It’s the night before your wedding, the wedding you never even realized you wanted: a stable, loving relationship with a really good guy—one that you love with all of your heart. But at the rehearsal dinner, the guy you met all those years ago who completely swept you off of your feet shows up. And all of those memories are immediately injected into your brain, bringing along the butterflies to your stomach. Now that you understand what happened, where your dream guy was all these years and how you weren’t ghosted and it was all just bad luck, what do you do? You know what you should do, but will that mean missing out on a once in a lifetime, sparks and fireworks, and an ice cream sundae with the cherry on top kind of life? I enjoyed this book, and even though I thought it would be predictable, there were some very good non-predictable moments. Unfortunately, when I finished it, I still felt like I had just watched a Hallmark movie in my mind. Cute and nice, but all kind of expected in the end.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
Audrey and Josh are about to get married. Audrey is happy and excited and then the day of the rehearsal bad luck (or bad omens per Josh's grandmother) keep happening. First, the rain. Then a dead bat and the officiant almost dies. Finally, Audrey's 'what if' guy from years ago, the person she felt immediate chemistry with and spent one incredible day with, shows up as Josh's sister's date. Is it fate? Or bad luck? Is Josh, the responsible, spreadsheet using, planner the one for fly by the seat of her pants Audrey? Or is Fred showing up fate's way of telling her she and Josh are too different and she should be with him?

Review
I adored this story. While mostly focusing on Audrey and her love life, there were deeper issues and stories as well. Audrey and her mother, who has been married many times, used to be very close but years ago an incident brought tension and they haven't been the same since. Audrey is trying to adjust her expectations with her relationship with her mom, deal with Fred showing up and trying to decide if Josh is right for her. Audrey wasn't always the most likeable, but seeing flashbacks of how she grew up, her insecurities and doubts made more sense. Josh was a teddy bear and Fred... well, was that day they had too good to be true or a sign that they are meant to be?

i have said it before, and i will say it again: if the guy's name is josh, then he WILL be a good love interest.

thank you to Netgalley, Sophie Cousens, and the PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for my ARC copy.

this was so good. audrey's "what if" guy shows up to her WEDDING, and after a SERIES of bad omens, she is basically having the world's longest existential crisis.

i do feel like the ending felt a bit rushed, but from what we know about josh, i don't think this is necessarily out of character or anything. i like it when the woman has to grovel! i like "perfect" guy love interests! sue me! i loved josh. jesus christ. i liked how insecure audrey was. how bad at communicating she was. she felt so real! and that's really important to me, as someone who reads a lot of these kinds of books!

I have read Sophie's other books and I absolutely loved Just Haven't Met You Yet, so I was very excited to read this book. I had high expectations. This book started out so well, and I found myself really liking Fred, but then I found myself really NOT liking Fred. I felt like this book was leading me in one direction, and then completely turned me around. Maybe that is the point, but I finished this book and felt like something was missing. I think because her other book was one of my favorites last year, I had too high of expectations for this book. #BeforeIDo #NetGalley

Before I Do (eARC) — 4 ⭐️

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: October 11th

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Audrey is about to marry Josh who is her best friend, but when Fred, a guy from her past, shows up and as wedding aspects continue to go wrong, she starts questioning fate. Even though she only had one most incredible, spontaneous date with Fred, it left her with with several “What ifs” questions. Could his unplanned appearance be a sign or even destiny?

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: If you all are familiar with my reviews, you know I’m not the biggest fan of the second chance romance trope. It just brings up too many bad memories for me, and I read for the positive vibes, you know? But even though this book borders on Second Chance or Love Triangle tropes, I still enjoyed it. There were several parts of the story that took me by surprise, and the ending did not disappoint. I’m convinced I’ll enjoy anything Sophie Cousens writes!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 —
🌍 Based in Europe
🤩 Addicting Read
🔺 Love Triangle
🔐 Closed Door Romance
⏳ Multiple Timelines
✌️Second Chance Romance
💒 Wedding Related

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐟 —
🗓 You think wedding planning is hard work
💃 You enjoy being spontaneous every once in awhile
💼 It’s hard to pick an occupation
🪐 You enjoy learning about astronomy
🎂 Your favorite part of weddings is the cake

𝐓𝐖: infidelity, sexual harassment, divorce, parent death, panic attacks/disorders

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for providing me an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A great and cute romance! I recommend everyone read a Sophie Cousens love story. Also - loved the cover art for this one!

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens #jaylammreviews

What would you do if the "one that got away" showed up at your wedding? 

