were there a few unshed tears. perhaps? this had me in a bind. i was constantly flitting between angst over what was happening? what i thought was happening? and then worry over what might happen in the future. i clearly had biases here for certain characters. and was so hooked in by the book, the story and our characters that i wanted certain endings. i needed certain endings!
there is a mystery woven throughout this book. and i was not expecting the twist. i didnt see it coming and half of me wanted to read the book again so i could read it now informed... but perhaps the beauty of it all was because i didnt. and that also plays into the novel itself. and how what we see isnt always the way it is, or not from other point of view. and also how young eyes arent always wise eyes. or second chances really do help us see things clealy.
Liv, James and Kits story was one that will stick by me for a very long time.
i want to say more but i fear ill end up giving too much away. or give too much away simply by trying to skirt around it.
but you all need to read this. its a beautiful book with so much more added to it. it goes deeper than romance.
its one where i think if i had a library or could afford actual book! then this would be one of them id have read and be saying "yes i need that one as a permanent on my bookshelf.

3.75 Where to even start?
First off, the cover and the description of this book absolutely intrigued me. As expected, the book immediately sucked me in and I was hooked. The plot was brilliant with the mystery and the time travel. I also really enjoyed the dual POVs. However, the mystery element was so well done, that I actually ended up expecting there to be some wild twist to the story…so I’m a bit disappointed that that wasn’t the case.
Although I was little disappointed, I still enjoyed the ending and how it all wrapped up. I do wish that there had maybe been more explanation of the time traveling element and more details around Kit in the epilogue since he was one of the main focus points.
Overall I did really enjoy the story and I’m interested to read more from Emma Cooper.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with this ARC! This is my honest review with all thoughts and opinions being my own.

Quotes:
• “Everything has potential; everything has the chance to be something magnificent.”
• “I will never leave you.”
• “You’re my forever love.”
• “I don’t think I know how not to love you.”
• “The present is such a gift. Living is such a gift. Don’t let it slip through your fingers.”

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Fantastic! More mystery than romance with a brilliant twist I did not see coming, and I'm one of those who often figures everything out before the reveal. I did guess one part of the mystery but not the twist, and let me tell you, I gasped - it was ingenious. Now I need to read her previous books. Will be recommending this to everyone. Short chapters, different timelines/POV keep this moving at a fast pace. Very satisfying ending. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time. I hope this gets as hyped as it deserves.

An engrossing, fabulous book. A touch of the unreal mixes with the real to create an intense story of love, loss, and lies.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Liv's boyfriend disappeared on a hike and, despite extensive searches, was declared dead. Seven years later she is due to marry James, Kit's brother, having struck up a relationship whilst they were searching for him. Suddenly Liv finds herself back in time six days before he disappeared and relives the events leading up to his disappearance.
An interesting take on the time travel trope, with plenty of twists and turns. It makes you wonder what you would do if you could relive part of your time again? It was initially confusing, but things became clearer as the story developed and I began to make sense of it. There was one point that made me think of the film Love Actually - you'll know it when you get to it. In summary a thought provoking story with an interesting concept.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.
I really enjoyed this one! All of the tropes made it!

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC. This was my first novel by Emma Cooper. While the story was compelling, I normally don’t like reading books with multiple viewpoints. This book changed my mind. It was not as I expected. In the end, true love perseveres. Kit lied to his girlfriend, and is “dead” for 7 years. In those 7 years a lot has changed. Liv has met someone else and slowly rebuilt her life. Kit comes back and things change. Life isn’t always what it seems. I enjoyed this book immensely.

If you’re looking for a little more emotional, reflective journey with a time travel twist, this book is it.
I found the plot interesting, the main character, Ivy to be well written and the ending wrapped up ok.
The plot sometimes seemed to be stretched unnecessarily and the ending was so so in my opinion.
This book has a strong synopsis but some parts just failed to keep me interested.

BOOK REVIEW

💫The One Before The One💫 By Emma Cooper
Published By Boldwood
Publication Date 31st January 2025

Blurb
Liv is given the chance to live one life-changing week over, but can she change her future...? And does she want to?

When Liv’s boyfriend Kit disappeared on a hike, seven years earlier, she thought her life was over. But with the help of their family and friends, she’s pushed her way through the grief, and now, miraculously, she's found a way to love again.

