You Were There Too

Three my heart broke into tiny pieces, my emotions everywhere but all the angst and sadness are for nothing, I ache for the characters so much stars!<br /><br />This is the first in my life that I got confused what I felt about a book and went back and forth between giving five or three stars. It’s like black and white but there were no grey areas about this book. But then I decided to give three stars. <br /><br />This is not about writing. Actually the author was so talented enough to touch my soul, heart, mind at the same time. But then she ripped everything and tossed them to the garbage. I felt like somebody slapped me so hard after finishing this book and wanted to climb to the highest mountain and started screaming `WHHHHHHHHY! WHHHHY DID YOU DO THAT! WHY YOU WERE SO MERCILESS TO YOUR CHARACTERS!` Since J.K. Rowling killed Dumbledore or David E. Kelly killed Billy on “Ally McBeal series”, I haven’t want to yell at an author/screenwriter for so long!( Okay, I also wanted to yell at GOT’s writers, but for another reasons. I think yelling is not gonna enough for them!)<br /><br />As soon as I read the blurb about Mia’s dreaming about a man she’s never seen before made me think I was going to read a book like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “ Maybe Another Time” or Kristin Harmel’s `Life Intended”. I thought it’s a romance about two people reach each other by dreams and fight against the all obstacles to find their HEAs.<br /><br />But this is all different. Firstly; our two heroes, husband Harrison and dream guy Oliver are amazing! At some parts they’re even greater than Mia who is suffering from three miscarriages and about to lose her mind because every time she closes her eyes, she sees Oliver. They coincidentally meet at the market. Then they saw each other at the hospital where Mia’ s husband works. Oliver’s sister is also the patient of Harrison.<br /><br /> Mia gets shocked as soon as she finds out, Oliver also sees her in his dreams, too and he tries to save her life but he cannot achieve that in any of them!<br /><br /> In the meantime Harrison fights with his inner demons because of the guilt he carries so long after he lost his patient. He blames himself for deciding a risky operation which affects his relationship with his wife, Mia. They start to drift apart. Mia wants to try having a baby but Harrison is not ready, he still deals with the loss of his patient and suffers from depression. Their problems and vivid dreams bring Mia and Oliver closer each day.<br /><br /> Even though she has questions about her marriage and undeniable attraction to Olive, Mia does the right thing and always chooses her husband over him. When she finds out, Oliver and she spent time in same circles and common friends, the day she met her husband, she could have also meet with Oliver but he got stuck at his work place, she still stayed strong, restrained her feelings for him.<br />Then she realizes no matter what she always chooses her husband over him! So I thought `Okay great so we got our closure! Nope, not so fast! Don’t jump to the conclusions because there are more to come. And they’re all HEAVY, NASTY, NERVE BENDING, TEAR JERKER STUFF!`<br /> <br />The thing about telling the story for several different POVs (we already have three main characters but as soon as I see the POVS of Caroline and Whitney, I got confused but finally I realized the author did it purposely for the ominous part of the book! Yessss, there is a bloody, nail biter, `OHHHH NOOO WHAT DID YOU DOOO!” part close to the ending!)<br /><br />Let’s talk about ending! I hate it! Because any alternative universe options for these three characters will bring us more and more ugly cries, more screams like “ OH come onnn, there must be a solution to fix it”! <br /><br />Mia is honest, noble, lost but at least finally she knows what she wants in her life. But no matter what she wants, her heart is going to be broken!<br />I’m sorry for Mia! Sorry for Harrison, also so sorry about Oliver!<br /><br />I was expecting a book about our different choices end with different consequences, finding your soul-mate, learning more about the secret world of dreams but instead of that, I got frustration, depression, deathly consequences, broken hearts!<br /><br /> Nope, the author might be so talented to feel so passionately for those characters but I never ever forgive the writer for being cruel to them! At least some of them need their HEAs!<br /><br /><a href="https://niluferozmekik.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">blog</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/nilylovestoread/" rel="nofollow noopener">instagram</a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nilufer.ozmekik" rel="nofollow noopener">facebook</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/NiluferOzmekik" rel="nofollow noopener">twitter</a>

