Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Romance and Mona Shroff for gifting me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
What was the last book that surprised you? With over 30 NetGalley books to read, 10 Kindle Unlimited and a ridiculous amount of TBR books, I was already considering skipping this one. Tack on the subpar Goodreads rating and I was this close to moving on to my next reads. Thank goodness I didn't! I was expecting a run of the mill light and fluffy romance read based on the blurb and the cover. Wrong! This book was so much more than a light romance. Annika and Daniel's stories were both an emotional and raw look at life after child loss. Both experienced the loss of a child in different ways, but their grief was the same. This created a bond between the two main characters that felt different than your typical meet cute.
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Annika is Indian and readers are taken on a culinary and cultural journey. I loved all of the food descriptions and the detail in the clothes worn throughout! I don't think I've read a romance with Indian main characters before!
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From what I've seen, most of the ratings reflect frustration that the blurb and cover don't match the seriousness of this book. While it's more than I expected, I really don't think this book is getting the love it deserves! I highly recommend this one, and it's out today! Get your copy ASAP, you won't want to miss out.

Goodness, Shroff has written an achingly tender story about two people who have experienced the kind of pain you don’t wish on anyone, and each has dealt with it differently. It's not for the faint of heart and my review will contain some spoilers.

From the onset, Then There Was You seems like a sweet romance. Annika is excitedly preparing for her first day as kindergarten teacher and Daniel is completely immersed in his work. Beneath the surface, though, lies immense pain. Annika suffered a miscarriage months ago and her fiance at the time broke up with her shortly after. Daniel was working in the ER that day when Annika was brought in and helped comfort her, though she doesn't remember him there. Her pain echoed everything that Daniel had lost years before when his daughter was gunned down during a school shooting. It so happens that the school is where Annika currently teaches. Where Annika has been working at processing her loss and grief, Daniel has simply resorted to shoving it away somewhere and instead, drowns himself in work. Daniel has often thought of Annika since that day in the ER and when he finally sees her at a medical emergency he's called to, he feels relief but also curiosity. There's an inexplicable pull there that he can't ignore, and so he quietly inserts himself into her orbit by starting to frequent the bar she works at part time. He knows he should be upfront with her about their previous meeting but he's not sure how to approach that. Meanwhile, hanging out together brings a bit of sunshine into their lives.

I liked that the story dealt with personal pain and guilt on a very real level. It didn't feel like Shroff rushed to resolve lingering anguish to get to the romance, particularly in Daniel's case as he suffers from PTSD as well. If anything, I think it's all handled rather sensitively. Also tucked into the plot is Annika's parents push to see her settled with a proper man as they try to set her up with someone they think would be a good match. This would see her taken care of and also stop the endless gossips who've been muttering unkind things about her. The guy they're not so subtly setting her up with is great but Annika hasn't caught feelings for him the way she has for Daniel. But Daniel has so much to deal with on his own before they can move forward together, if that's what they actually want to do.

Then There Was You is genuinely moving. My one criticism is the misleading blurb which makes the novel out to be a cutesy romance when it is clearly delving into some heartbreaking storylines - ones that need content warnings for some readers. Despite the sadness that permeates the romance, I liked this even more than Shroff's debut mainly because of how cautiously she tread with Annika and Daniel's emotional baggage. Had she not done that well I think it would've been a different reading experience. Shroff is only getting better and I'm looking forward to reading more from her!

~ Bel


Content warning/triggers:

miscarriage, school shooting, child death, PTSD, passing racist remarks, brief racist incident

Then There Was You by Mona Shroff is currently scheduled forrelease on January 26 2021. When helicopter medic Daniel Bliant answers an emergency call at Phil’s Bar, he can’t believe who the bartender is: the beautiful woman he saw in his ER months before and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about. He should forget her. After all, he knows he’s damaged goods. But Annika is intelligent, fun and totally stunning—the breath of life he desperately needs after the incident that left him shattered. Annika Mehta is doing just fine. She loves her job as a kindergarten teacher, even if the pay is low and she has a side gig working at Phil’s. At least the bar owners are more like family. Sure, she’s reeling from a bad breakup and the terrible event that caused it, but she’s fine. Really. What she doesn’t need is Daniel. He’s wrong for her in every single way—so why is their chemistry off the charts?

