That was phenomenal...and packed exactly the emotional punch I was needing right now. It was a four star read up until the last 10%, when everything came together and it ratcheted up to a 10 star read for me. The storytelling was very reminiscent of reading Taylor Jenkins Reid - something that just reaches in and stirs your soul. This is a story about people who come into your life and what we perceive those reasons to be. Whether you believe it's by fate or by happenstance, it is our job to figure out why they are there, what we can or need to learn or take away from the experience, and how everything isn't always as obvious as it seems at the time. We can all look at the same thing, but based on the experiences we have had, we come away with something completely different and our own version of our truth.

An enjoyable book with an intriguing premise. I appreciated that the book didn't end the way I thought it would, and liked all of the characters.

I'm a big Colleen Oakley fan. Her books are always well written and emotional. This book is no different but I had a hard time relating to the main characters. Mia seems to have a happy life, a good husband and a beautiful home. At night she dreams of another man who she has never met.
she finally meets him and is shocked to learn he dreams of her also. This is an emotional, sweet story that tugs your heartstrings. Maybe I'll reread it in the future and get closer to Mia and her family. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What is it about coincidence that makes us seek meaning in unreasonable the connection? Dreams are many things, but nothing is set stone when it comes to defining the streaming images of our sleep. When Mia dreams, she sees the same guy. Turns out, that guy sees her too. Overlay this on top of trouble in paradise for Mia and her husband, Harrison, there is trouble a foot. But what does it all mean?
A good story with lots of realistic setting details juxtaposed over the possibility of dream meanings.

I'm not usually one for a typical love story but [book:You Were There Too|44016297] had a really interesting element that caught my attention. Everyone dreams about people they've met before, but how is it possible to dream about someone and <i>then</i> meet them? Is it destiny or some kind of paranormal activity?

What I really enjoyed about this story was Oakley's exquisite job of creating an intimate relationship between Harrison and Mia. Their marriage felt so real to me, good and bad and quirky and stressful and lovely. I usually hate when stories have a <i> who will she choose?</i> aspect, because authors tend to make the "right" and "wrong" choice starkly black and white. It was so much more nuanced here. I really wasn't sure what would happen. I stayed interesting throughout the novel.

Wow I’m not sure where to even start with this one because I was not expecting that twist and I’m just super emotional about it all!

I resonated with a lot of this book the vivid dreams and the raw emotions of a miscarriage the author did an amazing job detailing all of this. I really struggled with the borderline infidelity in this book though I usually hate it I found myself rooting for the other guy for a large portion of the book but once I the issue in the marriage was discovered I was back on team husband again but not for long 😭😭😭😭

I think my only complaint about this book is there’s a few parts in the beginning/middle that I think could’ve been cut out and I would’ve liked more added to the end to give me a bit more closure but maybe the author wanted us to be left feeling empty 🤷🏻‍♀️

I highly recommend this book I really truly adored it

Triggers of infertility and miscarriages

The novel starts out in a chaotic scene of noise and blood. There is no explanation given. Then the story starts out. Harrison and Mia are in love. We see snipets of the past throughout the book that show that connection. But they are each dealing with grief. Mia's inability to have a child is eating away at her and blinding her to her husband's own grief. The wedge between them is intensified when Mia meets a stranger, Oliver, she has been dreaming about for years. The feelings of confusion are compounded when she discovers he has been dreaming about her. Together they try to figure out what this all may mean. The more time she spends with Oliver, the more distant she becomes from her marriage. Were they meant to be together?

General concept i have seen before but the author kept this story fresh and quick. No obvious villan made it hard to choose who you were rooting for.

Oh my goodness, this was a good one! If anyone out there has an obsession (or semi-obsession) with dreams, then this is your next read. If you’re not one of those people, just play along because this is a damn good book. Mia and Harrison have a somewhat wonderful life and marriage. Granted, she’s had several miscarriages, they have just moved to a new town, no one wants to display her art in their gallery, etc. – but they are happy. Harrison is battling his demons, Mia is battling hers, but an important factor in her life is dreams that she has been having for decades about the same man. The dreams have been in a variety of settings with a variety of things occurring within them, and then one day she sees the man that she has been dreaming of right there in the flesh. The best part? He’s been dreaming of her too! He has no idea why, but his dreams don’t have the happy or non-descript endings like Mia’s. As Mia and Oliver start trying to understand their unusual connection, Mia starts to notice Harrison pulling further away from her and their marriage. Not only is she trying to make sense of her and Oliver’s dreams, but she is also trying to understand the changes within Harrison and how to save their marriage.

