REVIEW: And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens

And Then There Was You by Sophie Cousens lands you in the messy, awkward, sometimes hilarious reality of 31-year-old Chloe Fairway. She’s trying to navigate a life that fell far short of all the big plans she once had — living at home again, stuck in a dead-end job, and dreading the upcoming ten-year college reunion where everyone she knew made it big. Instead of showing up alone, she makes a wild choice: a mysterious matchmaking service offers her a “perfect partner,” and that partner turns out to be an AI — a humanoid who seems too good to be true.

Between reconnecting with people from her past, facing old regrets, and trying to figure out what she actually wants, Chloe’s life becomes a whirlwind of unexpected moments, awkward truths, and surprisingly human lessons about love, belonging, and finding herself.

This book surprised me in the best way — it’s warm, funny, slightly weird (in a charming way), and so much more thoughtful than I expected going in. What really pulled me in wasn’t the AI twist, but Chloe herself: messy, relatable, painfully human. She’s in her early thirties trying to make sense of a life that hasn’t matched the picture she once painted… and honestly, who hasn’t been there? What makes Sophie Cousens’s writing stand out to me is how she balances heart and humor. She’s not afraid to lean into the weirdness of the premise (because yes — dating an android is wild), but she grounds it in emotion so real you forget you’re picking up sci-fi vibes.

The romance in AND THEN THERE WAS YOU hits in this unexpected, quietly emotional way. It’s not an insta-love situation, not a “one look and everything changes.” It builds slowly, through honest moments and awkward conversations and those little flashes where someone finally sees you for who you are instead of who you should be. This isn’t just a quirky “what if” romance. It’s a story about feeling lost, trying to belong… and questioning what “normal” looks like in love and life.

✨ Tropes & Vibes I loved:

• Sci-fi rom-com twist
• Quarter-life crisis
• Self-doubt meets second chances
• Identity + growth journey
• Tech meets heart
• Healing through connection

AND THEN THERE WAS YOU is weirdly brilliant — thoughtful and warm, funny and gentle, a story that sneaks up on you and makes you wonder if maybe love (or hope, or change) doesn’t always come in perfectly predictable packages.

Audiobook Review
✨ Kerry Gilbert (Narrator) did an amazing job bringing Chloe to life in the audiobook. Her warm, engaging narration captures all of Chloe’s humor, heart, and awkward charm, making every laugh, cringe, and tender moment feel vivid and authentic. She effortlessly balances the quirky, awkward, and emotional beats, drawing listeners fully into Chloe’s messy, relatable, and surprisingly heartfelt journey.

QOTD: If you could design your “perfect partner,” what trait would you program first — and would “perfect” really be what you need?

Book Info:

Publication: November 18, 2025 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

She’s found the perfect man . . . There’s just one big twist.

Stuck in a Production Assistant job and living at home with her parents after a painful breakup, thirty-one-year-old Chloe Fairway isn’t where she wants to be in life. The last thing she needs is to face the people who once voted her “most likely to succeed” at her upcoming ten-year college reunion. And she definitely doesn’t want to see her former best friend, Sean Adler, who is now a hotshot film director living the life Chloe dreamed of. Desperate to make a splash—and to save face in front of the man who might be the one that got away—she turns to a mysterious dating service.

Enter Rob, her handsome, well-read, and charming match, the perfect plus-one to take to her reunion. The more she gets to know him, the more perfect he appears to be. Could it be that this dating service knows her better than she knows herself? And can she overlook the one big catch? As Chloe reconnects with old friends, she begins to question everything she thought she wanted. Maybe, just maybe, revisiting the past is exactly what she needs to move forward.