Scan barcode
A review by clel
You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley
4.0
Man, what to say about this book! I read a review that said they would give the book as a whole a 5 star but the ending a 2 star and I couldn't agree more.
I absolutely loved the characters and the dynamics between everyone and found the plot in general to be interesting. Is there such thing as soul mates? What do our dreams really mean? Are they trying to tell us something? Before I go into spoilers because I can't talk about this book without them, I will say that this book deals heavily with infertility and miscarriage. I'd even say that it focuses more on that than what's really advertised in the summary, whether or not Mia and this stranger that she's been dreaming about are meant to be together or what they mean to each other and why do they keep dreaming about each other? That's probably why I'm knocking down a star because I was not expecting that to be part of the story. I really wanted to learn what Mia and Oliver's dreams meant about each other and if they could solve the why of them, not necessarily Mia's fertility journey with her husband. But, I will say another positive about this book is that I think it did the love triangle aspect really well. Both Harrison and Oliver were men that Mia would've benefitted from choosing. I also liked that the line of cheating wasn't crossed as much as I could feel the chemistry and connection between Mia and Oliver, and as much as I wanted them to get together, I was really hoping that they wouldn't go there and essentially ruin the goodwill their relationship/connection had built with the reader.
Now to get into spoilers:
What in the what was that ending!! The last five chapters of the book were bonkers and an emotional rollercoaster. When Mia made the decision to go back to Harrison I have to say I was disappointed, I really wanted her to choose Oliver, it just didn't feel like Mia and Harrison could get over the hurdle of him not wanting kids and her being so desperate for one. The inexplicable connection and chemistry between Mia and Oliver just felt right and like they owed it to themselves and the reader to explore it. The night at the gala when Oliver confessed his feelings for Mia and asked her to travel the world with him just made my heart swoon. Who wouldn't want to say yes to that! It felt like the author was writing Mia as someone who wanted to be adventurous so she should've said yes. Then the shooting??!!??!! That kinda felt like a bit of a cop out from the author because she didn't know how to end it and make Mia's decision between the two men fair so she had to kill off Harrison. Then Mia finds out she's finally pregnant after all the struggles she went through and Harrison is dead??! Like what?? Why would you do that to her! THEN Mia goes into labor with Oliver there and he has to help her through the delivery, being incredibly sweet and supportive like he was the father/her partner, and we finally learn what the "He give you baby" line means, he being Oliver, and it literally just means that he hands her the baby (not his baby mind you). Are you serious, that's the best you could come up with? I don't know, on top of the cop out ending of killing off Harrison, the dumb reveal of what a huge line in the book meant, and the bittersweet ending, it kinda ruins the book for me but not too much to hate it all. The final line between Oliver and Mia was really the punch in the gut though, when he wants to say it to her, is desperate to say it, but she stops him and says Harrison will always be it for her, then he replies by saying maybe one day while she's still in love with Harrison, she could let him (Oliver) love her and she says maybe, but not today. OOOOOF what a heartbreaking line. I cried and cried (I think the first time I've cried reading a book) and literally felt it in my chest. My visceral reaction right after finishing was sadness and emptiness and a bit of frustration knowing no one really has a happy ending. I wanted to see Oliver love Mia and see how right they would be together because of their dreams, because it was meant to be. I feel like I've gone back and forth between being annoyed at the unfulfilled ending and then being somewhat ok with it but then why make the whole story about these two people who seem like they're destined to be together only to not actually end up together. I'll forever want Mia and Oliver to be together and in my head, I think someday she does go to him and lets Oliver love her and she moves on from Harrison. She'll always have his daughter there as a reminder but Oliver is who she spends her life loving. If Colleen Oakley ever decides to put out an epilogue or extra chapters giving us that, I would read it in a heartbeat.
I absolutely loved the characters and the dynamics between everyone and found the plot in general to be interesting. Is there such thing as soul mates? What do our dreams really mean? Are they trying to tell us something? Before I go into spoilers because I can't talk about this book without them, I will say that this book deals heavily with infertility and miscarriage. I'd even say that it focuses more on that than what's really advertised in the summary, whether or not Mia and this stranger that she's been dreaming about are meant to be together or what they mean to each other and why do they keep dreaming about each other? That's probably why I'm knocking down a star because I was not expecting that to be part of the story. I really wanted to learn what Mia and Oliver's dreams meant about each other and if they could solve the why of them, not necessarily Mia's fertility journey with her husband. But, I will say another positive about this book is that I think it did the love triangle aspect really well. Both Harrison and Oliver were men that Mia would've benefitted from choosing. I also liked that the line of cheating wasn't crossed as much as I could feel the chemistry and connection between Mia and Oliver, and as much as I wanted them to get together, I was really hoping that they wouldn't go there and essentially ruin the goodwill their relationship/connection had built with the reader.
Now to get into spoilers: