Colleen Oakley

Mia Graydon's life looks picket-fence perfect; she has the house, the husband, and dreams of starting a family. Their relocation to small-town Pennsylvania comes with the usual challenges--finding a new job, new friends, new furniture--but the move is nothing the couple can't handle. That is, until Mia finally meets the stranger she has been dreaming about for a decade. And here's the catch: He's been dreaming of her, too. Now Mia must navigate the tangled web that fate has spun her and, with the help of the man of her dreams, go in search of answers. When diving into both of their pasts begins to unravel life in the present, Mia emerges with a single question: What if?

You Were There Too

Jo Buchanan

What is there to say about this book and author? I LOVE HER! I have always read her stories and could easily read her books in one day. This was no different. It was such an intense read and so full of feelings. This was easily a story that I could connect to and relate to as someone who has gone through fertility issues. Wanting something so much and going through losses to achieve that dream is devastating. This book was captivating.

Ana Couto

Jessica 

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  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way. 
 

My feelings for You Were There Too are a bit more complicated than I'd care for them to be. Which is a little frustrating. I have given myself months to truly gather my thoughts on it but even now I have mixed feelings. As a whole, You Were There Too has been heavy on my mind because the novel itself is so emotionally charged, it is one word away from being truly an electric to the heart. 

It may be cheesy to say so but You Were There Too felt like a dream itself. 

Part of me adored You Were There Too in an almost compulsive way--Colleen Oakley's writing has a quality to it that makes you feel something and it's impossible not to be drawn into it. The characters felt real, complex, if not a little underdeveloped, and the story told is completely unexpected. It feeds the romantic at heart, while keeping us all on our toes in a way that reminds us just how unexpected lie, and fiction, can be. 

Romance shines brightly throughout. But so do complications and triggering real life occurrences. It is in this combination that you feel that spark of connection and love in a way that sticks around for life. You Were There Too is an all around engaging and creative read. 

Yet, by the time I finished reading, I couldn't help but to feel as though something was missing. I wasn't keen on the ending, although I understand Oakley's vision for the story and where we see Mia, Harrison and Oliver off. You Were There Too had an uniquely romantic quality to it that kept readers wondering in a daze, but the endgame of it all garnered a massive mixed reaction to me. 

Overall, while I enjoyed Oakley's writing, this novel wasn't necessarily for me.

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER “A surprising and incredibly satisfying story of chance and fate.”—New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid “I read it in one long gulp and didn’t want it to end.”—New York Times bestselling author Jill Santopolo Acclaimed author Colleen Oakley delivers a heart-wrenching and unforgettable love story about a woman who must choose between the man she loves and the man fate has chosen for her, in a novel that reminds us that the best life is one led by the heart. Mia Graydon's life looks picket-fence perfect; she has the house, her loving husband, and dreams of starting a family. But she has other dreams too—unexplained, recurring ones starring the same man. Still, she doesn’t think much of it, until a relocation to small-town Pennsylvania brings her face to face with the stranger she has been dreaming about for years. And this man harbors a jaw-dropping secret of his own—he's been dreaming of her too. Determined to understand, Mia and this not-so-stranger search for answers. But when diving into their pasts begins to unravel her life in the present, Mia emerges with a single question—what if?

You Were There Too

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