Love the dual storyline. How can two people keep meeting at different times in their lives, have a major attraction but cannot act on it due to the circumstances in their lives. Can they eventually get the timing and circumstances right? You will be keeping your fingers crossed whilst laughing and crying.
Looking forward to reading the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book reminded me a lot of One Day in December in the best ways, star crossed meeting at the wrong time

I would recommend if you're looking for

-second/third/fourth? chance
-friends to lovers
-British romance
-single parents
-older MCs (late thirties) finding love
-a great meet cute
-fiesty kids

This book dealt with quite a few emotional topics. Grief, trauma, guilt, parental abandonment. The biggest issue being our MCs dealing with being single parents. This book was as much a love story between them and their children as with each other. So many close chances, so many what ifs.

Because this book hit so many emotional topics, I was looking for more depth addressing them. As the book went on I just did not feel the characters developed and delved into the emotional issues. I truly enjoyed their e-mails, but beyond their admitted attraction to each other I didn't really get a spark from them. This may be due to the time jumps.

Overall this was an enjoyable read with a great and catchy premise. What happens if you meet the one on his wedding day? Is there such a thing as meant to be?

Rating: 3.5
Steam: 1

The opening scene of The First Time We Met is worthy of a blockbuster romcom movie so if like me you enjoy being swept up in the emotions and (mis)fortunes of two characters blinded by love at first sight then this novel is definitely one for you. It promises to be a classically heartwarming feel good love story, set between London and New York, perfect for transporting you to a happy place. What more could you ask for?

Izzy is working in Terry’s greasy spoon cafe dishing out heart attack inducing breakfasts to builders and the like, dressed as an elf for the festive season. Fed up of being squeezed into a too small costume and subjected to some typical male banter full of sexual innuendo, Izzy is lacking in seasonal good will and festive cheer when the smooth, sexy American voice of her next customer snaps her out of her reverie. Cue the violins as Izzy’s eyes meet those of Sam’s. Immediately struck by Cupid’s arrow, Izzy falls head over heels in love at first sight. He is The One!!! All of a fluster and burning the bacon, her connection with this handsome stranger is cut short as she is left serving customers whilst Sam eats his breakfast, (minus the bacon!), and then makes a swift exit. Deciding to seize the moment, hurrah, Izzy runs after Sam, determined he will not be The One Who Got Away!! In what is then the most hilarious, excruciatingly embarrassing moment for our lovely little elf, Izzy asks Sam out only to discover it’s his wedding day.

This is a classic storyline of girl meets boy, except the timing is completely way off. With no opportunity to explore this potential romance Izzy is resigned to the fact she’s just experienced that agonising scenario of right man, wrong time. Life must go on so Izzy,with the help of best friend Emma is determined to forget this stranger who has had such an immediate and profound effect on her heart. What then follows are occasional moments over the intervening years when Sam and Izzy’s lives collide temporarily only to veer off in opposite directions meaning this is one romance never destined to leave the starting blocks. Why can’t Izzy forget Sam and ignore that connection she’s felt from their very infrequent conversations? Is there a chance Sam could even feel the same way??

Naively, although I’ve never experienced that love at first sight moment I’m fully prepared to fall hook line and sinker for this kind of storyline. I expect the author to take me on a journey through a make believe world in which I’m willing the main characters towards a happy ever after that really only exists in my dreams. However, although I liked Izzy and Sam’s characters straightaway their lack of contact made me wonder how the author was going to bring these two together in any meaningful way. That much of their friendship/romance is conducted via email due to their lives taking different paths left me feeling frustrated, urging them to admit to their true feelings rather than skirting around the issue. Is this simply a friendship consigned to the written word or will personal circumstances change and the stars finally align to allow love to flourish??

For me to truly engage with these fictional characters I need them to display some traits or qualities that make them stand out, make them memorable but Izzy and Sam were perfectly nice but maybe a bit bland? I wanted Izzy to display some of her initial feistiness and for Sam to embrace his role as heart throb with vigour, charging into Izzy’s life like a knight in shining armour (which of course is ridiculously sexist of me!) Even best friends Emma and Rohan didn’t add much to this storyline although I suppose Emma and Izzy’s weekly attempts at finding new hobbies/interests does provide Izzy with something to talk about in her emails to Sam. Also I felt the humour present in the beginning wasn’t developed to its full potential so that what was sandwiched in between lacked excitement.

