Before I Do by Sophie Cousens

 

Summary (from the publishers): What would you do if 'the one that got away' turned up the night before your wedding?

Head-in-the-stars Audrey is about to marry down-to-earth Josh. Though they are polar opposites, they have a healthy, stable relationship; Josh is just what Audrey needs. But romance should be unpredictable and full of fireworks, and as the big day approaches, Audrey's found herself wondering if Josh really is The One.

So, when Josh's sister shows up to the rehearsal dinner with Fred, Audrey's What If? guy--the man she met six years ago and had one amazing day with--Audrey finds herself torn. Surely Fred's appearance the night before she is due to get married can't be a coincidence. 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? Or does destiny just have a really twisty sense of humour?

Review: On the eve of her wedding to her dependable fiance Josh, Audrey begins to question everything when the guy that got away unexpectedly turns up at the rehearsal dinner as the date of another guest. After years of imagining that this guy was the one for her, she is seriously thrown off to see him there. Is this a sign that she shouldn't be marrying Josh??

I really love Sophie Cousens. In fact, this is the fourth of her novels that I have read. However, I didn't enjoy this one nearly as well! I will say, the outcome of this did surprise me and this did not go the way I initially expected. But this mostly just feel like a lot of emoting and hand wringing from the main character and little action.

I walked away feeling especially bad for Josh in all of this. Not only was Audrey not particularly nice to him the first few times they met, but she sort of dragged him around for a long time. I can't imagine how devastated I would be to have my future spouse majorly freak out and say they didn't want to get married on my actual wedding day! That would be hard to forgive or get over. I think I also would begin to question whether I even wanted to marry them anyway after being mistreated that way! I just didn't think they had a great connection, but I will say, given Audrey's history with a mom who has gone through multiple marriages, her nerves regarding marriage did make some sense. 

This just didn't feel like a great, swoon worthy love at any point but it did a great argument for the idea that sometimes we built up connections or perceived connections in our head that might not translate to reality. 

Stars: 3

Related Titles: 

• The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
  
• Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens
  
• Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens