I devoured this one! Loved the semi love triangle, the brothers, the time travel. This one has all the elements of an epic love story and a big ole mystery that needs solving!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review!
This book started off strong for me with so much unknown coming into the book but it gradually felt drawn out with not much to keep the reader engaged and wanting to know what happens. 75% hit and I debated DNF’ing because I lost interest in the book, I found the ending anti climatic. Unfortunately not a book I would recommend.

An early favorite of 2025!

The One Before the One is an enchanting, emotional and heart wrenching romance with a touch of magical realism and mystery.

Seven years ago, Liv thought she had found her forever love. However the life she once thought she would have was destroyed in an instant when her long-time boyfriend, Kit, disappeared without a trace on a hike. Over the past seven years, Liv had to learn to live again and even found love in an unexpected place.

On the morning of her wedding, Liv steps through a doorway and ends up in the old apartment she shared with Kit, six days before he disappeared forever. She now gets the chance to live these six days again and try to determine why Kit left, where he went and how to stop him.

Liv is left to experience the lead up to the most tragic period of her life, constantly pondering what saving him will mean. If she succeeds, how can she possibly choose between her first love and the man she loves now?

The twist and turns of Liv’s story will leave you breathless and wanting more.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Oh a time slip/magical realism/what If story!!! Yes please.

When Kit disappears on a hike girlfriend Liv and brother James search endlessly, until they find a way to love again – with each other. Then on the morning of their wedding Liv finds herself seven years in the past with a chance to find out what really happened to Kit.

I loved the mystery of this book.

Told in alternating chapters I found myself deeply invested in both sides of the story and unravelling the mystery. When the mystery was revealed I was excited to find it wasn’t what I expected.

Overall the question of can Liv save Kit and ultimately would/should she if she could kept me hooked until the end.

Liv wakes up on the morning of the day she's to marry James, and walks through a door that takes her back 7 years to before her first husband Kit disappeared. Will Liv get a second chance with Kit? Can Liv find out what happened to Kit and change her fate?

I loved the mix of time traveling with very realistic situations in this book. I read the description on this one before diving it, and I was very intrigued. This book lived up to what I was expecting! This book had it all...romance, mystery, emotion, unexpected reveals, and a touch of magic (time traveling). I was pulled in from the first page, and, right up until the reveals towards the end, I was unsure what Liv would decide. The characters were well developed, and I felt as though I knew them all. I was right there with Liv in the pages as she worked to figure out what happened to Kit and put the pieces all together. There was so much mystery in tis story, but the plot developed in a way that allowed me to feel all the emotion without being bogged down by the mystery. Such a well crafted story. This was my first read by this author, but I'm looking forward to reading more.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m really enjoyed this book. I like the plot and the characters. It was interesting plot and like the way it played out. It what if storyline made it was compelling to read and it was so interesting and entertaining. Definitely would recommend to other to check it out ! Hope you all enjoyed it to !

The One Before the One was good! Liv and Kit's love story kept me reading and wondering what would have happened if he had not disappeared that day. It made me wonder what was going on in their lives that he could just vanish. And though the book did not concentrate on her pain of that loss, you knew he was her first love.

I definitely did not see the twist coming. Was happy for the twist in the timelines and story which bring her to her true love.

It was a good read!

I actually thought this was a rom com not some time traveling lost love sort of deal.
On the day of her wedding liv gets sent back in time to find out what happened to her then boy friend Kit.

I really liked this book. The premise was unique for me, and the author wove the story SO WELL!!!

She wrote it in such a way that you knew exactly what we happening. Imagine my surprise when I didn't really know. That knocked me for a loop, but it was a loop I enjoyed.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It was a little hard to get into, but once I started I couldn’t put it down. A true love three sided love story without being sloppy. Perfect reading

I really enjoyed this book! It was a mystery and I liked how fast paced it was. I felt for the main character, Liv, ss she is trying to find out what happened to her bf, Kit and also comes to terms with how she is going to get married again. It was an interesting plot and I liked how it ended!

what a beautifully written book. i loved the writing because i couldn't put it down. the plot is one that i haven't read a lot yet which was refreshing. you should read this if you want a beautiful but heartbreaking love story.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
I loved this book - once I started it was hard to put it down.
This book is about what happens when you find the one before the one.
Liv is given the chance to relive a week again in her life and change things, but in doing this it can alter her future.
When I read the premise of the book I was a bit sceptical- sometimes these books are more fluffy and romantically driven. However this book delivered on not much fluff - some would say just the right amount.
The only criticism is that I feel I wanted more about James in the now. He didn't get much attention in present day with Liv.

