Hahn is just an absolute expert at her craft. Her books are so atmospheric. They really sink you into a place where you feel the realities of this fictional text in such real ways. I adored Winnie and Case. Their journey toward each other was slow and sweet and paid off so well.

Erin Hahn's YA books are a breath of fresh air. Hard hitting and emotional, while also being relatable and fun. I recommend for anyone who enjoys YA, as Hahn has a great voice and characters.

After reading and loving Erin Hahn's adult titles I was excited to get my hands on her upcoming YA Romance release, 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐟 𝐈𝐭 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 (PUB 01.01) It was just as wonderful as I'd hoped it would be. Thank you @wednesdaybooks

I swear I saw the author refer to this as her "sad rodeo, sad cowboy" book and that is spot on. Don't fret- while hard earned, the HEA is worth the trip. Both of the main characters, Chase and Winnie, are dealing with loss and heartache. There is a heft to their story. As they work towards unpacking some emotional baggage their relationship slowly grows from genuine friendship to more. It's been a long time since I was a teenager but it felt very emotional and authentic to me.

MORE: -Sweet slow burn. Closed door.- Case and Winnie are both post high school (18/19 yrs old)- Horses, rodeos, barrel racing

This is the story of two lost young adults dealing with very adult things.

Winnie has to keep it together and take care of her family while Case is trying to just survive day by day after loosing his best friend. As fate would have it Case and Winnie find each other at the right moment. That's all I'm going to say about the book because I don't want to spoil it and I think it's definitely worth the read.

This book flew by so fast I read it in a day. The writing was good enough that I could feel the atmosphere of the book and picture it as a film straight away. I loved the ranch/ cowboy vibes.

Case and Winnie's romance is slow burn, sweet and just perfect.

Erin Hahn did a good job of developing her characters and having them find their way and discover their true selves (in a wholesome, fulfilling kind of way)

The writing was a little too YA for me but overall I liked this book very much!
3.5 stars rounding up to 4!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and #NetGAlley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
Even If It Breaks Your Heart is out on 2/06/2024

Clean YA romance is here! This was a very different type of romance, where the main characters were both going through the stages of grief in their own way. Case was a wonderful view of how no matter your financial circumstances, grief will rear its ugly head and make you rethink how you live your life. Winnie, on the other hand, was in survival mode for so long, it was hard for her to understand that she could ask for help and truly pursue her dreams. Erin did a wonderful job of showing the rodeo industry, and the reader can truly imagine the world through the character's eyes. This book also shows that you never truly know what someone is going through so it's always better to be kind.

My Thoughts
A beautifully poignant tale about dealing with family, friendships, grief, loss, growing up too soon and so much more it is a long laundry list you have to experience for yourself along with Case and Winnie as they go through it within this story.

More than just for the young adult crowd of readers this slow burn modern day romance takes readers on a journey they will not soon forget and introduces them to the world of Rodeo competition along the way.

Both Case and Winnie come from stereotypical rich boy/poor girl backgrounds but what they find in common far outweighs their different life circumstances.

No major drama ensues which was a huge bonus for me and the friends to lovers’ romance evolved naturally between our MC’s.

Dual POV allowed equal opportunity to get to know both Case and Winnie, and in my case to also fall in love with a horse.

Queen Mab may have four legs but she <i>speaks</i> to my childhood preference to spend more time with my horse than with people.

Plus, her ability as a barrel horse in competitive barrel racing with Winnie as her partner/rider is a magnificent fictional pairing.

As for this books’ actual message, the title says it all.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

I read 2 Erin Hahn books in a row that are releasing soon, and they both were amazing. This book had so much going on, but so much to love. The characters were everything and I even enjoyed learning more about rodeo. I highly recommend this!

Nobody does YA romance quite like Erin Hahn. Her chokehold on wayward, misunderstood, hurting but intensely sweet, charming young men is staggering, and Case Micheals did not disappoint. He feels so real, so fully fleshed out that I could reach out and hug him. Which is pretty much what I wanted to do to that poor, grieving bull rider throughout the entire book. And Winnie is the perfect take no BS, Fiona Gallagher, "Look I'm really busy with REAL WORLD SHIT," horse girl, and she must be protected at all costs.

Even If It Breaks Your Heart is a beautiful, brilliant reimagining of a friends to lovers story. Hahn wasn't telling lies either, this story will break your heart, but only so it can put it back together again in the most touching, heartfelt, unflinching way. I loved every second of this story, and I can't thank the author, NetGalley, and St Martin's Press enough for this advanced copy.

