Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Time is against them. Can true love find a way?”

🥺 I’m not crying, you’re crying. Jeeeeeez! I loved this book with my whole heart. I’ve never read anything like it before! It’s definitely one of those books where you just need to sit in a quiet room for 20 minutes after you finish it. It’s beautiful, it’s heartwrenching and so utterly absorbing that I can’t bring myself to start a new book just yet. I just love these characters so much! So thrilled to be joining Insta Book Tours for the After Party Read Along for Counting Down to You!

About the book

Sophie can see how long people have left to live. Her first love Adam is back. And he has just 24 days to go.

Ever since the accident that changed Sophie’s life, she sees numbers everywhere. From the leaves on a tree to the volume of a puddle, everything has its number. And every person she meets? Their number is counting down the number of days they have left.

Despite being lonely, Sophie has decided she’s not dating anyone with a number smaller than 20,000 days: 55 years together should be plenty. Which is fine, until Adam – her first love and most definitely the one that got away – suddenly reappears. And his number? Just 24 days…

Sophie has tried and failed to save lots of people in the past; she thought she couldn’t alter fate, no matter how hard she tried. But the way Adam looks at her makes her feel alive again for the first time in years. She questions everything, and a spark is lit. Could true love be powerful enough to rewrite the future? Maybe some rules are meant to be broken, and perhaps Adam is the one who will show her that not every ending is set in stone…

The beginning

Goddddddd, does that synopsis lure you in or what?! It’s been a while since I’ve been SO desperate to read a book outside of my crime/thriller comfort zone, and from the very start of this one, I was hooked. I was in love. And I was heartbroken by the end of chapter one. After a few deep breaths, I carried on and with each chapter that passed, I loved this book even more. After a traumatic accident, Sophie gained a unique gift. She sees numbers everywhere, and she can see how many days people have left to live. Did you ever see that Justin Timberlake film, In Time? If you enjoyed that, you will love this. The concept is so naturally enticing, so genuinely intriguing that I couldn’t look away. After trying and failing to save people in the past, she’s starting to think she can’t change fate’s path, and knowing this can sometimes make her life difficult, stressful and upsetting. That was one of the reasons why she struggled with relationships. If their number is low, how can they have their happily ever after? However, there was that one guy who got away who still took up head space…

“You might surprise yourself if you face your fears. You should do something that scares you and see where it leads.”

Adam was Sophie’s high school sweetheart. The one she still thinks about, even after everything that happened. And the best thing about it? He still thinks about her too. Surely, despite their trauma, they were meant to be? I loved the alternating POVs, and hearing about both Sophie’s and Adam’s separate lives was so wonderful. Adam has suffered his own loss in his partner, Carley, and now looks after his daughter, Wren, alone. He is struggling in so many ways, but my god he was such a nice guy. When he randomly turns up at Sophie’s place of work, she panics and flees. They shared so much history, love and pain, and thanks to the dual timelines, we see all of this which is beautifully portrayed. I loved going back to when they were young, their only worries being grades, university and not seeing each other as often. But, back in the present day, we make a heart-stopping discovery about Adam. He has 24 days left to live. I shared Sophie’s feelings. Not only is she overwhelmed that Adam is here, but she’s distraught about his incredibly low number. Now what?

The middle

There were some really important secondary characters in this book, one of which was Sophie’s friend Walter and his dog, Chico. She confides in this man, tells him everything. About Adam. About this strange ability she has to see how much time everyone has left. And instead of telling her it was all dreadful, that there was nothing she could do, he flips everything on its head and makes her feel differently. She may not be able to prevent Adam’s fate, but she can help make the time he has left joyful and full of memories for his daughter to cherish. My poor eyes!! I was constantly so full of emotion reading this, and I admired Sophie’s strength as she begins to let Adam slowly back into her life, to allow those feelings for him to rise back up to the surface. The idea of making a memory quilt for Adam’s daughter not only helped them to all bond, but it would also be a crucially important part of Wren’s healing when Adam was gone. I’m gonna be honest; the idea of Adam dying was breaking me in two. But when Walter’s number miraculously increases, was their hope for Adam’s number, too?