Then There Was You is a book that hits a lot of hard topics: racism, loss of a child, family dynamics, and all the grief and emotions that can go with them. However, there is also so much hope and healing mixed in that the story balances nicely and readers are not left reeling from the hurts, but rather looking towards the character's future. Annika and Daniel have their own grief and losses to deal with, and family dynamics that can hurt as much as they help. Annika is doing what she loves, and is trying to move forward with her life and dealing with the things that she faces day by day. Daniel has faced huge losses, and is struggling to live his life, hiding from the things that remind him of what he has lost. A not so chance meeting, secrets, and the shadows of the past bring them together and try to tear them apart. I loved the realistic way the family's are portrayed, and how real and raw the grief of the characters is handle. The matter of fact way Annika deals with the racism was so sad and scarily real to me- because I know these people are out there and more often closer than I would like to believe. I feel like these characters are very much alive and real, and these struggles can be found just as easily in city or town. The struggles, the pain, and the hope for the future really hit me hard, and stuck with me.

Then There Was You is a romance with some heavy moments and topics, but hope and moving forward as well. It is not a light, fluffy read but it is a book that will capture your attention and stick with you long after you finish it.

I really like that this book was focused around a woman of a non white ethnicity. Just about every Romance/Woman's ficiton book you pick up is based on a white woman from America.

However, Even though I loved that aspect, I could not get interested in this book :( it was a DNF for me.

Shroff has done it again. This time with two people trying to move on from tragedy. How a book about two people that have lost what is most precious to them could have so much hope is beyond me. But that is what you will find in Then There Was You. I started and finished this in one sitting and I could not put it down. I know that love can get you through so many things. But in this story although love does conquer out in the end. It does not remove the obstacles of moving past tragedy and how you move on.

Go into this one knowing: Loss of a child, Miscarriage, PTSD

Mona Shroff is a new-to-me author, and the Netgalley blurb/description of this novel made it sound right in my romance novel wheelhouse, but clearly, whoever wrote that blurb never bothered to actually read this novel, which bore little resemblance to the blurb. So, while I think Ms. Shroff has good writing skills, this book wasn't at all what I expected, it's pace was beyond slow, and while I didn't really enjoy this novel, I realize that some might, which is why I am giving it a 2-star rating rather than a 1-star rating.

The basic premise of this novel is a sad one, and it contains a school shooting trigger, so be forewarned. Daniel Bliant lost his 5-year-old daughter, Sara, in a school shooting 5 years earlier. Trying to deal with his own grief through a whiskey bottle, as well as not really comforting his grieving wife was eventually the end of their marriage. He's a nurse practitioner who moonlights on a helicopter emergency-response team, and it was he who comforted a beautiful Indian woman, Annika, when she miscarried her out-of-wedlock baby. She was planning to marry the baby's father, but once her pregnancy was over, he ended their engagement in the emergency room. Daniel couldn't get Annika out of his mind, and when he responds to another incident, he runs into Annika again, discovering that she's a kindergarten teacher at the same school where his beloved daughter, Sara, was killed, but Annika doesn't remember Daniel from her traumatic ER visit, and he's content to keep it that way for a time.

Unfortunately, the romance aspect of this novel took a back seat to Annika's disapproving parents, a very traditional Indian family who expect her to become a doctor when her dream job is teaching kindergarten--a waste of her talents according to her father, but it's something Annika loves and is good at--this is her first year of teaching solo. Her parents also keep trying to match her up with an attractive Indian pulmonary surgeon, but there are no sparks between them, However, the chemistry between Annika and Daniel is off-the-charts. There are plenty of roadblocks on the way to their HEA ending, but the biggest roadblock for this reader was the extensive amount of time spent on discussions of Indian foods, spices, complete marriage ceremonies, traditional dances, parties, customs, long explanations of traditional clothing, and even more time spent on inter-personal relationships with family and friends--none of which really moved this story forward.

Daniel cannot even bring himself to walk into the school where Annika teaches--it's where his daughter and others were killed. He's never gotten over the loss and swears that he'll never be a father again. But Annika loves and wants children, another stumbling block, as is the fact that when Annika discovers that Daniel was there with her when she miscarried and failed to mention it, she calls him a liar and ends the relationship. Both Annika and Daniel, while interesting and well-drawn characters, spend way too much times waffling--a pet peeve of mine. Again, had Ms. Shroff stuck to the core of this relationship, grief, loss, and moving on, and not veered off into seemingly endless passages on Indian cultural norms and prejudices, I would have found a lot more to like about this novel. As written, it lacked much forward momentum, and was, at least for this reader, a rather stagnant and dull read.

