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directorpurry's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol and Death
samanthakayla's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Erin has done it again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Cancer, and Grief
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
Childhood cancer is mentioned and also parental death and abandonmentallingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
While I enjoy all of this author’s writing, I especially love her YA romance. When she transitioned into writing some contemporary romance, I was afraid we wouldn’t get any more of the magic she seems to have with this genre. I’m so glad she went back to her writing roots on this one. It’s everything I hoped for and more.
Winnie is phenomenal. Without getting too deep, I can tell you that the way she is written is so realistic and it twisted a knife in my gut over and over. Yet, once Winnie found her people and learned she could lean on others, she was able to find joy and happiness. Not that she wasn’t happy on a day-to-day basis before, but there was too much on her shoulders for her to ever truly relax into happiness.
I love the journey Case takes in this book. He’s such a good person, but he’s in the depths of intense grief so doesn’t always act in the best manner. At least not in the first few chapters. Case not only pokes his head out of his cloud of grief, but he learns what it means to live with that grief and continue to a happy and healthy future.
As much as I love romance, the friendship Winnie and Case develop before the romance is special. I was so happy that wasn’t lost after they admitted and acted on their feelings. The story of Case and Winnie is central to the book, but friendship is a huge part of it all. Not just between the two of them, but with others who help them both realize they are not alone. Beautiful.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, and Cancer
Moderate: Abandonment
anovelglimpse's review
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.
I swear I saw Erin Hahn call Even if it Breaks Your Heart her "sad cowboy romance". That is the perfect description of this book. It's a sad cowboy romance with a lot of hope. It wasn't a happy read at times (obviously), but it was a great one.
Case is not dealing with the loss of his best friend to cancer. He's stuck in a cycle of making poor choices. All he has left of his best friend is a list of things Walker wants him to do. Winnie is starting to crumble from the pressure of helping support and raise her siblings. She's more mom and dad to them than her own parents. They both need someone to help lift them up and Walker helps them find it in each other.
I loved the friendship Case and Winnie built. They gave each other support they desperately needed and also a hope of the future they had both lost. Case and Winnie were attracted to each other from the start, but it was nice to watch their feelings for each other build over the course of the story. Their romance was really sweet. There was also a ton of personal growth for each of them. I loved how they grew emotionally together and learned a lot about themselves.
Even if it Breaks Your Heart was a very special YA romance that brought hope in a couple of very tough, emotional life situations. I'm sad that Hahn has declared this book her final YA release, but happy I had the chance to read and experience it. It was such a good book.
CW: childhood cancer, parental abandonment
You can find this review and others like it at A Novel Glimpse .
I swear I saw Erin Hahn call Even if it Breaks Your Heart her "sad cowboy romance". That is the perfect description of this book. It's a sad cowboy romance with a lot of hope. It wasn't a happy read at times (obviously), but it was a great one.
Case is not dealing with the loss of his best friend to cancer. He's stuck in a cycle of making poor choices. All he has left of his best friend is a list of things Walker wants him to do. Winnie is starting to crumble from the pressure of helping support and raise her siblings. She's more mom and dad to them than her own parents. They both need someone to help lift them up and Walker helps them find it in each other.
I loved the friendship Case and Winnie built. They gave each other support they desperately needed and also a hope of the future they had both lost. Case and Winnie were attracted to each other from the start, but it was nice to watch their feelings for each other build over the course of the story. Their romance was really sweet. There was also a ton of personal growth for each of them. I loved how they grew emotionally together and learned a lot about themselves.
Even if it Breaks Your Heart was a very special YA romance that brought hope in a couple of very tough, emotional life situations. I'm sad that Hahn has declared this book her final YA release, but happy I had the chance to read and experience it. It was such a good book.
CW: childhood cancer, parental abandonment
You can find this review and others like it at A Novel Glimpse .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
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