wanted for them to come together and live happily ever after asap.

Although, the ending was very very sweet.

3.5⭐️

This was a great story about two people born on the same day minutes apart. Quinn and Minnie have had different upbringings and have differing opinions on the how the others lives have been. It turns out their paths have crossed many times through the years without them knowing. In the course of a year they learn a lot about themselves and each other.

This book was an enjoyable exploration of the way we make our own luck, and the fact that everyone has their own struggles. It hits some more serious emotional beats while still managing to be cosy and romantic. Great read for that in-between time after Christmas and before you dive into the New Year.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @DottyAboutBooks
5/5
THIS TIME NEXT YEAR by Sophie Cousens @sophie_cousens

Quinn and Minnie are born on New Year's Eve, in the same hospital, one minute apart.

Their lives may begin together, but their worlds couldn't be more different.

Thirty years later they find themselves together again in the same place, at the same time.

What if fate is trying to bring them together?

Maybe it's time to take a chance on love...
___________________

⭐️ R E V I E W ⭐️

I absolutely loved this book, I devoured every page and it was such a heart warming read I could not put it down.

This story is exactly what you want from the romance genre. The characters are fully developed and through the writing style you get to know the characters history.

It is brilliantly written by jumping from the present day to years gone by as the plot develops.

The special moments of the book for me were when you realise how Quinn Hamilton and Minnie Cooper (her actual name) are meant to be together. Fate was bringing them together again after thirty years apart.

But do they end up together? You will have to read to find out!

The will they, won’t they element of this endearing rom-com will keep you hoping and guessing for the outcome the author is anticipating.

I adored the friendship between Minnie & Leila. It set the foundation of this book from the moment Leila helps her out at the beginning of the story. Their honest and supportive relationship is the real heart of this book.

It’s such an exciting read and the little co-incidences that happen on this journey are thrilling and really keeps you reading.

It is an epic love story, set in London about real people brought together by circumstance, fate and pie filling!

Personally I just love books set in London, I seem to seek them out and devour them in days. This book certainly exceeded my expectations and I can not recommend it enough.

I am excited to read more from Sophie, this book made me think of Laura Jane Williams when I read Our Stop for the first time.

What did you think of this book?

Also the cover of this book is beautiful! I fell in love with it.
#thistimenextyear #bookstagram #primrosehill