Reviews

I’m not going to lie my heart definitely hurts. It’s not a gut wrenching, crocodile tear, throwing up my latest meal type of hurt but it’s hurt none the less. I think I wasn’t as connected to the characters(this could be because I sped through this book.)

I also didn’t like that they got together before he broke up with Sylvie, it was just icky to me.

All in all it’s a pretty good book, quick read, and honestly I would recommend it.

carry's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

meganeasley862's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

Book #5 May 2024 & #36 for 2024!

“If He Had Been With Me” by Laura Nowlin.

Tropes/Themes: Childhood Bestfriends to Lovers, Across 4 Years of High School, Grief/Mental Health/Self-Harm/Unplanned Pregnancies.

Rating: 4⭐️’s for plot/storyline & 1🌶️ for spice.

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I have heard of this book all over #booktok and #bookstagram, so I knew it was going to be sad going into it, I just had such high expectations that the ending felt a bit rushed to me (although I did still cry). This is also one of the only books I’ve read where the title of the book is on the 2nd page (normally it takes me much longer to find it). I did enjoy the book enough that I am going to read the second book next.

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Below are some of my favorite quotes:

Pages 38-39: “Sometimes I am disappointed with love. I thought that when you were in love, it would always be right there, staring you in the face, reminding you every moment that you love this person”.
Page 86: “For all of my memory, I have loved him. I feel what I have always felt when I look at him, and I have never before asked myself what it is exactly. I love him in a way I cannot define, as if my love were an organ within my body that I could not live without yet could not pick out of an anatomy book. It’s the way I love Finny. It’s impossible to say and even harder to feel”.
Page 205: “This is friendship, and it is love, but I already know what they have not learned yet. How dangerous friendship is, and how damaging love can be”.
Page 365: “It’s never felt like this before. It feels so natural. It feels so right. I realize that there may never be another moment more perfect than this for the rest of my life”.
Page 367: “Can I tell you that I love you first? Yes. I love you, Oh God, I love you”.
Page 370: “I loved her, but I loved her differently from the way I’ve always loved you”.
Page 386: “In the end, my decision comes down to one thing: I think Finny would forgive me. It wouldn’t be what he wanted for me, but he would forgive me”.

dhrutipathak's review

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1.0

Contrary to all the other reviews, I wasn’t in love with this book. While some parts of the novel did make my heart hurt, it was all so predictable. However, I think that my mediocre experience reading this book might have been related to the fact I blazed through it in one day and didn’t really feel connected to the characters.