Before I Do is a 5-star romance for me, and I'm pretty particular about my romances. I need complexity, I need a little mystery, I need an interesting, fully human protagonist I can root for. And I'd like it to be smart and fun. This new Sophie Cousens book has all that, plus an intricate time-hopping format that couldn't have been easy to get "just right." But I think she nailed it!

We open with Audrey and Josh's wedding ceremony going down in flames at the altar, before the vows were even said. But why? And what will Audrey do when "the one that got away" shows up at her wedding, totally unexpectedly, as the plus one for Audrey's would-be sister-in-law? Additionally, Audrey's mother has a complicated relationship with the institution of marriage, which Audrey needs to untangle for herself before she can move forward.

Along for the ride is a colorful cast of loyal, lovable side characters that ensure Audrey isn't going through this craziness all alone. In the end, I loved the message of this book, what Audrey's choice says about one's "perfect" match and what you need to sustain a satisfying long-term relationship.

I highly recommend this romance to anyone who loves a heart-warming, down-to-earth romance with a Happily Ever After that will warm your heart, whether or not you saw it coming. I would love to see this book become a movie.

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens has the most fun "meet cute" I have run across yet and I have read a lot of books and watched a lot of Hallmark movies. Audrey is a total free spirit when she comes across a strip of pictures in a photo booth that hold a message that appears to be for her. Enter Fred, the guy that left the strip of photos and ends up finding Audrey's response left... in photos. The two of them spend one amazing day together and that's it, but Audrey is always left wondering if Fred was her one true love. A few years later at Audrey's wedding to Josh, Fred shows up with Josh's sister as her plus one. Audrey becomes a complete mess wondering if this is a sign that she wasn't meant to be with Josh, but rather with Fred. The story is told in alternating chapters of 'X years before the wedding' and 'X hours before/after the wedding'. This works well and is clear, I just felt it went on a bit too long, other than that I would have given it five stars. The book is super cute and I definitely recommend it!

I just devoured this novel! It was so light but yet complex with multiple timelines telling the story of Audrey & Josh. As they are approaching their wedding, Audrey starts to doubt whether Josh is the one. Like in any romcom, the one who got away, just happens to be the date of a guest at her wedding. She starts to unravel and question everything she thought she understood about finding the perfect person. Is she really meant to be with Josh or is Fred showing up a sign that he was her person. It was silly, yet deep, yet heartwarming. The relationships between her mother and friends just added to the storyline. I couldn't put this one down because i really didn't know who/if anyone , she would end up with. I loved the ending.
It might be my favorite of all Sophie Cousens novels!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick romcom!!

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens

My first novel by Cousens and it was extra cute!! I loved how this one was organized going back and forth between “x days/hours until I do” & “x years before I do” etc etc.

More things I loved:
-little bit of a love triangle situation
-the fact that I got to read about sponges (cakes) like I was right in the middle of The Great British Baking Show
-the ins and outs of the mother/daughter relationship
-all the characters were nicely done!!

If you’re looking for a cutesy read with some depth, this is it! 💜

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was the book that I needed right now. It was light and a bit corny ( or cheesy - depending where you live), but it also included so much heart too! The messages about marriage and soulmates were beautifully-written and great reminders to anyone in a relationship.

If you didn't know already, Sophie Cousens is hilarious! Even without great books, I would follow her on Instagram for her stories alone. And in this book, you can see her humor shining through her characters, especially Granny Parker and Hillary! The balcony scene alone left me laughing out loud.

Audrey is at her rehearsal dinner with husband-to-be Josh when the man that has always been in her mind as the “what if” walks in a plus-one. Fred is a man she met 6 years ago and had one magical day with, and then never saw again. She’s kept his picture in her wallet ever since to keep herself believing in the heart-racing, crazy kind of love. Fred’s appearance the day before her wedding gets Audrey wondering if it’s a sign that her much more stable and less heart-pounding kind of love with Josh is not enough.

The story is told alternating between the current timeline of the 24 hours counting down to the wedding and a past timeline that jumps around, ranging from when Audrey was a little girl to just months before. This helps us slowly get glimpses of what has shaped Audrey as well as her relationship with both Josh and Fred, so we start to understand all that is shaping current day decisions.

