No matter what your private views might be on infidelity, you might discover that it's hard to be censorious with this poignant, tear-jerking and romantic story. Given that Jamie and Stephanie are not in happy relationships it pays to reserve judgment. I liked the insertion of topical events and the references to music of that era which fleshed out the plot and skilfully put you there. The imagery was particularly good, and there were plenty of soul-searching and perceptive observations to keep me thinking for a while. Had I liked and related better to the girls Stephanie and Helen the impact would have been more dynamic. My significant quote regarding infidelity would be, "It's always the ones you never suspect." That quote resounded perfectly for me. OMG. What an ending. I haven't recovered yet. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK.

Wow! This book moved at a slow but not boring pace allowing you to soak up every ounce of personality from not only Jamie and Stephanie but their friends and family too.
A fantastic definition of a page turner, leaving me desperate to know if they would ever find their way to true love

I will be honest. I don’t know how I feel about this book, or at least know how to properly review it.

The subject matter is a difficult one but sympathetically handled. My criticism would be that the partners seemed rather one dimensional and it seemed weird that they were all in their respective marriages as long as they were.

Also, I felt cheated by the ending. For them to be finally happy and for tragedy to strike is too damn cruel.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book but it was looooong! I got quite frustrated at both of them at times. An enjoyable easy read though

Loved this book! Well thought out and believable Scenario of the two People Meeting, but totally committed to their current Partners, with the torment, anguish of being unable to stop seeing each other totally. Their personal demons were realistic and the more we find out about them, the more they are finding about themselves and their current relationships. A sad but satisfying (in a wierd way) conclusion rounded out a great read.

I knew I'd love this book as soon as I saw the chapter titles were song lyrics! Yes, I cried. Yes, I would recommend and yes, I would read again!

This book has a slightly similar format to the brilliant One Day by David Nicholls and that is not a bad thing. Really enjoyed the characters and the story - probably one of the best books I've read this year.

Thanks Netgalley and Roxie Cooper for the ARC!

I loved the writing and I thought the premises were interesting, the inevitability of life's events that can't always be controlled and the connection of the characters woven with music and other art forms charming. I didn't particularly like the fact that the MCs were both attached when they met but it happens and love is not always a linear road to happily ever after. I think the fan of the genre will certainly enjoy this story.

Haven't read this author before but will definitely look out for more books. Stephanie and Jamie meet at an art workshop and immediately sparks fly. They agree to meet at the same time the following year. The book is set over 10 years and explores their journey.

This was going to be a hard sell to me. I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with protagonists who flirt with marital infidelity. Luckily, Stephanie and Jamie are fantastic characters, and instead of thinking they were cheating twats, I just wanted them to come good. That says a lot about Roxie Cooper's talent for characterisation and pacing. I loved the slightly mad structure of the book - jumping forward a year at a time in places, swapping between Stephanie and Jamie's POVs - props to the author as that would have been a hard beast to control when writing, and you never feel lost or rushed.

Could be the 'thinker' / 'tear-jerker' of 2019? Recommended.

This is a proper love story rather than just a romance. The ending is poignant, moving and unexpected. The story is told from the perspective of the two main characters, Stephanie and Jamie who immediately feel a connection despite being committed to other people. The book basically deals with the grey areas of life and covers a period of time over 12 years. The date and year are denoted at the heading of each chapter, very occasionally I found myself rechecking (by going back) where we were in the timeline. There is also a great secondary character in the form of Jane, Stephanie's therapist, who is well depicted and comes out with some good observations whilst letting her client talk. I did find a little slow the whole story of why Stephanie was at the therapist, there were allusions to the death of her mother but it wasn't clear why she needed such a continued amount of help.

It is well written and easy to imagine the characters, situations and settings. There are also, throughout the read, reference to various songs with relevant lyrics. I found it, on the whole an enjoyable read although it does slow slightly in the middle.

On the train to Birmingham last weekend, despite having my travel-crochet with me (as in crochet that’s easy to carry about) something else was calling me, and that was reading a book I’d downloaded onto my iPad that very morning. After flicking through the paper, the book one, and it was one I kept wanting to get back to. Even to the point that I had it on my phone too, and made sure it was where I’d left off so any valuable time I could muster for reading wasn’t wasted.

The book? The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper.

It wasn’t one I’d heard much about, or an author I’d read before, but when I read the description I thought it was a book that could be read relatively quickly, and despite the subject matter had the potential to be entertaining. And I wasn’t wrong, but let me tell you a bit more.

It’s one for the romantics and chicklit fans.

The main characters were likeable and believable and while the plot is, I think, well signposted it makes it no less of an enjoyable read. I believe in the kind of attraction, or strong connection that forms the basis of this story, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fairytale, or a smooth road. Life, even for these characters, is tricky and the emotions and bravery, or not, feel real - that’s what I think makes this book work.

So a good read, and good for a weekend away, though I was pleased I finished the book at home. And the photos from this post, well in my imagination, they fit with the book - you’ll just have to read it when it comes out in March 2019, to see if you agree.

