3.5 stars

Thank you to Harper360YA for providing me a copy!

This is a heartbreaking story about grief and love after loss. And it war a really beautiful and important story, but it could’ve been much better. First, the characters were very young. Which, or course, makes the story even more sad, but also a bit unrealistic for me. The way these teenagers were talking and handling the situation felt as if they were at least 5 years older sometimes. And Sarah had only been together with Alex for a few months, but in the book it seemed as if they were together for years. Don’t get me wrong, also a few months is long enough to love someone, but it was just the way it was described sometimes.

That being said, the characters were loveable. Especially Jake. He lost his best friend, he was there when it happened and struggled with his feelings for Sarah a lot. He has had such a hard time and deserved so much love. Sarah was okay, not the most amazing character, but also not annoying or something.

I really liked that all sides of Alex’s life were talked about. So not only his relationship with Sarah, but also his friendship with Jake, the relationship with his sister, and even the relationship with his ex-girlfriend.

But overall it was a beautiful and heartbreaking story and I really think you should read it.

Loved the sound of the blurb and the cover is beautiful. For me the book started off well, but it didn't wow me.
I would recommend if you like books like this.

Rating 3.5

I really enjoyed the depth and the emotion portrayed in this book. I think the author tackles it quite well.
I really like Jake and found him to be a caring and emotive character who helped push the book along.

However, I found myself struggling a bit to connect with Sarah, though. And I found some of their decisions to be a little questionable.
Otherwise, it's quite enjoyable.

This was a sweet read that really conveyed the emotions that Sarah and Jake are feeling during their grief. I really enjoyed reading about how their relationship progressed from supporting each other through losing Alex to becoming friends and then becoming more. The development felt realistic and the mixed emotions about their feelings for each other helped to highlight how they were both confused and guilty after everything that happened with Alex, but also experiencing happy and curious about the new attraction.

I didn't really love the side characters, however, and wasn't really interested in any other aspect of the story. Ash was apparently Sarah's best friend but they both just seemed to hide things from each other so I didn't really feel that connection. I also felt like there were too many side characters and it got a bit difficult to keep track of who was who.

As a side note, I love that the characters on the cover look like Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie!

Thank you Harper360YA for an early copy of this book!

Sarah feels unmoored following her boyfriend’s sudden and tragic death. Their love story was cut short after just two sweet months together, and now all Sarah can think about are the moments she and Alex should be sharing. Sarah distracts herself by consoling Ash—her best friend and Alex’s sister—by rehearsing for the school play and working at her aunt’s cafe. But none of that is as comforting as her nightly talks with Jake. Jake is not ready to move on. Unable to sleep at night and “mopey”—according to his girlfriend, who doesn’t understand why he isn’t ready to jump back into partying—Jake is wracked with guilt as a witness to Alex’s death. His one source of joy is talking to Sarah. But between their growing closeness and his taking over as captain of the basketball team, Jake worries he is co-opting Alex’s life. Both can’t help but wonder if they’re betraying Alex—and Ash—by acting on the feelings they can no longer deny. Given all that stands in the way, is their relationship worth fighting for?

Sarah feels guilt and seemingly fear about moving on from Alex’s death. Having only dated a short time, for a lot of the book she is confused about how she should proceed and move forward with her life - namely how she gets back into dating again. Sarah isn’t a bad character to read, her POV is relatively engaging. I just didn’t feel hooked on her story. I felt bad for the situation she was in with Alex, but that was about it, unfortunately. She felt a bit immature considering her age and I wish her thoughts weren’t so repetitive. If she was a bit more mature feeling and had more varied thoughts, I think I could have liked her a lot.
Jake is wracked with guilt over his presence when the accident occurred and Alex died. He doesn’t know how to act around Sarah, especially when he has always had feelings for her. I do think Jake was an interesting character but he felt rather samey-same throughout the book. There didn’t feel like there was much growth for him which is a shame as that’s something I always hope to see in a story. Reading from his POV was interesting, especially his inner dialogue with Alex but I think we saw more variety with Sarah’s.

This book is being marketed as perfect for fans of You’ve Reached Sam. Considering how much I adore that book, I knew I needed to read this one. Unfortunately, this book didn’t live up to my expectations. The plot was okay and whilst I appreciated getting to see a dual POV and in depth thoughts on managing grief, it all fell rather flat. It didn’t feel like there were highs and lows, it was all very one note to me. The characters did feel a bit superficial which was a shame. There could have been more substance to them and their interactions with each other. The romance was okay. There was a lot of longing mixed in with guilt so any eventual romance felt a little insincere in my eyes. The ending was alright - a little rushed but it did tie everything up and didn’t leave any big questions on my mind. Sadly, I think that I was just eager to finally reach the finish of the book. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend this one in a hurry.

