Before I Do: a funny and unexpected love story from the author of THIS TIME NEXT YEAR

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I was a little pissed off Audrey because her past baggages and insecurities shadow her vision to see truth lies behind her eyes! Audrey is one day away from marrying steady, dependable Josh when Fred, the man she spent one incredible afternoon with and never saw again turns up at the rehearsal dinner. I will say that whilst her meet-cute with Fred was very sweet, it did feel rather too romanticized, and it was the more slow-burn relationship that evolved over time with Josh that I personally found myself more invested in, however, I won't give away spoilers as to how things ultimately play out. I truly cannot think of a single thing to regret of 2023, which makes stepping into 2024 a bigger year of hope and growth for myself. I thought the formula worked well, as it keeps up guessing as to what will actually happen at the wedding, as the tension continues to build in the current day chapters, and as we watch both her relationships with Fred and Josh unfold in the past, as a reader one is left deciding who one wants her to choose.

Fred and Audrey had a brief romance many years ago, and Audrey has never forgotten Fred, and their wonderful day together. And then we’d jump into these flashbacks of them meeting and dating, and the chemistry was even worse.And the whole time we have Josh who gave her zero reasons to doubt their relationship and he stayed strong and faithful all throughout. Audrey was supposed to be torn between these two guys (for some reason), but she has very few interactions with Fred and spends most of the “present” chapters running from Josh. Audrey was supposed to be torn between these two guys (for some reason), but she has very few interactions with Fred and spends most of the "present" chapters running from Josh. And when everything that could go wrong with the wedding starts to go wrong, Audrey has to ask herself: Is fate trying to stop her from making a huge mistake? It was told between past and present, jumping from the wedding day back to Audrey meeting her fiance, Josh, and when Audrey met Fred, her "what-if" guy.

But as I went on reading I realized that Josh was actually the best male character I have read in a while. The story spans back and forth, counting forwards and backwards pre wedding to when Audrey and Josh met via their different friendship circles, counting down to ‘the wedding’ and post the day. Even with third person narration, Sophie Cousens pulls you directly into her books and into her characters lives, and “Before I Do” was no exception.After reading the synopsis, I was initially hesitant to try this novel because I was afraid there would be a love triangle.