What do readers think of You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley? Write your own review.

From the description of the book, I thought I would like it, but I more than liked it - I loved it! It was so well written and the characters so well developed, I felt empathy for all of them. Part love story, but much more with just the right amount of tension to keep me reading far past my bedtime. From the beginning of the Prologue to the end, it evoked the full gambit of emotions like all good books should.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the book, but early on I found the dream aspects an interesting thing to think about. I finished the book a few days ago, but still thinking about it and how believable the story line is. Also, very well written, I felt everything that Mia was feeling (Oliver and Harrison too!)

I read a lot, and I can often figure out what's going to happen at the end of a book before it's revealed. That was not the case with You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley. The author takes a story that could be confusing, and makes it easy to understand, but more importantly impossible to put down. It had so many aspects that I liked-a good love story, some unexplained happenings, sympathetic characters, and an ending you could never see coming. I think this book would interest fans of many genres and I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book! It kept my interest from beginning to end. For Mia to find out that Oliver had been dreaming about her too was a real twilight zone moment for me! At one time, I thought that Oliver just might be making up that Mia had been in his dreams just to get close to her, because I like a twist in a book, but I soon began to believe him. This book also made me think about reoccurring dreams that I have. I wasn't that happy with the ending. I don't want to leave any spoilers.

This book has a unique premise from the get-go: a happily-married woman has been having dreams of another man for years. No harm, no foul. They are only dreams. The twists begin when she runs into him in real life. Oh, and secondary twist? He's been having dreams of her, too. The out-of-the-ordinary play upon an alternate lives yet "everything happens for a reason" theme, as if you could almost see where the characters might have ended up if they had made different choices, was very appealing. Each character is battling their own internal struggles. And while not being too heavily focused on any one of the minor players, their problems are linked and fleshed out for the best possible understanding of each person. And for good reason, when the ending in revealed. It was gasp-inducing and tear-jerking with a twist ending that I (gratefully) did not see coming. This may have been my first Colleen Oakley novel but it certainly won't be my last. In fact, I wanted to re-read it the second I closed the cover.

Five heart-wrenching stars and a huge thank you to BookBrowse, Colleen Oakley, and Berkley Publishing for supplying me with this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thank BookBrowse for the advanced reading copy of this novel. I went back and forth about how to rate it, but I based my rating on the fact that I could not stop thinking about the story after I was finished reading it. It is such an emotional rollercoaster that most of the time I loved it but I wish it had ended differently. The humor incorporated throughout made me laugh and then I would be crying soon after. I think I felt every emotion at some point in the story and I love that about a book.

Since the story focuses on dreams, I found myself trying to analyze my own dreams to see if I could figure out what they mean like Mia and Oliver did.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a thought-provoking story that sticks with you long after you put it down.

Colleen Oakley writes an emotional and intriguing novel. She describes her dramatic characters as complex and complicated.

Mia, happily married to a surgeon seems to have 'the perfect life". The book opens with the couple trying to have a baby after two miscarriages. Mia and her husband move to a new community hoping for a new beginning – a family. While settling in, she meets the man she has been dreaming about. And, when they start talking, he tells her that he has had dreams with her in his as well. As they try to discover what the dreams mean, they have no idea what lies ahead. Mia throughout the rest of the novel, emerges with a single question—what if?

How many of us remembers a dream, a recurring one that keeps us wondering why this means? Is this from our subconscious? Something perhaps, predicting a future event? I very much enjoyed the way the author vividly describes the characters, landscape, and setting. I also appreciate the importance of thinking things through such as: following your heart, the importance of family, friends, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking novel.

I cannot say exactly what was so special about this book but it struck a chord in me and made me love it. The premise is most definitely original but the writing is exquisite. Every smell that was described I could smell as well, I could hear the sounds from the garden. It was an amazing read. I loved it.