Book Review and Giveaway for Then There Was You by Claire Contreras

THEN THERE WAS YOU
by CLAIRE CONTRERAS

Love and the right timing were two things I didn't believe in.

Love is about walking to the edge of the cliff and taking the leap together.
Timing was never on our side.
My first mistake was hooking up with my best friend.
My second came years later, when we met again, and I fell for her.
My third was letting her go, because I had to. Because a love like this wasn't built to withstand the winds coming in our direction.

Love and timing.
I didn't believe in either.
Then there was you . . .

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REVIEW: NOPE....I'm sad to say this didn't work for me.

I have a general rule of thumb with my books; if I find myself getting irritated with the writing and the characters, then I need to pull back and either give myself a pep talk or quit all together. I shouldn't be getting mad at the direction a story is going, and I shouldn't be dreading the rest of the book. So this is generally a turning point for me - the proverbial fork in the road. Either keep going, or give up so I don't taint my thoughts on the story any more than necessary. I don't like getting mad at a book.....and sadly, this one did that for me. I dreaded continuing.

I wanted to shout, "Pick up the pace and give me something meaty!!" It said something to me when I found myself checking Facebook, posting on my blog, being an active mom (just kidding).....over wanting to read. I just couldn't mentally focus on this book because I didn't find anything worth grabbing onto. I don't understand why I couldn't connect and why I couldn't get sucked in to the book. This has never happened with one of Claire's books for me. Why!? Why couldn't I focus on this one and what was so wrong with the writing and storyline that I just couldn't connect with it?

I was bored out of my mind in the very beginning, which is so unlike me with Claire's books. I really enjoy her writing style and her ability to pull me in to a story. I have never read one of her duets though, and so everything has buttoned up in one book and much quicker, so maybe that is what happened with this one. But the most disturbing part for me is that some things didn't make sense, and the writing was extremely choppy. So unlike Claire....and that makes me sad. I understand the importance of building up the intrigue and adding some mystery behind the plot so we keep turning the pages. But when I start out being confused for lack of info and many assumptions, and finish up being mad because of that trope-y turn/cliché ending, it is showing me something is wrong. I want conviction in decisions. I want continuity in themes. Family first? Buuut.....if the very reason for the parents to lose this "thing", why is there a contract for the son with the very potential of the same kind of "end", yet that is all ok? I can only say so much because the journey should be taken if you want to read this one, but it just didn't feel like there was any continuity for me, but there was conviction in the grandparents' requirements. Totally contradictory for me. It just didn't make sense.

The upside was I got to commiserate with another blogger because we buddy read this at the same time, but the downside was that so many are loving it and I am not sure where the disconnect was for me. I couldn't get past some of the inconsistencies, some of the drama that was brought up without a backstory, some of the actions between Tessa and Rowan. It just didn't work for me, so I am bowing out. That ending, sadly I foresaw that a mile away and that's what made it worse for me. So cliché in some spots, so confusing in others. I am seriously upset because I was all excited for some more of Claire's words, but unfortunately with this book turning into being of the trope that I actually hate, I need to cut my losses.

To be open and honest, I originally DNF'd this but ended up going back and skimming the rest so I could confirm all my suspicions and chat with a few that had read it as well.
~BEE

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~MEET CLAIRE CONTRERAS~

Claire is a New York Times & USA Today Best Selling author, mother of two, wife of one, owner of three dogs, and breast cancer survivor.

She enjoys writing anything from children’s stories to erotic suspense, but her most notable work is a contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, she’s reading and dreaming about places she wants to visit.

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