sad! sad! sad! idk what I was expecting but this book made me cry a lot. It was a beautiful story but not something I would've picked up on my own. I really enjoyed it though.

This was a radically different book from this author’s last one, which I absolutely adored. This was a quieter slow paced women’s fiction that delved into inter generational dysfunctional family dynamics and character transformation. I found the story pacing way off for the first half. Too much dialogue and extraneous circumstantial detail that stalled the plot development. The story found its groove at about the 50-60% mark. That’s when we saw a little more character emotion, action and growth.

Bea and her husband have two kids. Their relationship has been a rocky road due to his infidelities. Bea has managed to put the past behind her with the support of her best friend. However, as Bea navigates a surrogate pregnancy, she starts to suspect that her husband may be at it yet again.

I wish there had been more complexity in the emotional development. Unfortunately it lacked that element so I had a difficult time connecting to and rooting for the MC. I understood what the author was trying to accomplish but it wasn’t fully executed in my opinion. A promising book that I think readers who enjoy domestic women-cantered fiction may want to try.

The audiobook narrator delivered a solid performance. She had a ton of energy and used a variety of expression in her performance.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I've just finished this lovely. It grabbed hold of me and I couldn't put it down (although I threatened to throw it across the yard a time or two). Filled with angst and easy conversational prose that mirrors a Terry McMillan tome, Sadequa Johnson takes her reader into the life of Bea Colon.

Bea is a damaged woman, faking happiness in middle-class suburbia - a beautiful home, two happy kiddos, a gorgeous husband that provides for his stay-at-home wife. She also has the love and devotion of her best friend Awilda, who is more or less a crutch.

Bea doesn't make a move without the sassy Awilda, who has a bag of issues of her own.

In truth - Bea is not mentally healthy. A cheating husband and a secret eating disorder while carrying a baby as a surrogate to a cancer patient, catapults her to her limits.

And then it gets worse.

It's like watching a train wreck.

The characters were painfully unlikable until the one salient voice of profundity by way of a Joney (the next-door neighbor) comes into the story and offers sage advice and hot yoga.

The ending was hard to swallow. I'm still trying to ingest what I've just read. Heartburn?

And then there was me is a story about 2 women, Bea and Awilda, who have been friends since they were 14, and we so, until something happens that changed the trajectory of their lives. I felt so sorry for Bea and what she went through, Awilda, my thoughts on her, I'm still on the fence, truthfully.

With a major theme of forgiveness (which, considering what happened, I'm not sure if I could), this book took me on an emotional rollercoaster and was such a great page turner.

I received a copy of the book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This was a twisty story of betrayal, self esteem issues, eating disorder, and bullying between a woman, her husband, and her best friend. Who can she trust when her cheating husband takes up with her best friend when she is pregnant with her husband's cousins baby. Somehow this seemed like a soap opera but it really was a pretty good book but was rather slow and went from present to past. It took me a while to get through this one because I just wasn't in to it. Too much going on at the time.

Enjoyed this rollercoaster of a woman's life and her fight for herself. Self-respect, dignity and class are the traits Johnson has given her main character. No spoilers. There is a lot to learn from this story. With all the pain and betrayals this woman keeps herself together and rises up.

I'm a better person as a result of reading this. I did have the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator. There is some profanity.

Thank you NetGalley for accepting my request to read and review And Then There Was Me.

And Then There Was Me was a good family drama. The author does a great job making such real, flawed characters. A lot of people will be able to relate with Bea and her struggles - her self esteem, body image issues, and eating disorder are hard to read but so real. She's given so much of herself to others, what's left for her? Bea had so many shitty people in her life, I kept rooting for her to stand up to them all. There's a twist I had a feeling was coming but still smacked me in the face.

This isn't a light read and Bea's fight to find what she wants in her life are very relatable. It's well written and I really enjoyed how the story unfolded.

I loved the narration. Robin Miles did a fantastic job and really brought Bea to life.

This was a very surprising listen for me. The story seemed fine and then it takes a HUGE unexpected twist, that made me enjoy it that much more. I listened to the book on audio and narrator Robin Scott does a great job bringing the story to life.

Thank you #netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my copy of #andthentherewasme by Sadeqa Johnson in return for my honest review. 5 stars!

Sadequa Johnson makes you feel for Bea in her novel, And Then There Was Me. Although I didn't love this book, I finished it and I can say that while this isn't a happy book, it definitely makes you think. Bea is kind of a pushover. Her husband is a habitual cheater and her best friend Awilda could be better too. I won't go into details, as I don't want to spoil anything, but wow, does she sure have some really crappy people in her life. The thing that bothered me is that for so much of the book, she just kept taking it. Being a surrogate for her cheating husband's cousin, I think it was, is such a selfless thing to do and I love Bea for that, but she has so many other issues going on in her life, including fighting an eating disorder and a slew of unsupportive people surrounding her that it just irritated me.

