Author: Sophie Cousens
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication Date: October 2022
Genre: Chick-Lit / Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: What would you do if 'the one that got away' turned up the night before your wedding?
Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship; Josh is just what Audrey needs. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey's found herself wondering if Josh really is The One.
So, when Josh's sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey's What If? guy--the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with--Audrey finds herself torn. Surely Fred's appearance the night before she is due to get married can't be a coincidence. And when everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humor?
My Thoughts: I have learned through my many years as a bookworm that the “what if” plot device is used a lot and not always successfully. I usually avoid this plot device because it just seems pointless to live in the past wondering “what if” instead of embracing the present and living life to the fullest. In Before I Do, engaged to be married Audrey is faced with a major “what if” on the night before her wedding when her future sister-in-law shows up with the man Audrey spent a wonderful day together six years ago and never saw again…until now.
I was drawn to this story because, unlike other “what if” plots, this one really intrigued me. Audrey and Fred had only one day. Just one. They made plans to meet up the next day and he never shows up. Audrey never receives a call from him and she is unable to call him because the numbers are smudged and she can’t make them out. I’m not sure she even knew his last name, come to think of it. What happened to Fred?!
Over the next six years, Audrey moves on; sort of. She meets Josh whose name she can never remember and keeps calling him James. They eventually get together and everything seems perfect and right on track for a happily ever after…until Fred shows up. Now, Audrey is filled with doubt about herself, her relationship, her future. Instead of talking to Josh about her fears, she bottles it all up until she is walking on glass. It doesn’t help when bats fall from the belfry onto Josh’s grandmother, the wedding dress tears, the bride figurine decides to take a suicidal leap from the top of the cake and the vicar has a heart attack during the wedding ceremony. It certainly seems like the universe is trying to tell her something, doesn’t it?
I liked Audrey and thought she was intelligent and certainly mature enough to manage this mess like an adult. Other than to entertain me, what other reason could there possibly be for her to allow this chaos to take over what should have been the happiest day of her life? This story is told in flashbacks to the past allowing the reader to see what Audrey experienced and how she met Fred, meeting Josh as well as giving the reader insight into the relationship she has with her mother, who turned out to be quite a surprising character for me.
I personally never warmed up to Fred and couldn’t understand how Audrey could be rethinking all of her life’s choices based on one day with one man instead of the several years she has built with Josh. Even with all of Audrey’s insecurities and indecisiveness, I found this story to be heartwarming and I was eager to see how it all would play out.
My Final Verdict: Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I haven’t read anything by this author before and am wondering why. I really enjoyed her voice and writing style. She creates characters that I found easy to relate to and could easily see myself being friends or family with. I wanted to help Audrey through this mess, but we all know this is the kind of situation one must face on their own.
I highly recommend this story to fans of the chick-lit and women’s fiction genres, as well as readers who enjoy stories with characters with real-world problems and lives. I look forward to reading more by this talented author.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Before I Do from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment