Member Reviews
Laura spends her days listening to other people's love stories. Surrounding herself with real life romance gives her hope that one day she will find her own soul mate.
When a work trip to Jersey results in Laura picking up the wrong suitcase instead of being annoyed she is excited. Looking at what he has packed this mystery man could just be who Laura has been looking for her whole life.
I love song related book titles because that song plays in my head every time I pick up the book to read and I particularly love Michael Buble! I think it is also clever because it gets you in the mood for the story ahead. So I predicted movie style romance and I was right. Laura surrounds herself with love all day long. Interviewing couples about their meet cutes at work and watching Meg Ryan films at home. The interviews at the start of the book reminded me of my personal favourite rom com When Harry Met Sally and I spotted various references to different films throughout the story. Laura is a relatable protagonist who loves love and truly believes her Tom Hanks is out there somewhere. When she discovers the contents of Hot Suitcase Man's suitcase she is convinced he is her future. Eventhough I could see what was coming before Laura could I enjoyed the runaround and experiencing everything Jersey had to offer. I have always wanted to visit and I want to visit even more now. The whole reason Laura is even in Jersey is to look into her own parent's love story for an article. This added an extra element as while Laura is wrapped up in her own potential romance her parent's history is unravelling before her.
Just Haven't Met You Yet has all the ingredients for a great rom com. A generous portion of romance, sprinkles of comedy with a helping of sadness on the side.
[Ad - PR Copy - thank you to Arrow/Penguin & NetGalley for this ebook copy of Just Haven’t Met You Yet]
Wow wow wow Sophie. A lot of you may remember I was part of the tours for Sophie’s debut, This Time Next Year, and I’m excited to say I’m on the tour for her second book, Just Haven’t Met You Yet, thanks to Sophie and the wonderful team at Arrow/Penguin! Well… this may or may not be one of my fave romances?!
The story is about Laura, who is a hopeless romantic… without any romance herself, and writes romance columns such as “How did you meet?”. She finds herself travelling to Jersey to discover more about her parents romance, and manages to find some of her own with the handsome Jasper… the fisherman jumper guy🤤 but it’s not all she thought it would be, and she ends up in quite the predicament… The question is what will she do?!
Well… obviously you’ll have to read it and find out😉
But in all seriousness Sophie has absolutely knocked it put of the park! Sometimes when authors write such fab debuts, sometimes it’s hard to live up to the expectation you know?! But Sophie doesn’t seem to have that problem… as I must say I think I preferred Just Haven’t Met You Yet🙊
Sophie’s writing is just exquisite, it’s to the point, lots of world and character building without it getting boring, and fabulous character development. I loved Laura’s development as a person, and the things that going to Jersey taught her about love and fate.
But not only Laura, but Ted. It’s clear that he was potentially going through a low stage in his life, he stopped taking care of himself in the form of shaving etc. This alone ages him, as Laura believes he’s around 50 odd… not 37!! But as him and Laura become closer you see the developmental parts in his character, he’s gone from “grumpy old taxi man” to “actually a hot, not so grumpy taxi man”!
Honestly it’s such an adorable story, there’s bumps in the road, and it’s not such a clean, easy romance either… like there are obstacles that need to be overcome which I loved. I love a romance that isn’t this “fairytale” the whole way through, makes it much less predictable and much more enjoyable!
The ebook for this will be available to buy on the 1st September 2021… or you can preorder the paperback now on anywhere you can buy books (I think!!!), which will be released on the 11th November 2021. I promise you, you will not regret it!!📚✨🖤
Sophie Cousens is becoming one of my go-to rom-com writers, her debut novel, This Time Next Year was a warm hug of a book, and her new novel, Just Haven’t Met You Yet is another romance book with hidden depths. It’s about Laura La Quesne, a young London based journalist whose popular ‘How Did You Meet?’ column brings readers romantic stories of when couples first fell in love. She loves her job, and loves meeting people who are obviously head over heels for each other but in her personal life things are possibly about to fall apart. Her friends all seem to be moving on without her and she is still grieving for her mother who died two years previously. She is at a crossroads and with her editor breathing down her neck for more romantic tales, she decides to pursue the romantic tale of how her parents met one summer in Jersey and fell deeply in love.
