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!

I’m not sure where to even start with this book. This is the type of book that makes my heart ache. I thought I knew where this book was headed the whole time. I ended up kind of being right but I never would have guessed everything that happened to get to that point. I wish I would have had an entire day I could have devoted to this book to finish it in one sitting (which I would highly recommend), but we recently moved and have a new puppy that kept me from devouring this book.
So, what do you think it means when you dream of the same person over and over, but you’ve never actually met that person? I’m not one for reading into those sorts of things (I’m a very logical, scientific person but I do believe in fate), so I would’ve chalked it up to someone I saw in passing that my unconsciousness was obsessed with for some reason. What do you do though when you finally meet that person? Then find out he dreams about you too? I honestly would probably try to ignore the situation and pretend it never happened (haha). Mia and Oliver however are obsessed with trying to make connections between the two of them or at least try to decipher the meanings of the reoccurring dreams.
This book is full of real life situations alongside the unusual dreaming conundrum and makes it relatable to a lot of people. She covers topics like marital issues, dealing with death, temptations, professional obstacles, and just how you don’t know what everyone else is going through and how they need to deal with it. I would recommend not reading this book in public if you are an emotional reader (unless you happen to carry tissues with you and don’t mind if people see you in an emotional state). I won’t lie that the last fourth of this book had me in near tears or actual tears the whole time (and also my brain working overtime trying to figure out how it all would end up). I loved the writing in this book and thoroughly enjoy when a writer uses impressive vocabulary throughout their book (I even had to look a couple up to double check that I knew the meaning of them). This will definitely not be my last book by Colleen Oakley and highly recommend this book if you’re new to her as an author.

I wasn't expecting this book to be so thought-provoking and emotional. I am not sure I was prepared to still be thinking about it so long after I turned the last page. It brings a whole new outlook to the idea of your dream man!

This was a book that was not necessarily in the genre I generally enjoy most. I was pleased when the story first pulled me in from the very beginning. I love books that do not take a chapter or two to gain my interest. However, I began to feel the rhythm of the style of writing, and I truly had difficulty keeping focus or interest. Therefore, this book took me a very long time to read! The only way I can think to describe this is that the author uses a style much like she is writing journal entries vs telling a real story with a lot of detail. The editing is done very well, and grammar appears pretty much perfect. It's the writing style alone that lost the 2 stars for me. I just couldn't enjoy the book at the level I had hoped, and I can't help but to believe that had the style writing been different, then the very same story could easily have been one of my favorites to read. I'm a bit disappointed, but also realize that this style may be viewed differently by other readers. It could simply be a matter of preference of an individual reader.

Be sure to pick this one up. It grabbed me and kept my interest from the first page. I wish I could have given it 10 stars.

This is a love story involving the serious issue of infertility but with a very different story line about two people dreaming of each other. Despite the suspension of disbelief, the reader has to know how it ends after the many twists and turns.

Wow, did this story pull a switcheroo on me. I thought I was going to be getting a "sliding doors" romance kind of book. Instead, I got a very raw and emotional story that I was wholly unprepared for at 1 in the morning.

This story is less about 2 people having the same dreams who end up making a connection in real life and more about a sad and lonely woman going through the heartache of infertility and the havoc it plays on an individual and a marriage. That part of the story is very well written, I thought, as I was sobbing quietly in my bed trying not to wake my husband.

The part that I was most interested in, the 2 strangers dreaming about each other, felt like a strange set up for the endgame. Everything got wrapped up tidily but I just felt sad at the end.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It is essentially a romance, but the author was very good at presenting subtle twists and turns that kept me reading far into the night. I really like Colleen Oakley's writing style and loved the plot. I am always glad to read a novel where I learn something.

The entire book felt like deja vu and the ending was tragic. Needless to say I was not a fan. It really did fell like another book I have read.

Such an interesting storyline! I really enjoyed it. Great character development, and the story never dulled. I savored every chapter.

As a person who suffered with multiple miscarriages, I only get to page 38 before I had to stop reading. It was very hard to read their story. I'm sorry I couldn't finish it.

You Were There Too stressed me out so bad that I couldn't put it down. I hated it and loved it at the same time, which is about the highest honor I can give a book.

This review will be a little different. Maybe a little “story-telling-ish”. For that, I am sorry. If you only like to read about opinions on a book, or why I loved / didn’t love a book, I’d maybe skip this review of mine.

Firstly: You Were There Too was electrifying. Jarring. Captivating. And raw. If you like the types of books that Taylor Jenkins Reid writes— you will devour this one. It was FULL of characters with depth. Full of them. I thought the author did a fantastic job with the relationships, the struggles, and the way they reacted and handled the things they did.