Until the morning of her wedding, when Liv steps through a doorway, and finds herself, somehow, back at the flat she shared with Kit: seven years earlier, six days before he left. Now, Liv has a chance to live those six days over, and change everything. If she gets this right, she can find out why Kit leaves and stop him.

But can she save him? And if she does, how will she choose, between the man she loved then, and the one she loves now?


👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️👰❤️

I was lucky enough to be given an ARC copy of this book, thank you Boldwood Books.

I was hooked from the first page, Emma is such a talented writer and has created a real page turner that also involves time travelling with split time story telling.

The story has so many twists & turns I must have said 'no way?!?' to myself many times whilst reading this, not seeing the next twist coming! The pace of the book is brilliant too, a book that if you have to put it down to do 'adulting stuff' you're still thinking about it & can't wait to delve back in! Just wow.
This gorgeous book is being published next Friday, definitely one for your TBR!

The One Before the One was my firsst Emma Cooper read and it will definitely not be my last! The premise of this book was really interesting to me - what would you do if your first love disappeared, you fell in love with someone else, but then you got to travel back in time to a week before the disappearance to see if you could change things. Or would you change things? Olivia is happy in the present after the devestating loss of her love, Kit. After growing closer to James after the disappearance, and finally falling in love with him, she found happiness and is just about to get married. Until she walks through a door and she is back 7 years earlier. Feelings come back for Kit, and it gives Olivia a chance to see if she can solve the mystery...
No spoilers, but this is such as great premise! It's amazing to see the past in a new light through Liv's eyes and what she remembers happening then and the new things she notices as her 7 year older self (back in her younger body). So much mystery, things to be solved. Will it work out? What will happen? If you love mystery and romance, this is a great story! Recommended!

I am not usually a fan of split time books but I was immediately drawn into this story. I loved Liv and I too would have wanted to know why Win appeared. The need for closure drives people to distraction. This is definitely one of my favorite reads this year 🌟🌟🌟🌟 I’ve never read a book by this author before, but after The One before The One I am now a fan!!

New to me author. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me reading until the very end. I will definitely be checking out more of her books in the future. I’m glad h stumbled upon this.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this! I REALLY enjoyed this sliding doors-esque magical realism romance.
We meet Liv on her wedding day to James as she is thrust 7 years into the past to relive the few days before her first love Kit (and James' brother) mysteriously vanished. Through her time stuck in the past we get a first hand view into the minute differences and tells she missed, the love between her and Kit, the love between her and James (and where it really began), and her feelings as she grapples between the loves of her life. We also have another timeline in the present day in a cabin in Scotland, reconnecting with a lost familial opportunity.
This is such a unique story about love, its power, and its lasting quality. The twist with Kit I figured out pretty quickly, the twist with the present day cabin chapters I had absolutely NO idea and actually flipped back to find the little notes I missed. I LOVED Liv/James together, loved the duality of Kit's personality, and thought the nuances of balancing your first love and your true love very believable. Liv's interiority was really something spectacular and so genuine in how thoughts sort of bubble to the surface.
Jame/Kit: their mom sucks. Just sucks. But every other cast of character is brilliant. I did think Liv's mom would figure into it more, but her agoraphobia is really just to help balance Liv's nature.

Time travel isn't something I would rush to read but this one stood out for me and I'm glad I had a chance to read it. Romance, mystery, escapism, all things many of us love in stories; and you'll find all that in this book. It didn't leave me as emotional as I expected it too but I certainly had afew shocks along the way!

There were some clever twists and turns and I had zero idea what was going to happen tbh. Once you get there, it wasn't what I expected atall! Speaking of which, the ending was alittle deflating unfortunately and it wasn't how I would have liked to see it turn out. Everything felt like it was wrapped up too neatly but that's personal preference.

All in all this was an enjoyable read that I know many other bookworms will like!

4.5 Stars

Alright, let’s talk about The One After the One by Emma Cooper—a book that had me glued to my seat and ignoring my responsibilities. First, the gist: Sophie’s life is a trainwreck (aren’t they all?). After losing her soulmate and stumbling through grief, she’s doing her best to move on. Enter the “after” guy, but life—and love—isn’t that simple. Throw in some alternating timelines, multiple POVs, and a touch of magical realism, and you’ve got yourself a very bingeable read.