You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley is a 2020 Berkley publication. <br /><br />This story is centered around Mia Graydon. Mia is happily married to Harrison, a doctor, and they are hoping to someday become parents. However, Mia also has dreams about the same man- a man who is not her husband- from time to time. It’s puzzling, for sure, but they are only dreams, right? Well, maybe not. When Mia comes face to face with the man of her dreams in real life, she’s thrown completely off balance. <br /><br />Complicating matters more, Mia and Harrison, have hit a rough patch in their marriage. The couple may no longer be on the same wave- length and for Mia, this could be a deal-breaker. Then her dream lover, Oliver, confesses that, he too has dreamed of her, making Mia wonder if maybe fate is trying to tell her something….<br /><br />Right away one is clued in that something serious has happened, but we have no idea how things got to that point or what might happen beyond it. Meanwhile, we watch Mia struggle with her emotions, taken aback by the changes in her husband. Yet, she finds herself distracted by the mystery of her dreams, suddenly finding it of great importance to understand why she and Oliver have been haunting one another’s dreams and what it might mean. <br /><br />While Mia loves her husband, the possibility of Oliver has her wondering… what if?<br /><br />I don’t mind reading an emotional book, but I typically avoid anything that wreaks of a full-fledged tearjerker, especially when the author could have given the book the 'Hollywood' treatment and at least left us with the hope, or promise of a happier future. <br /><br />One can look at this story in any number of ways, I suppose. Some get redemption, some get their heart’s desire, and there are a few silver linings too, so the ending isn’t a complete ‘ugly cry’ letdown. <br /><br />Unfortunately, those silver linings were not enough to lift my spirits after the book ended. I felt like I’d been left with nothing concrete to grasp onto. I’d just invested all this time in these characters and felt stunned with how things turned out for them. <br /><br />I needed to feel that fate would indeed intervene somewhere down the road and happier times were on the horizon- even if it was in the distant future. Alas, that was not to be. With some genres, like horror, for example, an unsettling conclusion is often effective and expected- and I love closing the book with a shiver running down my spine. <br /><br />But, with a story like this one the dim conclusion was too depressing for my taste, leaving me with a feeling of melancholy. I read to escape from that feeling, which is all too common for many of us in real life- so, while the writing is fine, and the story is not a bad one, it’s just wasn’t my cup of tea. <br /><br /><br />3 stars

This book hit me in the feels and then kicked me in the gut... hard! Colleen Oakley, WOW! What an emotional ride you took me on with your evocative storytelling! A beautiful story about marriage, grief, and fate. Have you ever had a dream and wondered what it meant? What if you dreamed about the same person over and over and over again? And then you met that person? Would you think that it was faded? Mia is happily married to Harrison. After the couple relocates to a small town in Pennsylvania she meets a man named Oliver. Oliver is no stranger to Mia, because he has been making an appearance in her dreams for years. When Oliver reveals to Mia that he has been dreaming of her as well she is convinced there is a profound reason for this. What follows is an intense story full of what ifs and hard choices.<br /><br /> I was so invested in this story and it was heartbreaking, there was just no possible good outcome. Both these men Harrison and Oliver were genuine good guys with compassionate hearts. Mia was going through a terrible time having just gone through her third miscarriage and now questioning everything. I totally empathize with Mia having gone through two miscarriages myself I understand what it is like to be consumed with having a baby and simultaneously feeling like a complete failure. I could completely understand why she was questioning her marriage even more so because Harrison was distancing himself. Three remarkable characters in a terrible conundrum. I really don’t want to say much more about this but I have read several reviews that allude to the ending. The ending of this book is brutal and heart wrenching, but in my opinion it was the perfect ending. I might be in the minority on this, but I thought it was the best way for this powerfully emotional story to end. OK well maybe not the best way, but the only way, the ending just really worked for me. I highly recommend this if you enjoy emotional stories, but be prepared to have your heart broken and don’t forget the Kleenex!<br /><br />This book in emojis. ? ? ? ? <br /><br />*** Big thank you to Berkley for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***<br /><br />For more of my reviews and bookish thoughts please visit <a> my blog </a>

