You Were There Too
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?
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Community Reviews
You Were There Too is a lovely, emotionally rich story. At the outset, Mia Graydon and her handsome surgeon husband, Harrison, have moved from Philadelphia to a small Pennsylvania town on a whim. Harrison had been working long hours and recently lost an eight-year-old boy during an emergency appendectomy. Mia could tell it affected him, even though he didn't talk about it. So when he said, "Let's get out of here," they agreed to move to Hope Springs. To Mia, the name of the town seemed like an omen. And the house they purchased not only had white picket fencing but a detached one-garage car that serves as her art studio. She dreams of having a successful art show. And being able to have a child. She recently suffered her second miscarriage, but is pregnant again.
Since she was in high school, the same man has been periodically appearing in her dreams and he shows up more frequently during periods of major changes in her life. Lately, she's been dreaming about him every night. And she is further along in her current pregnancy than either of her previous pregnancies.
Oakley immediately draws viewers into the lives of Mia and Harrison by fully developing her characters. They are believable, multi-dimensional, and flawed but deeply empathetic. Everything changes when Mia encounters him at the local market. And again shortly thereafter. She learns his name is Oliver and it's as though finding out his name releases "some treasure trove of stored dreams that I assumed had been lost forever, dissolved like sugar in water by the morning light."
Through her characters' lives, Oakley deftly contemplates whether anything is a coincidence or if, rather, lives unfold in accordance with a predetermined plan. Is there such a thing as fate? Are certain people meant to be part of our lives, entering our sphere at the precise moment intended? Mia's inner struggle to understand what is happening in her life and how events unfolding are impacting her marriage is authentically, movingly depicted. Mia finds herself drawn to Oliver, even as Harrison seems to be slipping away from her. Mia's questioning and confusion is palpable, relatable, and heart-wrenching.
Oakley injects surprising plot twists and never allows the book's pace to drag, expertly ramping up the tension and tenor as the story begins to race to an explosive conclusion. Indeed, she so skillfully and compassionately relates Mia's struggle, the ending of the story comes as a surprise, the prologue's foreshadowing all but forgotten.
You Were There Too is a tender examination of chance versus fate, choices versus predetermination, and how much power we actually have to shape our own futures. It is a clever and touching exploration of the old cliche that everything happens for a reason. And at it's core, You Were There Too is a thoughtful love story -- heart-breaking, yet affirming.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
Since she was in high school, the same man has been periodically appearing in her dreams and he shows up more frequently during periods of major changes in her life. Lately, she's been dreaming about him every night. And she is further along in her current pregnancy than either of her previous pregnancies.
Oakley immediately draws viewers into the lives of Mia and Harrison by fully developing her characters. They are believable, multi-dimensional, and flawed but deeply empathetic. Everything changes when Mia encounters him at the local market. And again shortly thereafter. She learns his name is Oliver and it's as though finding out his name releases "some treasure trove of stored dreams that I assumed had been lost forever, dissolved like sugar in water by the morning light."
Through her characters' lives, Oakley deftly contemplates whether anything is a coincidence or if, rather, lives unfold in accordance with a predetermined plan. Is there such a thing as fate? Are certain people meant to be part of our lives, entering our sphere at the precise moment intended? Mia's inner struggle to understand what is happening in her life and how events unfolding are impacting her marriage is authentically, movingly depicted. Mia finds herself drawn to Oliver, even as Harrison seems to be slipping away from her. Mia's questioning and confusion is palpable, relatable, and heart-wrenching.
Oakley injects surprising plot twists and never allows the book's pace to drag, expertly ramping up the tension and tenor as the story begins to race to an explosive conclusion. Indeed, she so skillfully and compassionately relates Mia's struggle, the ending of the story comes as a surprise, the prologue's foreshadowing all but forgotten.
You Were There Too is a tender examination of chance versus fate, choices versus predetermination, and how much power we actually have to shape our own futures. It is a clever and touching exploration of the old cliche that everything happens for a reason. And at it's core, You Were There Too is a thoughtful love story -- heart-breaking, yet affirming.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
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