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You Were There: A Rayburn High Romance, Book One
True love? What a fantasy!
Reese has plenty of reasons for being a skeptic. The Owens women, despite their thriving wedding planner business, have a sad history when it comes to matters of the heart!
And yet, there’s this guy…
Tall, athletic Daniel Dixon is full of contradictions. Super-competitive yet gentle, his bold stance on what love really means affects Reese deeply.
Complications arise when she discovers a not-so-secret figure from her past. Add a troubled ex-friend to the mix, and Reese questions not just her judgment, but her physical safety.
Reese’s journey to faith, and to a love that is joyful and enduring, is told with humor, honesty and a healthy dose of grandma advice!
You Were There is a Christian YA Romance, Book One in The Rayburn HIgh Romance Series.
Reese has plenty of reasons for being a skeptic. The Owens women, despite their thriving wedding planner business, have a sad history when it comes to matters of the heart!
And yet, there’s this guy…
Tall, athletic Daniel Dixon is full of contradictions. Super-competitive yet gentle, his bold stance on what love really means affects Reese deeply.
Complications arise when she discovers a not-so-secret figure from her past. Add a troubled ex-friend to the mix, and Reese questions not just her judgment, but her physical safety.
Reese’s journey to faith, and to a love that is joyful and enduring, is told with humor, honesty and a healthy dose of grandma advice!
You Were There is a Christian YA Romance, Book One in The Rayburn HIgh Romance Series.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2024
6 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Knight
9 books12 followersMelissa Knight is the author of YA Christian Contemporary Romance books, including the High School 101 and Rayburn High Romance series. A veteran teacher in public schools, many of her short stories and articles have been published in various magazines and literature for teens and children. She’s made several moves as an oil field wife, leading to some of the best adventures and friendships of her life. Melissa and her husband (still her sweetheart) currently live in Texas, while their two grown kids are out there building their own legacies. They enjoy getting together for hiking trips and savage Uno tournaments.
For updates on future releases follow Melissa's Goodreads page, or join her Facebook, X, and/or BookBub pages.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 9, 2024
I literally read this book in one night. It was well written and kept me engaged. It had examples of not so great relationships and some great relationships. It dealt with topics that are relatable to teens. I loved the tribe the main character has.
*I received a copy of You Were There for my honest opinion
*I received a copy of You Were There for my honest opinion
January 15, 2026
You Were There is a well-written, heartwarming romance full of innocent charm. I expected a teenybopper type tale, but was rewarded with a sophisticated novel of spirit, grit, love, and depth. The sprinkle of elder wisdom is like chocolate and butterscotch syrup on the perfect banana split.
Warning about a social media bullying and a stalker that goes after our main character Reese. Also, a fistfight that is not graphic, but understood with black eyes and description. There was infidelity on the part of the grandfather now passed and an unwed pregnancy but all done in the past and written tastefully. This is a clean teen romance with true to life problems, attitudes, family drama of three generation women living in the same home, and lessons learned. The heartwarming and soul awakening moments made me cry. I loved this moving story and highly recommend it for teens through one hundred and twenty years or more.
Warning about a social media bullying and a stalker that goes after our main character Reese. Also, a fistfight that is not graphic, but understood with black eyes and description. There was infidelity on the part of the grandfather now passed and an unwed pregnancy but all done in the past and written tastefully. This is a clean teen romance with true to life problems, attitudes, family drama of three generation women living in the same home, and lessons learned. The heartwarming and soul awakening moments made me cry. I loved this moving story and highly recommend it for teens through one hundred and twenty years or more.
August 1, 2024
"You Were There" continues the story of characters first met in the author's High School 101 series. This story's focus is on Reese, being raised by a single mother and her grandmother. While this is considered a "young adult" novel, I, as an older adult, enjoyed it very much. The story is sweet and addresses several issues that young women (and older women also) face in the world today. The author gives us a peek into the life of this young woman and her journey through high school drama, family secrets, and growing into her own faith. Clean and well written, with a variety of lovely characters. I am already looking forward to the next one! And if you haven't read Melissa's High School 101 series - don't wait - it's great for ages pre-teen to grandmothers.
* I received a preview copy of this book and agreed to give a voluntary, honest review. I LOVED IT!
* I received a preview copy of this book and agreed to give a voluntary, honest review. I LOVED IT!
August 17, 2024
This was a quick read with sweet characters. I liked that Reese’s family was a big part of the story and how they handled problems with love and wisdom even when things were difficult. Daniel was also sweet and it was refreshing to have a romance where the main plot conflicts didn’t create direct stakes against their budding relationship. At first I wasn’t sure how some of the events and details weren’t together to tell the story, but by the end most of them ended up tying in with one another. I would have liked to had a little deeper background about Reese and Daniel both, with stronger arcs, but overall their story was cute. I’d recommend this to readers who are looking for a YA romance with Christian themes and sweet, light romance.
August 9, 2024
“You Were There” was so fantastic! I am a former children’s librarian and continue to read either children’s, YA literature and this book fit all of my parameters of a well written, high interest YA romance. I read it in one setting and could not put it down. The characters were engaging dealing with real life issues. I really wanted to go back in time and meet these young teens with such strong moral values. I can’t wait to see what comes next as this series continues. I especially liked the handsome Daniel! What a sweetheart he was.
I received a copy of the book “You Were There” for your voluntary, honest opinion.
I received a copy of the book “You Were There” for your voluntary, honest opinion.
August 5, 2024
A sweet story handling thought things like cyber bullying and dealing with self esteem issues and self worth. These are things that are so prevalent nowadays and it was great to see a book that uplifted friendship and faith to help the main character through these hard things. It also deals with some difficult family dynamics but again with the community around her and faith we see her move through these issues more easily. I read this book in less than a day since it was so engaging and I just wanted to keep going. Excited for the next book in the series.
August 9, 2024
A sweet YA Christian romance. Reese has a lot going on in her life, lots of friends, a frenemy, an unknown father, and a budding romance. Add finding Jesus to the mix and you have a great story with growth in the main character and maturity. The YA Christian book community needs more positive stories like this one that show them how to find the Lord and navigate the tough things they'll encounter in life. I'd recommend this one for high schoolers!
*I was given this to read as a free ARC. My review is my own opinion and unbiased.
*I was given this to read as a free ARC. My review is my own opinion and unbiased.
August 10, 2024
I highly enjoyed this clean Christian teen romance! The author did a great job of making me care about the characters & their lives. For me, a sign of a good story is when I think about the story when I'm not reading it, and that was definitely the case with this story. I'm looking forward to sharing this book with my own teen. The author did a great job of writing for her target audience. My one qualm is that some of the resolutions to conflict were a tad too tidy, but I guess that's why it's fiction & not real life.
Thank you to the author for an ARC! All opinions expressed are my own. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you to the author for an ARC! All opinions expressed are my own. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
April 20, 2025
First in a series of Christian high school romances. Reese has decided to keep all boys in the "friend zone" because of a bad experience. But she can't help liking Daniel. Throw in a nasty ex-date and new information about the father she's never known, and there is lots to keep the reader's interest.
October 19, 2024
Love is always there
This book deals with so many issues that we face today. My favorite part was the conversation with Reese and her mom in chapter 17. Very well done!
This book deals with so many issues that we face today. My favorite part was the conversation with Reese and her mom in chapter 17. Very well done!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews