Time travel + tangled hearts = instant emotional spiral. Emma Cooper, what have you done to me?? This book took my feelings, folded them into a paper crane, and then set them on fire!!

Liv's story is equal parts heartbreak and hope. The moment she stepped back in time, I knew I was in for an emotional rollercoaster. Watching her try to navigate the impossible choice between past love and present healing? Brutal. Beautiful. So real. I wanted to shake her, hug her, and make her a cup of tea all at the same time.

The writing is thoughtful and warm, with just enough magical realism to suspend disbelief without overexplaining. The emotional depth, the moral ambiguity, the bittersweet hope, all of it hits exactly right.

Prepare to cry, laugh, and ask yourself what you would do if you had one more week with the one who got away. This book lingers💔

I found this book a bit of a slow burn to start with but once it really got going it was fabulous. I’m not a huge time travel trope fan but the book still worked for me and I enjoyed it.

These types of books can be hit or miss for me, but I was immediately drawn to the description because it contained one of my favorite tropes - time travel. This book was quite slow to pick up but then about half way through there were some twists I didn’t see coming. From that point, I was hooked! This was a nice romance book with a twist. For those readers that need the immediate hook, this book may not have that. However, keep on pushing through because I really do think it is worth it. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thanks to @netgalley and for an advance read copy of this book.

I picked this book based on the title and description, expecting a light romance with a time travel twist but it turned out to be so much more! I love a good time travel plot and this one delivered a great balance between romance and mystery. While some parts dragged a little and I found myself skimming through the more descriptive sections, I still really enjoyed how everything wrapped up in the end.

I was excited by this cover and synopsis but ultimately was unable to connect with the characters. Thanks for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Emma Copper is a real master at drawing a reader into what seems like a lovely, easy read and then completely upending the plot, changing the way you thought the story was going. This is a brilliant, addictive, clever plot which I read in 2 days!

Set across dual timelines, 7 years apart, Liv suddenly finds herself back in time, reliving a week which led up to a tragic event. This would normally put me off, but not this time, I had to find out the secrets along with Liv.

What was particularly fascinating, was seeing how her memories could sometimes help and sometimes hinder her.

Told from alternating narrators, you get to see two sides to the story, but in this case there are more than two sides to it!

The settings were deliciously varied, from her mum’s front room, to cliffs and caves, and to the wilds of Scotland. I was totally enthralled!

What an intriguing and unique approach to unravelling a disappearance from so long ago.

The plot is clever, leading the reader into assumptions (how do authors plan that?) There is so much depth from all angles. I also loved watching the emotional development throughout the book and found myself willing specific characters, on in their quests. The complicated family relationships always add a delicious layer to the story.

This book has it all! Mystery, romance, conflict, addiction, secrets. I LOVED it!

What a twisty story. It was a can't put down, stay up too late, have to read just one more chapter before putting the book down, kind of story! As a matter of fact, at one point, I had to go back and reread a couple of chapters to make sure i hadn't missed something because of the way the story was unfolding. Loved it!!!
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Emma Cooper's The One Before the One is a captivating exploration of love, grief, and the complexities of relationships. The narrative follows Liv, who, on the morning of her wedding to James, finds herself inexplicably transported back seven years to the flat she shared with her first love, Kit, just days before his mysterious disappearance. This time-slip premise sets the stage for a poignant journey of self-discovery and emotional reckoning.

The novel delves deep into Liv's internal conflicts as she navigates her feelings for both Kit and James, each representing different facets of her past and present. The dual timelines are intricately woven, offering readers a nuanced understanding of Liv's relationships and the choices that define her.

Cooper's writing is both tender and insightful, capturing the complexities of human emotions with authenticity. The characters are well-developed, with Liv's introspective nature providing a window into her soul. The supporting cast adds depth to the story, each contributing to Liv's journey in meaningful ways.

While the time-travel element adds an intriguing layer to the narrative, some readers may find certain aspects of the plot predictable. However, the emotional depth and character development more than compensate for any perceived narrative predictability.

In conclusion, The One Before the One is a beautifully crafted novel that resonates with readers long after the final page. It's a testament to the power of love and the importance of understanding one's past to shape a fulfilling future.

I unfortunately just couldn't get into this one :(

I agree with other reviewers that the pacing was a bit too slow.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC. The rating is my own.

The pacing from this was very slow, and I just did not connect with the characters, the time travel, and that epilogue. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

The one before the one is an emotional story full of secrets and can be a little confusing if you’re not fully engaged in the story, it takes you back to past and can confuse the reader specially because is told in third person.
Overall I did like it but wasn’t a fan of it.

🌟🌟🌟 3/5 – Emotional and Thoughtful, But Didn’t Fully Click

The One Before the One has a powerful premise—Liv, on the verge of marrying James, wakes up a week before her ex, Kit, mysteriously disappeared. The idea of revisiting a pivotal moment in time is intriguing, and there are definitely emotional scenes that hit hard. 💔🕰️

Liv is a relatable character, and the book explores love, grief, and second chances with heart. I appreciated the emotional depth and the way it tackled big “what if” questions. However, the pacing felt uneven, and the time-travel element wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped—it left more questions than answers. 🤔

It’s a heartfelt story with a unique twist, but something about it didn’t fully land for me. Still, if you like slow-burn romance with a touch of magic and emotional introspection, this could be worth a read. 💫

The One Before the One by Emma Cooper

I loved this book. Full stop.
4.5 stars

I went in completely blind and honestly? If I’d known how good it was, there’s no way I would’ve waited to dive in. Emma Cooper delivers a contemporary romance that is so much more than a love story it’s a layered, emotional journey that absolutely gutted me (in the best way).

