This is the first book I’ve read by this author. It was an interesting story. I didn’t really like any of the characters very much. But the book had a decent plot.

This is a good book. The main character is Sebastian Cooper. It is about his life from a teenage to 40 years old. It goes from his first love and mother of his two children, to his love who he left his wife for, and finally someone he was dating before he died. It told about all the special people in his life, from his parents, his wife, his best friend, and the love of his life.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper by Zoe Folbigg from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I have never read anything by Zoe Folbigg before and I loved the cover of this book so I was intrigued. I can say she will for sure be added to my list of must reads going forward. I loved how she alternated between the past and present and had many points of view for the characters in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will for sure tell everyone I know to read it.

You go through such a mixture of emotions reading this book. My thoughts on Sebastian changed so many time throughout. In fact my thoughts on most of the characters changed throughout. I suppose that’s why I liked the book.

I most definitely recommend this.

I was getting Michael Hutchence vibes from the funeral of the charming and charismatic Seb Cooper. I remember watching footage of his various women arriving at the church from his current wife Paula Yates, to this exes: model Helena Christenson, singer Kylie Minogue and Home and Away star Kym Wilson. I was interested in how these different women remembered Michael and the memories they had of him on that day. This was running through my mind when reading about the three women sit in the congregation, mourning Sebastian’s loss. Clair is Seb’s wife and partner of twenty years, and mother of his two children. She’s harboring so much anger at Seb for leaving her, because now their children are without a father. Clair isn’t really sure of her place in Seb’s life and has been left bemused by the conflicting stories of Seb’s last days. Desiree is the woman Seb left Clair for and she’s very self-conscious about showing her face today, even though she’s devastated. Then there’s the third and noisiest mourner Noemie – Seb’s lover and the last woman to see him alive. These three women who loved Seb in their own different ways and all have lost him.
Every one of these women expected life to be a certain way, and now it’s changed forever.
Only one woman knows what really happened at the end…and only one truly had his heart…

The book is told by different characters in different timelines, with forays into the past that bring insight into Sebastian’s relationships from his very first love onwards. I thought it explored the central mystery so well, letting us know how he ended up in three relationships towards the end. I wanted to know how much they knew about each other and also what his excuse was for letting other women and his children down so much. I was entertained, but I didn’t really feel I got to know the characters well enough to care what happened. Perhaps I was biased against Seb because of his duplicity. The book was entertaining and had a good premise, but I wanted to engage on an emotional level and it just didn’t get me that way.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

A good glimpse into the conundrum of too much love to give. Sebastian is the center of the book and his three loves fill in the background. One would wonder why not just enter into a polygamous relationship. You'll need to read it to determine how it ends.

This was ok, I think because of some many other great reviews my expectations were too high. Sebastian Cooper is the central character in the text and we meet the three loves of his life (although the main one seems to be himself). A few of the characters really irritated me so maybe this is why I was a bit jaded.

At points I enjoyed this book but I found it a little confusing as there were so many different characters and it went back and forward in time so much so it did take quite a while to get to grips with who everyone was, there were a few surprises along the way but on the whole then ending was a bit predictable.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book but I felt like I had read the premise before.. The Three Loves of Sebastian Cooper had some zingers I didn't see coming but it wasn't my favorite.

Well written but couldn't get into it, found it slow and uninteresting. Sorry! I will try this author again just for the writing quality, maybe I'd prefer a different story to this one.

I loved reading this book, it’s emotional, thought provoking and a good quick read!
I enjoyed how the storyline jumped from the three women who shared Seb’s life and then came together for his funeral, very cleverly written.
The main characters bring out strong feelings, very different but all definitely felt anger and frustration loving Seb!
Claire wasn’t a very strong person, she thought that Seb should stay to help raise their children. Desiree seems to be the one who holds the key to Seb’s heart, I wanted Seb to see that.
Noemie is not likeable at all, demanding and sneaky as she works to keep Seb in her life!
Seb’s funeral made me question his feelings towards the three women, he didn’t react well with his relationships, almost too selfish when it really mattered.
This author has an easy style of writing, definitely highly recommended!

Thanks so much to Boldwood Books, NetGalley and the fabulous author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story is full of interesting characters and for fans of character driven books its a great one to read. The story alternated from the past to the present which is enjoyable, making it a fast paced read.

