This was a completely heart-wrenching look at a woman trying to save her marriage and do what's best for herself and her family. I was intrigued by the premise of the book, and the writing was lovely! The characters were likable and interesting, and the plot moved along well, and I didn't see the twist coming (which is rare for me). I finished it in a day!

Mostly I really enjoyed this book, I enjoyed the characters and the ways marriage was dealt with the complications within it sometimes, and would recommend it.

I'll admit, I was a bit frustrated that after all the work that Mia does to get to the end, there is a twist to keep it from being a happy ending after all. I did appreciate though, the way she made decisions and came to those conclusions. I really did like the way that dreams were used, the focus on how and why we make our decisions and that we do make decisions, and the good things that came from her making the decisions that she made. This book could have bordered into fated destiny partner nonsense and mostly it didn't which I really appreciated and was a bit of a pleasant surprise for me.

I didn't always love the twist point of view chapters, narratively speaking, they may work better in the print version and I somewhat understand why, but because they are so rare, every one of them feels a little out of the blue.

Read this one fairly quickly - mostly in one setting and would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for this copy.

3.5 stars.... I really wanted to give it 4 but it just missed the mark. This is a beautifully written, heartbreaking story. I rooted for Mia to find peace and happiness throughout the entire book.

I did feel the book “dragged” in certain places. I never wanted to walk away from it but did find myself skimming some parts to move on with the story.

This is the first book I’ve read by Oakley though she has been on my radar for awhile. I will be checking out some of her previous releases and look forward to see what comes next.

Thank you to Netgalley, Colleen Oakley, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow. While I mostly read mysteries and thrillers, the premise of this book caught my attention and I was not disappointed. This story is wonderful, I loved the characters, and it hurt my heart several times; I fought back tears. I haven’t cried in years over a book and this one broke the record. A very interesting & emotional read about marriage, grief and fate.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed You Were There too by Colleen Oakley. It's a lovely, character-driven novel with an unusual twist. Warning: don't read the ending right before walking out the door, unless you want the world to see your crying face...wasn't expecting it to play out the way it did. I definitely recommend this title if you like women's fiction, contemporary, even romantic comedies. Living in the Philly suburbs, I also loved the local setting.

Colleen Oakley's sophomore novel, Close Enough to Touch was on my 2017 Favorites list. When I found out about You Were There Too, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The premise sounded fascinating and after reading her previous novel, I would gladly read anything she wrote without even having a synopsis available! Having said that, this novel lived up to my expectations.

The story is clever and imaginative, as well as interesting throughout. It made me think about the effects dreams have on our lives. I have so many strange dreams and am always trying to make sense of them, so I could relate to Mia in that way. I really liked the characters in the story (except for one, but not giving any spoilers). The dialogue felt natural and the narratives were compelling. It was easy to visualize characters and settings, due to the great use of description that never took away from the story itself. While this novel didn't wrap up as neatly as I was hoping, it still had a good ending. I was able to guess on some aspects of the novel, but others were surprising and threw me for a loop.

Another beautifully told story by Colleen Oakley. I hope for plenty more in the near future!

Movie casting suggestions:
Mia: Alexandra Krosney
Harrison: J.R. Ramirez
Oliver: Bob Morley
Raya: Ksenia Solo
Whitney: Maggie Lawson
Caroline: Megan Boone

Colleen Oakley's previous book "Before I Go" packed an emotional punch that stayed with me. Again, she writes a book that takes you on a roller coaster of emotions. The characters deal with real life issues and the what ifs of life. I didn't know where it was going, or which way I wanted it to go, but I really enjoyed the read.

3.5 stars. About 3/4 of this book was just okay for me. Kind of meandered around the point for a few hundred pages. I liked the characters a lot, but I was kind of bored. Then, the ending. It killed me!!!! I would definitely recommend this one.

4.5 stars

This book was definitely an emotional roller coaster and so well written.

I immediately was drawn in by Mia and Harrison’s relationship and found them to be so relatable. Moving to a new town is never easy, but throw a few miscarriages into the mix and I’m sure you can imagine it would put strain on any relationship. While Mia is trying to heal and move on with hopes of conceiving again, Harrison is still dealing with the loss of a patient from his previous job.

So much pain and sadness surrounds them, but Mia finds a little light in the darkness when she runs into Oliver, a man she has only ever seen in her dreams. But here’s the real kicker...he’s been dreaming about her too!

This book took a bit of a crazy turn once Oliver showed up, and while I wasn’t thrilled with the way the book ended since I kind of saw it coming, it did bring the story full circle. It was definitely an enjoyable read and I’ll be recommending it for sure.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3045869069

You Were There Too is a romance with a bit of magical realism mixed in. It is surprising and enjoyable!

Mia has moved to a quiet, small town with her surgeon husband. She has been struggling to make it feel like home when she runs into a man she knows. She has never met him before, but he has been showing up in her dreams for her whole adult life. As she and Oliver (the dream man) go on a quest to figure out why they are connected this way (he memorably says, 'I dream about you too."), Mia's husband, Harrison, is struggling with his own crisis. The couple is also dealing with infertility and miscarriages, putting a strain on their relationship.