I loved this novel. Although this was my first time reading Colleen Oakley, I had heard of her previous two novels, especially Before I Go. Her character development is fantastic in regards to Mia, although I felt a little slighted regarding other characters. I’m not saying that I loved Mia throughout the entire novel because there were numerous times I was just done hearing about her unwillingness to get up, move around, shower, unpack, buy furniture, and so on. I tried to empathize with her situation and emotions, but she annoyed me to death. Nevertheless, I was completely drawn into and addicted to her story. Even better – all of the surprises and twists. This book did not go like I thought it would at all. I had predictions very early on and also drew off of the prologue, but nothing I expected to happen actually happened. Except for the tears. I did expect early on that there would be some heart-wrenching moments and I was right about that. But there are plenty of wonderful moments to make it all worthwhile.

This was truly a 5-star read for me, although I’m still not sure about the ending. I guess that I just wanted and needed more closure than what was given, something more concrete. However, if you don’t mind an ending that is happy, although a bit ambiguous, I think you will truly enjoy this novel. It’s original, emotional, moving, and above all truly encompasses the wonderful emotion that is love. I was more than impressed with Oakley’s plot development and originality and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I feel so lucky to have read an advanced copy of this book and I think it was incredible! I love books that question "what if" in regards to relationships. A full review will be coming to my blog soon but in the meantime I think everyone should keep this book on their radar!

I’ve always been intrigued by dreams and the attempt to decipher them. Throughout my life, I’ve had several instances where I dreamed I was walking through a house and, upon turning a corner, would find there was much more to the structure than I had originally thought. These explorations were always so exciting and positive, and inevitably I would be disappointed to wake up.

Needless to say, a book about two strangers who both dream of each other sounded like it would be right up my alley. And it was a very enjoyable story. However, I was more impressed with the complex storyline regarding Mia and Harrison’s marriage, how they struggle with very real challenges that can upend a marriage, how they come together to support one another through the ups and downs, and how Mia ultimately ends up living a life she didn’t foresee, but that is both bittersweet and blessed at the same time.

I also found it interesting to see how many “missed connections” existed in Mia and Oliver’s life trajectories. It really does make one wonder if fate plays a part. And what to make of the reading that Mia gets from the psychic? I won't spoil it for those who have not read the book, but I wonder if it alludes to some kind of follow up to this novel. Will both Mia and Oliver continue to dream? If so, what will those dreams entail, and will they work together to figure it out?

Oh, and I really wish I could see some of Mia's dream paintings - they sound so colorful and vibrant!

As for my house exploration dreams, I eventually learned what they meant, and they made sense once I understood the context. However, I wish some of the mystery were still there, as that made them so much more exciting. (I'm not going to tell you what that type of dream means - you'll have to look it up!)

Colleen Oakley's You Were There Too was the story of a young woman who seemed to have it all. You Were There Too made the reader suspicious about where Ms. Oakley was going with this book and how it was going to end. Then a little more than halfway through *bam* things started happening faster. The plot started moving like an avalanche. The ending was a total shock. The characters and the main concept were interesting. I would recommend You Were There Too.

I thought the book had a lot of promise, I loved the premise. The idea of dreaming about and meeting “the man of your dreams” despite being in love with your husband. That is a lot of conflict right there, only to top it off that “the man of your dreams” has been dreaming about you too. Wow! Unfortunately, I didn’t feel a lot for the characters, and then there was that ending. It felt like the author was obligated to give the reader the ending they wanted, only to take it away and have the ending they wanted.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

This is not something I'd normally read, but I was pleasantly surprised. While a little melancholy and heart aching, I enjoyed it.

I have read some other of Colleen Oakley's books in the past that I enjoyed more than this one. this was just meh for me.

I really enjoyed this book. I always like a bit of psychic mystery mixed in as another layer. I definitely recommend this to romance lovers

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.