Wow, talk about a crazy, thought-provoking, emotional ride!⁣<br />⁣<br />Mia and her husband move to Hope Springs, a small Pennsylvania town, to escape personal and professional disasters. But while Harrison takes a job as a surgeon at the local hospital, Mia can’t seem to find anything to occupy her time or her mind, which makes her worry about her pregnancy, her third after two miscarriages.⁣ An artist, she also can't seem to find the focus to create anything new.<br />⁣<br />She is also troubled by her dreams. Since she was a teenager she’s dreamed of a handsome man. She sees him clearly, but she doesn't recognize him at all. Through the years the dreams have been intense, some sexual and some troubling. Who is this man? What do these dreams mean?<br />⁣<br />Then one day she meets him, in the most innocent of circumstances. It unravels her, especially when he tells her he’s been dreaming of her, too. Is she making too much out of all of this in an effort to compensate for everything else in her life? If not, how could this be possible? Did they meet at some point before? If not, how could they both be dreaming of someone they’ve never met?⁣<br />⁣<br />As they try to find answers, Mia realizes that her relationship with her husband is suffering at the same time. Why is he pulling away from her? She must decide which is more important: what is real or what might be destined in dreams.<br />⁣<br />This is a really interesting book which raised a lot of questions for me. I enjoyed it but it took a while to hit its stride and at times it meandered a bit. However, it left me a total emotional wreck at the end.<br />⁣<br />One thing I know for sure: this is my first Colleen Oakley book, but it won’t be my last!!⁣<br /><br />Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at <a href="https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html</a>. <br /><br />Check out my list of the best books of the decade at <a href="https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html" target="”_blank”" rel="nofollow noopener">https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html</a>.<br /><br />See all of my reviews at <a href="http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com</a>.<br /><br />Follow me on Instagram at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/" target="”_blank”" rel="nofollow noopener"> https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.</a>

<b>Evocative, distressing, &amp; absolutely heart-wrenching!</b><br /><br />YOU WERE THERE TOO by COLLEEN OAKLEY is a moving, intense, emotional, and an original love story that was quite the emotive and beautiful book to read. I was immediately intrigued and sucked into the narrative and absolutely loved the mysterious dream aspect to the storyline which had a slight supernatural vibe to it. <br /><br />The tale is original and fresh! Something that I have definitely never read before. I was totally invested and all in the first half of the story and then the spark fizzled out for me a little bit and never really caught again. There was this niggling that I had with one aspect of the storyline that never really sat well with me, ultimately affecting me and my thoughts towards this one. <br /><br />The story takes quite the unexpected and shocking turn that I never seen coming and threw me for a loop. After thinking about it I think this definitely worked and was quite clever but unfortunately my mind was already made up. I don’t think I have ever been as stubborn or unforgiving as I was with this one. <br /><br />COLLEEN OAKLEY delivers quite the intriguing, raw, compelling, evocative, and well-written read here that definitely touched me in a deeply profound way. I think if a book can produce so many different emotions from we whether that be from deep affection to ruffling my feathers a little bit then the author has definitely produced one heck of a story whether I fully enjoyed it or not. <br /><br />I read this one with my lovely friend and fellow Traveling Sister, Lindsay! Thanks so much for reading and discussing this one with me. <br /><br />Norma’s Stats:<br />Cover: Intriguing, calming, tender, warmth, love, and a fitting representation to storyline.<br />Title: Clever, relevant, intriguing, and an effective and fitting representation to storyline. Love this title! <br />Writing/Prose: Well-written, easy to follow, evocative, entertaining, engaging and readable. <br />Plot: Unforgettable, heartfelt, intriguing, distressing, maddening, compelling, immersive, shocking, thought-provoking, steadily-paced, unpredictable, and entertaining.<br />Ending: I’m speechless, somewhat shaken, and a little bit perturbed about that ending!<br />Overall: This book was an unusual and intense read for me and even though I go into all my books blind the direction that this book took was nothing at all like what I expected. Would recommend!<br /><br />Thank you so much to Elisha at Berkley Publishing for kindly sending me a copy of this book!<br /><br />This review can also be seen at Traveling Sisters Book Reviews blog:<br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://travelingsistersbookreviews.com/">https://travelingsistersbookreviews.com/</a>

3 stars.<br /><br />An emotional start that slowly fizzled out.<br /><br />This book wasn’t what I expected. The writing was good, the characters were vivid, but the storyline was lacking. I enjoyed the novel, but didn’t love or truly connect with it. What started off strong and promising, became slow and lacklustre. <br /><br />I read and loved this author, Colleen Oakley’s, book Close Enough To Touch. Perhaps my expectations were set too high after loving that one so much. I really enjoyed this book up to the 50% mark and then things went downhill. One of my main issues was the many times the main character put herself in vulnerable situations. After the halfway mark, I couldn’t “feel” for her and quite honestly, I grew frustrated and slightly annoyed with her. <br /><br />This was a Traveling Sister read with Norma and we felt similar. Brenda read this earlier than us and enjoyed it more so. Please check out the many raving reviews before deciding on this.<br /><br />Thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC!

