Book Review: And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry (no spoilers)

Book: And Then I Found You
Author: Patti Callahan Henry
Publication: April 9th, 2013
Source: Goodreads First Reads
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Kate Vaughan is no stranger to tough choices.

 She’s made them before. Now it’s time to do it again.

 Kate has a secret, something tucked away in her past. And she’s getting on with her life. Her business is thriving. She has a strong relationship with her family, and a devoted boyfriend whom she wants to love with all her heart. If Kate had ever made a list, Rowan would fill the imagined boxes of a perfect mate. But she wants more than the perfect on paper relationship; she wants a real and imperfect love. That's why, when Kate discovers the small velvet box hidden in Rowan's drawer, she panics.

 It always happens this way. Just when Kate thinks she can love, just when she believes she can conquer the fear, she’s filled with dread. And she wants more than anything to make this feeling go away. But how?

 When the mistakes have been made and the running is over, it’s time to face the truth. Kate knows this. She understands that a woman can never undo what can never be undone. Yet, for the first time in her life she also knows that she won’t fully love until she confronts those from her past. It’s time to act.

 Can she do it? Can she travel to the place where it all began, to the one who shares her secret? Can the lost ever become found?

And Then I Found You gives new life to the phrase “inspired by a true story.” By travelling back to a painful time in her own family’s history, the author explores the limits of courage, and the price of a selfless act.

* I received this book though Goodreads First Reads. I did not receive any compensation for this review. All thoughts and feelings are honest and my own. *

My Thoughts:

The only thing that separates Kate’s past from her future is a single letter in her first name. Kate used to be Katie back in a time where she fell in love with a boy named Jack Adams and gave their daughter Luna up for adoption. It took us to a place where everything magical in the world happened on the first day of spring. And Then I Found You is about having the courage to confront your past. And Then I Found You is about love, loss, and reunion.

And Then I Found You was an extremely emotional, heartfelt novel. And Then I Found You is about love and never letting go of where you came from. And Then I Found You is about Kate’s first love and her present life. And Then I Found You is about a daughter who is loved more than she will ever know. And Then I Found You is a novel that will bring you to tears because it did for me twice. And Then I Found You is a novel that will touch a million hearts. I don’t have words to describe the emotions and the love I felt for this novel.

Placing your baby for adoption will never be an easy thing. Patti Callahan Henry takes us back to the past so we can watch Kate experience every single emotion after giving her daughter up for adoption. She chose closed adoption where she will have no contact with her baby girl. We watched Kate suffer through the not knowing, but still believing she made the right choice for her daughter.

Kate and Jack wrote yearly letters to each other, but they never saw each other since the day Kate told Jack she was pregnant and they decided to give their baby girl to hand chosen, but unknown family. Kate is trying to create a life for herself separate from Jack in the town of Bluffton, South Carolina where she owns an upscale boutique and has been in a relationship with a guy named Rowan for four years. Kate can’t deny her feelings for Jack. She doesn't want to love him, but she can’t help it that she does. Kate sets off on a journey to see her long lost love Jack in Birmingham, Alabama. What Kate doesn't realize is that this will be the trip that changes everything.

Jack and Kate were both wonderful complex characters. I was really rooting for them to be together, but then there is the part of me that liked Rowan and Kate as a couple also so it was hard to choose. We really got to know Kate’s family where we were more left in the dark with Jack’s family. I grew to love them both as characters and I grew to love every character in this novel.

And Then I Found You was a profound novel that made me feel things I didn't expect to feel. And Then I Found You was amazing. My only problem with the novel was that I kept comparing it to other books I have read such as Where We Belong by Emily Giffin and The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. Besides a few instances it was a complete original work. I could never imagine what a mother goes through when she isn't allowed to know anything about her child that she placed with a loving family. I would love for everybody to read this novel. It was a quick read with pretty short chapters, but it was a novel that deeply touched me and I haven’t even gone through an adoption. And Then I Found You is a novel that wasn't afraid to touch emotions we aren't willing to touch. Patti Callahan Henry crafted a novel that I won’t soon be forgetting. This novel ended with happiness and rejoice, but it also ended with it fair amount of hardship. 

I definitely like the published cover better than the book I received  The reason I entered this giveaway was for the cover. I was disappointed to receive the one I received, but it in no way takes away from the content inside this book. I would love for the world to read And Then I Found You because I think it is a novel that would really educate people about adoption and maybe people would stop being so insensitive to a person that has just made a hard decision for their child.

Thanks for reading

Rachael