With some truly romantic ‘only in the movies’ type scenes towards the end I felt the writing came full circle, living up to this novel’s earlier promise. Unfortunately the middle section just dragged on too long and I lost patience with Sam whining about his work/life balance. Such a fantastic opening led me to believe I’d have no problem whatsoever falling head over heels in love with the two main characters but the storyline didn’t possess the right amount of magic and sparkle to allow this to fully happen. This title appealed to me, having loved One Day in December by Josie Silver and as a debut The First Time We Met is a good attempt at winning over readers who enjoy the likes of Silver, Beth O’Leary and Sophie Cousens to name just a few. It does have the makings of great movie and I will follow this author’s career with interest. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

#thefirsttimewemet #jolovett #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview oh my gosh y’all. This is what my heart needed this weekend. We have lovely Izzy working at a diner. She meets Sam. There’s electricity. She takes a chance to ask him out but .... it’s actually his wedding day 😱 I know. I was rooting. Through the course of the fourteen years both have marriages. Children. Encounters over time. All the while their electricity is undeniable. This is truly a charming book. One for us romantics. Even us #hopelessromance lovers. This book had me laughing and I even shed some tears. What a delightful read ❤️ #bookstagram #booklover #booknerd #booklover #booksofinstagram #books📚

A truly beautiful tale of love, loss and lots of missed opportunities! A great read for fans of romance. I would highly recommended this read and would love to see a sequel!

The synopsis was so intriguing and angsty that I had to get my hands on this. This story follows the journey of Izzy and Sam. They meet at a cafe, where she works, where she accidentally burns his bacon, where they have an instant connection. Sam leaves and she chases after him and asks him out on a date only to find out that it's his wedding day. This story is about what-ifs, losing "the one" but overcoming all obstacles in which these soulmates find each other again.

A downside of this book is that there's a lot of time jumps. The characters meet and then there's a slight time jump for a couple of chapters and then suddenly it's fourteen years later when they finally meet again. Other than that, I felt that the romance was so real and emotional. I felt that concepts surrounding divorce and family were portrayed very realistically. All the characters were extremely well fleshed out and I loved all the happy family scenes.

This book filled my heart with so much joy and happiness. I cried quite a few times. I'd like to say that this novel is NOT a sexy whirlwind, all-consuming type of romance rather it's a well-developed, angsty, sorrowful, heartbreaking love that slowly creeps up on you and doesn't let go. I absolutely recommend this to those who want a slow and heartwarming type of romance read. Throughout this book, I was also getting major Love, Rosie vibes so if you love that, you'll definitely enjoy this.

Oh this book!! I've laughed and cried! This book really has given me all the feels. I have loved this book.
This is a new author for me and I already cannot wait to read more. I have devoured this gorgeous read in just one sitting.
I have loved everything about this one and it has been a complete and utter joy to read this one.
The characters in this one are brilliant, I have loved them and been rooting for them from the very beginning.
This is definitely a love story which will completely stay with you and has definitely been one that I already can't wait to re read.
A definite five star read which I highly recommend.

I adored this book. It was the perfect romantic read. There are so many times in life you meet someone interesting and spark with only to never see them again. In London the chances of bumping into people are rare but not impossible. I thought this book dealt with a large range of topics in a delicate and sympathetic manner. Death, marriages ending, children growing up, dating as parents and office politics to name a few. It was all very relatable and although a little unrealistic at times, not wildly unrealistic. I think we all knew where this book would end up from the start but this didn't prevent the need for the tale to be told, some of the twists were unpredictable and it definitely wasn't smooth sailing. I really enjoyed that Izzy was a speech and language therapist and loved the dynamics of her best friends. The book really reminded me of One Day in December which I also enjoyed and was a Reece Witherspoon bookclub pick. I would defintely recommend this book as an enjoyable, feel good, romantic read. Perfect for cold evenings, by the fire with a hot drink.

This was a cute, easy read, slow burn romance. Loved the idea of the way they met. Just seemed like it took so long for them to meet again. Totally feels like a 90’s film.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this one.

I love the premise of this book -- that sometimes when a person meets The One, the timing isn't right. But that doesn't mean they aren't meant to be together.

