Booktails: "Just Haven't Met You Yet"

“Just Haven’t Met You Yet” by Sophie Cousens

“Maybe life’s more about carving out happy chapters than finding a single happy ending.”

You didn’t think I’d let summer pass us by without choosing a sappy, romantic comedy as the Booktails pick, did you? Although it’s not my go-to genre, I’ve found myself picking up more and more romance novels to slide in between heavier reads throughout the year. Sometimes you just need a little break from the dark, depressing, and violent stories that crowd every bookstore’s sci-fi/fantasy shelves.

There’s a little something for everyone in the romance genre. You can find anything from steamy westerns, for those who own John Wayne’s complete DVD collection, to regency romance, for my fellow fans of Bridgerton. So, in hopes of satisfying the broadest range of readers this month, I was on a mission to find a low-stakes contemporary romance full of belly laughs and butterfly moments. This hunt led me to Sophie Cousens‘s novel Just Haven’t Met You Yet.

Laura Le Quesne was raised on stories of her parents’ remarkable romance that sparked from an adorable meet-cute.

Growing up with this movie-worthy relationship setting her standards for love, Laura dreams of something equally spectacular. While waiting for her special moment, Laura interviews others about their romantic relationships for How Did You Meet?, a show on the “LoveLife” lifestyle platform.

When a couple lined up to star in the next episode wind up in jail, Laura is stuck scrambling to find a substitute story. The pitch that wins the support of her boss is a then-and-now style article surrounding her parent’s love story, complete with photos of Laura in the same places her parents spent their first summer together. This is how Laura finds herself flying out to her late father’s home country, Jersey.

In a rush to start her adventure, Laura grabs the wrong suitcase on her way out of the airport.

Inside, she finds the books, clothes, and sheet music of who she imagines to be her dream man. Convinced the universe has finally gifted her with the exceptional romance she’s always dreamt of, this accidental suitcase swap sets off a chain of events that will change every aspect of Laura’s life.

With the help of a cab driver, who resembles Tom Hanks in Castaway, Laura’s scavenger hunt for her mysterious suitcase man becomes more difficult than she’d expected. As her days in Jersey fly by, Laura reimagines the life and love she always thought she wanted.

Yes, this novel is full of scenes that will bring color to your cheeks, but Cousens finds a way to add more depth than you’d expect in the average fluffy romance.

We get a surprising amount of heavy moments surrounding parents and the secrets that come to light as their children grow into adults and are forced to say goodbye, or help them settle into a new chapter of their lives. There’s also a prominent theme of throwing away the illusion of happily ever after and instead focusing on “being happy today, and for as many todays as we are lucky enough to have.”

Just Haven’t Met You Yet is a charming and comical story about how one moment can upend our expectations and result in unexpected joys. I thoroughly enjoyed devouring this book in one weekend, and I think it’s a great option to bring along on vacation or just a sunny picnic downtown.