Okay, story time:

For years, I’m talking years. Like, the first I can remember is from when I was 13. I have dreamed about a person. He’s always in my dreams, he has no name, sometimes I don’t even think he has a face. You know, maybe it’s even a woman. I can’t tell you for sure. But he’s always there. And when I am around him there is such a powerful pull. A connection. Something so strong I wake up and still feel the ping in my chest of his absence. Our interactions are always platonic, strictly friends being around each other, sometimes at places as random as Walmart. Or me seeing him in the audience at my wedding. But the pull is there for him.

But I’ve never met him.

For 16 years I’ve never once come across this person. Not even for a brief second. I would know it. I know I would. So reading about Mia’s experience meeting Oliver after the years of dreaming about him, in a non-sexual way, was SO enjoyable for me to read. I loved it. I loved them together, the way they fit, the way they responded to each other. They complimented each other so well. But I also loved Harrison. I loved him and Mia together. I respected the way Mia handled everything so much. I just really loved this book.

You Were There Too was a fun journey for someone like me who has experienced this type of re-occurring dream. Or even the ones who are hopeless romantics. Or even the ones who like to have your heart ripped out and handed to you on a silver platter. Enjoy!

I read this book in one day! It was absolutely amazing.

Mia is happily married to Harrison, but keeps having dreams about another man. She's been having these dreams for years, and one day, her paths cross with this mystery man in ultimately devastating ways.

Colleen Oakley is a very talented writer; this was such an easy read but extremely engrossing. I felt like I was inside Mia's head, stressing out right along with her. The characters were realistic and authentic, and Colleen has a knack for conveying anxiety and suspense in a way that surprised me. I wasn't expecting this book to be in any way suspenseful, but it was.

I don’t really get emotional over books, but this one made me feel so much. I would recommend it to anyone.

4.5 stars rounded up. In real life, I don’t believe in psychics or premonitions or give much weight to dreams, but the joy of a well-written novel is that I can suspend disbelief and see where the story takes me.

I wasn’t particularly interested in the storyline about Mia wanting a baby and her grief over having several miscarriages because I feel like I’ve read that many times before. What makes this story interesting is that Mia keeps having these dreams about a man she’s never met, until she does meet him in the small town that she and her husband Harrison have moved to. When she meets Oliver in real life, she learns that he has also been having dreams about her.

I liked that I couldn’t predict the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which RELEASES JANUARY 20, 2020.

At once heartbreaking and charming, fans of Oakley's Close Enough to Touch will not be disappointed in the rich story she dreams up! Many readers will relate to the turmoil that can come from infertility and be touched by the hope that a new child brings amidst today's violent world.

An enchanting story about life, love, commitment and the complications of marriage and relationships. Mia and Harrison are wanting to start a family but Mia has had several miscarriages. Mia is an artist and Harrison is a surgeon. They moved to a smaller town so Harrison would have less stress in a working environment. He lost a young patient during a routine appendectomy and felt himself to blame. They visited a fertility expert and discover that the fault lies with Harrison, a mismatch of genes. He finally confesses to Mia that he does not want to have children. It may be that he felt the loss of his young patient to an extreme degree and did not trust himself to be a good father but Mia is devastated. The relationship is further complicated because Mia has been dreaming about the same man for years, not her husband. Then, one day, she comes face to face with him, Oliver, and he has been dreaming of her. Together they do some research into dreams. Harrison is not sure he buys into the mutual dreaming, but tries to be supportive. I did love the story and the emotional ending tore me up. Highly recommend.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love this title. As a fan of deja vu and time-travel novels, this one hit just the right mixture of the suspense of what is really happening. We've all had those moments and this story was beautifully written. I couldn't put it down and have recommended it to like-minded fans and friends!

I knew this was going to devastate me one way or another—I just didn’t know how exactly. And it did.

Artist Mia desperately wants a baby, while her surgeon husband, Harrison, isn’t so sure after a series of miscarriages. Meanwhile, Mia loves her husband but has been (literally) dreaming for years of a dark, handsome stranger. She doesn’t think much of it, though, until she meets him in real life. Oliver is warm, intelligent, and interesting. And he tells her he’s been dreaming about her, too. (I know!)

Oakley has created a world of highly real people, which made it so much worse when I just knew something terrible was going to happen. She’s a terrific writer, but I reserve the right to be mad about the ending.

This title did not hold or capture my attention. I thought the main character was very annoying. I would give this author another try in the future.