Overall, Someone You Loved is a story that shows you just how grief can affect people in different ways.

⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you again to Harper360YA for an early copy of this book.

4 stars!

"Someone You Loved" by Robin Constantine is such a fabulous, well-written book about grief and love after loss! I had no idea what I was in for when I requested this one, but it blew me away with how good it was. It is a heavier story than anticipated, but I loved the balance between weighty topics and high school lightness. I liked the main characters, Sarah and Jake, who have both gone through something unimaginable at such an early age. Alex was Jake's best friend and Sarah's boyfriend, and he died unexpectedly and tragically. Jake hears Alex's voice inside his head and has intense nightmares at night. Sarah cannot forget what she and Alex had and counts their days together as if he were still alive. Sarah and Jake initially find solace together in talking about Alex and their memories of him, but their relationship quickly becomes much more intense. They both have to figure out how to navigate their blooming feelings about falling in love with each other, which may potentially set off Ash, Alex's sister/Sarah's best friend. The best part about this book is that the characters are so well-developed! Robin Constantine makes them feel lived-in and authentic. Her writing cuts deep with emotion. The story is well-paced and doesn't overstay its welcome. The entire thing is pretty predictable, but that doesn't stop it from being successful. I was certainly captivated from beginning to end. All in all, this is a cute, shockingly weighty young adult romance that may leave you crying and swooning at the same time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Robin Constantine, HarperCollins Children's Books, and Balzer + Bray for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Someone You Loved is an emotional and romantic tale of two teens who fall in love while grieving the one person who makes their love impossible.
Sarah was Alex’ girlfriend. She’s had only been together with Alex for a little over two months before it happened but that doesn’t make her grieve any less painfull.
Jake was Alex’ best friend. He was there when it happened and he’s battling all kinds of guilt and grief in the months after.

What stood out the most for me was how I instantly connected with the charactres. Usually some kind of build up is needed to feel like you know them but somehow the author managed to write about Sarah, Alex and Jake like I already knew them. I understood what they were feeling and how confusing it all must be for them.
We get to see the many faces grief has and how the people who are left behind try to deal with that.
Now this all sounds extremely heavy but it really isn’t written like that. I would say Someone You Loved is a light read, you’ll breeze through it, but it does deal with serious themes. The beauty of that, though, is that it also brings us feelings of hope and comfort.

The characters in this book all felt fitting. The story is written with a dual point of view from Sarah and Jake which (as I said above) was really well written and then there’s the side characters that add to the story and make it feel integral. None of the characters felt too much or like a fill in. It all ended up being a complete, fitted puzzle.

The third act felt a little bit out of character to me, like how the characters reacted didn’t seem to suit how they were written earlier in the story. So that felt a little bit out of place, it didn’t however diminish the joy I had with reading this book.

I can recommend Someone You Loved if you like contemporary books, YA, a little romance and also if you’re looking for a book that deals with grief.

I really enjoyed this story of two broken hearted teenagers finding peace in each other and discovering love together. Such a beautiful story!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Pub Date 27 Jun 2023
Alought starting with a sad subject of Alex passing away.

Jake I don't know if he's hallucinating or just dealing with grief at this point but the back and forth makes me laugh at points.

Sarah I feel sorry for her dealing with a death of her boyfriend Alex and all those around her knowing as well what happen.

I adored how the story didn't put more emphasis on one character's suffering than another, and how the necessity to show the grieving of the main characters didn't overshadow the grief of the supporting people.

This was a emotional and heartbreasking story about grief told in dual pov. It was a beautiful story and brought many tears whilst reading.

Uggghhh wow!!!! What a heart wrenching story about grief, coping, and moving on from profound loss. This was absolutely magnificent, and completely ripped out my heart before putting it back together. I loved everything about it. The cover drew me in, and the story grabbed me right away. Amazing!!!

Someone You Loved speaks honestly about the grieving process and the way it can pull people apart or bring them closer together. I loved how the story doesn't focus on any one character's grieving process more than another; the grief of the supporting characters isn't squashed by the need to display that of the main characters. There are plenty of books about grief, but it is always refreshing to see growth highlighted in each character through their grieving process so we can feel closer to them and their stories.

This wonderful read is rich with raw emotions and intense feelings. Sarah and Alex tug mightily on your heartstrings as they deal with love, loss and life.