As always I love Erin Hahns books. She has a great way of capturing what it's like to be a young person that's trying to deal with life.

Case is trying to live his life after losing his best friend and Winnie is trying to be a leader for her family. They need each other to help see where they're future leads. Though you may not have personally gone through what the MC's are dealing with, Hahn is able to express their emotions in a way that helps you understand and cheer for them. I couldn't help but think about Case and Winnie when I wasn't reading. I would love to see where their life leads.

This book is perfect for YA Contemporary lovers and you don't even have to be into rodeos. Thought it made me want to go horseback riding.

Even if it Breaks Your Heart is Erin Hahn’s magnum opus. A beautiful study in grief and longing, her teenage characters fight to find their way out of the darkness- one spiraling after losing his friend, the other scrambling to keep her family together despite her parent’s neglect- and their pain and frustration is viscerally palpable.

There’s a fury and immediacy in Hahn’s writing, every line gorgeous and heartbreakingly beautiful, as if she’s grabbing the reader by the collar and telling them to pay attention to these kids. As if she’s demanding we take time to listen to an entire generation of teenagers traumatized by violence, and disease, and loss.

But it isn’t how honest, or sad, or visceral this book is that makes it great, though it is all of those things. What makes this novel truly gorgeous is that flickering beneath the grief and trauma, there is an ever-growing ember of hope. Despite impossible circumstances, these two beautifully complicated and flawed teenagers stumble and scrape and fight to give the people they love a better life, even if they believe they should sacrifice their own potential happiness to do so. What ultimately unfolds is a story of grace and healing, as Hahn shows her characters, and her readers, that hope isn’t only possible, it’s necessary, and that while happily ever afters might be for fairytales, there is light in the darkness, even if we can’t see it yet, and joy and peace can be found with the people we love and the families we make.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn is a contemporary young adult book about Winnie Sutton, a girl who just graduated from high school is working to take care of her siblings and keep her family together. When she meets Case Michaels, the wealthy and famous rodeo star, it seems like they have nothing in common at all. But as they get to know each other, they find a connection that helps them both to find their way.

This was a cute and fun read! I did not know anything about rodeo before reading this book, so it was interesting to learn more about that world. It's a slow burn/slow build kind of story and maybe it was a little too slow for me at times. I wanted more to happen, and I wanted a little more interaction between Case and Winnie.

But overall, it was an enjoyable story and one that I would recommend if you like this genre!

This book was sweet, the cowboy backdrop was fun, and it explored more somber emotions like grief and recovery relatively well. It felt very YA - and it is! so I can't fault it for that, but it's worth noting. Some YA books have younger characters but a wider appeal, and some YA books seem to be fairly exclusively for a younger readership, and I felt that this was the latter.

I found the plot a little stilted, probably at least in part due to the dual POV. I felt that I didn't really gain much from a second POV and it prevented significant plot development as we were constantly rehashing the same events twice. I'd maybe have preferred it to have leaned more into being character driven to make all the POVs worth it, or remain slightly more plot focused and drop the second POV.

Overall a quick and entertaining read, but nothing particularly memorable or moving for me.

A story of loss, grief, and finding your way.

Case Michaels doesn’t know how to move on after the death of his best friend Walker. Luckily Walker left him a list, even if some of the things on it are a little… life threatening. Case is drowning in alcohol, bitterness and grief, and can only think about living out his best friend’s dreams. But what’s left for him afterwards?

Winnie Sutton has already given up on her dreams. With a mom who abandoned them, and a dad who avoids them, there’s no one left but her to raise her two younger siblings. She’s had no choice but to put her life on hold, and when her brother starts skipping school, she’s left with even fewer choices.

One of the items on Walker’s list is that Case befriend Winnie, the girl who works on his father’s ranch that he’s never noticed. Can the two encourage each other live their own lives, and take the chance at finding their own dreams?

Includes unlikely friendships; a sweet, no drama romance; horses, ranch, and rodeo life.

A heartening stand alone novel with lots of personal growth and learning how to move on.

First of all, the cover for this book is GORGEOUS. What’s inside is equally beautiful.

Case and Winnie are two teens facing very adult issues and responsibilities. Case is reeling from the loss of his best friend at the age of 17. Winnie is essentially parenting her younger siblings and running their household as their dad is mostly an absentee father and their mom is entirely absent. Together they navigate discovering their own dreams and finding ways to make them happen while learning about themselves and each other.