Brilliant! We meet the three loves of Sebastian Cooper at his funeral and through flashback we are told the complex tale of a man who has loved and lost throughout his life.
Not to give away major spoilers but I was / am FURIOUS with the third ‘love’ - was she really?! Eugh. What a horrible person. The author conjured such strong emotions in me toward this character which is a testament to her writing. Highly recommend four stars!

Fantastic book! The powerful story of the three women who loved Seb, telling their interlocking stories. Great author, brilliant characters and an addictive read!

I’m not a fan of cheating and it’s a pivotal thing in this book. It starts with Seb’s funeral and all three of the women in his life are there; his childhood sweetheart and mother of his children, the woman he destroyed his family for, and the latest woman all there going through their own grief. The story is told in alternating timelines with the present storyline being the funeral and the past timeline showing how each women came into his life.

Seb is selfish and messy and he should have communicated with his wife his feelings instead of leaving everything for her to deal with instead of chasing another woman. PSA: If you are so unhappy in your relationship and thinking about cheating get out before you cheat cause cheating will only cause even more distress especially if their are children involved. Ugh can’t stand cheaters and it really clouded my opinion of this book since it seemed to be just glance over it as if it was normal and okay. I truly felt for his ex wife and everything she went through and glad she’s moved on and is happy. I felt bad for the woman he destroyed his family for and what she missed out on but I just couldn’t get over the cheating. The final woman is a train wrecker and just as messy and I couldn’t stand her.

The ending was a little anticlimactic as the mystery of his death was revealed. This is a very long, slow building story about a man’s messy life and how it affected the women in it.


Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I liked this book without loving it. I think for me what stopped a five star review is that at the start of the book there were so many characters and so many different stories told over different time periods. This made it a bit confusing for me and I struggled to get into it.
Also I did not really feel any empathy for Sebastian.
On the positive side the storylines were strong, the characters were excellent (if not all likeable or relatable to me). The pace was good and I was invested enough to finish the book.
A family saga focusing on relationships and love.

This is a unique and beautiful read that really gives you an opportunity to think about the people who have an impact on your life.

Folbigg has created some beautiful characters in this one. All likeable and realistic. Folbigg has pulled me in quickly and made it completely impossible to put this down.

I have devoured this book in just one sitting. It’s unique and completely original. This has definitely made me want to read more by Folbigg.

This is a book that really will make a massive impact on the reader. This is powerful and emotive. I have devoured page after page craving more and more.

This is a gem. I have adored everything about this one. This is a book worthy of all the stars.

This was a beautifully moving story centred around the complexities of love.

We begin with a funeral. All we know is a man has died tragically and has left behind many loved ones. As his ex-wife Clair returns to the past, we learn more about their relationship and how it broke down.

Seb was a man who embraced life. But as loved as he was, he was flawed. Leaving Clair for another woman, Desiree, he thinks he's been given another shot at everlasting love.

But that relationship also breaks down.

And his latest relationship was one filled with manipulation and hysterics, making him realise just what he's lost.

Weaved throughout each woman's account, there is an underlying mystery regarding how Seb died which captured my attention.

I was fully absorbed in this story and impressed by the writing which conveyed the messy nature of love, and reminds us that to be human is to err.

Due to the flashback nature of this book, I kept hoping for a different ending, despite it being a foregone conclusion that Sebastian Cooper was dead. It starts with his funeral, so what do you expect!

So, about the three loves: I don't think I have ever disliked a character more than Noemie, who is a straight up psychopath. She's terrible, and it honestly became less and less believable that Seb would have kept seeing her, especially bringing her around his kids. Claire became the stereotypical nagging mom who more or less lost her identity in the story. Desiree was the best, and suffered the most, for reasons I'm unclear on.

In fact, I think the story would have done much better if it had simply been a family drama and covered his romance and marriage with Claire and subsequent relationship with Desiree, and not had the framing device of jumping back and forth to his funeral. Instead it seemed to be trying to be a little bit of a mystery as well, but that fizzles out. And Seb, for being the character that everyone revolves around, remains pretty unclear. I don't understand a lot of his motivations because it was hitting plot points rather than character development. It would have been more interesting to see how he wrestled with his father's secret, yet made some of the same mistakes, rather than it being quickly mentioned and glided past.

Maybe I just didn't want to read any more about Noemie.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy. This is a really good book, kept me entertained throughout and I would thoroughly recommend to all.