Before I Do by Sophie Cousens

Audrey and Josh are about to be married. They didn't connect at their first meeting. Audrey didn't go for guys like "Bad Jeans Josh". Josh keeps showing up and they end up falling in love. On the day before their wedding, a man from Audrey's past shows up. He was her "one that got away" and all of a sudden, she's not sure if she should marry Josh or not. It also doesn't help that her mother wasn't a model for successful relationships. The book flashes back and forth from the past to the present and we are better able to understand why Audrey is the way that she is and, at least for me, I became even a bigger fan of Josh.

I am becoming more and more of a fan of Sophie Cousens. She has a way of writing that draws you in and makes you want to truly understand the characters. In this one more than her previous books, I had a little more trouble getting into it, but once I became invested, I was hooked. I was so annoyed with Audrey for the longest time, but Sophie made me sympathetic for her by the conclusion.

My sincere thanks to Putnam and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book and give my unbiased opinion of it. I look forward to reading more Sophie Cousens in the future. ( )

The streak continues! Three books by Cousens and I have read each one in under 24 hours because I simply couldn’t put it down!

Sophie Cousens has the ability to pick you up, wrap you in such an engaging story where time cease to exist, and then puts you back down feeling lighter than air. I always finish her books with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step, this one was no exception.

Before I Do revolves around that pesky question “What if?” that many of us focus on when we aren’t 100% sure of the decisions we have made. What if we took a different job? What if we dated someone else? What if we didn’t open the door, answer the phone, said yes to the dress? We follow Audrey through her journey where she constantly questions where her life would be if she had gone right instead of left, taking one action over another. To make matters more confusing, she has the chance to relive one of her “What if’s” six years later, on the day before her wedding.

What I liked about this book: EVERYTHING!! The adrenaline from this book was insane. There were moments that I found myself hopping up and down because I just couldn’t take the suspense of what was happening. I would skip ahead just to see the outcome so I could calm down enough to finish the chapter (I have done this with a couple of well written books so kudos Cousens!) The humor of this book is classic to the other two books I have read by Cousens. Her laugh out loud moments will stick with you, even when you put the book down (I rethought what happened to Ben and found myself laughing unexpectedly as I crossed a parking lot. Poor Ben!). What I honestly love the most about Cousens books are the stories within the story. Along with the humor there are real life/relatable situations and struggles. What Audrey experienced as a young adult and how much of that shaped her life was heartbreaking. Josh's story as a young boy, if I could have reached through the pages and hugged him, I would have!

What I didn’t like about this book: Honestly, it hasn’t nothing to do with the story Sophie envisioned by I REALLY would have liked to have seen Benedict get his comeuppance! Again, I know it wouldn’t have had anything to do with the story but I would have taken it as a bonus or a news flash that he was arrested or his career was ruined in some way for being the awful human being that he was.

True to form, Cousens jumps from past to present throughout the story but makes sure the story is still easy to follow. Written with such truth of what love is versus what love should be, this is a book I would definitely read again and recommend!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. ( )

Title: Before I Do
Author: Sophie Cousens
Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Before I Do" by Sophie Cousens

My Assessments:

'Before I Do' was quite an engaging, unexpected contemporary romance. We find Audrey contemplating which one she wants to marry...Josh or Fred? The story will leave one wondering 'who is your soulmate, and what if? The author did an excellent job of telling the story in alternating timelines that will keep one's interest throughout the read. Miss Audrey was quite a complex character being 'liable, witty, and relatable,' to say the least. After finishing up the story, one will conclude that Audrey finally came into her learning to appreciate what she had.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )