I’m thrilled to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for the beautiful and moving The First Time I saw You by Emma Cooper. Thank you to Anne Cater and Headline for giving me the opportunity to read and review this gorgeous book.
About the book:
From the author of The Songs of Us comes a love story that will ‘break your heart but put it back together again’, (Katie Fforde). Fans of Jojo Moyes and Lucy Dillon will love The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper.
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…
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 at @ItsEmmacooper and on Instagram at @itsemmacooper
My Review:
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful, moving and poignant read this is! I went into The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper expecting a light, fluffy read, but what I got was so much more than that. This is a book that moves and inspires, tackling difficult subjects with sensitivity and a lightness of touch, making you fall in love with both Sophie and Samuel from the very first page.
This is a difficult book to review as I don’t want to spoil what happens in this beautifully written and emotional rollercoaster of a read. It’s a story that needs to unfold organically, without knowing too much before going in. The story is told from the alternating points of view of both Sophie and Samuel, beginning with the first time they ever saw each other and ending somewhere completely different to where it started.
But this is far from being just a love story, although it is a beautiful one. Oh no, this story is so much more than that! This is a story about love, life, loss, family and everything in between. With larger than life characters you can’t help but fall in love with, this book chewed me up, spat me out and then lovingly put me back together again. I was a sobbing mess at various points throughout the book and then laughing out loud at others. I’m a great believer in finding humour in even the most shocking of circumstances, where the only other option would be to break down and cry, and The First Time I Saw You does that with ease. I adored Samuel’s family, Sophie’s sister and of course, how could I ever forget Michael? The character Samuel grows to rely on most of all!
I can’t even begin to say how much this book moved and inspired me. I can feel myself becoming emotional just thinking about it now! It shows the kindness and resilience of people and how, even when you’re in the depths of despair, there is always a pinprick of light at the end of the tunnel, even when you feel there is none. Life is there for the taking, all you need is the courage to reach out and grab hold of it with both hands.
Oh my, this beautiful story really has stolen my heart!
This is the first book I’ve read by Emma Cooper but it definitely won’t be my last. She is a gifted storyteller, the words coming to life on the page, drawing you in with a gentle touch, lulling you into a false sense of security. And then bam! She shatters your heart into a million pieces, until you feel there’s no way she’s going to be able to put it back together again. But somehow she does just that, in the most beautiful, poignant and uplifting way.
I loved every word of this book and felt bereft as I turned the final page, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters I’d come to love so much, who were now living, breathing people in my heart. The First Time I Saw You started as one thing, but ended as one of the most beautiful and uplifting books I have ever read. Full of love and heartbreak, but oh so much more than that. A story and characters that I will never, ever forget.
I honestly can’t recommend this book highly enough. Simply superb!
The First Time I Saw You by Emma Cooper is available to buy in ebook now and in paperback from January 9th 2020: Amazon UK
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this wonderful book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
THanks so much for the blog tour support Cal, I adored this book too x
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You’re very welcome, Anne! It really is wonderful. 😊 xx
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