I really enjoyed Before I Do. We didn’t just explore Audrey’s romantic relationships, and I really appreciated the dives into her relationship with her mother, stepfathers, and multiple friends and how that shapes her as person. There were a few times I wanted to bop Audrey on the head in frustration at her choices. In the end though, I think the author did a good job of showing what had shaped her to make some of these choices and ended the book in a place that felt both hopeful and realistic. Also the plot thankfully did not go into a real infidelity route which I was concerned about for a while and do not have patience for.
So many of us have pictured some “what-if” situation in our head that we’ve focused on, whether a relationship or something else, and this was an interesting look at someone getting to face hers with just hours to decide if that fantasy would truly be better than her current reality.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader’s Copy.

I loved this book! This is the perfect book to read if you are looking for a mixture of heart and fun. We all look back from time to time and wonder what if, so we all can relate to this lovely story.

I absolutely love this book. Sophie Cousens is such a fantastic author. She is now an auto-buy author for me. I love her writing style. She makes you feel like a fly on the wall observing and feeling everything on the page. I cannot express how much I love this book. I don't know how I can recover from the emotional damage this book has caused me. The emotional rollercoaster it took me on was better than the real rollercoaster. The FMC, Audrey's battle with her past, present, and future was so relatable. Torn between her current love and her past love. I just love this so much.

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It is not often I find a book that I truly struggle to read but this was one of those books for me.
I did not like the characters in this book. There was a depth to them, and I honestly did not care who did what or why. The writing for me was jumbled and hard to connect with at all.
I will try other books by this author but for me this is a no.
Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the copy of Before I Do. This is my personal review.

Thank you NetGalley and Sophie Cousens. I started this one and could not put it down. I loved all the time jumping and that absolutely made me fall in love with Audrey and her story with Josh! I was team Josh all the way but no spoilers here. I loved this one and it is definitely one that everyone should add to their TBR pile to keep cozy with.

My first Sophie Cousens but certainly not my last. Highly recommend to all you rom-com lovers out there! 4 stars!

I am genuinely surprised that up until the midway point, I was completely torn by the love triangle and had no idea who I wanted Audrey to end up with, nor who I thought she would end up with. This is so unusual as I often know who I want to be endgame immediately. Again, I think this is a testament to Cousens’ writing.

This story features multiple moving timelines that rotate back and forth with no consistent order. While it’s fairly easy for the reader to follow, I imagine it must have been incredibly challenging as the writer, to make it all come together in a cohesive way. I am most impressed by her ability to tackle such a difficult style, and I think it is what makes this book so unique.

A reflective story on the choices one makes in life. It is told from Audrey’s perspective in past, present and future. She is on the cusp of getting married and is reflecting on the choice of husband and how she has gotten to this point. She is surrounded by family members who are some real characters. Her fiancé, Josh, is level headed and calm until things crash down around them. Lucky for them, things work out happily.

I dropped happily and well into the complex, wonderful world Sophie Cousens conjures in BEFORE I DO. Wonderfully paced, hilariously funny, exceptionally wise about people, marriage, and friendship, her story about what happens before, during, and after Audrey's wedding to Josh a fantastic escape into the world of what if's and if only's that haunt us everyday people. As always, Cousens shares a truly compelling and rich story about people in all their flawed, marvelous reality. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Not sure how I feel about this book. It was cute but I was annoyed throughout much of the book...with Audrey, her mother, her mother's boyfriends/husbands, etc.. There really just weren't too many likable characters. And normally I enjoy a past/present alternating timeline but this felt very jumbled and choppy. I really, really liked Josh and the book definitely improved as we learned more about him and as he and Audrey's relationship progressed (which actually only made me more frustrated with her though). There are actually some heavy topics in the book and I'm not sure I appreciate how they were handled/resolved. I feel like overall the MC didn't bring enough to the table for me to really enjoy the book.

This book was such a delight to read!

Audrey is about to marry Josh when a man from her past re-appears at the wedding and she questions everything. This whole book alternated between timelines of Audrey’s past and present, we learned how she ended up at the altar and the book had me guessing the whole time what would happen in the end and who she would end up with.