This book is categorized as YA, but to me it read more like closed-door contemporary romance. I think because Case and Winnie both had to grow up fast in their individual circumstances, it was easy to forget they were supposed to be teenagers.

I thought Case’s journey with grief and his growth has he came to terms with his loss was a beautiful thing. He found a purpose and matured in a very authentic way throughout the book. I admired Winnie’s resilience and determination to be a stable and supportive presence in her siblings lives. She took on far more responsibility for her family than anyone at that age should need to and she carried herself with poise and grace. I liked seeing her find a way to eventually accept help and chase her own dreams as well.

There were quite a few secondary characters thrown in throughout the book and I kept wondering who might play an important role in the story later on that I needed to remember. There weren’t many that served deep purpose, so they ended up being more of a distraction than anything, but I liked Pax and Maria and the friendship they offered to Case and Winnie respectively.

This will be a great book for teens who love horses or are into the bull riding scene. There is a lot of sadness, but the characters ring true.

This is an incredibly sweet and heartfelt YA novel. I didn’t expect to hurt so quickly over these characters and their stories. I did really appreciate the character growth that we got with Case and how everything worked out for the characters too.

I did find the pacing was off to me, which is why I haven’t rated this higher.

But that aside is a story perfect for fans of HEA’s and cowboy vibes.

3.5/5⭐️

I loved this one. This was definitely a YA book for me. If you are a fan of reading about teenagers having to grow up too fast and take on the world together this one is for you. Feels very Texan with the whole rodeo aspects. There was a lot of heart in this and I really felt seen with this one. When this comes out I will be sure to shove it into everyone's hands. Thanks Netgalley for the e arc of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!

Themes: Pursuing Your Dreams, Grief, Money
Representation: Grief
Content Warnings: Grief, Cancer, Teen Drinking

PERSONAL COMMENTS
As a teen who enjoys and consumes a lot of YA books, this book is it! Although the characters are a bit older, this book perfectly encapsulates YA. It focuses a lot on dreams and pursuing dreams, something that is very relevant to teens today. It features the awkwardness, tenderness and sweetness of young love. Both main characters, Case and Winnie, deal with super-relevant teenage problems and are genuinely likeable, well-developed characters. Winnie deals with money issues and Case deals with grief.

So, although this book wasn’t 100% perfect, it was pretty great.

CHARACTERS
As I said before, I think the characters are well-developed.

For Case, the book focuses on his grief after losing his best friend, Walker, to cancer. The author does a pretty good representation of grief, showing how much Case still misses his friend. And it shows that grief isn’t something you can get over in a day. It shows that you do some dumb things because of grief. It doesn’t invalidate Case’s grief. But it does show the growth of his character and how he is dealing with it.

For Winnie, her problem is that she has to take care of her younger siblings. She is pretty badass and treats her siblings pretty well. And her relationship with her siblings is super cute as well. I think the author does a good job of showing Winnie’s frustration with having to be the primary caregiver through her internal monologue. Like Case, she too, also grows. And learns that she doesn’t have to sacrifice her dreams for her family.

Finally, I enjoyed the relationships between all the characters. I loved how Case and Winnie supported each other. I loved how much Winnie loved her siblings. And I also loved their relationships with their friends.

Overall, amazing characters!

PLOT
Though this book is more character-based, it still follows a plot. What, with chasing your dreams and all?

There were definitely slower moments in the plot of the book, but those are generally balanced out by pacing and character development.

Although the book could be hard to read at times, the ending of the book is whimsical and cheerful.

So if you like a good, hopeful cowboy story set in Texas, then you’ll like this one!

OTHER
The book is written in the first person present tense with dual perspectives. There are lots of flashbacks which can add to the depth of the characters and help build the story. Since many YA books are written in the first person, it is fitting. It is also fitting as many romance books have dual perspectives.

Other than that, there isn’t really anything memorable about the format of the book, nor is there anything else that the author added to the beginning or the end of the book (eg. maps, playlists, etc.). BUT, there are definitely quotable moments!

RATINGS
Personal Rating: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Formatting: 4/5
Final Rating: 4.4/5 (round to 4 stars)

Erin Hahn is an auto read for me. I don't even have to know what it's about before I pick it up. This story did not disappoint. It gave all the feels. Case and Winnie's story was well done and I enjoyed reading both point of views the pacing was excellent. They both have some trauma to work through, but everything worked out perfectly.

This book was OK — it wasn’t my thing. I didn’t connect with the story and the characters as much as I would have hoped. I’ve read Erin’s books via audio and I think I enjoy them better that way, it’s something about that format!