The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper

I’m so excited to be a part of the blog tour today for The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper. My thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part.

Blurb

Lost:

Six-foot-two Irish man who answers to the name Samuel McLaughlin. Has weak shins and enjoys show tunes. If found, please return to Sophie Williams.

Before Sophie met Samuel she saw the world in grey. Before Samuel met Sophie, he never believed in love at first sight.

When they first meet, something tells them they are meant to be. But fate has other ideas.

Now they have lost each other and can’t see a way back. But they’ve already changed each other’s lives in more ways than they ever expected…

Review

I’m making a prediction here and now…….The First Time I Saw You will feature on my Top Reads of 2020 post.

It’s a bold prediction, particularly given the newness of the year, the staggering TBR and the number of reads I have coming up that I have been hotly anticipating this year – but this book made me feel so deeply. I fell in love with the characters, their story and their families – particularly Samuel’s Irish family, who leap from the page, vibrating with life and witty banter.

The story has it’s fair share of trauma and tragedy, but yet it is so uplifting and shimmers with hope and a zest for life. I honestly have not been able to get enough of this book, I steamed towards the end and then took my time to read the last twenty pages, simply because I wasn’t ready to let these wonderful characters go.

One of the things I love about this book is it’s wide appeal. My 83 year old Grandma and I have a shared love of books, and she is always interested in what I’m reading. I know that this is a book that she will adore, and I’ll be ensuring that she reads it. And my Mum. And my friends. In fact, I’ll be recommending to anyone who I come into contact with!

Although a romance is at the heart of the story, it’s really a story of self discovery and adjustment for the two main characters, Sophie and Samuel. They find each other, only to be torn apart and it’s the journey both take in order to find the other that ultimately defines them. It’s a wonderful twist on a romance, as the characters actually spend very little time together and yet, somehow, I was utterly sold on them as a couple and was desperate for them to find each another again. It’s been a while since I’ve been quite so obsessively invested in the happiness of a fictional couple!

The very separate journeys they take to find one another is littered with heart rending and heart warming moments in equal measure. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried and I’ve lost sleep through simply being unable to put the book down, reading way into the wee hours. Right now, I’m fueled by caffeine and a warm, fuzzy glow courtesy of The First Time I Saw You.

It is the perfect blend of love, loss, tragedy and joy. I feel bereft to have finished it and envy anyone who is yet to read it. I cannot recommend highly enough.

The First Time I Saw You will be published in paperback on 9th January 2020, and is also available in eBook and audiobook format.

About the Author

Emma Cooper is a former teaching assistant, who lives in Shropshire with her partner and four children. She spends her spare time writing novels, drinking wine and watching box-sets with her partner of twenty-four years, who still makes her smile every day. Emma has always wanted to be a writer – ever since childhood, she’s been inventing characters (her favourite being her imaginary friend ‘Boot’) and is thrilled that she now gets to use this imagination to bring to life all of her creations.

Find her on Twitter @ItsEmmacooper and on Instagram @itsemmacooper

*I received a paperback copy of The First Time I Saw You via the blog tour organiser/publisher. The decision to take part in the blog tour is my own and this review forms my honest opinion.