Jake and Sarah are both profoundly effected by the loss of Alex McKenna. Jake lost his best friend. Not only that, but he was there when he died and feels responsible. Sarah lost a boyfriend, someone she had known since kindergarten. They are both lost in their grief until they start finding their way together.

"You listen, Sarah. You don't try to get me out of a mood or tell me what I'm feeling is wrong. I can talk to you. I trust you with my stuff."

This was a touching book about two young people finding their way out of grief. Struggling with the guilt of moving on and coming to terms with life without a person that was a big part of who they were. I loved that Jake was willing to put himself out there. That he was willing to talk about his feelings not only to a therapist, but to Sarah. It was touching that their relationship grew slowly over shared grief and personal growth.

This book follows Sarah whose boyfriend of only 2 months dies suddenly from an accident, and now it's 6 months later and she is still trying to come to terms that he is gone. Sarah is trying to distract herself from her grief by working at her aunt's café and preparing for a school play. Jake, who was Alex's best friend, is also trying to deal with the tragic death, and ends up exchanging numbers with Sarah so that they could talk whenever one of them needs to. They end up talking a lot and getting to know one another a lot, which is leading to potential feelings for the other, but Sarah is worried she may betray Alex and his sister Ash by being with Jake, and Jake is concerned it seems like he may be taking Alex's place in a lot of things, such as captain of the basketball team and his feelings for Sarah.

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoy stories that have tragedy, and situations that are realistic and you may relate to. This book does deal a lot with grief, and handling that grief in different ways. Everyone handles it differently. Jake I think is the one that I felt for the most. Being there for the accident and blaming himself just makes your heart go out for him, oh and the fact that Alex to me may not have been the greatest of friends, really just made me want to give Jake a hug. I think he deserved the best! Sarah was a bit more hard for me to like. She is worried about dating Jake, so she tries to date someone else, and is just seems like such a mess, but everyone handles grief differently and sometimes it is hard to come to terms with your feelings especially about someone else who was also your dead boyfriend's best friend, and so I have to keep an open mind with her situation.

This was a sweet romance, and I recommend it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First of all, Thank you to NetGalley, Robin Constantine, and Balzer + Bray for giving me an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

If you liked Abby Glines <i>Until Friday Night</i> you'll enjoy this. I was skeptical on how invested I was going to be at first because I couldn't relate to Sarah in the way that I've lost a boyfriend unexpectedly. However, I could absolutely relate to the large amounts of guilt, grief, and reckoning with the loss of someone. Although, I really did love that this is about grief not being linear or a competition against others who have lost someone.

Jake's journey was probably more important to me than Sarah's because he felt like he was co-opting Alex's life and was losing sight of himself. Jake worked hard to become a better person and work through his grief. The mental challenges, seeing a therapist, and learning to manage grief was absolutely well done and I looked forward to seeing Jake's perspective in the chapter.

This was a quick read, but absolutely dealt with the hard topics that arise from grief, loss, and being a teenager with big feelings and not always knowing how to process them in a healthy way. It was weird because I sort of grew to dislike Alex because it felt as if because he was dead everyone glorified him and lost track of his faults and that was hard to read about him. Overall, this was a good read and absolutely was an emotional read.

Someone You Loved is a captivating tale that beautifully portrays the gradual development of Sarah and Jake's romance. The authenticity and genuineness of their connection leave readers yearning for their union. Constantine skillfully weaves textured relationships and portrays heartaches with raw honesty, making this novel a truly compelling read.

I read this so quickly. Could not put it down.

It's sad but not too devastating. (Your mileage may vary though!) I loved the tension and character growth and how they each mourned their friend.

Sarah's boyfriend Alex died suddenly and tragically. She finds solace through Alex's best friend, who's also grieving, especially since he was there the night he died. Sarah is torn because she wonders if it's disloyal to Alex and his sister (who is her best friend) to fall for Jake.

This was a very interesting read. I liked that Jake had feelings for Sarah even before Alex. It added such a fun element to the book. The two of them just understood each other in a way that no one else did. They were really cute.

I received an arc through netgalley.

❣️Out Today❣️
Someone You Loved by Robin Constantine 4/5✨
I heard about this book from a tiktok mostly due to the cover similarities to Taylor Swift and Brendan Urie lol
it’s been a while since I read a YA, but it was incredibly easy to jump in. Mostly with how relatable Sarah and Jake are! This book ended how I hoped but I was rooting for them the whole time. I loved that they were able to navigate a traumatic incident (experienced in different ways) together.
I loved how accurate the characters were written and found myself being able to relate even though I graduated high school over ten years ago!
Lastly, I LOVED that the main character went to therapy to process his grief.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy 🩵