A trip to Jersey seems just what the Doctor ordered and all seems to be going well until she arrives at her hotel and realises that she has collected the wrong suitcase from the luggage carousel at the airport. It contains a chunky jumper, the type that can take an average looking man and make him look like a movie star, a well-thumbed copy of her favourite book and sheet music of her favourite musician, Phil Collins. She is sure that this man is destined for her and that this is the ultimate meet-cute. Armed with the surname of the suitcase’s owner, a grumpy taxi driver named Ted whose own life is in disarray and her two best friends at home cheering her on, she sets search for the man of her dreams.
Like This Time Next Year, Just Haven’t Met You Yet delves deep beneath the surface to explore a myriad of themes. Whilst this is an enjoyable romance with lots of sexual tension, it also examines such things as grief, deep family secrets and loss. Laura’s family history is disjointed, her dad died when she was very young and she was brought up her mother and she hasn’t any relationship with her father’s side of the family, who live in Jersey. Visiting the island and the places where her parents spent time together reveals far more about Laura’s history than she envisaged and brings to the surface a number of emotions.
Laura is an incredibly endearing character who, I think, many women can identify with. She’s in her late twenties, doing a job she loves for a boss she hates (Suki is such a brilliantly awful character who made me laugh on more than one occasion), she has friends who she adores and who adore her, but her life is standing still whilst others get married and have babies. She feels completely stuck and unsure how to make the rest of her life happen. Fixating on Hot Suitcase Guy as the person who will fix all of her problems is a distraction from working out what she really wants from her life and how she can achieve it. In some ways, the trip to Jersey forces her to grow up and take herself more seriously and I think Laura falling in love with herself was the true romance in the book.
This is a really fun, quirky book with a cast of likeable and loveable characters who really make things zing. It trips along at a great pace and is one of those books where you just lose yourself in the life of somebody else for a few hours. There is enough humour to keep the tone light, even when the subject matter is difficult and it felt very realistic. At it’s heart though is Jersey. Somewhere I haven’t visited before but Cousens has written big old love letter to this beautiful island which is the star of show and somewhere which is now firmly on my list of places to travel to. Just Haven’t Met You Yet is an enjoyable rom-com which is well worth a read and, if you’ve read Cousens debut novel watch out for the mention of Quinn and Minnie.
I can not recommend this book enough! I read I Just Haven't Met You Yet in one day. This romance book is one of Sophie Cousens best yet. I apricate net gallery and selected publishers for this early copy.
We meet journalist Laura La Quesne, who writes for ‘Love Life’ magazine. In search for the perfect story, Laura gets sent to Jersey, in the Channel Islands, to recreate her mum and dad’s happy ever after story! As far as Laura is concerned her parents’ relationship is about as perfect as you can get, and this has left her striving to reach a high benchmark when it comes to finding love for herself! But Laura is convinced she has found the man of her dreams when she takes the wrong suitcase from the airport. She connects immediately with the contents and subsequently the owner, despite not knowing who he is! Laura enlists the help of taxi driver, Ted to take her to the significant places in her parents’ history, and to also help find her the man of her dreams!
I loved this book! As soon as I started reading it, I knew I wouldn’t be able to put it down!! I really liked Laura, who despite being unrealistic in her search for love, is such a loveable character. She comes across as a bit scatty and she certainly had me laughing out loud throughout most of the book at her antics! I also loved taxi-driver, Ted’s character and there was obviously more to his story than first meets the eye. The author has done a fantastic job at making me wipe away tears of laughter and sadness in equal doses and the storyline was absolutely perfect for that bit of escapism that is so needed right now!
Filled with a wonderful array of supporting characters, this book captured my attention from the very first page right through to the last! It’s an amazingly light hearted, funny and emotional read all rolled into one. The location is to die for, and though I’ve never been to Jersey, I really want to go now as it sounds absolutely spectacular! It’s packed full of love, life and laughter, with some unexpected journeys along the way! Fab, fab, fab!! Would definitely recommend!
Cute fluffy beach read; not badly written f a little predictable! A generally optimistic and feelgood story with likeable characters
This was my second novel from this author and I'll definitely read more of hers in the future! It's a nice light read with likeable characters, a sweet romance, and a unique story.
