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I’ve been teetering between a 3 and 4 star rating for You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley. I truly did enjoy this book and it was a solid 3.5/4 stars for me up until the very end, which I felt was incessantly rushed and kind of out of left field. With that being said, I would still recommend you check this out and form your own opinion!

What would you do if the same man kept appearing in your dreams over the span of decades, yet you’ve never met or seen him before (and you’re married to someone else)? What would you do when you move from Philadelphia to a small town and run into said-man from your dreams, only to discover that he TOO has been dreaming about you for decades?

Mia and her successful ER surgeon husband Harrison move from Philadelphia to a small town, looking for a change of pace. Mia is an artist and has struggled to get her work noticed. She’s also struggled to get pregnant, suffering from three devastating miscarriages. With her life at sort of a standstill in a new town, jobless and full of grief, Mia’s world is thrown upside down when she stumbles upon the man that she’s been dreaming about for years; while most of the dreams are platonic, she’s embarrassed to admit that some of the dreams have been….not so platonic.

When she discovers that the same man has also been dreaming about her, Mia is left shocked and confused as she tries to understand the meaning behind it all. Spiraling down a path of determination to find the root cause while convincing herself that her marriage is just as strong as it was from day one, Mia finds herself in over her head.

You Were There Too is an enthralling story about love and loyalty, loss and grief, and listening to both your heart and instincts when faced at a crossroads. It speaks to issues that we all face in our daily lives; marriages are not a walk in the park, they take time and effort on both ends, especially when outside forces can attempt to wreak havoc.

This is a quick read and easy to follow along each character’s story line. I thought the writing was great, however I thought the ending was very rushed. It was not the way I thought this story would end, and I do wish that the author spent a bit more time developing the ending or at least providing us with more context/details. With that aside, I think this book is worthy of your time and you will likely enjoy the message this book has to offer.