The night before Audrey and Josh's wedding, Fred walks in and turns Audrey's world upside down. Audrey and Fred have unfinished business. 

The novel goes back and forth between the day before the wedding and past snapshots from Audrey's life. I loved this storyline! Audrey is such a great realistic character, she overthinks everything. Her and Josh's relationship seems authentic, so I really liked that we were able to see their relationship unfold. 

This book got a lot deeper than just a story of missed connections and lost love. This book dived into Audrey's past of unwanted male attention and insecurities. Audrey's past is having a big influence on her decisions about her future, and the relationships in her life. 

This is definitely not your typical romance. I really enjoyed this!

NetGalley and the publishers gave me an arc of this book for an honest review.

Before I Do is the first book I've read by author Sophie Cousins. It's a book about love triangles, what ifs, and a contemplation of life right before one of the most important moments in main-character Audrey's life: her wedding day. Audrey is set to get married to Josh. She had a complicated childhood due to her mother's many marriages and affairs and her father passing away at a young age. Audrey met Fred years before offhandedly, and thought he could have potentially been her soul mate had he shown up at their designated spot years ago. Fast forward years later, and Audrey sees Fred again when her soon-to-be sister in law, Miranda, brings him to her rehearsal dinner. This leads Audrey down a spiral of cold feet, what ifs, and life I'm general as she contemplates everything in her life leading up to her wedding with Josh. She's hoping she isn't making a mistake as she goes back and forth and we learn the backstory of what happened between her and Fred and also the backstory of what happened between her and Josh with how they met to where they are today.
I understand the reason Audrey is fearful of commitment because of the relationships her father had with men growing up. She wonders if Josh is truly the one for her because she doesn't want to make a mistake. She has to dig deep to see what's in front of her to realize what she truly wants out of life.

This book was incredible. I wanted to rush through it, but savor it at the same time- a sign of a book that just touches your soul.

My brain and my heart couldn’t decide- was I Team Josh or Team Fred? On one hand, Josh was exactly my type. On the other, the magical connection that Audrey and Fred had just couldn’t be denied. Photo Booth Boy and Girl brought together by fate, then and now. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple timelines, as we, the readers, connected the dots in Audrey’s life story.

A beautifully written, enchanting story that weaves a tale of love, family bonds, second chances and stars that burn bright and but never burn out.

What an unexpected story... you don't always know where you want it to go or who you want Audrey to "end up with" but you will always be drawn into her story.
Before I Do by Sophie Cousens is a lighthearted romance that actually takes on some big questions and themes: do we have on true love/a soulmate? is there such thing as fate or being truly sure about your decisions? do you have to have life figured out before you turn a certain age? can one moment/person change your path forever?

I really enjoyed how this story unfolded; dual timelines worked really well for me as I think looking at the past helped me see more clearly the present story as just one small part of the bigger story of Audrey and her past and future within her present wedding day chaos. I thought the secondary characters were really entertaining and well developed as well, particularly her best friend's story of new motherhood. The use of the past timeline stories helps lead into a strong resolution and ending as well.

My one quibble is that I wanted the story to maybe lean more into what I saw as a defining event that impacted her adult timeline, I thought that was a challenging and really important part of the story that could have been introduced earlier and explained/developed more. Others may disagree and regardless, it is a stronger story for that part of the narrative and I think a wonderful way to move the book into engaging book discussions.

Recommended for fans of this author and for readers who have enjoyed reads this year such as Birds of California, How to Fake it in Hollywood.

Sophie Cousens has quickly become an instant buy author for me! I have read both her prior books and loved them. Before I Do is her best book yet. She appears to be getting only better with time!

Before I Do was a true five star read for me. You can tell how much time and thought went into writing this book. The following are a few of my favorite elements without giving too much away:

1. The character development was fantastic! This is a story that could have caused readers to dislike the main character, Audrey. There are so many times throughout the book that I just wanted to shake her. However, the backstory Cousens gives Audrey, humanized her in such a way that all I could do was root for her happiness(no matter where that led her).

In addition to beautifully rounding out Audrey’s personality, Cousens did a fantastic job with Josh aka James and Vivien. I am a Josh girl through and through! He is so lovable it was hard to watch him endure pain at the hands of Audrey. Vivien was a character I grew to understand and then slowly appreciate. Cousens could easily write a second book about her life surrounding all her relationship drama!

