Is January too early to announce I've found a favorite of the year? Because I've found a favorite of the year.

I'll be honest, I went into this blind, except shortly glancing at the summary and seeing words 'time travel' and 'romance' together, because that's enough to have me intrigued.

The One before The One is a story
about Liv, whose boyfriend Kit goes hiking one day and never returns. Seven years later she is about to marry his brother, James, while Kit's shadow still looms over their relationship what with James and Kit's mother cutting off communication with them, and their friends and relatives secretly wondering if one or both of them settled.

With this premise, I expected her journey back in time to be that of self-discovery, a better understanding of her relationships with to two loves of her life. And it is that at it its core, but it's also so much more!

I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns of this journey and the mystery that unfolds 7 years in the past. It is a solid plot that made me forego sleep and keep turning the pages. Add to it a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all, and I was looking up Emma Cooper, wondering why I've never read this author before.

The romance plot was rather refreshing as well, in that it combines two tropes—love at first sight and enemies to lovers—with a resolution that is satisfying and wholesome.

I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a well-written novel that has heartfelt romance, elements of family drama, time travel, and all of it tied up with a very intriguing mystery plot. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I thought this book was really good! I read it in two sittings. It kept me on the edge of my seat, but not in a I'm-so-nervous kind of way - more so just that I couldn't wait to see where the book was heading. I loved the multiple POVs and thought that they really enriched the story. I enjoyed the characters and the overall premise of the book. I also really liked how it all ended up in the end. I'll definitely be recommending this to anyone who wants a fun, lighthearted, and interesting read!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was such an interesting story and held so much potential. I was hooked by the time traveler trope, and the writing made it easy to continue to read chapter after chapter. The ending was not my favorite. I think I was expecting a bit more, and it felt like once the reveal was made everything wrapped up very quickly. I think it could have been fleshed out a bit but overall a very solid and easy read.

Other readers will love this book but it just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get into the whole time travel concept, and I didn’t like many of the characters. I did enjoy the parts in Scotland (not wanting to give anything away here).

This was quite the wild ride! Seven years ago, Liv's boyfriend went on a hike and never returned, leaving everyone to presume him dead. Fast forward to the present, Liv is madly in love with his brother, and on the morning of her wedding, she is thrust back in time to one week before the disappearance!

I loved the overarching dilemma Liv is faced with. What if she can save Kit? And if she does, who will she ultimately choose to spend her life with? It's all sorts of twisty, mysterious, and wonderful. There's one chapter I had to reread twice, just to make sure I was processing everything correctly. It was such a cleverly plotted and brilliant reveal. Wow!

After so much intensity, I did feel some aspects wrapped up a little too conveniently, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. I’m a complete sucker for emotional storylines with a touch of magical realism, and this one was a lot of fun!

The One Before the One is a very well-written story of what could happen if we got a chance to go back in time and possibly save a loved one's life instead of losing it.
In love with two brothers, Kit and James, Liv goes back in time to be with Kit and tries to understand what happened in the days leading up to his death. Kit was very different from his brother, James, and Liv's struggle to try and stay with him in the past is just as real as her attempts to get back to James in the present.
Emma Copper's word choices and prose are lovely, and she manages to infuse a wonderful range of emotions in her characters.
I thought I knew after the first few pages how things would turn out, but Cooper gives some twists and moments with characters when I questioned if I had assumed right. I hadn't. Overall, this is a gorgeous emotive read with a splash of mystery and descriptive writing that might well keep you up.
4.4 stars

Liv is going to marry James m, but she travels to time to her first love, Kit. He disappeared a long time ago and now she has a chance to understand what happened.
I loved this story and Liv’s relationship with James. I was just a little disappointed by the twist. I was expecting something different.
But I still loved every page of it and how Emma Cooper is capable to make me fall in the story.

A hear-wrenching story about true love, forgiveness, second chances and so much more. Liv’s life imploded seven years ago when her boyfriend disappeared. Now, on her wedding day, she gets the chance to get back in time and find the truth of what happened. But it change her life forever or will she find her happiness and true love? Amazing. Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood books for the ARC copy. This is my honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for a copy of this book it was really good and I would rate it 3/5 stars!

Liv's boyfriend Kit disappeared seven years earlier. Now she is getting ready to marry his brother. But on the morning of her wedding she steps through a door and finds herself back seven years earlier before Kit disappeared. Can she find out what happened and stop it? Which brother is her one true love? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I liked the author's writing style, however I thought the whole time travel aspect was problematic. The character development stood out to me. There was a nice plot twist which has me going back and going "WHAT?".

It is the morning of her wedding day and instead of walking down the aisle to the love of her life, Liv finds herself in the past. 7 years in fact. Six days before her first love, disappears.
She has 6 days to change everything. Six days to change the fate of the man she had once loved.

It was such an interesting premise which immediately drew me into this story. There are many secrets and questions to unravel, and those lead our main characters Kit (the man who disappeared), James (his brother and her current fiancé), and Liv, on a journey that is filled with pain, joy, and self-discovery.