As stated, I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

I was really looking forward to trying Then There Was You. Unfortunately this book was much heavier than I had expected and did not work for me. I think had this book come out prior to Covid I would have enjoyed it more. I just can’t do super heavy topics like this in romance at the moment. I may try again in the future, but for now it’s a DNF at 18%

This book made me sad. There's a lot of heartbreaking storylines in this one so just calling it "romance" feels very wrong in a way. Just a heads up to potential romance readers out there. I know that some of us like to read frothy light stuff. Heck, it's why I picked this one up, but it's not. Both characters (Daniel and Annika) are getting over some very heavy things. I will leave that there to not spoil readers but did post one trigger warning because I can't imagine that most Americans don't have some type of feeling about reading about school shootings. It also didn't help I think that the book just slowed down in a lot of parts. I did like the romance between Daniel and Annika and loved that it focused on two Indian American characters, but thought this was more dramatic than romantic.

Thanks to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It isn't that it isn't well-written or that I didn't like the characters, it's just that I expected something very different from the synopsis. The synopsis reads like this would be a more light-hearted romance. This book is definitely less of a romance and more of an "issue" book. This book deals with issues such as the loss of a child, racism, school shootings, and grief to name a few. I like to read romances as a way to escape from these kinds of real-life issues. I went in expecting a light read and got something way different.

I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to enjoy this book at this time. I enjoyed the romance between Annika and Daniel, but I really wanted something that would get me swooning more than crying. However, I can see many others enjoying it and identifying with the characters. I liked the Indian representation from both characters and the way grief was handled. Again: it's me, not the book. Definitely read if you want to or can handle reading a grief/comfort romance.

This book BLEW ME AWAY.!! I honestly didn't have very high expectations because the description sounded a tad creepy but OH MY GOODNESS - I WAS SO WRONG.

I read this book so fast. I loved our main characters. I loved their stories. I loved their romance. I loved how it felt real and raw. There was so much depth to this story. (*trigger warnings for death, alcoholism, racism, school shootings, and probably other stuff I can't remember*) It was so much more than just a romance novel. Our two main characters are both filled with immeasurable amounts of grief and the writing style portrays it beautifully. I cried twice.

It wasn't one of the romance novels that's full of sex (there wasn't a single explicit sex scene btw) so if you're looking for a tame but impactful romance - this is absolutely the book for you. Instant 5 stars.

Thank you so much to the Publishers and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy!!

There was a lot going on in this novel, but I enjoyed that. The two main characters had tragedies in their past. Annika had suffered a miscarriage and seen her boyfriend drop her while she was in the hospital. Daniel had suffered an unbelievable tragedy and was still unable to recover and open up to personal connections. Except he is struck right away when he encounters Annika and starts hanging out at the bar where she works.

Annika is also battling her parents who have the expectations of many Indian American parents to see their child go to medical school. They have trouble accepting Annika’s decision to become a Kindergarten teacher and her refusal to get married. As a teacher, I’ve encountered a lot of Indian American students who have trouble with their parents’ high expectations.

I enjoyed the growing relationship between the two people as well as the glimpses of Indian culture.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This book was received as an ARC from HARLEQUIN - Romance (U.S. & Canada) in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

My eyes were glued through every word on each page. Everything about this book was so wrong that it was so right to enjoy it from beginning to end. The backstory of Annika and how it lead her to a near death experience and the blessing/sacrifice of meeting Daniel and then reconnecting after another tragedy, that is the true meaning of fate. This exemplifies that every tragedy can turn into the biggest blessing that can change your life. I am really hoping either hallmark or a major motion picture will turn this into a chick flick or made for TV movie and it will definitely be one that I will watch. Harlequin Romance does really well in our collection and I have no doubts that this one will circulate very well.

We will consider adding this title to our Romance collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I'm going to open this review by stating upfront that I DID LIKE THIS BOOK. I read my ARC twice and enjoyed it thoroughly both times (many thanks to Harlequin and NetGalley).

