Member Reviews
Absolutely loved this book. Really good story, funny and nice characters. Lovely story and glad I picked it. |
A special thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Do you believe in love at first sight? Jo Lovett explores this loved trope in The First Time We Met. The premise and the beginning of the story showed so much promise. But the large time jumps are problematic and not realistic or believable. Fourteen years is far too long to harbour any sort of interest in someone that you've only had a few encounters with. (The timeline needs tightening up, where is an editor when you need one?) There was also an unnecessary subplot that ate up pages and made the story drag on. |
Sometimes you read a book that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. This is one of those! The love story of Izzy and Same is so sweet and full of good feelings. After meeting at the wrong time, Sam never forgets the woman he saw. When they meet again, everything in their lives has changed - except the feelings that they felt all those years ago. Will fate let them be together now? |
A cute and fun romance. Fans of Love, Rosie or One Day in December would love this book! Its definitely a missed communication book. The girl meets the man of her dreams on the morning of his wedding and then spans years of their friendship. A great read indeed! |
Mia A, Reviewer
What a roller coaster. I laughed, I cried, and everything in between. This is a quintessential romance novel and I would definitely recommend to a friend! |
The First Time We Met was just a charming and lovely read. I have been on a major thriller, dark mystery kick lately and I needed something happy, lighter and brighter and loved this book. The serendipitous story line reminded me a bit of that movie with John Cusack from the early 2000s and I WAS HERE FOR IT!! |
Adrienne W, Reviewer
I really enjoyed this book. From the very beginning it had me hooked. The characters are great and I loved the will they - wont they vibe that kept you reading to find out. Even though the ending was a little predictable, it was exactly the outcome you would want as a reader following their story. I was definitely recommend! |
I started this yesterday and I have struggled so much... With putting it down! Oh my days! Here is my review. I gave it 5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ and would definitely give it more if I could! This story has everything you want from a book. Romance, love, heartbreak, sadness, emotional roller-coaster ride. Have you ever thought you met the right one at the wrong time? This story of Sam and Izzy is just that. Their paths cross one a few occasions but it's never right for them. It was a perfect book to read. The characters were gorgeous and I definitely fell for Sam although I felt like I was betraying Izzy! I very rarely eat chocolate but today... I needed chocolate! If you haven't read this book you absolutely MUST! Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest opinion |
They met that day and fell in love at first sight. There was a connection between them. But there was a slight problem. It was his wedding day and what was she to do? A time jump of 14 years and they met again. The story started off well, I loved knowing both my main characters, but then it let off steam after 14 years. I liked how the author had portrayed the story with its characters anchored to it. But the emotions felt to be missing in the second half. Overall, a sweet read. |
When Izzy and Sam first met there was an instant spark. But too bad they met when he about to get married. Then they met again after a few years. They got married, have kids, move to another coutry but they still can't forget each other. It's weird right? You married someone but that someone is not your real soulmate. You met 'The Right One' but at a wrong time and that thing did happened right? Btw I don't believe in love at first sight. But I did enjoyed reading this story. It took them 14 years to finally admitted that they love each other. Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for The First Time We Met ARC! |
I DNFed at 34%. I was just bored. I think there will be lots of people who like this book but unfortunately I am not one of them. I felt like the pacing was just weird and I was just forcing myself to read instead of actually enjoying the book. |
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an incredibly heartfelt and moving story. Lovett perfectly shows that no matter how much we might want something or love someone, it doesn't always work out the way that we want. However, my only qualm was that there was a lot of time jumping (well over a decade) and it was slightly repetitive. Still, it is a wonderful piece of fiction! |
The First Time We Met was fine, but I couldn't really connect with it. This is probably my fault more so than the book itself though, as I've been struggling with reading lately. |
This book has some really great romantic tropes if that’s what you’re looking for. You get your soulmates torn apart and love at first sight, but with a satisfying plot. This was a great rom com, full of some great moments of heart. Definitely a fun Christmas break read. |
Sheri P, Reviewer
This story has all the feels! From the very first time they met I was invested in Sam and Izzy's story. As they have chance encounters, but never quite connect I couldn't help but hold hope for Izzy and Sam. I couldn't put the story down for want of finding out what happened next. There was a short point where I felt the story dragged out a little longer than necessary, but then things rolled forward again to a satisfying conclusion. |
Izzy meets the man of her dreams on his wedding day and falls in love with him. This is not surprising as they had a memorable meet-cute when he rescued her from flirty men who are too grabby while she waitresses in a sexy elf costume, serving full-english breakfasts at Christmas. She asks him out, and he says no, sadly, explaining why he can't go out with her. Izzy and Sam go their separate ways, but keep running into each other over the next ten years, as they grow and change... I enjoyed this story, and I loved Lizzy. Sam was okay, not the man of my dreams however. Each of these two married other people, had kids and careers of their own. I also liked that Izzy became a speech therapist, and was useful to Sam and his family later, thus giving these two a reason to stay in each others life. Very enjoyable read. |
Do you believe in love at first sight? Following as Izzy experiences love at first sight after meeting Sam-- on his wedding day! A lovely romance over 15 years that is heartfelt and will have you rooting for this love story's happy ending. 5 well-deserved stars! |
I love a good rom-com and "The First Time We Met" was perfection in my eyes. I fully admit this novel is a bit predictable, maybe even too tidy and sappy, but y'all those are often some of my favorite reads. What if you met The One, your soul mate on the day of his wedding? Izzy meets Sam and it's love at first sight. Izzy pushed herself to ask Sam out only to find out he's getting married THAT VERY DAY. Over the next 13 years -- which seems like a lot for one book but it's written and handled so well IMO -- Izzy and Sam run into each other a few times to finally find their lives intertwined. This is the story of meeting your soul mate at the wrong time and the sacrifices you make for the one true love. |
Both Sam and Izzy struggle to balance doing the right thing for their children with their strong feelings of love. The characters were great and the story quite believable. This is such a sweet, funny and heartwarming read that makes even a non-believer in love at first sight, stop and think twice! |
Georgina F, Reviewer
What an amazing story! I read it in one day! (I didn’t achieve anything else that day!) a truly heartwarming story about two people who meet and fall in love but keep crossing paths at the wrong time. I actually think I fell in love with Izzy and Sam too. Everybody needs an advocate in their life like Emma too! Just love, love, loved it! |