Throughout the book Audrey had great character development. She went from being a bit of a broken person to growing from her past experiences and becoming a better person in the end.

Also - just have to say, Josh was an absolute sweetheart and I was rooting for him the entire time. I hope everyone is able to find their own Josh out there.

This book will be a new comfort read for me. I felt it had a lot of heart and throughout I could really feel the emotions of each of the characters. Highly recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A book by an author I adore featuring the question of destiny versus agency and a cleverly written back and forth time hop? What's not to love? Sophie is right up there for me with Beth O'Leary in that they whip out these novels that don't quite fit the mold and are so memorable.
Audrey's soon-to-be sister-in-law shows up to the wedding festivities with Fred, the one that got away. Her memories of their romantic encounter years ago haven't faded and cold feet make her question fate. Is it mere coincidence or a sign that she's making a huge mistake with Josh?
I can't help but having been torn between the two men initially. Fred is surprising and exciting whereas Josh is so sweet and unassuming. I fairly quickly chose my "team" and love so much how Sophie wove in the flashbacks to give their relationships meaning and heart.
I listened to the audiobook hand in hand with reading the physical copy. Emma Sidi is a voice that I'm familiar with and always puts me in the right headspace for a British contemporary romance.
Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced copy and to PRHA for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

BEFORE I DO

📚BOOK REVIEW📚

Before I Do
by Sophie Cousens
Pub Date: October 11, 2022

3.5⭐️
🌶: closed door/clean

This was my first Sophie Cousens book and I enjoyed it for the most part. I was enjoying the story and the dual timelines until about 80%, when it hit me that I was terribly bored and ready for the book to be wrapped up.

There is a lot of back and forth (think People We Meet On Vacation) and it’s easy to follow, but there are a lot of characters to keep up with. The erratic, marriage obsessed mother. The nanny turned actor turned BFF. The other BFF. The many stepfathers. The roommates. The fiancé and the what-if guy. It’s a whole motley crew of characters to keep up with, but I think the author did a good job with it.

I think the book overall is a good book, I just think the combination of a long winded author and no spice left me a little bored. Just personal preference as always.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

The night before her wedding day, 'the one that got away' turns up at Audrey's rehearsal dinner and she questions if fate is trying to stop her from making a huge mistake.

This one was quite a journey that has you rooting for both love interests at any given time. We get to experience Audrey's past and present through the storytelling, jumping back in time to relive memories.

Audrey was a tough leading lady to like at times, but peeling back the layers of her past helped see how she got herself into this predicament on her wedding day. I loved the wit and charm and full cast of characters.

I think this is my least favorite of Sophie Cousens, but only because her previous two books are so highly rated for me. Overall I still recommend for rom com lovers.

Thank you Putnam Books for my gifted copy.

How can an author take a romance and make me have so many emotions all at once while reading this?

There were moments where I liked aww at the sweet moments. There were moments when my just blood boiled at the situations that happened to our main character. There were times that you even wondered what would happen. At the end it was all warm and fuzzy and it made your heart swell with happiness.

I never had a romance book hit me like this one did. It was so good that I enjoyed every moment I was reading.

Can anything else go wrong in ONE DAY, imagine you are about to get married and bad omen after bad omen after bad omen happens. Audrey and Josh are getting married, I loved their love story. I wanted to really love this book but Audrey came off as very indecisive and immature, its like everyone else grew up, she realized that all her friends are adulting and then decides to do the same. Then hours before she is to marry Josh who is literally the perfect man ever, she see’s someone from her past, and this derails her in some way. The story kept going back into time 6 years before to when she met Fred, this allegedly soul mate or whatever, another person as indecisive and immature as she was back them., and even the years in between when she met Josh. There was just so much going on and clearly Audrey is going through it and has been for many years, between her mom and her many marriages and affairs, to this Fred guy, to Josh, her lack of making true decisions, it was a lot. But for sure I liked the plot, I liked all of the humor, and all of the happy endings and watching Audrey grow up for once.

Thanks netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.