One of the elements I really enjoyed was how Liv fell in love with both brothers. One her first love, and the other her soulmate and the love of her life. While many twists and turns light her path, there are beautiful moments in which the reader is given the chance to introspect into the choices we make.

The story itself reads well with a back and forth timeline, and with a progression that left me flipping the pages for more. At times, the pacing dragged, however, this did not take away from the overall enjoyment of reading this story.
Intimate scenes are not detailed and are very few - so if one prefers this style, this is the book for you!
This book also features tropes like enemies to lovers, time travel, and mystery suspense, which are immediate draws for me!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the author/publishers for graciously providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Spice: 0.5/5
Plot: 4/5
Overall: 4/5

This was a really sweet book! A friend recommended it because I enjoyed The Seven Year Slip so much and she was right on the mark with this story. I was engaged from start to finish and loved the characters. Give this one a read!

I absolutely adored this book! I loved the romance and suspense! I adored the time travel! There were twist and turns that I didn’t see coming. Really, some of my favorite things all in one book! Thank you NetGalley for the arc! Well done! 4 stars.

I had never heard anything about this before but the description intrigued me. This was such an interesting story and held so much potential. I was hooked into the story right away by the first few chapters, and the writing made it easy to continue to read chapter after chapter. I will say, the ending felt a bit anticlimactic, I think I was expecting a bit more, and it felt like once the reveal was made everything wrapped up very quickly. I think it could have been fleshed out a bit but overall a very solid and easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Very well written book. Made me do a lot of reflection, and definitely got emotional at different parts. A bit long, but in the end, worth it.

Enjoyable read. Wasn't sure at first if I wanted to continue due to the "back to the future" aspects, but glad I persisted. Actually feel like it would make a great rom com movie.

I am a sucker for any sort of Sliding Doors storyline, so this book was a satisfying read for me. Seven years in the past, Liv's boyfriend Kit disappeared on a hike, presumed dead, and after the grief of losing him, she did eventually move on and find comfort in the arms of Kit's older brother, James. On her and James's wedding day, Liv is mysteriously transported to the past, exactly one week before Kit's disappearance. As Liv seeks out answers to what actually happened, she questions her feelings for both brothers and for what she wants in her life. I don't normally like love triangles at all, but the complicated nature of this one worked for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for a digital review copy.

ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹


Going into this book, I'm not sure why, but I think I expected something a little more fluff? I'm not really sure why but this book is anything but that! I was so pleasantly surprised!

This book is deep and emotional; it is part mystery and incorporates time-travel which causes the reader to really invest in the characters and pay attention. The author delves into character flaws and works them out through these characters.

We follow our FMC, Liv on her wedding day. She finds a piece of jewelry from her past but the engraving receipt is dated this week. She's confused because the jewelry is from her previous boyfriend, her current fiancé's brother, that mysteriously went missing 7 years ago.

Liv puts the necklace on, steps out of a doorway and ends up in 2016, 7 years ago. She has 6 days to find the truth why her boyfriend went missing and why he's returned the day of her wedding.

Once she finds the truth, who will she choose to love in the present?

Omg! Besties! I loved this book so much! The author hooked me right from the beginning, and this story refused to let me go until I finished it! This story is part mystery, part romance, it's reflective and hopeful.

The story is told in both multiple POV's as well as alternating timelines with short and punchy chapters making this book such a breeze to binge. On top of that, the story is so damn compelling... I was doing laundry with my kindle in hand, walking the dog with my kindle in hand. I couldn't put it down!

The mystery aspect was really driving this one for me, but in the back of my mind I had this anxiety swirling about the 'triangle' that's always in the background of the whole story. Who will she choose? What's going to happened? Who is 'the good guy' 'the right one'? All of that. But I think the author did a fantastic job of taking us through everything and discovering the truth along with Lenny. I'm over the moon about the ending!

Such a deeply moving story that took me by surprise. I'll remember this one for a long time to come. Highly recommend!

P.S. I cried.


⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹


💜Enemies to Lovers
💗Love at First Sight
💜Second Chance
💗Time Travel
💜Timeslip Romance
💗Mystery
💜Self-Discovery

Expected Publication Date 01/31/25


Many thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the complementary advanced digital copy - all thoughts are my own. 💐

Seven years ago Liv’s boyfriend went on a hike and never came back. She worked through her grief and was able to find love again. Then on the morning of her wedding, she walks out of her hotel room to get to the ceremony and she’s transported back to her old apartment that she shared with Kit, 6 days before he disappeared. Now she has time to figure out what happened leading up to his disappearance in hopes that she can change the outcome. But if she can save him, would she choose him?

Thoughts
This was a pretty captivating book, there were a few plot twists that I did not see coming that kept me on my toes and I couldn’t put it down. I do think the ending could have been a bit stronger, but overall an enjoyable read.