That's Izzy and Sam's story. They meet on the most unexpected day. Izzy is a waitress in a greasy spoon and tired of being harassed by the unwelcome sexual innuendos of her male customers. Then Sam walks into the diner. Izzy seems the sympathy and understanding in his eyes, and she's immediately drawn to him. It's more than the subtle sparks that fly between them. Izzy feels a deeper connection, which is crazy since she's only spoken to him for a few minutes while he ordered his breakfast. She's sure he feels it too, so when he finishes his meal and leaves the diner, she runs out after him and nervously asks him if he would like to meet for coffee sometime.

She detects sadness and regret in his eyes when he tells her that he's on his way to the church down the street because it's his wedding day.

Feeling foolish, Izzy rushes back into work and tries to forget him.

Soon afterwards, she meets Dominic. She doesn't feel the same spark as she felt with Sam, but he's loving and considerate and she decides to marry him.

The years pass. She wonders about Sam. Does he and his wife have children now? She even thinks she sees him one day at the library, but he doesn't acknowledge her.

More years pass. Now she's pregnant with her and Dominic's first child. She's been shopping for baby things and her hands are full of packages, when she bumps into Sam. It's uncomfortable at first, but they quickly establish a rapport and she invites him to lunch so they can catch up. They share an enjoyable lunch and go their separate ways, each again realizing the special connection they have that can never turn into anything more than casual acquaintance because of circumstances.

However, fate isn't done with their relationship yet. They meet again 14 years later. Sam's a widow with twins -- Liv and Barney. Sam works long hours as a corporate lawyer, and is fighting the guilt of not spending enough time with his kids. He's also fighting guilt over a near-fatal car crash that left Liv in the hospital for months. The car crash also affected Barney, who has developed a stutter and has withdrawn into himself to avoid being teased by his teenage friends.

Sam has tried everything he can to help Barney overcome his stutter. They've visited a myriad of doctors and speech therapists, but Barney has not responded to any of their therapies. Sam remembers Izzy telling him (at lunch, when she was pregnant with Ruby) that she was a speech therapist. Desperate, Sam emails Izzy and asks her if she could try to help his son. She responds and they agree to try a few over-the-phone speech therapy sessions (since she lives in England and Barney/Sam/Liv live in New York). Barney immediately takes to Izzy's compassionate manner and begins responding to Izzy's techniques, gaining confidence that allows him to minimize his stutter.

In the meantime, Sam and Izzy are developing a friendship via email, sharing their experiences with parenting and balancing work and family life. Izzy begins to feel guilty because she's still married to Dominic, although it's just a marriage in name because they were having problems and decided to separate when he moved to Milan, Italy for a job. Dominic really isn't a part of Izzy and Ruby's daily lives, but Izzy still feels guilty because she's not formally divorced. She fights even more guilt over her feelings for Sam, which have not changed despite their lives taking completely separate paths. Deep inside, she knows they belong together, but she puts those feelings on the back shelf, knowing that if she divorced Dominic, she would hurt her daughter Ruby.

Throughout the story, we see the struggles that Sam and Izzy each face, knowing in their hearts that they belong together, but knowing that they can't be together because of a variety of circumstances -- their marriages, their children, their jobs, and the fact that they live on two different continents.

Throughout the book, fate teases them with glimpses of what they could have if they were together. It gives them small fragments of time together so they can realize how perfectly attuned they are to each other. But then fate pulls them apart again. For example, Sam visits London with his children and Izzy and Ruby have a picnic in the park with them. Everyone seems to get along wonderfully until Sam's teenage daughter Liv realizes there is strong bond between her father and Izzy, and then she starts to cause trouble, mainly because she's afraid that her father will have even less time for her if he has a girlfriend.

Do the stars ever align so that Sam and Izzy finally come together as a couple? I don't want to spoil it for you in this review, so you will have to read the book and find out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I want to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I read the synopsis of the book I was very intrigued and was looking forward to reading the story. Izzy does not believe in love at first sight but when she meets Sam she has a feeling he is the one for her. However, the day she asked him out was the same day as his wedding. The story travels through a time of a year, 6 years then skip ahead another 7 years. 13 years after their first meeting is where the story really starts. Through the times we see both of them married, having kids, separations and much more.

The premise of the synopsis is why I really wanted to read this book. The novel reminds me of the movie Sleepless in Seattle. It’s a very 90’s romance type of book.

The beginning was a bit far-fetched for me and I just couldn’t wrap my head around someone falling in love with someone with just one conversation. Sam was literally just being nice to Izzy because everyone else at the diner was not … In my mind, it felt as if she might be falling in love with every person who showed the slightest bit of kindness to her.

