Alright if I'm honest I don't think I was really expecting very much from this book but boy was I wrong! 

I'm not usually into a romance book with insta love but the mix between insta love and slow burn romance actually made the whole love story more realistic. I love the fact it was a realistic look at what is like to fall in love with someone when you are not just looking out for yourself. 

Izzy was a lovely character to read. She was determine and career focused but not in a way that was determental to her family and friends. She was a modern feminist but was still open to romance but only if it was right for both her and her daughter. 

Sam on the other hand was very choatic throughout! At specific moments I literally wanted to shake some sense into him. Overall this dynamic was great and he was just as loveable as Izzy and again really only wanted the best for his children. 

I did have a few issues with the book and that was why it did not get a full 5 star rating. My first one was that I felt that the secondary relationship between Rohan and Emma almost felt forced. I don't think that we had a enough time with the characters from Izzy's point of view to see any chemistry between them and if I perfectly honest I just felt it wasn't really fleshed out. 

My other issue was that the middle section, as it felt a little slow at times. I think there was a heavy focus on Sam and his relationship with his children but was nice but could have been cut down slightly. From Izzy's perspective, it was the dynamic between her and Dominic which I fel t was dragged out slightly and although I felt she was right to debate if she should get back together with him, I just felt the decision Izzy came to could have been made in less time. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and was great debut for Jo Lovett. It was a realistic love story from 2 people who met and fell in love at the wrong time but who eventually made it back to each other. If you love Josie Silver's One day in December then you will love this book too.

Izzy and Sam meet when he orders breakfast from the greasy spoon café she works at.  
Feeling an instant spark, Izzy asks Sam out only to discover that it is his wedding day! Bad timing! But she is sure they were meant to be and never stops thinking about the one who got away.

When they meet again years later, things have changed but are far more complicated than ever before.

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Sam and Izzy this story was gorgeous. I found myself holding my breath when they did, it was like I was there with them.  I loved how the reader knew how both characters felt about each other, and I was willing them to overcome the obstacle preventing them being together.

This was a very sweet read. I really loved the beginning and end but things got a little slow for me in the middle. All in all, it’s  charming and cute; readers will fall in love with Izzy. She was my favorite part of the book. Sam’s obsession with his career was not as convincing but he was still flawed and complex, so I can appreciate him more than other male protagonists. Lovett’s writing is amazing and it’s hard not to enjoy this sweet story,

What if you met the right person at the wrong time?
That is the question Jo Lovett explores throughout 'The First Time We Met' it is a decade-spanning story of Izzy and Sam. Jo is an incredibly talented writer and had me hooked from the start. As someone in their mid-twenties, I can often find it hard to relate to/enjoy books with protagonists who are at a different life stage to myself. But I just got it with Izzy, Sam, Emma and Rohan. They were all perfectly flawed and complex like all adults are. The First Time We Met is a great read any time of year but it would be a particularly great one during the festive season. 

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

It has been so long since I've read a romance that made my heart swell as this one did. There were points when I felt unable to breathe because of how much I loved this. 
Describing perfection is nearly impossible but I'm going to try. 
I loved Izzy. She was so unabashedly herself. Reading female characters like her gives me hope for the romance genre. She was strong, successful, determined and yet she had a vulnerability and confusion to her that just made you love her. At times it felt like I was reading my own thoughts. She was so superbly relatable. Sam was perfection. The carnage of his life and his terrible way of handling it all rounded out his character superbly and just made you sympathise with him but also want to hit him over the head with a hardback. I loved the children - they were depicted so well and they were all so individual. Emma was a pure joy to read and I loved getting to know her story (I wish it was a book itself ;) )
I laughed so much at this book. The humour was exactly my kind of thing; a weird balance between dad jokes and uncomfortable situations. I obviously adored the writing style. I was so happy to get both Sam and Izzy's POV's. Don't even get me started on the plot!! It was the best combination of insta love and a slow burn romance I've ever read. I loved seeing them grow and change over the years and how they were always just missing each other. 
Overall, if you couldn't tell already - I adored this. I cannot recommend this enough. It made my day. Just a perfect heart-warming romance that made me very very very jealous!