I loved this romantic story filled with hope. I connected with the main character of Laura who is searching for her romance. Laura is filled with stories of her parents love tragically cut short, is a true romantic who believes that her true love is out there. This book read like a classic rom com and I adored every page. Great sophomoric effort by this author and I will read anything she writes moving forward. This book will make you swoon and smile
A light hearted, heart warming chick lit interspersed with laugh out loud moments. The main character Laura was likeable and easy to relate to. Laura works for a lifestyle publication and interviews people about their ‘meet cutes’, she’s a romantic and longs for her own story. She travels to Jersey to re-enact the then and now photos of her parents love affair and the story behind the coin passed down to her. A fantastic read,
I can’t wait to read more by this author, I wish I’d heard of her before and cannot wait to read her first book now- ‘This time next year. ‘
Laura has made a career or telling the story of how people meet and fall in love. When she gets her own chance at a "meet cute" she finds that there's more to happily ever after than a great story. Laura ends up finding love where she least expected to find it while unraveling her parents complicated love story.
Just haven’t met you yet by Sophie Cousens is an entertaining and easy to read book. It is funny at times but can also be surprisingly sad. It is Laura’s story with all her unrealistic dreams and infatuations, which she manages to turn around and make her dreams become unexpectedly true.
Highly recommended
I was already a massive fan of Sophie Cousens from reading her previous books. I absolutely loved Minnie and Quinn and was unsure whether I’d be able to enjoy another book as much, but I did!!! Laura, Ted, Jasper and Gerry are such amazing characters and have so much depth to them. I loved reading all about Laura’s journey to love and couldn’t wait to see what happened in the end.
Thoroughly enjoyed this, just as I expected after Sophie’s lovely first book! This has such a great sense of humour to it whilst also touching on deeper themes of love and loss and belonging. A book like that really is the whole package. Laura was a fantastic main character- full of fun, perfectly upbeat, and a little bit nuts, but has a gentle unsure side of her too. I really loved the backstory of her family and think that is what really made this book. A joy to read!
Such a lovely story about a young woman called Laura who picks up the wrong suitcase at an airport and discovers her Mr Right. The only trouble is that she has his suitcase but she's never met him. At the same time Laura is also on a journey to find out about her parents' own love story and in so doing she embarks on a journey to find herself too.
This really is a charming and heartwarming book which I would thoroughly recommend. I loved travelling to Jersey with Laura even while I was stuck at home myself, an absolute treat during these locked down times.
I absolutely loved this book by Sophie Cousens. As usually, she’s written a super cute love story. I adored reading about Laura’s journey to find love and to learn more about herself and her family’s past along the way. Of course, I’m always a sucker for a happy ending. Can’t wait to read another book by Sophie Cousens!
Sophie Cousens does it again! In this warm and lighthearted adventure, travel blogger Laura goes on a journey to learn more about her parents’ whirlwind romance in a town called journey. A mixed up suitcase, handsome cab driver, and crazy aunt later, Laura discovers that life shouldn’t be only about highlighting others’ stories. Sometimes, making our own can be so much more fun 😉
Just Haven’t Met You Yet will hit bookstores on 11/11. Preorder your copy now!
Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for and advanced reader copy of this wonderful novel!
What a great story! I had to read this in two sittings and was able to whilst the UK is experiencing a heatwave so unable to sleep anyway. Laura heads off to Jersey on a work gig and retraces her parents steps from when they fell in love. Laura herself is a true romantic and feels dishearten when her friends are all moving on in life whilst she is still single. Laura gets into lots of silly situations along the way.
I loved the meet cute aspects of this story, how memories are important and giving everyone a chance. Plus I now really want to holiday to Jersey!
A lovey lovely story of romance, family & friendships.
Thank you to NetGalley for my copy in exchange for a honest review.
Really enjoyed this one! Loved the characters and the premise. Cousens new book will definitely resonate with her audience!
She’s only gone and done it again. Last year I read This Time Next Year and absolutely loved the book and the characters.I can safely say that Sophie Cousens is fast becoming one of my favourite chick lit authors and. I honestly can’t wait until hurt next book comes out even though this one has only just landed on my reading pile. Her characters are charming, funny, relatable and realistic.
Just haven’t met you yet starts with Laura, a website journalist interviewing couples for her Love Life series. We follow her to Jersey to follow the story of how her parents met as she hopes it’ll be a great feature for work but all is not as it seems and there’s nothing like a suitcase mix up to throw a spanner in the works but one that will hopefully lead you to your very own happily ever after.
I highly recommend this book and found my self laughing a lot. It’s a great read and chick lit fans will not be disappointed. It’s the perfect holiday B by the side of the pool read.
I enjoyed this book this is the second book I have read by the author
With thanks, to NetGalley & the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for this review