After a “meet cute” to end “meet cutes”, Audrey and Fred spend an incredible day together in what feels like the start of a relationship destined for greatness. Fast forward 6 years, and Audrey is marrying “bad jeans Josh.”

As bad omen after bad omen begin to unfold before the wedding, including the sudden reappearance of Fred, all but professing his love, Audrey must decide who it is she’s meant to be with and deal with the obstacles standing in her way.

Thoughts: From page one, I knew I was going to like this book. Even with third person narration, Sophie Cousens pulls you directly into her books and into her characters lives, and “Before I Do” was no exception.

These characters were fun to get to know, and Cousens did an amazing job flushing out each and every one of them. While this book is a romance, the added mother/daughter relationship and how it impacted Audrey so significantly is what takes this book from an average rom-com to a romance with more depth.

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.

Sophie Cousens is such a great romcom writer. I haven't disliked anything I've read by her! I read this and her other recent one back to back and they were so cute!

I wasn't entirely invested in this book. I understand that cold feet is normal when you're about to get married by Audrey's thinking was just a little bit ridiculous. She was debating throwing away her loving relationship & soon to be marriage for a guy she spent one day with, many years ago. I thought that was just a bit crazy and unrealistic, as well as unfair to her fiance. The back and forth of timelines also added some confusion to the storyline in my opinion.

This book was cute. Took me a minute to get into it, but I don’t regret reading it I would
Definitely be recommending this
Book and rereading when I need a comfort read!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

After Audrey and Josh's wedding rehearsal gets interrupted by a dead bat, Audrey gets scared that the bad omens are warning her that her wedding is going to be terrible and that maybe she's making a huge mistake. When Josh, her what-if guy, shows up to the rehearsal dinner with her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Audrey wonders if the stars are aligning to tell her that Josh is not "the one" for her.

It took me a really long time to get through this novel and then I didn't fully like any of the characters, which is why I knocked it down a star. I knocked it down another half because the epilogue was doing too much. I'd recommend the book to folks who have ever wondered about their "what-coulda-been" person.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam books for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC. I enjoyed this book. It took me a little bit longer to get through than normal. I felt that the beginning was slow, but the pace picked up. Overall it was a solid read and I enjoyed it!

Got halfway through and just didn't care. not invested at all.

I was bored, and didn't care what happens to the characters.

Loved this! Super cute and so very Cousens! I also love the cover — it’s a gorgeous addition to my bookcase.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review. I Iiked this one, not as much as my previous read by Sophie Cousens, but it was still a good one.

✨Book Review✨
After I Do by Sophie Cousins
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This book was a very strange experience for me. While some parts were so beautifully written and some wonderful comments on society were made, the rest of the book was just not what I was looking for. I couldn't remember who half of the characters were. Literally every single time like five people were mentioned I had to stop and think.
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The backstory really made the main couple seem horrible for each other and all I wanted was for them to break up. And for the love of God can we stop using Scarlett O'Hara as a reference to compare someone to? They literally compared the main character to O'Hara multiple times as if it were a good thing to be compared to an enslaver, and then mentioned that Gone With the Wind was "problematic." This book was written in 2022!
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This book was not it for me and I would not recommend it. I really really loved Sophie Cousin's first book, but it's been downhill from there for me.

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens was amazing. I love Sophie's books so much. This is her third and possibly best one yet. She really develops a storyline along with the characters having so much depth.

I loved the timeline aspect similar to what she did in This Time Next Year. It was great to see how Audrey got to where she is. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Puntnam, and Sophie Cousens for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

Let me first say thank you to Putnam of Penguin Group for the complimentary efile for review.

I like Sophie Cousens and have enjoyed her previous work, unfortunately, Before I do somehow did not push me to commit. Love triangles and cold feet before I do is like a well worn path already. Wedding centered plots are way to stressful just as if the reader is among the wedding preparations! I did not find Audrey likable at all, I was not thrilled at her love relationship with either guys. Though I like the photobooth story just because it was utterly serendipitous! I love her bestfriend Carla but was annoyed to the bones at Audrey’s mom Vivian for being such a manipulative individual. There are so many side stories that took me away from the main focus of falling in love and the thrill of saying I do.

I literally would have gone straight to reception if I was a guest to this wedding. However, if one is feeling nit-picky and would decide to be a media person doing a documentary coverage of the bride, then by all means, the multiple time line plot including a bonus 5-husband wedding and divorce roller coaster ride of Vivian will be perfect.

With that being said, I am not giving up on Sophie Cousens! Looking forward to her next work!

I really loved this story. I loved the multiple timelines. I think we all go through the “what ifs.” I am so happy that the story ended the way it did. I’m a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason” and this book followed that well.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Before I Do" and all opinions expressed are my own. This book was okay. I did want to see how things wrapped up. Overall really not for me.

I enjoyed reading Before I Do by Sophie Cousens. The characters in this story will warm your heart. Happy reading!

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I enjoyed Before I Do. Audrey bounces from job to job not really knowing what she wants to do. She finds a string of photos from a photo booth in the subway with a message I will find you so she takes pictures and responds. After spending a day with Fred, the photo booth guy, she thinks he could be her soul mate. But she soon starts dating Josh. I like how Before I Do goes back and forth between present, and back in time covering Audrey's life when meeting Fred and building her life with Josh. Characters were enjoyable and the story flowed well that it didn't feel clunky or confusing bouncing back and forth. I liked Audrey even though she seemed a little reckless and could break Josh's heart.

This book was fun and surprising and I loved the ending. It was a fast read, and I actually read it a while ago but somehow forgot to leave feedback until now

Before I Do by Sophie Cousens is a book about Audrey and Josh who are getting married. The book takes place between the hours before I Do and the Years before the I Do. There are so many signs that show Audrey why she should say I don’t or is it just cold feet. Then unexpectedly Josh’s sister brings a date to the wedding who Audrey felt like he was the one that got away. This is when things don’t go as planned.

I enjoyed this book so much. I don’t know why I took so long to read it. I loved how funny the main character was. I loved the friendship and the mother daughter issues. The most important part is the writing got me all in my feelings. My heart felt at times happy at times sad and even on the verge of almost crying. I give this book an A+

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fun and quick read. A woman on the verge of getting married runs into the one who got away, leaving her wondering if she’s making the right decision. At times the characters were flawed and we’re sometimes annoying, but so are people in real life. I was rooting for her and wanted to know who she ended up with.

Before I Do 💍
This is my first book by Sophie Cousens and will not be my last. I can tell that I love her down to earth writing style and life insights sprinkled throughout a romance storyline. I was captivated by a fresh storyline of not just “falling in love” but reflecting deeply on the life you want to live and on being in love.
Audrey is a relatable character struggling with identity and if Josh is the love of her life. She struggles with confronting “the one that got away”. Weaves childhood trauma delicately in to show how it influences our future relationships. I flipped between the ebook and audio and both were equally great, I do wish for a bit more, I don’t know, zest or plot? Felt a little predictable.
Ty NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!