The fact they were able to remember each other from that one meeting! I’m not sure what was so significant about the interaction that made them remember each other for so long. It was just not realistic for me.

The beginning had started off great it was too much for me. If their first meeting was a bit longer and Sam had actually said some things that would stick with Izzy it would have made a bit more sense as to why they remembered each other for so long. There was just too much time between their first meeting and the time jump for them to significantly connect or really know each other.

I thought Izzy was an okay character and Sam seemed pretty boring to me. Aside from being handsome and kind, there weren’t a lot of other qualities he had that would make him rememberable.

The pace of the story is also very slow. The two started communicating through email when Sam enlisted Izzy’s help. Izzy is located in London and Sam in New York. There wasn’t anything within the emails that helped them connect. When they did meet in person it was, I’m not sure how to explain it other than lacklustre. There wasn't any chemistry between the two and the romance fell a bit flat for me. It seemed as if they would have connected better as friends.

Things I enjoyed:
1. Izzy and her friends have such an amazing friendship. I loved how much they cared for each other and the things they did for Izzy’s birthday were adorable. Hi, where do I find friends like this??

2. I actually loved the relationship between Sam and his son Barney. Yes, he was busy but the fact he was trying his best despite his situation in life and work. You can tell how much he cared for Barney.

3. The conversations between Izzy and Barney warmed my heart. The confidence she poured into him and he was able to move forward. Also, I laughed out loud when Barney had his first chat with Izzy and he wanted to bake afterwards as Izzy loved to bake. I thought it was adorable.


Final Thoughts:
A slow-paced romance that fell just a bit flat for me. Unfortunately, this book was not a win for me. However, if you love 90's romances such as Sleepless in Seattle, Message in a Bottle etc.. This book is for you!

This was cute! I am not a big fan of 90's rom coms so anything relating to "You've got mail" is lost to me but I adored the email correspondence. The rush of seeing emails (or texts! or omg even letters in 2020??) fro your crush is everything/ The writer captures it beautifully here and I enjoyed reading the book. I love second chance romance and while there were a few things that didn't vibe with me in the book, I still ended up enjoying it.

The First Time We Met was just a lovely romantic breath of fresh air. I’ve been on a romantic comedy reading kick lately. Even better that is was a British Romantic comedy. Fans of Beth O’Leary would enjoy this story. I got nervous at first. Within the first few pages I thought we were headed for insta-love territory for our two leads, Izzy & Sam - which is not something that I insta-love. But what this book really turned out to be, as I continued forward, was a long drawn out breath for two people who were meant to be and couldn’t get their timing right. As they age and experience life in different ways, their love very much takes will-they-wont-they turns. There’s no earth-shattering villains or moments of distress, but just a gorgeous glimpse at real life & love circumstances and how one could over come them to find a happily ever after. In today’s world, I was so pleased to find some escape in the pages of Izzy & Sam. Definitely pick this one up if you’re looking for lovely British banter by way of You’ve Got Mail.

When I read the synopsis of The First Time We Met, I knew this would be a book right up my alley. Izzy meets Sam at a diner (after burning his bacon) and asks him out right away only to find that it's his wedding day. What if he was The One but your timing is so terribly off? She can't seem to forget this perfect man. The next time they meet 6 years later, Izzy is married and pregnant but there is still that spark. Sam is now single with his own family. But as the cross paths throughout time, will they ever be single at the same time and finally get together?

I loved the first half of this book. I looked forward to reading how their next chance meetings would go, but then it got a bit bogged down in the middle. The banter between them was cute and believable. They spent a lot of time communicating through email due to geographic and time zone challenges. Jo Lovett perfectly captured the thrill one gets when you see an email (or get an alert) about a message from a crush. Parts of it were very relatable.

It was mostly enjoyable and I give it 4 stars.

I couldn't read a romance every book but every once in a while it's a little treat (& escape). I really enjoyed this story and the main characters and found myself willing them together. It's a little bit christmassy too, so a perfect winter read. thanks to #Jolovett #bookouture and #netgalley for my arc.

I devoured this book in one evening and safe to say, I shed a tear!

A delightful romance with well written and likeable characters - very You've Got Mail ! Would recommend to all fans of a romantic will-they, won't they.

