Then There Was You, an all-new second chance romance from New York Times bestselling author Claire Contreras is LIVE!
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Synopsis
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 . . .
Review
3 “love is terrifying” stars
OMG, the angst!!! Claire Contreras takes us on a messed-up journey with this book, and I honestly still don’t know where my head is at or how I’m feeling about it all.
Tessa Monte has returned to her hometown to close off the portion of her life that she spent there. She is only in town for a couple of weeks, and her main focus is avoiding Rowan Hawthorne – her childhood best friend and ex-boyfriend, and the man who she blames for a devastating betrayal that ruined her family.
Tessa and Rowan had a bit of a messed up relationship as teenagers. They felt strongly for each other, but it was an unconventional ‘romance’ that ended when they went away to college. But neither of them have been able to forget about the other, and it’s clear that there is still a strong attraction between them.
“I’m doing well. I’ll be better once I don’t have to see you running down my block every morning.”
A smile crept onto my lips. “I didn’t think you noticed. You never look.”
“You don’t need one more woman looking at you.”
“You’re right. I only need one woman looking at me.”
But here’s the complicated bit – they may want each other, but neither of them believe in love or marriage and they’re both terrified of their feelings, so neither of them are prepared to explore the depth of what they feel for each other, and OMG it’s a frustrating ride! There is chasing, game playing, and a lot of back and forth. It’s an effed-up dynamic, and it was never really clear where they stood with each other, and I found the whole thing super-angsty.
This was what people spent their lives searching for. This scary, upside down feeling that made them feel as if they were on the brink, between their first and last breath. I’d always held onto the notion that I’d rather be alone than sparkless, but since I’d tasted the sparks, I had been afraid they’d be strong enough to make me implode.
But as much as they try to fight it, their feelings are too hard to ignore, and when they finally cave into their attraction, a slow-burning romance develops which is passionate and emotional (though yeah, still a little messed up).
“Tessa,” he said over and over and over like a mantra. “My Tessa.”
But with so much of the past still between them and their futures headed in different directions, they are in an impossible situation which leads to even more angst and heartache, and the mother of all cliffhangers.
We weren’t meant to be. We never had been; we never would be. She wanted to be free of this place, and I had ties that rivalled the roots of a white oak keeping me here.
Damn this story messed with me. Firstly, it felt like we were being thrown partway into an existing story, and it took me a bit to truly get into it. The characters were complex, and again it took me a while to figure out where they were at – though in fairness, I don’t think they really knew where they were at most of the time either.
Crossing lines with Tessa would be disastrous. She had the kind of magic that turned me inside out. The kind that would make me believe that maybe I did bleed.
And the angst… *sigh* I admit that I have a love/hate relationship with angst. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, it all depends on the story, the characters, and how it all comes about. In this book, I struggled with it because it was entirely the fault of the characters. They created their own heartache and anxiety when it was all so avoidable, and I just couldn’t deal.
To quote one of the side characters….
“You know, I’ve always thought mind games were dumb. Especially between two people who are clearly longing for each other.”
YES!! That ^^^^
I wanted to smack these characters so hard. I was so annoyed, that I struggled to feel the chemistry and there were times that I wanted them to stop all of the game playing and just walk away from each other and live their lives apart. I found it hard to get into because the characters were so aggravating with their game playing, and I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them, but I persisted, and I eventually began to feel it – and feel it hard – just in time for that ending which messed with my feels yet again. And I am left wondering how it’s all going to play out.
“I’m not ready to let go.”
“You have to.”
“I can’t.”
“Your wings aren’t clipped, and I won’t be the reason you start thinking you can’t fly,” he whispered, coming closer, his wine-infused breath mingling with mine. “You can fly, you know?”
“I know I can. I want to fly with you.”
Angst lovers will love this one, but I’m still so confused. I liked it, but there were parts that enraged me. I’m annoyed, yet once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. And after that ending, I’m both terrified and excited for the next book. I have read all of Claire’s books, I love her writing, and I know what she’s capable of. There is the potential for epic to come, there is also the potential for me to want to hurl my kindle through the nearest wall. Time will tell which way it all goes, and I’m desperate to find out.
3 conflicted stars.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Second Chances Duet
Then There Was You (#1)
Review
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My Way Back To You (#2)
Review
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Meet Claire
Claire Contreras is a New York Times Best Selling Author. Her books range from romantic suspense to contemporary romance and are currently translated in seven different languages.
She lives in Miami, Fl with her husband, two adorable boys, three bulldogs, and two stray cats that she refuses to admit are hers (even though they live on her porch, she named them, and continues to feed them). When she’s not writing, she’s usually lost in a book.
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