And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry

Kate is a accomplished woman in her thirties with her own boutique and a close-knit family. Despite appearing to have it all, she is haunted by the decision she made as a young adult to give up her newborn girl to an adoptive family. She is also haunted by unfinished business with her high school sweetheart and father to her daughter, Jack. Other than a letter they write to each other each year on their daughter's birthday, Jack and Kate have not seen or talked to each since Kate announced she was pregnant. When Kate brings Jack back into her life and her daughter finds her, Kate is within striking distance of having everything she ever wanted but can she be happy?

 Kate and Jack have been in love since high school and have sweet, first love aspect to their relationship; even though they attended college in different cities, they stayed together through the distance. When Kate took a job while Jack attended law school in Birmingham, however, the two began to grow apart. Kate seemed ambivalent about their relationship - she stayed on at her job in Arizona even though Jack wanted her to be with him in Birmingham. Shortly after their last night together before they broke up, Kate discovers she is pregnant.  She goes to Birmingham to tell Jack and informs him of her decision to give the baby up for adoption. It is a sad decision for both of them but Jack has moved on to a new relationship and Kate doesn't feel ready to give a child what she feels a child deserves. Fast forward thirteen years and Kate is now in a relationship with Rowan and he is on the brink of proposing but Kate still has not told him about the daughter she gave up for adoption thirteen years ago or that she and Jack exchange letters each year on their daughter's birthday.

My Thoughts
 And Then I Found You is based on author Patti Callahan Henry's own experience when her niece contacted her sister years after her sister had given her up for adoption. The fact that this is based on a real experience shines through in the description of Kate's loss following the adoption and the constant presence of her daughter as she moves through her life. In addition, the author does a great job in painting Kate's family, the big role they play in her life and their own feelings about the niece and granddaughter they never got to know.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and read it in almost one sitting.  The story moves back and forth between present and the time at which Kate gave her daughter up for adoption and it also switches between Kate/Jack/Rowan's story and Emily's (Kate and Jack's daughter) story. This allows you to see many sides of the same story and also allows parts of the story to be revealed slowly which kept me reading. My one quibble with the novel is Kate's ambivalence about her relationship with Jack which continues into adulthood  - I had a hard time relating to that and found myself irritated with her constant waffling between Jack and Rowan. Despite that element, the book is a quick read with a very moving story line. Recommend

I received an ARC from Wunderkind PR for review