I liked the characters, the alternating viewpoints (with side characters sometimes getting their own short chapter to help bridge the gaps between Mia and Oliver's knowledge). This was a real tear-jerker at the end, and I felt like the story came together in a satisfying way.

If you like Nicola Moriarty's Gravity Is the Thing, then you will enjoy Oakley's quirky tale.

I didn't really care about the storyline of the main character wanting so much to have a baby and suffering from miscarriages. It's awful, it's heartbreaking, but I've read it before and I don't personally relate to it. But the idea of dreaming of someone else even though you love your husband? I TOTALLY get that!! But if you're in this for a happy ending and a clear resolution, you might want to look elsewhere. This one is anything but that, but it IS an amazing story about what happens when you meet the guy who might be your soulmate...when you're already married to a man you love.

Mia has had dreams for years featuring the same man--and then one day sees the exact man in a grocery store. Though she is married to a man she loves, she definitely feels something--especially when she finds out he has been dreaming about her too! This was a well-written and different romance book. It had some good twists and came together well. I enjoyed it.

Review Colleen Oakley, author of "You Were There Too" writes an emotional, compassionate, thought-provoking, suspenseful and intriguing novel. The Genres for this Novel are Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Romance and Suspense. The timeline for this story is set in the recent present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her dramatic characters as complex and complicated.

How many of us can remember a dream, yet a recurring one that keeps us wondering why this occurs? Is this from the sub-conscious? Perhaps overeating and drinking before sleeping? Something predicting a future event? Symbolic occurrence? Is this a form of anxiety or emotional disturbance? Mia Graydon often has dreams that star a man she has yet to meet.

Mia is happily married and hoping to have children. She is very artistic and has a nice house. When she and her husband move to this community, she meets the man she has been dreaming about. When they start talking, he tells her that he has had dreams with Mia in his as well. As they try to discover what the dreams mean, they have no idea what danger lies ahead.

I like the way the author vividly describes the characters, landscape, and setting. I also appreciate the importance of thinking things through, following your heart, the importance of family, friends, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking and emotional novel. (less)

This was a phenomenal read. I’ve never read anything quite like it. This is my top book I’ve read this year. Truly beautiful and so well written with well-developed characters.

From the second I read the premise of YOU WERE THERE TOO, I was eager to read it—and not just because I've been a fan of Colleen Oakley's previous novels. The idea of a parallel life or an unrealized fate is one I can't seem to get enough of -- whether I'm reading about it, watching it play out on stage and screen, or even writing about it myself -- and Oakley's take did not disappoint. The characters were authentically complicated and sympathetic even in their mistakes, and the plot twisted every time I thought I'd figured out where it was going. The result is by turns heartrending, bittersweet, and utterly unputdownable. I loved this book and didn't want it to end.

Emotional reading at its best. Colleen Oakley takes “chick lit” to a new level and raises the bar for authors in this genre. Laughed, cried, loved it.

Not the way I wanted this one to go... this ending killed me.
~~~~~~~~~~
The story left me with definite mixed feelings to a degree. It’s even somewhat of a difficult story to explain other than it has to do with dreams.

Have you ever dreamt of a person or situation and then it came true? Or maybe you had a déjà vu experience before. That’s usually from a dream that you probably didn’t remember.

This book is about dreams where two people who are random strangers, it appears, meet and discover many interesting things about themselves. One is married and the other is single. But there’s definitely a connection that both of them feel.

I was afraid of those feelings as I read this book. About a third of the way in I already knew the story was not going to end the way I want it to.

You see I absolutely loved Harrison and Mia together. They have a deep bond. A beautiful relationship that’s very supportive of each other, or so it seems.

Oakley wove the story in and out through the dreams, through this family connection, even through the community connections. It was a guessing game page by page as they desperately try to connect how they knew each other and why there was this intense pull.

And then little by little my heart broke. I hate the ending. Honestly I do. And that is where I have mixed feelings.

That’s not to say Oakley didn’t give us a highly complex, intricate story that is riveting and emotional. She is a prodigious writer and certainly did. But I so needed a happier ending. This one left me craving more… and knowing her style now, that is probably what she wanted.

Not to be missed!

This was an interesting read with a unique premise. It isn't something I would typically read but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the characters and thought they were all well developed. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, and I appreciate the opportunity to read the advance copy. It is a beautiful story, and once I started, I didn't want to stop reading. One of my favorite quotes: "I think of that banal platitude: Love isn't supposed to hurt. But really, if you're doing it right, love hurts all the time."

Mia and Harrison are having trouble in their marriage as they experience Mia’s third miscarriage. Mia meets Oliver, and is surprised that he is the man who appears to be present in her dreams and nightmares. Is it coincidence that they meet, or is it meant to be? There are some surprises in the novel, as it keeps your attention throughout. Recommend, thanks to Netgalley for the ARC