“No one is guaranteed a tomorrow. We must all live every day like it’s our last. Enjoy these experiences now instead of hoping you’ll repeat them at some point in the future.”

Learning about the accident that changed Sophie’s life, the accident which took the life of their friend, Lily, was so sad. These chapters and scenes were so vivid and felt so real that tears started to cloud my vision. God, this book. Not only were these past chapters setting off the water works, Sophie and Adam’s rekindled, blossoming relationship was just pure beauty and I couldn’t cope with it. I loved them. Quite possibly my fictional couple of the year. As Sophie gives Adam a talking to, to make him see what he needs to prioritise in life, I found myself listening to her too. The book is consistently thought-provoking and filled with lessons about not wasting a day, not putting things off, not holding grudges. And it really emphasises the fact that life is too damn short! Adam’s number keeps dropping, even though he is making amends, creating new beautiful memories, doing all the right things that could potentially prolong his life. And this makes Sophie panic. With a school reunion coming up, could this event take his life in some way? And was there any way Sophie played a part in this? Could she even do anything to stop it?

The end

Sophie makes amends with Lily’s parents. They reminisce, apologise for not being there for one another over the years when times were hard, make promises to do better, to be there for one another. Their whole conversations were some of the most deep, meaningful, beautiful bits of dialogue I’ve ever read. The emotion was so raw and I was a blubbering mess. It was written SO well. How much more will this book throw at me?! I loved how Sophie was taking her own advice by this point, the very same advice she’s been giving to Adam. But his number was still decreasing, and with each chapter, I began to panic a little more that she may not be able to save him. And then things get even MORE tense as there are mere minutes left, crucial minutes that Sophie will fight for, no matter how hard it was. Their bond was so beautifully portrayed and I loved their chemistry from start to finish. But would this love be enough? She comes clean about her ability, and what happened next was something I could not have predicted. I felt genuinely pained at one certain scene (IYKYK) 😭 GOD.

“I choose happiness. I choose life. I choose you.”

That ending was so masterfully done. So cleverly done, so heartwrenching and powerful. And I think it’s one of those I will remember for a long time to come. I sat in silence for so long after that last page, just filled with so many thoughts and feelings. Not only is there heartbreak, but there is such immense joy that I cried and I laughed. I could happily read another thousand books about Sophie and Adam and never tire of their chemistry, their journey, their past. And I think every other character brought something really important to the story line too. It’s rare I take a liking to all the characters in a book, but I genuinely loved them all in this one. I think I’ll have to search the entire internet for books similar to this! I really can’t wait to snap up this author’s entire backlog after reading this. Sarah is a fantastic writer! I’m not really sure what other books I can compare this to, but if you love feel-good fiction, heartfelt fiction and romance with that bit of extra intrigue, then absolutely pick this one up. I know you’ll love it!

Overall thoughts

Counting Down to You has my whole heart. I’m amazed by just how much this book broke me and then managed to fix me back together. How much I felt the need to reflect and prioritise, to make the most of every day. The concept is one of the very best; ever since Sophie was involved in a terrible accident resulting in brain damage, she sees numbers everywhere. And she can see how long people have left to live. It’s one of the most moving books I’ve ever read and I’m genuinely gutted it’s over.

It’s a story of a deep love and connection, a story of second chances, of living the best life you can with the time you have given. It’s a roller coaster of emotion, a powerful exploration of the meaning of life, the strength of love and the importance of time. It will break your heart and completely shatter your world, but it will also bring you immense joy, fill you with hope and have you wanting to call everyone you love. The characters in this book are perfectly formed, and Sophie and Adam are clearly my fictional couple of the year. Just you wait until you meet them and learn their story. And don’t forget the tissues! This is easily one of my favourite books of the year.

Huge thanks to Insta Book Tours and Sarah J. Harris for having me on the After Party Read Along! You can grab your own copy of Counting Down to You right now over on Amazon. Make sure you’re following the author on Instagram and X for more updates!

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