I received this early copy from Netgalley for an honest review.
There is a lot of things I loved about this book. I loved the story how the couple Sam and Izzy kept finding each other thru out the years. I actually had wish there were more of that then the relationship they do develope. I do love the feel of it. There is something warm and inviting reading a book where the characters are from London. I know that seems strange but to me all the love stories I've read where the characters are from London have the same feel to them, best way to describe them as cozy reads.

There were a couple things I disliked tho, Sam's daughter Liv was obnoxious and so rude. And I can understand Sam's willingness to instantly placate his kid it was also annoying that he never discplines her. Does that happen in real life? Just constantly say, I love you kids so much...and that's it? I lost count how many times Sam says it thru out the book. Don't get me wrong I have a son, I tell him I love him a lot but come on, it's not ok to act the way Liv was acting, that family dynamic was a bit much to relate to.

There were a few dynamics in the story that didn't mesh well for me, Izzy and Dominic's reconciliation didn't seem to make sense either, nor their connection as a couple as you're not really sure why she married him in the first place.

It also would have been nice to be privy to some of these funny joke emails that Sam wrote to Izzy. Like make us fall in love with Sam...the author did a good job at making us understand Iźzy but besides that Sam was a good looking man, had a nice voice and was a good father I'm not really sure why she falls in love with him, it would've been nice to see more of his sense humour.

But I did like the idea behind the story and how it comes together in the end, there were just some small things I would've like to seen to make it feel a bit relatable.

Thank you for writing your book!

The premise of this book intrigued me and I was looking forward to reading it but I found The First Time We Met to be just ok. I give it 3 stars for being a light and easy to read romance but found the timeline to be unbelievable. There is a lot of time in between the characters meeting and it just didn't feel realistic they would still be on each other's mind after so many years had passed with no contact. The timeline aspect of the book bothered me but there were good parts. I enjoyed the characters and the misunderstandings along the way to them finding love. The ending was also happy, which I always enjoy. I would recommend this if you like romance books in general and don't mind some unrealistic plot lines.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review #netgalley

This looked and sounded a lovely read, right from the front cover down to the blurb! Who believes in love at first sight? Izzy does, especially when she meets the gorgeous Sam in the café where she is working. Unfortunately, it’s Sam’s wedding day, and whilst he obviously feels the same, he still turns around and walks out of her life just as quickly as he came into it. We then follow their lives over the coming years until they finally meet up again!

This was such a lovely read! I enjoyed both of the main characters but I have to admit, at times, I could have just banged both their heads together for not having the courage to tell each other how they really felt! I had to feel sorry for Izzy though who spent so many years hung up on a guy who she didn’t really know, but let’s face it we probably all know someone who’s done that! Sam had a lot going on, trying to juggle work and home commitments, and he did carry a lot of emotional baggage around with him. I did like their emails bouncing backwards and forwards across the Atlantic, starting off friendly and professional and then becoming more and more.

It was such an easy to read story. There isn’t a huge amount of characters to get confused with, and the ones that are there fit into the storyline perfectly. The writing was great and flowed effortlessly from chapter to chapter, told equally from Izzy and Sam’s points of view. The timeline did, however, jump over the years initially and I did find myself having to check what year I was in! You sort of had an idea where the storyline was heading, but it didn’t take the easy path choosing instead the longer route negotiating ex-husbands and wives, children, work issues and of course living in different countries.

This book was light-hearted and funny at times, and tender and romantic at others! I was hooked into the storyline from the very first page and thoroughly enjoyed watching Izzy and Sam’s characters grow! Heart-warming, humorous and a wonderful love story!! Would recommend!

What happens if you meet the right one at the wrong time? Izzy and Sam's story spans over the course of 15years, with marriages, babies and transatlantic moves in between. Does love at first sight exist? What if "the one" has other plans?
I really enjoyed this story. Often with a drawn out tale like this I feel like it goes on forever (and not in a good way) but this was not at all like this. I have read this from start to end within 10hours because I just loved their story so much. I loved that there was so much storytelling involving the kids as well. Often I think when there are single parents their kids can be glossed over and are not necessary to the story other than for a sob story for a character. These kids were integral to Sam and Izzy's tale.
I loved that they communicated over email, we always text or WhatsApp and books follow that but the emails feel so old school and more personal like we were watching their love unfold through a series of electronic love letters.
It was a light romantic comedy which ticked all the right boxes for me.