UGH... *clutches pearls*

This is not your light and fluffy romance read. It's poignant, raw, and deeply moving. Cooper captures heartbreak, healing, and the complexity of love with such care that I found myself completely swept up. I laughed, I cried, I had to take breaks just to process.

Themes:
Second chances
The one who got away...kinda
Emotional healing
Love after loss
Dual timeline (and done so well)

Would I recommend this book?
Absolutely. The One Before the One is one of those books that stays with you long after the last page. If you love your romances with depth, heartbreak, and hope, this is a 2025 release you do not want to miss.

A beautiful, somewhat crazy story of love told by Emma Cooper that stayed with me long after I finished reading. Told from 2 POVs we see Liv whose Liv’s boyfriend left her 7 years ago., and now as she gets ready to marry his best friend James she is transported back to the times she was with her boyfriend Kit., days before he left. I enjoyed a different type of suspense that this book offered and magic that we might like to believe in. A fantastic read, I couldn’t put it down

Seven years ago Livs boyfriend Kit disappeared on a hike and she thought she'd never get over it. But with the help of her friends and family she pushed through the grief and learned to live and love again. Then on the morning of her wedding she finds herself transported back in time to the last week of Kits life. She's now got the chance to change everything and if she gets it right she might be able to stop him from leaving. Can she save him and if she can how will she choose between the man she loved then and the one she loves now?

I really loved this. This had me gripped from the beginning and I couldn't put it down. This was part romance part mystery part time travel. The mystery aspect had me hooked I needed to know what had happened and why. This was written in dual pov which I always love and I liked being transported back in time trying to piece together the reasons why Kit disappeared. The romance was cute and I liked seeing Liv come to the realisation of who she really loved. This also deals with some heavy topics that are handled really well and I felt this wrapped up really nicely. Highly recommend.

✨Book Review✨

The One Before the One by Emma Cooper

Did this book have me up until 2:00 am because I had to see how it ended? Yes. Did I like it? Questionable.

It’s Liv’s wedding day. On her mind is her past boyfriend, Kit, who went missing on a hike 7 years earlier, who happens to be the brother of her about-to-be husband, James. On the morning of her wedding, she finds herself transported in time back to the week before Kit’s disappearance. Faced with the complicated emotional turmoil of being with Kit again and back to her previously cold and distant relationship with James, Liv must decide where her heart truly lies as she unravels the mystery of what happened to Kit.

This crazy ass plot for sure kept me up past my bedtime, and I think it was the most entertaining part. It feels like something my imagination would have cooked up when I was 16 (in a good way). The magical realism is fun. It’s interesting watching Liv strategize about what to do each day based on what she could remember from the “real” timeline and what she had learned the previous days back-in-time.

The problem, though, is that the plot was mostly entertaining because of its absurdity, and the rest of the novel was lacking. Characters didn’t feel particularly deep or interesting, the writing was just fine, the POV switch was at times frustrating. But the plot twist was very amusing, I thought, and I didn’t see it coming. Overall, I had a fun time reading but wasn’t really impressed with this one. Though I can imagine this making for an excellent book club read just because the plot is so amusing to talk to others about. (I was giving my partner updates the whole time.)

Thanks to @netgalley and @theboldbookclub for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. This is out now for those interested!

📖: (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hmm. I wasn’t invested in it but I kept going and wasn’t annoyed by listening to it so maybe that’s something? It seemed really all over the place and there was a lot going on. It definitely kept my interest until the end though.

4 1/2 stars

This book was definitely a little heartbreaking. It had some side plots that didn't always make sense to me, but they did manage to all come together in the end. It's a lose-lose situation. Liv's boyfriend, Kit disappeared years ago. They never found his body, but it appears that he must be dead with all the time that has gone by. She has moved on and is marrying someone else but then a mystical event happens, and she is reliving the days that led up to Kit's disappearance. As she desperately tries to make a difference and manages to see signs and clues, she keeps wondering what she'll do if events change and he never disappears. Will she still be marrying the other man in the future or will she still be with Kit. She can't decide which outcome she wants.

I really liked the way this story developed. Even though I was initially afraid it was going to feel a little like Groundhog Day (which I am not a fan of), it didn't. Liv lives through each day prior to Kit's disappearance only once...not over and over. It was well-done and I found it to be a solid read that really pulled me in and had me invested in the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early copy.

This book was great in retrospect but it was not a plot that I could see myself falling for, I chose this book because I do love an emotional plot where the main characters go through emotional growth and realistic growth. I love how a lot of the chapters were short and it contributed a lot to me staying with the story. I do wish there was a bit more character development

I loved this and this was my first read from this author and it won’t be my last. I loved the time splits although did that usual pang when I realise the chapter I had just read and was intrigued to learn more was about to go to a different viewpoint. Loved it.