Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: February 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A heart-buckling ride of a romance by beloved author Erin Hahn, Even If It Breaks Your Heart is about two teens finding out that sometimes, the hardest part of discovering what you want is getting the courage to pursue it.

The only thing keeping nineteen-year-old Case Michaels together after the death of his best friend, Walker, is a list Walker left behind of things he wants Case to accomplish in his absence. So far, though, Case hasn’t even been able to continue riding bulls in the rodeo circuit, something he’s done his entire life, balking at the thought of competing without Walker by his side. But the list? Case is determined to follow it to the letter– and he follows it all the way to Winnie Sutton.

Eighteen-year-old Winnie Sutton just wants to keep her family together. She graduated high school early to work long shifts at the Michaels family ranch so she can support her younger siblings and a father who’s more than happy to let Winnie fill the responsible parent role. If she sometimes sneaks out to ride the horses herself and forget about life for a while– well, that’s no one else’s business– until the day she crashes headfirst into Case Michaels. Case sees her riding skills and immediately ropes her into competing for the ranch and becoming his friend.

Winnie and Case couldn’t be more different, but Case can’t help but be inspired by Winnie’s badly-hidden passion for riding and competition. And there’s something about Case that makes Winnie want to try grasping onto a dream for herself, whether that’s a shot at a rodeo trophy, the annoyingly handsome rancher’s son who won’t leave her alone, or maybe both.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the eARC.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

This is now my new favorite Erin Hahn book. I love the way she writes new adult stories and wow did this one just hit every single thing right. I LOVED the setting and all of the cowboy content. The ranch and horses, bull riding and rodeos, it was all magnetic and I was entranced.

And the romance?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME. This was the softest friends to lovers. That genuine, I am here to be your friend, and then realizing that person means a whole lot more to you. Oh my gosh I was WEAK. I adored Case, I loved seeing his grief and his awakenings and the way he cares for those he loves. And how he found what made him passionate and the future he wanted to pursue (which also was one of the 10 reasons I was tearing up reading this). Winnie was also spectacular. I was cheering her on from the beginning. Her tenacity and strength, bless her for finding ways to lets others help in her life too. I loved the deep sibling bond she had with Garrett and Jesse and the way everything worked out for them in the end.

This book was pure magic. I have zero complaints. NO NOTES. It was everything I needed when I picked it up. I loved the story and how Walker was woven in. I loved the friends and so many small moments that packed a punch and really brought this entire book together. There’s even no third act nonsense, AND IT WAS BLISS Y’ALL. The whole book, just go read it. Thank me later.

Overall audience notes:

• NA Contemporary Romance
• Language: strong and high
• Romance: 2 closed door scenes
• Violence: low
• Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a friend (grief depictions throughout), underage drinking, absentee father

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