I adore how Sophie Cousens writes and immediately felt headfirst into Before I do, flying through the pages. Having got married myself just a few months ago, I really enjoyed setting of a wedding day as Audrey's drama unfolds and the plot was a really strong one that left me unsure about where it would go.

There's a really great set of characters in this book who are all easy to distinguish from one another. As I imagine a few people will also find, Audrey as the protagonist can be really frustrating at times and I did lose patience with her - I think sometimes she came across as really childish and selfish and I definitely wanted to give her a good shake! That said, this behaviour does get explained somewhat as we delve into her past. The alternate past and present timelines really help to build a full picture of Audrey as a person as well as her relationships with everyone from Josh to Fred, Vivian to Clara and this really does allow the reader to build empathy for the characters, something I really appreciated. I also thought the addition of Josh's trees planting and Audrey's love of astrology was a really lovely touch (and brilliant analogy of their differences), especially alongside Audrey's relationship with her late father.

All that said, I didn't love the ending. I absolutely understand why it went the way it did (and others will like it!) but I personally found it got a bit silly and would have been more impressed with an alternative ending that didn't tie everything up so neatly.

Overall, would absolutely recommend this book for any one looking for a read with a strong, substantial plot and characters.

This is the story of head-in-the-stars Audrey who is about to marry down-to-earth Josh - that is until her wedding is plagued by bad omens from dead bats in the church and suicidal cake toppers to poorly vicars and unravelling wedding dresses. Some of these situations are definitely over the top but good comedy value and necessary for the plot as they lead Audrey to wonder if she should be marrying Josh - particularly when an ex turns up. It's cleverly written over multiple 'Before I Do' and post 'I Do' timelines brilliantly conveying the complementary differences of Audrey and Josh's personalities and how our romantic experiences (both ours and others, good and bad, realistic and rose-tinted) shape our relationships. There's a fun supporting cast of friends and family too and I loved the epilogue(s) especially the one 50 years into the future. So, all-in-all another brilliant book from this author.

Sophie delivers again! I adore her writing style and this is another must read from her. I loved the multiple timelines and the first page had me completely hooked!

Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed this story, particularly the multiple timelines. I like this authors style of writing and would definitely read more by her.. I was rooting for the main character all the way through and I would recommend this book.

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve loved all of Sophie Cousins’ previous work and this romantic comedy just didn’t disappoint - a must read!

Poor Audrey has everything running through her head leading up to her wedding day & on the day too. Will she, won't she?? Who says life's complicated?
Great story, with great characters & a great ending.
Recommended read.

It's a cute story, that keeps going back to the past when Audrey met Fred, her present fiance, and the present. We follow how she met Fred by finding his photo's in a booth, then leaving some in return for him. A chance meeting a few weeks later and they go on a whirlwind afternoon of fun. They promise to meet up again the next day, but Fred never shows up, the number she has for him is smudged and he doesn't call her.

Fred turns up with the groom's sister the day before Audrey is due to get married can't be a coincidence - Fred is the what-if guy that she had a single afternoon with 6 years ago, and then he didn't turn up at their arranged date the next day.

To make matters worse, everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey begins to wonder if fate is trying to stop her from marrying the wrong guy.

Easy to read and something light hearted with a nice outcome in the end.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this mostly light-hearted but also at times very thoughtful romance. A dead bat, a series of terrible coincidence, and it seems like Audrey's wedding is cursed. Made worse is the fact that after the rehearsal goes terribly not according to plan, and she's beginning to wonder if Granny Parker's doom-laden statements are correct, the groom's sister shows up with Fred - photo booth guy. The guy that Audrey had one intense, amazing, spectacular day with, whose photo she still carries in her wallet. What if that's a sign, and dependable, lovely, bad jeans Josh isn't the one for Audrey?
This was a really lovely, nuanced, and thoughtful exploration of relationships, destiny, love, and weddings. Audrey's not a bad person, although she can be intensely infuriating to follow as a main character, but this book was an absolutely enjoyable exploration of her, her life, and that one day six years ago where she met Photo Booth Guy, and what that meant for her as time went on. The timelines are alternating, six years before I Do, one day before I Do, three years before I Do, and although it can be a little disconcerting at times to keep track, overall this is a great book, and Sophie Cousens is a talent who's going on my autoread list along with Jill Mansell, Sophie Kinsella, et al.

Audrey is marrying Josh, the most dependable, honest man she has ever met but she feels like she's missing out on something and she can't quite put her finger on it.

During their rehearsal dinner, Josh's sister arrives with Fred, a man from Audrey's past. The man that got away.

Is Fred's appearance some sort of cosmic interference? Is Josh really the man she should be marrying?

This was a laugh out loud enjoyable read

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy of this in exchange for a review.

I wasn't so sure about this book with it's narrative largely being in flashback. In the end I quite enjoyed it.

