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debrabrinckley's review against another edition
3.0
There were so many things I loved about this book- the premise, the characters, the writing. But the ending was so unsatisfactory. It just felt…incomplete? Not right? Pointless? I devoured the book quickly only to get to an end that left me disappointed.
syaun's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I'm taking my own advice about dnf-ing. I'm not being graded here and there are too many good books out there and not enough time in the world to read them all to force myself to read a book I am not enjoying. 50% through the book and I just can't do it anymore. I'm just not the target audience. I love the romance genre and according to Fable and Storygraph (although I already knew this about myself), I tend to gravitate towards emotional reads. I want to feel everything. This did not deliver like the reviews and blurbs. Again, maybe I'm just not the target audience. The main couple is flat. Mia is not a reliable narrator, she loves her husband supposedly so much, but is being borderline disrespectful to him with her relationship with Oliver. I'm not hanging in there for the good part. If the good part is at the end of the book, it's not good. 🤷🏻♀️
daisyfriesen's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure how to feel about this book. It was well written, but it just didn't go any way I wished it had. Mia is married to Harrison, but she has been dreaming about a stranger she's never met for years. This story follows her as she meets Oliver, the man from her dreams, and finds out he's been dreaming her too. They spend a lot of the book trying to figure out what the dreams mean and being attracted to each other, but she also loves her husband and wants their marriage to work. It's not a bad book, but it will make you feel lots of emotions and you'll go back and forth about it. Also, the audiobook was mostly read by the one narrator and the book is mostly in Mia's first person perspective, but there are random bits from the perspective of several other characters every once in a while. And those are read by a different narrator. It's a little jarring. The change of perspective but also the different narrator. It was a strange choice.
alexa_milanomoyer's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know about this one.
I gave it three stars but as I'm writing this, I'm considering changing it to two. This book has a very interesting story line so from the beginning, I was hooked and wondering how it would end. Although the majority of the book is from Mia's perspective, I appreciated the few chapters that were from others' perspectives. But from shortly after the start, I kept wondering 'what is the point of this? How does it end?' With a story line like this, it would've been easy to fall into the trope of Mia's husband being a "bad guy" who doesn't appreciate her and Oliver being the savior. But I'm so thrilled that that is not the route this book took. How refreshing!
That being said, I was disappointed in the end. It didn't seem fair and it felt like we went through this whole story for nothing.
After writing my thoughts, I'll keep my rating at 3 stars. I think if the ending were different (although I'm not sure what I would've wanted instead), the rating would be a bit higher.
I gave it three stars but as I'm writing this, I'm considering changing it to two. This book has a very interesting story line so from the beginning, I was hooked and wondering how it would end. Although the majority of the book is from Mia's perspective, I appreciated the few chapters that were from others' perspectives. But from shortly after the start, I kept wondering 'what is the point of this? How does it end?' With a story line like this, it would've been easy to fall into the trope of Mia's husband being a "bad guy" who doesn't appreciate her and Oliver being the savior. But I'm so thrilled that that is not the route this book took. How refreshing!
That being said, I was disappointed in the end. It didn't seem fair and it felt like we went through this whole story for nothing.
After writing my thoughts, I'll keep my rating at 3 stars. I think if the ending were different (although I'm not sure what I would've wanted instead), the rating would be a bit higher.
llcummingsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book was the perfect quick love story to read. I love the twist. I love the way that the characters changed their feelings. And that it is ok to change your mind. I love how it ended but I still wished she ended up with Oliver. And I’m so happy she got her baby even though Harrison died.
The concept was great. I am giving it four stars though because even though the ending wasn’t, the majority of the book was predictable.
The concept was great. I am giving it four stars though because even though the ending wasn’t, the majority of the book was predictable.
beewitchedbybooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book was ⭐⭐⭐ until the very end, then it twisted me emotionally, in only a way I could personally understand. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say why.
tuckeralmengor's review against another edition
5.0
Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
The romance genre has its problems which I discussed in my latest booktube video that you can click here to watch) but there are occasionally books like these that break down the problematic tropes.
Skip to 12:33 to here my thoughts on this specific book and what it does to push back against problems with the romance genre.
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"What do you want? It's as simple as that. Who do you love? Who do you want to be with? Forget everything else."
When the final seconds of this book played through my headphones, I confidently press "rate 5 stars" but in the back of my mind, I was worried that the rating might go down once my initial emotions settled. It didn't.
Even after letting this amazing story digest for days, the raw emotion still remains in my heart.
So, what's this book about
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 them, until 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?
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.
I have to confess that I went into this book expecting a contemporary romance with a magical-realism twist. I did not expect to become so attached to the characters so quickly. I also didn't expect [SPOILER REDACTED] which broke my heart into a million piecesssssssssssssssssss. I STILL CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE COLLEEN OAKLEY DID THAT!!
This book goes even further beyond evoking raw emotion, though. It covers a lot of really deep themes and covers them in a way that most books don't.
The theme of this book that sometimes it's better to focus on the 'what is' instead of the 'what if' or 'what could be'. You can spend your entire life tortured by not knowing, chasing knowledge or you can simply accept the unknown and live in spite of it.
I also really, really loved Harrison and Mia's relationship. It was so realistic. I feel like we don't see enough married couples in romances. On top of that, we don't see enough married couples who are not perfectly married. It was really encouraging to read a story that is proudly saying 'Yes, couples fight. Couples disagree. Couples have problems but they fight for love anyway.'
Overall, this book made me chuckle and smile, but, most of all, it made me ugly cry. I cannot recommend this one enough!
Bottom Line:
5 stars
Age Rating - [ PG-13 ]
Content Screening (Mild Spoilers)
Educational Value (1/5) - [Medical terms/procedures]
Positive Messages (4/5) - [Choosing the 'what is' over the 'what could be', kindness, sacrifice]
Violence (2/5) - [Brief gun violence, off-page death]
Sex (3/5) - [Sexual themes, Kissing, Off-page sex]
Language (2/5) - [Brief and mild use of language]
Drinking/Drugs (3/5) - [Alcohol consumption, medicinal drugs]
Content and Trigger Warnings - Miscarriages, Loss of loved ones, Death, Depression, Appendicitis, Hospitals, Scene with psychic
Publication Date: January 7th, 2020
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Genre: Contemporary/Romance
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HOLY FORKING SHIRT I AM WRECKED RIGHT NOW
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I requested this solely because I saw that it's set in Pennsylvania (where my family is from and where I go every holiday season)
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genthebookworm's review against another edition
4.0
You Were There Too is a unique take on the regular contemporary romance novel. This genre can be hit or miss for me but You Were There Too ended up being a surprise hit. It was one of those books that when I saw that it included elements of dreams I wasn't sure exactly where it was going to go. Anything that takes on a more fantastical side can sometimes lose me quickly as a reader. I am so glad I hung on though!
This book was so much more emotional and the characters had a depth that made this book one of those ones I felt super connected to. The dream elements added so much to the storyline, I think because there were so many "real life" issues and situations that pulled it into reality for me. This was a lot more emotional than I was expecting. The storyline was full of smaller twists and turns that kept me guessing and I just loved the uniqueness of this one. I am part of the Blog Tour for this book in January 2020 and I look forward to sharing more then!
This book was so much more emotional and the characters had a depth that made this book one of those ones I felt super connected to. The dream elements added so much to the storyline, I think because there were so many "real life" issues and situations that pulled it into reality for me. This was a lot more emotional than I was expecting. The storyline was full of smaller twists and turns that kept me guessing and I just loved the uniqueness of this one. I am part of the Blog Tour for this book in January 2020 and I look forward to sharing more then!