Before I Do was a weird one for me. I've read Sophie Cousens before having liked Just Haven't Met You Yet, but I couldn't finish this.

I dnf'd which I normally don't do, at around the 82 mark (chapter 12). I'm not a fan of cheating, whether that be borderline or emotional - whatever it's a hard no for me, and it's where I felt the book was going. So this isn't really an accurate reflection of the book as I didn't finish it but a review of the first 80 or so pages.

I love the time jumps, giving you a full picture of everything that happened. Cousens is great at making you really feel for the character whether that is good emotions for Josh or the need to tell Audrey's mum to shut up. Cousens creates characters that feel real and bring out real emotions in you.

Alongside the cheating vibes, I disliked the main character. Audrey is rude and to me self-obsessed and cruel. I can understand questioning your judgement on your wedding day, but the way she criticises her fiance is uncomfortable to me. To her, he wasn't memorable which is alright when brought up once, but Audrey brought it up a few in one chapter, which makes it seem like she 'settled' and never really liked Josh in the first place. She's defensive and rude when there isn't a reason to be - I refer to the Josh/James scene - which annoyed me and only increased my dislike of the character. Audrey's mother was also very annoying.

I do recommend Before I Do for people who like romcom books and don't mind cheating vibes.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton, as I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book #179 of 2022