The subtle twists and discoveries? Brilliant. I was so sure I had it all figured out… only to be wrong. Repeatedly. (Well played, Cooper.) The perspective shifts? Chef’s kiss. The pacing with those short chapters? Addictive. But that ending? Cheap. I don’t know how else it could’ve wrapped up, but when it came full circle, I couldn’t help but go, “Oh… that’s it?” It didn’t ruin the experience, but it definitely felt like ordering dessert and getting store-bought cookies instead of a homemade masterpiece.

Oh, and the magical realism? Did it really need to be there? Debatable.

All in all, I haven’t been this into a book in forever. It kept me guessing, kept me hooked, and delivered all the emotional chaos I crave from a good story. Highly recommend if you love a good cry-laugh combo and some sneaky heartbreak.

Thank you, NetGalley and Boldwood Books, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! #NetGalley #TheOneBeforeTheOne

★ 2.5 rounded up

I don’t exactly know where to begin about this book. First of all, it’s important to mention how the plot felt like a breeze of fresh air. I am also an enthusiast of magic realism, so this gave me high hopes.

However, I personally feel that the story has a lot of slow moments which aren’t really necessary to include, as this affected the flow for me. Aside from this detail, there are some other moments that had me really hooked. The book includes a lot of plot twists that constantly surprise the reader. Sadly, I feel that the most crucial plot twist was unpleasant. I wished it was something more surprising, even more reasonable. Additionally, I felt that a lot of the story revolved around Kit when the spotlight could’ve been used on Liv and James.

Overall, I feel like an additional chapter perhaps would’ve been enough to solve all the plot holes in the story. There are moments that just didn’t make sense to me, including certain decisions made by some of the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for providing me an advanced copy!

If you enjoyed One True Love by Taylor Jenkins Reid, you will absolutely love this book.

From the start, I was drawn into Liv’s journey, following her through the ups and downs of her life. The alternating chapters between Liv’s interactions with Kit and her attempts to uncover the mysteries of Kit’s past & Kit after he left her kept me guessing. I thought the story was leading me through Kit’s history, only to realize that I was actually being led through James’s present. The unexpected twist around three-quarters of the way through completely shifted my understanding of the plot—what I thought were Kit’s chapters turned out to be James’s, and that revelation was both shocking and brilliant.

This book masterfully blends romance with mystery in a way that not only keeps you captivated but also challenges you to think about the complexities of relationships and how well we truly know those closest to us. It’s a beautifully crafted story that explores the nuances of love, loss, and self-discovery, with an underlying message about how deeply we can be unaware of the lives and thoughts of those we care about. A must-read for anyone who enjoys a well-written, emotionally stirring story with plenty of unexpected turns.

There were a few things I appreciated about this book, like the way the text messages were formatted. Emma Cooper made them look like actual text messages, which I thought was a really creative and fun detail.

Unfortunately, that’s where my enjoyment ended. The biggest issue I had was that this book relied entirely on telling instead of showing. Everything felt like it was being explained to me, which made it hard to connect with the story or the characters.

On top of that, the narration felt overly casual, as though Olivia, the main character, was talking directly to me as a friend. Lines like “So, take my bag for example…” made it impossible for me to take the story seriously.

The writing also included some incredibly awkward metaphors and similes. These phrases didn’t add to the story but instead pulled me completely out of it.

Between the overly casual tone, awkward writing, and lack of engaging storytelling, I just couldn’t bring myself to finish the book. I stopped reading at 50%. This one simply wasn’t for me. That’s why I’m giving this book 1 aka 0 ⭐️.

I love a time travel/supernatural plot and I fully expected this to be a light romance within that, but it was so much more!

On the morning of her wedding to James, Liv finds a piece of jewellery that was given to her by her then boyfriend, Kit, just before his disappearance seven years ago, With it, is the receipt for engraving, from just one week ago. Shocked, Liv steps through a door and finds herself back in the flat she shared with Kit, 6 days before his disappearance.

Does Liv have a second chance? Can she find out why Kit disappeared in these few days that lead up to it?

Liv was a great character, level headed and relatable. I felt her angst like she was a close friend - should she save Kit? And from what? And what about James?

There were plenty of moral dilemmas for Liv to navigate, as well as working out how to get back to the present day if she wants to!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Emma Cooper and Boldwood for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Kept me guessing until the big reveal(s)... I enjoyed the premise of this book and how it unfolded. I was eager enough to find out what happened that I read it all in one sitting. Liv is a compelling, capable protagonist.