2. The plot was superb! I loved the juxtaposition of telling Audrey’s love story with Josh versus her magical day with Fred. The exploration of fate/ destiny and soulmates/ true loves being real opened so many opportunities for discussion. This is an ideal book for partner reading or book club!

3. The timeline added an element of mystery. As an avid reader it is always fun to see an author differentiate their work from others. Having the story told the way Cousens did kept me on my toes. I couldn’t put the book down as I had to figure out how the pieces fit together. This book will have me thinking about it for some time.

Special thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley.com for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

I have enjoyed all of Sophie Cousens’ previous books and this one is no different. “Before I Do” is a cute story about a woman who details some insecurities about her impending marriage by flashing back to the times and romance she experienced prior to her impending nuptials. The emotions and self-doubt seemed realistic and again, the protagonist was likeable. I liked this one, 4 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I couldn’t put either of the author’s previous books down, so I was very excited for this one! It was cute. I liked the structure of the novel - going back and forth in time, all in relation to the wedding. I did want to scream and shake the main character A LOT, but (without spoiling anything), she came to the conclusion I was hoping for/yelling about. And now I desperately want to take pictures in every photo booth I come across.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐟 '𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲' 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠?

♡

this book follows 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘆 and the events leading up to her wedding with 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵. six years ago, however, she spent one unforgettable day with 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱. the next time they see each other is the night 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪 𝘥𝘰, but Fred comes as the plus-one of Josh’s sister. —𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐲 & 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫?

♡

the story is told in 3rd person; beginning with a prologue in the present on Audrey & Josh’s wedding day & the following chapters alternate between flashbacks and to the night before the wedding.

it was a rom-com novel throughout, but also a lot about self-reflection & growth and wondering how the choices we make can change the direction of our lives; making us think 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵-𝘪𝘧? …what-if we had made a different choice in the past & what would that mean for our future?

♡

this is actually my first book from Sophie Cousens and i really enjoyed it! i will definitely check out more of Sophie's novels <3


𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘈𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 :)
𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 & 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦!

This book has cemented Sophie Cousens as an auto-read author for me.

I've loved all of her books so far!

This one, especially...I was so emotionally invested in the plot that I flew through it. It's told in multiple timelines, with an element of suspense that I hadn't expected. The story felt authentic and universally relatable. Grab it today!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. I did not love this book. I think the back and forth got confusing; and I feel the main character blamed alot of her behaviors on previous events. Not my favorite.

What do you do when the one who got away shows up at your wedding rehearsal dinner? This is the conundrum that Audrey finds herself in. Audrey is a fly by the seat of her pants kind of gal, and Josh, her fiance, is a miticulious planner. After Audrey's string of non commital men, her friends and family are happy to see her with someone so well grounded. Audrey is happy, at least she thinks she is, but when she sees Fred she doubts everything. Who knows what will happen next.

This book was a delight to read! The premise is what initally drew me in, but once we started going back and forth in time, I was hooked. I love how the story slowly unfolded, but also kept good pace. This is the perfect light read to get you out of a reading slump!

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens was a book I just had to finish. Audrey is suppose to marry her fiancé , josh, in just two days. But once an unexpected character from her past arrives, she’s just not sure if she should. Listen, Audrey at first was a hot mess to me. I couldn’t believe that she was contemplating blowing up her life for…I’m still not sure. I did enjoy all the flashbacks to Audrey’s past because it helped me understand her. The way it was written I couldn’t help but feel empathy for her. Plus I loved all her best friends and how supportive they were. I enjoyed reading this book and Sophie Cousens has won me over again. 3.5 stars rounded to a solid 4!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As this book opened on Audrey's wedding day, with a wedding that maybe possibly doesn't occur, I wasn't sure that this was going to be the book for me. This book had a high amount of tension around whether or not Audrey is marrying the right person. But as the story unfolded, and your understanding of Audrey and her past grows, I found myself invested in "Who should I be rooting for?" Sophie Cousens handled the multiple timeline, back and forth shifts perfectly! This is a heartwarming tale about navigating the "What ifs" and "What could have beens in life" it is about all kinds of love, not just romantic, but also familial.

In the end, it was heartwarming and devour able. Overall an enjoyable read.

The writing was very good, the past vs. present storyline flowed well together. There was no confusion reading along on my part, brava to Sophie on well established storylines. The writing about the existence of other worlds/us was very near towards having existential crisis myself, as there is so much more we haven’t discovered yet. Audrey’s fears and anxiety’s were felt ver real throughout the book. I love how everything came together for Audrey in the end. Had me there for a bit with Fred, happy that Audrey came to a realization at the end.