Loved this book. Great writing craft. I dropped right into the story and was held in The Fictive Dream. I would rate the character voice above average, even superior. It’s written in first person present tense which adds to the immediacy of the story. I also have to admit I’m a sucker for a great premise and this one has it. Two people who don’t know each other dream about each other in different scenarios and eventually meet. The main character Mia is happily married to Harrison a wonderfully drawn husband. Mia has a perfect life, a perfect marriage (with one exception which I won’t reveal here) when she runs into Oliver the man who is having dreams with Mia in them.<br />In writing there is MAR, motivation action reaction, and the author here walks a razor-sharp line but pulls if off wonderfully. Since Harrison is motivated so well as being the perfect husband, Mia can’t step over the line and go after Oliver without the reader disliking Mia. I walked that line with the author and was stunned how she pulled it off. She juggled the motivation so well it becomes the main part of the tension, truly amazing writing. I was pulled along to not only to find out what was going to happen to the characters but also to watch the motivation, watch the tight rope act the author performed right under my nose. This is a five start that I highly recommend to those who like their romance novels with a literary edge.<br />David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series<br />

Though the majority of the books that I read and review fall into the suspense/mystery/thriller category, I read any book that has a premise which intrigues me...<br /><br />This was one of those.<br /><br />Mia loves her husband Harrison.<br /><br />But, she has recurring dreams of another man...one that she has never met.<br /><br />Until, one day, when she comes face to face with the stranger in her dreams and discovers that his name is Oliver, and he has been dreaming about her too.<br /><br />How can this be?<br />What can this mean? <br />Why have they finally met?<br /><br />This book is a reflection on marriage, grief and fate. <br /><br />It might make you cry.<br />It will probably tick you off.<br /><br />But, as with ALL of Colleen Oakley's work..it will make you feel something! And, isn't that why we read? <br /><br />I have loved all of her work-if you haven't read any of it yet-it's time to change that! <br /><br />Available now! <br /><br />Thank you to Edelweiss, Berkley and Colleen Oakley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for a candid review!

You Were There Too explores love, commitment connections, chances, fate and what-ifs. It's a beautiful love story, and the more I think about it in more ways than one. <br /><br />Our main characters here married couple Mia and Harrison experience challenges due to the heartache they experience as a couple. Each of them also has their conflicts within themselves. Mia has a secret and she literally meets the man of her dreams who is not Harrison. The man from her dreams has been dreaming of her too. The story takes an interesting and unique turn as they take on a journey to research their dream connection.<br /><br />This is a story that I felt different about after I finished it then as I was reading it. It's heart-wrenching and shocking sad and at first, it was not the way I wanted it to go, but the more I think about it, I see how well it all together in the end. I highly recommend for anyone who loves a love story!<br /><br />I received a copy from the publisher

<b>4.25 stars</b><br><br><a href="https://s1279.photobucket.com/user/Christyb23/media/Book%20Reviews%202020/CC3DCAFB-7E38-438C-8050-639BDBDC466F_zps0xdyhg5m.png.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1590309197i/29532181._SY540_.png" alt=" photo CC3DCAFB-7E38-438C-8050-639BDBDC466F_zps0xdyhg5m.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><i> <b> <blockquote>“Maybe instead of wondering why we're all connected, whats important, the only thing thats important is to know that we are.”</blockquote> </b> </i><i>You Were There Too</i> is one of those unforgettable reads. It’s also one of the saddest books I’ve ever read. It has such a bittersweet ending, but I cried buckets while reading it. It’s so hard to say that I ‘enjoyed’ this read, because it broke my heart, but I did love so much about it. <br><br>I went into this book with zero knowledge about the storyline, I just heard good things about it from book friends and went in blind. I highly recommend you do too. Colleen Oakley is an amazing writer and I’ll definitely be reading more of her works. This one is hard hitting and will leave an impact on you.