That said, there is so much more to this book than the blurb (or the cover) would indicate.

If you are not in the mindset to read books dealing with child loss, gun violence, PTSD, pregnancy loss, heavy grief, racial profiling/discrimination, attempted arranged marriages, or job-shaming, this is not the book for you. None of this is mentioned directly (or indirectly, really) in the blurb, but you'll be smacked in the face as soon as you get about half a page in.

If you can handle all of that, then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by this book. I found it to be an earnest, unexpectedly sweet and poignant story about the redemptive qualities of choosing to love and live in the face of grief and personal loss.

I will also state for the record that the cover isn't 100% accurate in terms of appearances for the couple...but I'll leave that to own voices reviewers to discuss in depth, should they choose to.

I actually really liked the main characters in this book and it’s well written but I really hate it when the book blurb does not match the actual book! This is a huge pet peeve of mine as it creates an expectation that will never be met and will not match up books with the right readers. You will see this book cover, read the blurb and maybe see Romance as the category and think you are getting a nice light read but you are not! I usually try to write reviews that are spoiler free but warning this one is not. When a romance novel describes a character as damaged that’s not all that surprising in the genre but what the blurb does not say is that Daniel’s 5 year old daughter was killed in a school shooting. That’s a huge deal not to mention! I hate hearing about the horrible things that happen to kids in real life so I would never choose to read a book with this horribly sad premise. Annika is also getting over a miscarriage which could also be hard for some readers just hoping for a light read.

Again the book itself was well written and despite my very big problem with the misleading description it’s a good book. At times there are too many excuses to keep the characters apart and the best friend character is annoying. I think there could have been more focus on the big Indian family and it needed more humor to balance out all the negativity. If you are ok with the gut wrenching parts that were not advertised then it is well written if not really a romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

There were too many hot topics for me to enjoy this book. Hot topics for me in this book were racial violence, gun violence, school shooting and employment belittling. I did enjoy Daniel and Annika's story line. They have been through so much pain that they both deserve a lot of happiness now.

I went into it expecting your basic, run of the mill love story. And while those are sometimes a bit cliche, and a bit predictable, I love those. Those stories make me happy. This story though was something a little deeper. Something a little sadder and little more emotional. But worry not, it made me happy anyway.

The first thing you should know is that this is a romance novel. Obviously. But, it's also a novel about two people dealing with grief over the losses they've had. And sometimes they ways in which they grieve aren't pretty. The grieve in tragic, harmful ways that prevent them from living their lives to their fullest potential. 

This is a love story. And it is a story about learning to let go. About learning to live life and let love grow. About forgiving yourself and about finding happiness even after all seems lost.

And most importantly, it is a love story where love does overcome obstacles, but it does not remove them. I hate stories where things like depression and anger and PTSD are magically disappeared when a character finds a significant other. This novel didn't attempt to do that. It showed that despite having all the love in the world, sometimes you need more. Sometimes you need professional help. And you always need to want to make the change for the better.

In general, the book was well written and full of complex and interesting characters. It had a compelling plot and mentioned touched upon some very important topics such as racism, death, and toxic masculinity. And it did all that while serving up a really cute love story.

Annika and Daniel were both great. I loved their interactions and I also loved the inclusion of their Indian heritage. All the side characters were also great, especially the Annika and Daniel's siblings who obviously cared for their family so much.

Overall, I had a great time reading and would totally recommend this novel to anyone looking for a good story!

This was an absolutely awesome story told by a very gifted author. It stars Annika and Daniel and the two have a history together though at the start of the book Annika doesn't remember all the details. This story is more of a serious book, its not a fun or light read, it deals with a few very tough issues like school shootings, miscarriages and losing a child and dealing with the grief.

Annika is also Indian and her culture is a big part of the story. Daniel is 1/4 Indian and we also get to see how that quarter has affected his life. This is a syory about love, friendship and loss and how we deal with it. Its more of a serious book and it is very well writtend and I really enjoyed it.

Annika the kindergarten teacher and Daniel the helicopter medic meet during a difficult situation. Annika doesn't remember Daniel, but Daniel can't get Annika out of his mind. So much so that he finds himself constantly visiting Annika at her second job at the bar. What started out as friendship turns to romance, but there are obstacles along the way. I enjoyed this book and look forward to theory stories by Ms. Shroff.