Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens – 371 pages

Book Blurb:

Just Haven’t Met You Yet: Laura’s business trip to the Channel Islands isn’t exactly off to a great start. After unceremoniously dumping everything in her bag in front of the most attractive man she’s ever seen in real life, she arrives at her hotel only to realize she’s grabbed the wrong suitcase from the airport. Her only consolation? The irresistibly appealing contents of the case: a copy of her favorite book; piano music; and a rugged, heavy knit fisherman sweater only a Ryan Gosling lookalike could pull off. The owner of this suitcase is Laura’s dream man–she’s sure of it. Now, all she has to do is find him.
The mix-up seems written in the stars. After all, what are the odds that she’d find The One on the same remote island where her mom and dad had first fallen in love, especially as she sets out to write an article about their epic romance? Commissioning surly cab driver Ted to ferry her around seems like her best bet in both tracking down the mystery suitcase owner and retracing her parents’ footsteps. And if beneath Ted’s gruffness lies a wit that makes their cab rides strangely entertaining, so much the better. But as Laura’s long-lost luggage soulmate proves difficult to find–and as she realizes that the love story she’s held on a pedestal all her life might not have been that perfect–she’ll have to rethink her whole outlook on love to discover what she really wants. 

My Review: 4 stars – Guest Review

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Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens is a charming, sweet, heart-warming, and funny romantic comedy with a lot of emotional depth. I was addicted to this poignant uplifting, slow-burn story from the first page, and adored every moment of it. Laura is a journalist and the host of “Love Life” that showcases “meet cute” love stories. She yearns for the type of epic love story that her parents had, according to the stories her mother used to tell her. A work opportunity comes up that allows Laura to travel to the Channel Islands in the UK, and over one weekend, she re-traces all of the sites of her parents’ love story for a feature for her show. Along the way, Laura makes many discoveries as she unravels the mysteries of her parents’ relationship, uncovers family secrets, and starts to realize that her preconceived notions of love may not be what she really needs. Laura’s and Ted’s journeys were sad, emotional, hilarious at times, and always relatable. 

I loved all of the characters in this book. Laura and Ted exuded endearing vulnerability and it was so easy to be invested in their individual journeys of self-discovery. It was so easy to relate to both Laura and Ted. Many of the secondary characters were quirky, zany, multi-layered and just adorable. Many parts of the story were predictable, including the ending, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute along the way. The love story was extremely romantic and full of warmth, without being graphic. The setting of the Channel Islands was beautifully described and a wonderful backdrop for the various storylines, as Laura encounters inhabitants of the island, and learns about their history, traditions, and foods. Despite the light-heartedness and comedy, this story had a great deal of emotional depth and certain parts were profound and extremely touching. The humor and sadness were perfectly balanced, and the romance was not the entire focus of the story. Themes and insights in this novel included: love, loss, grief, memory, illness, the elderly, trust, family relationships, legacy, self-discovery and the idea that what we sometimes think we want, is not ultimately what we end up needing.

I wasn’t sure what to expect after reading this author’s first novel (This Time Next Year), since it was good, but not one of my favorites. “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” is one of my favorite romantic comedies ever. I can’t imagine anyone who won’t be charmed by this lovely, tender, and emotionally true romantic comedy. I highly recommend it! Guest Fairy Review from Ronna W. 

Quotes I liked:

Always do what you’re afraid to do.”

“I have no illusions about happily ever afters – I know life will bring its challenges and nothing is forever – but I hope we might be happy today, and for as many todays as we are lucky enough to have.”

“People like to fill in the gaps, to paint their own picture, but no one really knows the truth of someone else’s story.”

“Maybe the only real legacy any of us can hope to leave is to be a link in the chain that keeps love flowing through the generations.”

“Objects only hold the meanings we give them.”