Hi ForeverBookers! How are you all doing today?
I've just finished Then Came You by Jeannie Moon, which is a really heartwarming contemporary story. It's told in 3rd person, which I'm not normally a big fan of, but I thought it worked well here. The story was so compelling to read that I didn't really care what perspective it was told in.
Then Came You will only be in ebook form. It releases on 26th September 2017 though, so you don't have long to wait. I requested it through NetGalley so thank you to them for giving me the chance to read and review it.
Then Came You does have sex scenes as well as a bullying parental figure so I'd say it was 17/18+ readers.
5 Stars...
Then Came You tells the story of Mia, a woman in her late 20's who has an unstable life at the beginning of the novel. She's been looking after her nephew, Ben for years after her sister, his mother committed suicide. She doesn't get along with her own mother and she lost her father too. She returns to Compass Cove where she grew up and meets an American football coach called Adam and that's where the story begins. From there Mia questions just about everything about her life, whether she's the right mother figure for Ben, whether she can get on with her life and the biggest question of all whether she deserves to be loved.
Spoilers Below...
The prolog of Then Came You tells of a couple who didn't know they were meant to fall in love. They'd never met before. A compass showed then the way to each other. That's why the place Then Came You is mainly set is called Compass Cove.
"They spent many wonderful years together, making a home and family, living into their eighties, and dying just a few days apart"
signifies that after the couple found each other they fell truly in love. This legend set the scene of the book for me. I knew that I'd absolutely love it from the very start.
"Many couples in Compass Cove keep a compass in they're home as a symbol of selfless love and as a reminder that hearts meant to love always find each other"
further demonstrates how this story is in my genre. We kind of know what will happen at the end of the story from this but not all of the ins and outs of it.
Mia DeAngelis, the female lead, has always had a hard life. She's always felt inferior to her sister Sara, as well as her mother. But Sara committed suicide leaving her son Ben to Mia because her mother didn't want to raise him.
"Do you think my mom knew I'd be a bad kid and that's why she went away?" Ben feels more comfortable saying that his mother "went away", rather than that she died or committed suicide. It's easier for him to deal with things that way.
Mia decided to move back to Compass Cove to raise him with help from her Nana. Mia grew up in Compass Cove. She's the new librarian at the college there. When she meets Adam Miller, the American football coach, she will learn that he's willing to do whatever he can to protect and care for her.
"I...I like him. We get on well and he's great with Ben, and—"
happens about a third of the way though the book when Mia is chatting to some of her friends. Some might class this as instalove and some may not. I'd say there is a certain level of instalove, but it's SOO good. I get bored reading when it takes a couple forever to get together, especially in contemporary stories. I liked how quickly Mia and Adam got on and how quickly their relationship seemed to develop. It is realistic for some couples to just fall in love, some even quicker than these two so it really doesn't bother me to read about it happening in romance novels, quickly. Neither Mia nor Adam say "I love you" straight away, anyway. They just realise how they feel at first. Confessing how they feel is left toward the end of Then Came You.
I also really liked how the author wrote the characters as having other cares and responsibilities as well, not just each other. In so many romance books both contemporary and fantasy (I read a LOT of them both) we get characters that as soon as they meet they only have eyes for each other. Everything else, family, friends, pets, jobs etc, gets pushed to the side. Adam has his team to coach as well as a pet dog and Mia never forgets that Ben is her first priority. Adam respects this too.
"Mom still thought she had a say in how Mia raised him, never really seeing her as his mother".
This is Mia's mother's attitude whenever something concerns Ben. Mia and her mom really don't get on. We see this in the last part of the story the most, when it's Mia's 30th birthday and her mum gets angry with her and starts arguments. We later learn just why her mom acts this way. I don't want spoil it but I didn't think her behaviour was forgivable. As I was reading certain parts I was thinking that her mom was the wicked witch of the story.
As I said above there are sex scenes in Then Came You as well as talk of having babies. Mia doesn't get pregnant in the book, but I think she potentially could in the future, even if her and Adam aren't the main couple of the future book(s).
"We'll have as many babies as you want" shows that Adam isn't put off by wanting children.
There is a kind of legal thread running through Then Came You. It's certainly not the main part of the story, but Mia wants to officially adopt Ben, as she's the only mother he's known. His real mother committed suicide when he was just a baby.
"She was Ben's mother. If not biologically, then in every other way. Every decision she made, every choice in her life was done with him in mind. She loved him more than anything or anyone in her life. Because of that, and because of the way people saw her, Mia saw no reason not to adopt Ben"
shows that Mia already feels like Ben's mom. She just wants it all in black and white. Does the adoption go ahead, though? Are there any problems that hinder Mia? You'll need to read to find out.
Adam Miller, our Male lead was a former pro football player but his life spiraled out of control and when he had a nearly fatal car accident. At that point he decided that it was time to change his life around. He got a job as a football coach. He realises the change was worth it. He offers to help look after Ben to help the team when Ben's sitter leaves suddenly.nHe offers his support cause he can see that Ben is a good kid at heart.
"He could come to football practice after school. That will buy you a couple of months to find someone you're comfortable with"
is what Adam says when he clearly sees that Mia is put out by having Ben come to the library each day. Ben is overjoyed at being able to be on the football field. Adam has much more of an idea what young boys like to do so Mia allows him to look after Ben at the football ground, while she works at the library. It's against Mia's wishes at first but she soon comes to accept that she can't control who Ben is going to become. No one can. It's his life and he'll lead it the way he wants to, even if he sometimes gets physically hurt. All she can do is guide it, with the help of those around her. Adam becomes one of those people.
Both Mia and Adam start off as merely acquaintances. Then they become friends, and then boyfriend and girlfriend. There are disputes, just like there is in reality with every couple but they work through them. They both have insecurities too but they work through them together. They don't just fall in love. As I said above, it depends how you view instalove to whether or not it happens.
What did I like about Then Came You?
* I loved the idea of the legend of Compass Cove, about how a Compass will lead you to your true love. I thought this was unique.
* I liked how Mia and Adam's relationship progressed. It wasn't too slow and it wasn't too quick, I didn't feel. It happened the way I wanted it to.
* I liked how the story focused on the relationship between the main 3 characters, Mia, Adam and Ben. There were subplots but they didn't overtake the main story, I didn't feel. I always knew this was a romance.
* I liked how there was a villainous character. Mia's mother only selfishly wants what's best for her. She doesn't care for Mia. She clearly loved Sara more than her. It was interesting to see this play out between the characters.
* I liked how Adam stuck up for Mia at every turn. For example, when her mother calls her fat, Adam lets her know that he thinks she's beautiful.
What didn't I like about Then Came You?
* I didn't like how the subplot about Ben's father ended. I thought the author could have written this differently.
I absolutely loved this book so no wonder I'm giving it 5 Stars! There were so many quotable lines throughout. I don't want this review to go on for ages though, so I haven't put too many in here. I cannot wait to read book 2, though!
Does Then Came You sound like you're type of read? Will you be reading it?
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