Premise: Liv's boyfriend never returned from a hike seven years ago, so she moved on (with his brother), and on the morning of her wedding, she time traveled back to one week before his disappearance.

The One Before The One is like if P.S. I Love You and One True Loves had a baby! It's reflective, it's hopeful, it's emotional, it's romantic, and it's mysterious, with a touch of magical realism. It'll keep you on your toes as you switch between alternate timelines and multiple POVs. You'll feel as conflicted as Liv as she decides who she'd choose to spend her life with. The end result is perfect!

What a great story! I enjoyed the magical realism and the thoughtful characters. Liv and James made such a great couple. I never got Kit. He came across as smug. I found the plot unique and man oh man did it pull me in during the middle section. I found it very hard to put down. I found the ending satisfying it pretty much tied everything up and gave us a look at the future. Fantastic story. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Wow. I think this is one of the best books I've ever read. I absolutely loved it, the twists to it, I had to go back and re-read as I was not expecting that! Really threw me, but in a good way! The characters were so lovable, and the plot line really resonated with me on the addiction side and seeing someone you love destroying their life, and the ones who love them.
Absolutely fantastic writing.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Magical realism is my favorite genre, but it's hard to get it just right. The One Before the One did some things really well and missed the mark in other areas. I'll break down my thoughts below.

The concept was fantastic. Just prior to getting married, Liv is transported back in time to the week her first love goes missing. She tries to stop him from going hiking that day, but every time she wakes up - nothing has changed in how the past unfolded. She realizes she cannot affect any change, so her mission becomes to find out what happened.

The story was good, but I didn't love the characters. They all fell a bit flat. James' mom's issues with him felt baseless. I couldn't imagine treating two sons so vastly different.

I felt like Kit's reason for going missing would have come up in a police investigation. The necklace with the engraving & note was convoluted. Overall this was just an okay read.

Thank you to Emma Cooper & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Is it too early to announce I've found a favorite of the year? Because I've found a favorite of the year.

What's inside:

✳️time travel
✳️multiple POVs
✳️mystery plot
✳️wholesome romance

I'll be honest, I went into this blind, except shortly glancing at the summary and seeing words 'time travel' and 'romance' together, because that's enough to have me intrigued.

The One Before The One is a story
about Liv, whose boyfriend Kit goes hiking one day and never returns. Seven years later she is about to marry his brother, James, while Kit's shadow still looms over their relationship what with James and Kit's mother cutting off communication with them, and their friends and relatives secretly wondering if one or both of them settled.

With this premise, I expected her journey back in time to be that of self-discovery, a better understanding of her relationships with to two loves of her life. And it is that at it its core, but it's also so much more!

I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns of this journey and the mystery that unfolds 7 years in the past. It is a solid plot that made me forego sleep and keep turning the pages. Add to it a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all, and I was looking up Emma Cooper, wondering why I've never read this author before.

The romance plot was rather refreshing as well, in that it combines two tropes—love at first sight and enemies to lovers—with a resolution that is satisfying and wholesome.

I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a well-written novel that has heartfelt romance, elements of family drama, time travel, and all of it tied up with a very intriguing mystery plot. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I thought The One Before The One was incredible, it was simply, but beautifully written with twists and turns that I did not see coming, and had a light touch that prevented it from being melodramatic. It felt like an engrossing mystery novel with an interesting and important romantic element, rather than (what it was billed as) a romance novel with a mystery to be solved. I felt it was all the better for this. Despite being a romance fan, I was completely swept away by the mystery story and magical realism, and desperate to know what happened.

Liv’s relationship is quite different with each brother so the idea that she might have to choose between one of them seemed impossible to me. With Kit, it’s very free and fun and they spend a lot of time outdoors, whereas with James it’s more home-based with him cooking and tied to his boxing business. In the end, I was very happy with which brother she ended up with but both Liv and the reader are certainly put through the wringer first.

This was my first novel by Emma Cooper and I really enjoyed it so I’m looking forward to reading more, especially having discovered that she is a tutor for the excellent Jericho Writers of which I’m a member.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from Rachel's Random Resources.

I was very excited for this one as I love Emma's books!

This is such a cleverly plotted and written book. Time travel, but with ease. Liv is set to marry James, but what about Kit? My jaw dropped in the first chapter which was a good start, and then there were some other twists which I thought were excellently done. I was torn between who I wanted Liv to be with. Can you be sure The One is definitely The One, and what do you do if they're not?

A very thought provoking read ahead of Valentine's Day ❤️

My favourite quote:

"It was the first time I hadn't woken feeling like my skin was covered with the mosquito bites of Kit's loss."