Firstly I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I loved it, I have read books by this author previously and enjoyed them so I had high hopes for this one and I wasn't disappointed. It had a great story and wonderful characters, I was glad I was alone when reading it as I laughed out loud so many times and people would have given me strange looks.

I really enjoyed this book. There is a great cast of characters that were all really well written. I really enjoyed the storyline and the ending was brilliant. Highly recommended.

This was quite an enjoyable book but, I didn’t like the way that every chapter jumped backwards and forwards. I found the main character very underwhelming and quite a shallow character. I was quite pleased to finish this one. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Good read. Great characters, enjoyed the setting, lots of side stories weaved into it and it flowed really well. A good read for a rubbish day. Will make you feel better!

Will Audrey marry Josh? Something's happened and now she's outside the church but what? Know in advance that this has multiple time line- the day of the wedding, the days before the wedding, years before the wedding, and, ultimately, after the wedding date. Audrey met and fell hard for Fred, who she met by chance but then he disappeared after their single date and she found herself drifting even more than she had been. But then she meets steady Josh but things don't spark right away. Audrey's back story-her mother's multiple marriages, a problem almost stepfather- colors her relationships. And now she's marrying Josh- except that Fred appears as her sister in law t0 be's date. No spoilers as to why Audrey's outside the church at the start but it wasn't what I expected. While Audrey was annoying, she is well drawn and the other characters (Miranda and her nose for scent, Clara, Vivian and so on) are terrific. Would that we could all have nactors like Hilary. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. For rom com fans.

I received an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

The premise of this book was one that interested me; Audrey is getting married to the man she is almost completely sure is the love of her life. But on the eve of her wedding doubts have began to plague her; added with a litany of bad luck that seems to be coming her way, she finds herself completely bowled over when a past crush from her life turns up with the grooms sister.

While the time Audrey and Fred spent together was fleeting, it left an impression on her that still lasts to that very day. as expected, chaos is bound to follow as Audrey wrestles with her feelings towards both Josh and Fred.

This book was a quick enjoyable read; while often I find myself wishing the FMC would go for the old flame, within this book I found myself hoping that Audrey would choose Josh.

I really appreciated the way that Audrey’s confusion was also influenced so much from her mothers absolutely abysmal relationships.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a lovely romantic comedy to provide a bit of escapism from the world. Very enjoyable.

Before I Do is an emotional, touching and compelling story focusing primarily on Audrey and her indecision about how different her life could have been had fate taken her down a different path. She is about to marry loyal, sweet and dependable Josh, whom she loves very much, however just as she is about to get married the sudden reappearance of a man from her past has her all of a dither. She hasn’t seen Fred for six years, he made a huge impact on her life at the time and has her questioning her choices and imagining how different her life could have been. This is a love triangle of sorts, but it is very well done and the story is beautifully constructed with past and present timelines, both of which I really enjoyed. The prologue immediately drew me in showing a scene which reveals something has gone horrendously wrong on Audrey’s wedding day.

As a main character Audrey is wonderful, she’s had quite a troubled upbringing and has lots of back history. The relationship with her mother is complex and difficult and I liked the way this developed throughout the story. There is a great cast of supporting characters, Clara – Audrey’s best friend, Hillary – the unconventional nanny, Paul and Granny Parker.

The story is well executed and it all came together really well. The ending is brilliant and it ended exactly as it should have done, I would not have been happy had it ended any other way!

Thank you so much to the publisher for the invite to review this book.

It's the night before Audrey and Josh's wedding. They are at the church for the rehearsal when a bat falls from above. Granny Parker, Josh's Granny, says that it's an omen. After that a chain of events conspire to make this weeding truly memorable. The story flips backwards and forwards in timescales of how long before "I do" they happened.
We see that 6 years before she one perfect day, by chance, with a stranger called Fred. They arranged to meet the next day, but he didn't turn up. She had always thought he might be her soulmate, but when she meet Josh three years later, she fell in love with him and agreed to marry him. There is a history of weddings in the family, her Mother, Vivien, has been married five times and pretty much takes over the wedding planning as Audrey is somewhat indecisive, so consequently the wedding is not really her choices.
On the wedding day, Josh's sister Miranda, who missed the rehearsal, arrives with a new date. To her horror, Audrey realises that it is Fred.
It's a case of will she or won't she.
A good read which will keep you turning the pages.

Good, if not perhaps as enjoyable as other books I've read by Sophie Cousens. It held my attention throughout. Contrary to a lot of reviews, I didn't find Audrey irritating. In fact, I found Josh irritating at times and rather cheesy too. I didn't like the way he wouldn't listen to Audrey. I know he was upset, but he's in his thirties and should at least have heard her out. Also, his spreadsheet way of life would get on my nerves. Anyway. I didn't much like Granny either. Not a pleasant woman. I wouldn't want to have to go to her house for a family meal. I did tire a little of the forwards and backwards timeline. I loved the astronomy theme. I liked following Audrey on her path of finding herself. Her friends were lovely too. With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.