Now, where’s my crochet?

http://www.lifeat139a.com/11/30/country-house-decor

I don't know how to find the words to describe this book. Incredible? Heartbreaking? Amazing? Powerful? Moving? All of the above. The Day We Met is simply stunning. It's raw and real, sad and sweet. Stephanie and Jamie are fantastic characters. Their story is epic. The only thing I didn't love about this is that it had to end and I never get to read it for the first time again.

It is a will they won’t they story.
The minute that I picked up this book I knew that this was going to be a brilliant story.
About love, friendship, inner connection.
Will they ever met?
Thank you to both NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

A thoughtful and beautifully written book about the grey areas of life and morality that lie between black and white - those areas most of us live in - and the importance of taking a risk before its too late. Ms Cooper has created a seamlessly interwoven dual narrative about the hard parts of love and life and starting again and the result is heartbreaking. I finished with tears in my eyes. Bravo!

I’ve just finished this book and the tears are still dripping down my face!
Initially, I really didn’t want to like or engage with this one as I despise anything to do with cheating and didn’t want to identify with the main characters. However, I quickly got into the story and really loved this book. I’ve been looking for something to rival “one day” for some time and this definitely does that. It’s a fabulous page turner and I can’t wait for other books by this author.
I’m away to listen to the soundtrack on Spotify (I also love that I can do this!) It’s one that will stay with me for a long time. A big fat 5 stars!

The Day We Met, Roxie Cooper

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance, General Fiction (adult)

I wasn't sure whether I wanted to read this story, I Hate cheating, hate it. It causes such heartbreak and I wasn't sure I could invest myself in characters so selfish enough to indulge and betray their respective partners. And yet it intrigued me so I requested it – and what a wonderful story it is.
Neither were looking outside their relationships, neither intended to betray partners and yet first time they met there was something incredible between them, something that pulled them together.
Its not a story of cheating and indulgence per se, more one of two people who feel so drawn to each other that once a year they meet. They talk, share their year, just enjoy each others company. Yet if you're lying to your partner about who you're meeting can it really be anything but an affair. They do break it off, don't see each other for years and yet somehow fate always throws them in each others paths.

The way the story reads, from each viewpoint, from past so we see things as they happen, is magical and yes, from outside its easy to see that neither are really in the happy marriage they feel they are. They love their partners, more so Jamie I felt than Stephanie. He feels Helen really is his love, but he also loves Stephanie. I really didn't like Matt, I didn't think he was in love with Stephanie, but in love with the person he wanted her to be. She says at one point to her counsellor that Jamie Sees her, in a way that Matt doesn't and I understood exactly. Her counsellor, Jane, is a great character too, carefully letting Stephanie reach her own conclusions. Its easy to think a counsellor has the answers, but what they do is help people to find their own way, there are no magic “right” answers, just what's right for that person.
The ending, had me in tears, incredibly moving and emotional. Its not the kind of story I'd read often, and not one I'd reread, but I'm so glad I chose it and will look at what else Roxie has written now. Its a beautifully written story, carefully paced to let events unfold and carry the reader with them.

Stars: five, a wonderful, emotional romance.

ARC supplied by Netgalley and publishers

Really loved this book & the characters although I did feel angry at the end with one of them. Would highly recommend this book to anyone look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

I still feel a little sad that this is over. I identified with Stephanie a lot, and the author did a great job at making Stephanie and Jamie likeable and sympathetic, highlighting their internal conflicts. The music references brought it to life for me, and I found myself googling lyrics to see what the subtexts were. I’m an ideal world it wouldn’t have the ending it did, but I’d seen it coming and so was a bit prepared for it, but really quite cross with Stephanie, which really does illustrate how invested I was in it. A great easy to read story, albeit covering some tough themes.

Stephanie and Jamie meet one day in a country house where Jamie is teaching a weekend art class, and Stephanie is a student sent there by her husband and father as a treat after a difficult few years.

Although they’re both married to other people – and Stephanie is practical, while Jamie is a dreamer – they feel a connection. And so begins their story, where they meet up, just one day a year, sometimes as friends, sometimes as more, and we follow them over the course of a decade.

At first, I found the story difficult to get into: switching between the two main characters, with months or even a year between each section, meant I couldn’t initially connect with them, even though I liked the idea of the novel.

As Stephanie and Jamie’s story developed, though, I found myself more and more invested in how it would all turn out: would they end up together? Would their spouses find out? Would Stephanie recover the person she used to be? Would Jamie try and make his passion for art into a career?

Despite a slow start, The Day We Met is a fun, quick read, and without giving anything away, the ending is unexpected – in all sorts of ways.

The premise of this book did remind me of another similar type book by Josie Silver 'One Day in December'. I settled down to read this book and was at first initially uncomfortable with these two strangers complementing to meet up every year even though they were both in committed relationships. However the more I got to know and understand them in particular Stephanie. I was then rooting for them to be together.

The writing style is very engaging and I ended up staying up late to finish this book. I like the fact that the focus in mainly on the two characters and their partners with a few others in the background, which meant I was able to connect with Stephanie and Jamie on a deeper level.

I did feel quite cross with one of the main characters towards the end as I feel they could have perhaps changed their course if they were more diligent, maybe this was me being too invested in them!

Needless to say I finished this book whilst sobbing, with full on streaming tears down my face. A lovely story in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book in exchange for a honest review..