Thankfully by the end, Bea has turned things around for the most part and has made some new, much better friends. I don't know, for me, the majority of the book was just too depressing.

Sadeqa Johnson's writing was very well done and Robin Miles was a stellar narrator, giving the perfect performance for this book that brought the characters to life. I'd definitely look for more titles performed by her in the future.

Thanks you #Macmillanaudio, #Netgalley and the author for the opportunity to listen to and review this ARC!

And Then There Was Me is a challenging but very relatable family drama. The main character Bea struggles with low self esteem, body image issues, a secret addiction and a busy, challenging family life. She is pregnant with a baby she's carrying for a friend as a surrogate, while parenting 2 young children of her own and dealing with a philandering husband. Sadeqa Johnson really has a way of developing complex, realistic characters with both flaws and redeeming characteristics. I requested this book because I loved reading the Yellow Wife and felt torn by the evil and suffering and strength of the characters, and this book also tore me in 2 directions. The things that happen to Bea are heartbreaking and she doesn't always deal with them well, but she doesn't give up and fights to find what she wants and needs in her life. I think this is a struggle we can all relate to and one that is difficult to put into words.

Robin Miles did a fantastic job narrating the audiobook. She really made Bea come to life with a voice I could empathize with and cheer for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Bea's Secret

An insight into a woman's feelings, her bare emotions and he life as a wife, a mother and a daughter. Her fight against her secret addiction and how she wrestles with it on a daily basis. Her dramatic drops in self esteem and how her friends, her children and her mother try to save her from herself.

Bea and Awilda have been friends since they were children, she introduced Bea to Lonnie and Lonnie and Bea married. She now lives in a good neighborhood with good schools , but she feels a bit out of place being dark skinned among all the light skinned people in her neighborhood.

When she is betrayed by both her husband as she is pregnant with her third child it is almost too much for her and she has to dig deep to keep her sanity and to recover her life and independence.

This is a story of love and friendship and of a marriage in trouble. An awakening in a young woman that she can be more than a stay at home mom and can be her own self. It is about forgiveness, even though what is to be forgiven is the unforgivable act.

I enjoyed Bea's journey to finding herself and her friendship with Awilda and with her mother.

The narrator did a wonderful job with the characters and they came to life in the audio book. This is the second book I have read by this author and it won't be the last.

Thanks to Sadeqa Johnson for writing a great story, to Robin Miles for a wonderful narration , to MacMillan Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

Entertaining, engaging read about Bea, a woman who has given so much of herself to her family and others that there is nothing left for herSELF. Sadeqa Johnson has a way with words that loops you into the story until you reach that moment that you can't. stop. reading. Really great read, much enjoyed!

A note... I feel like people in Bea's life didn't suffer enough for their slights against her. Though I am happy she managed to find her awakening and herself, I wanted husband and best friend to feel extremely more sorry than they did. I know that, IRL, things don't unwind in dramatic fashion... I think i was expecting explosive fireworks and instead there was a little putter. In the end, though, Bea got what she wanted

This was an interesting story of a woman building her own strength and figuring out what she needs to do for her own good. Bea struggles with an eating disorder, is a surrogate for a family member and has a cheating husband and a complicated friendship. It's a lot. But as the story progresses, we see Bea becoming a stronger woman, making decisions and growing as a person. I enjoyed the storytelling. Not entirely sure I loved the ending, but I'd say it's worth a read if you enjoy books about complicated relationships.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This audiobook touched my heart to the max! ♥️

And Then There Was Me is a beautifully written heartbreaking story of deep love, friendship, ultimate betrayal, and hope.

This emotional novel is centered around Beatrice (Bea), Awilda (Bea's lifelong best friend), and Lonnie (Bea's husband of twelve years). All three characters are hiding dark secrets that surface.

Applause to author Sadeqa Johnson! The topics in this book are so important!. Many people relate to the experience of being in unhealthy relationships and taking undeserved blame upon themselves (as Bea does in this book). Bea tries everything to keep her relationship with Lonnie together for the kids, but Bea is left feeling lonely, trapped, unhappy, and stripped of her self esteem by her narcissistic partner.

The real question is...
Can Bea (and real people like her) ever heal and find happiness after ultimate betrayal?

And Then There Was Me audiobook was written by Sadeqa Johnson and narrated by Robin Miles. The audiobook book will be published December 28, 2021.

Thank you to NetGally and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this free audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very interesting book. I enjoyed it. Finally a girl that finally makes the right decision regarding her life. Not sure about trusting that best friend again though. I would definitely listen o more of this authors audiobooks. Unfortunately I had a lot of trouble with NetGalley streaming and playing back. It kept stopping. I would have to change devices to get it to play again. Pretty frustrating when you’re so far into a book, but that’s NetGalley’s fault.