✰ Bianca ✰ Janeane ✰ 
• Book #1 in the #SecondChances Duet
• release day March 1st
• Book #2 will be out 15 March!
• Book #2 will be out 15 March!
★★★★★
4.5 Stars
4.5 Stars
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.
ARC received for an honest review
It is always a joy to read one of Claire Contreras' story, and Then There Was You was no exception.
I didn't really know much about it from the blurb, so I did go in pretty blind. It did take me a little while to get into things, but once I did I read the whole thing in one go.
Tessa and Rowan's story is sweet, and frustrating, and gah. It has been a day since I finished reading and I still don't know if I love or loathe Rowan. I wanted to nut punch him at times lol.
Their history is tender and sweet, as well as heartbreaking and frustrating and annoying.
There is this character that I hate hate hate. She is a total b!tch and I want to punt her from one side of the room to the other. There are also so many other selfish, unlikable characters (they are meant to be unlikable though!)
I so completely want Rowan to remove his head from his sphincter! I go from thinking he is a complete douchenugget to him being kinda swoony. He made my head spin, so I can completely understand how Tessa feels.
There is so much that needs to happen in this book, but being a duet we know it is not going to happen right away, but it will happen. We are left on a bit of a cliffy, but it is only a few weeks till the second part comes out, so we don't have to think about it too long!
Let's hope our lovelies can find their way to a HEA!
Tessa has been friends with the two Hawthorne brothers Rowan and Samson her whole life. One day she and Rowan became more. But it was never meant to be forever - Rowan doesn't do love and forever. And then he left for college, where he hooked up with Camryn. And then he forgot to mention to Tessa that his dad was buying her dad's company.
Now, five years later, they're all back in Ithaca. Rowan kinda wants Tessa back. She's the only woman he ever felt anything for. Even though love is not his thing.
But Tessa is still mad. And Camryn is still around, she wants to marry into the Hawthorne family.
And Rowan kinda thinks Tessa is dating his brother - but they're only best friends. Plus Tessa will leave town soon.
LOTS of things happening and complicating the lives of our darlings - and not everything will be cleared up in this book - BUT, book #2 will be out in 3 weeks ☺
Now, five years later, they're all back in Ithaca. Rowan kinda wants Tessa back. She's the only woman he ever felt anything for. Even though love is not his thing.
But Tessa is still mad. And Camryn is still around, she wants to marry into the Hawthorne family.
And Rowan kinda thinks Tessa is dating his brother - but they're only best friends. Plus Tessa will leave town soon.
LOTS of things happening and complicating the lives of our darlings - and not everything will be cleared up in this book - BUT, book #2 will be out in 3 weeks ☺
What will happen to Tessa & Rowan?
Will there be a HEA?
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT!
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That was adorable and a bit heartbreaking.
At the very beginning I was a bit confused. First, the blurb didn't really tell me much. And then I started reading and I still didn't know much about things. BUT, once I met everyone and halfway got what happened and what is happening, it was ok ...
It's a big story, with lots of past and present and hopefully lots of future for our darlings.
But first poor Rowan has a huge fight on his hands, if he wants Tessa back! But he also doesn't want her back, because he doesn't do serious and he has to concentrate on the company, and Tess is leaving soon anyway. LOTS of problems to overcome for our darlings!
And we love every second (and also every Rowan-goes-jogging-without-a-shirt-on-moment) of that journey! ☺
There's also lots of family in that book. Both sets of parents and grandparents are very interesting characters. We don't like most of them. And then we have Tessa's siblings. Did we meet Freddie in a previous book? It felt like he was supposed to be someone we already met. A bit weird. Or maybe we'll hear his story one day soon.
Amazing first book in this duet - can't wait to see where book #2 will take us - hopefully to a very happily ever after!!! ☺
THEN THERE WAS YOU was a really exciting & sweet & heartbreaking second-chance-romance-family-drama-thingy! Run to your nearest amazon for your own ROWAN - this one is MINE!!!
There were some tiny things I didn't love. Like I mentioned before - it was a bit confusing at times. And it was also a bit too much. There are so many people, when we only want to hear about Tessa and Rowan. And all this back and forth with them. It got on my nerves a bit. I wanted them to be together, and I knew going in that it wasn't going to end happily ever after in this first book, but some of that drama could've been avoided. I don't like it when authors create unnecessary drama. I hate Camryn and I hate that Rowan doesn't really care how Tessa feels about her. He should've thrown Camryn out of his life years ago. And he should've stood up to his family ages ago too. He seems a bit weak with all the business and family aspects. BUT - I really enjoyed reading the book and I can't wait to read the second one - I want that HAPPY END - but I'm also afraid that book #2 will have some more heartbreaking moments for us too ....
♥ EXCERPT ♥
“There’s no one at my parent’s house except for me.” He
raised an eyebrow. “My brother is moving from his apartment to a bigger house,
so he’s been going by there to pick up the last of his things, but that’s about
it. I’ve barely seen him.”
I frowned. “So why are you staying there?” And where were
his parents living? I didn’t want to ask this, of course, but I was dying to
know.
“I’m waiting for construction on my apartment building to be
complete. It should be move-in ready by October.”
“Hm.”
All sorts of questions popped into my head, but I pushed
them aside. They’d go unasked because I didn’t want to answer any more of his.
Thankfully, he clicked for the iron gates that guarded his house to open and
drove in, not pushing for an answer. My eyes stayed glued on those gates as we
drove past them. They were like something out of a Richie-Rich movie, those
gates, black with a gold emblem in the center. I’d seen them countless times,
pushed them open in the middle of the night more times than I could count. I
tore my eyes away and looked up at the house. I hadn’t expected to feel such
gripping emotion over a damn gate, but I guess some things never stop piercing
your heart, no matter how much time passed.
“I’ll be right out.”
I nodded once and leaned against the seat before he jogged
inside. I closed my eyes, trying to figure out how my trip had gone from
closing a chapter in my life to being stuck in the middle of my epilogue. When
Grandma Joan called me with a guilt trip, telling me to come spend a couple of
weeks with her, I’d taken her up on the offer for two reasons: I was the only
one left who hadn’t packed her room and taken the boxes to the storage unit,
and I missed her and this place. I missed the days I used to come here and feel
like I was home. I missed the slow pace that came with a life here in Ithaca,
nestled inside the city, but surrounded by nature and the water.
Thinking about those days also brought memories of Rowan.
Kissing Rowan, holding hands with him, laughing with him in our canoes, but
with the positive came the negative. He and I were never meant to be more than
friends, and even friends was questionable. Friends didn’t lie or omit
important things. My eyes popped open when I heard the front door shut. I
watched him take the steps two at a time and stride toward me.
He slid
into the driver’s seat, dropped one of the two bottles of water he’d been
carrying into my lap, and shot me a wink. I scowled, clutching the water and
facing forward. Just because I’d taken him up on the ride didn’t mean we were
suddenly going to be chums again. Far from it. I wouldn’t fall for those
mischievous eyes. I wouldn’t fall for the panty-dropping grin either. I
wouldn’t fall. Not again.
↓ LiNKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR ↓
