The Day We Met

Oh my what a read! I couldn’t put it down. The characters were very likeable and the story of meeting someone whom you feel a strong connection to is very relatable. It could happen to any one of us. Well written and a good storyline. I loved it.

Get the tissues ready, you WILL need them. Stephanie and Jamie, two people who met their soul mate, but who were already involved with other people. Read this, and make sure you live your life, to the full, as much as you can. This book will make you do what you want to do, This story is sad, evocative, full of songs, and un-put-downable.
Thank you Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read it, it is lovely.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK and Ebury Publishing for the ARC of The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper.

Stephanie is engaged to Matt. Jamie is married to Helen. But when Stephanie and Jamie meet at a weekend art course in 2006, their connection is undeniable. Although seemingly incompatible - Jamie believes in fate and true love, while Stephanie doesn’t - they find themselves pulled together time and time again over the next ten years.

I love the way this book is written, jumping through the years and swapping narrator between Stephanie and Jamie. Their lives are so different to each other, and they should be so wrong for each other, but from the very start, you know this is one non-couple you’re rooting for. The characters in this book are shown with all of their flaws, but this makes them all the more human. These are people and relationships you can relate to.

Music is very important throught this book, and forms a huge part of the communication between Stephanie and Jamie. A lovely little addition is a Spotify playlist that has been created to accompany the story, so that we, as the reader, can hear exactly what the characters are hearing. This multi-sensory approach really adds another layer to this story, so I definitely suggest going to Spotify and searching The Day We Met to check this out (it’s also a cracking list of music to listen to independently of the book!).

This book had me hooked from the very start, and I couldn’t wait to finish it but was dreading it being over in equal measure. I actually feel a little bereft after finishing it, and I can’t wait to re-read it.

5 stars out of 5

The Day We Met will be published on 1 February 2019 in ebook format, and 7 March 2019 in paperback.

This was going to be a hard sell to me. I wasn't sure how I was going to get on with protagonists who flirt with marital infidelity. Luckily, Stephanie and Jamie are fantastic characters, and instead of thinking they were cheating twats, I just wanted them to come good. That says a lot about Roxie Cooper's talent for characterisation and pacing. I loved the slightly mad structure of the book - jumping forward a year at a time in places, swapping between Stephanie and Jamie's POVs - props to the author as that would have been a hard beast to control when writing, and you never feel lost or rushed.

Could be the 'thinker' / 'tear-jerker' of 2019? Recommended.

This is a proper love story rather than just a romance. The ending is poignant, moving and unexpected. The story is told from the perspective of the two main characters, Stephanie and Jamie who immediately feel a connection despite being committed to other people. The book basically deals with the grey areas of life and covers a period of time over 12 years. The date and year are denoted at the heading of each chapter, very occasionally I found myself rechecking (by going back) where we were in the timeline. There is also a great secondary character in the form of Jane, Stephanie's therapist, who is well depicted and comes out with some good observations whilst letting her client talk. I did find a little slow the whole story of why Stephanie was at the therapist, there were allusions to the death of her mother but it wasn't clear why she needed such a continued amount of help.

It is well written and easy to imagine the characters, situations and settings. There are also, throughout the read, reference to various songs with relevant lyrics. I found it, on the whole an enjoyable read although it does slow slightly in the middle.

On the train to Birmingham last weekend, despite having my travel-crochet with me (as in crochet that’s easy to carry about) something else was calling me, and that was reading a book I’d downloaded onto my iPad that very morning. After flicking through the paper, the book one, and it was one I kept wanting to get back to. Even to the point that I had it on my phone too, and made sure it was where I’d left off so any valuable time I could muster for reading wasn’t wasted.

The book? The Day We Met by Roxie Cooper.

It wasn’t one I’d heard much about, or an author I’d read before, but when I read the description I thought it was a book that could be read relatively quickly, and despite the subject matter had the potential to be entertaining. And I wasn’t wrong, but let me tell you a bit more.

It’s one for the romantics and chicklit fans.

The main characters were likeable and believable and while the plot is, I think, well signposted it makes it no less of an enjoyable read. I believe in the kind of attraction, or strong connection that forms the basis of this story, but that doesn’t mean it’s a fairytale, or a smooth road. Life, even for these characters, is tricky and the emotions and bravery, or not, feel real - that’s what I think makes this book work.

So a good read, and good for a weekend away, though I was pleased I finished the book at home. And the photos from this post, well in my imagination, they fit with the book - you’ll just have to read it when it comes out in March 2019, to see if you agree.

Now, where’s my crochet?

http://www.lifeat139a.com/11/30/country-house-decor

I don't know how to find the words to describe this book. Incredible? Heartbreaking? Amazing? Powerful? Moving? All of the above. The Day We Met is simply stunning. It's raw and real, sad and sweet. Stephanie and Jamie are fantastic characters. Their story is epic. The only thing I didn't love about this is that it had to end and I never get to read it for the first time again.

A thoughtful and beautifully written book about the grey areas of life and morality that lie between black and white - those areas most of us live in - and the importance of taking a risk before its too late. Ms Cooper has created a seamlessly interwoven dual narrative about the hard parts of love and life and starting again and the result is heartbreaking. I finished with tears in my eyes. Bravo!

There is no way you can describe this book that can give it justice. Beautifully written, I felt every emotion. It moved me to tears I felt the pain and heartbreak and the love all in one. Thank you so much for allowing me to read this and I will be following this author and awaiting another beautiful book! 100 stars!

Absolutely heartbreaking and glorious all at once. A reminder that soulmates are REAL, don’t waste time with anything less than magnificent.