thank you netgalley and the publisher for an earc! absolutely adored this ya book. books about death and grief really hit home for me. while there were things about this i didn’t love (some of the writing, dialogue, etc) there was so much i did. the character development was great, the relationship progress was great. one of my biggest issues was getting about 60% through before the background plot with the rodeo picked up, but every arc of the book was entertaining and fun. a quick, short read that anyone could probably find relatable.

Erin Hahn is INCREDIBLE, and I have read every single book she's ever written. She started out writing YA, but then she also began writing adult romances (which are *chefs kiss* perfection). Even If It Breaks Your Heart is her final YA book, and let me tell you, she found the perfect story to go out on.

Teenage bull-rider extraordinaire, Case Michaels is floundering after his best friend Walker dies, just shy of his eighteenth birthday. It's been months, and he is still feeling so lost. He can't even imagine getting back on a bull without his wild, fearless friend beside him. In the meantime, Walker left him this list of things he'd wanted to do but didn't get the chance, and Case has been trying to cross things off for him. One of them, though, is proving difficult: befriend Winnie Sutton.

Winnie Sutton had to grow up fast after her mom left, becoming both sister and mother to her two younger siblings. She works at the Michaels' ranch, mucking the stables and training and exercising the horses. And she is the most naturally gifted barrel racer Case has ever seen. (She's also prickly AF, and she doesn't think very highly of Mr. Rich and Popular.)

But this unlikely friendship grows into more (obviously--it *is* a romance), but it's the most beautiful, organic thing I've read in a long time. She struggles with trust and asking for help. He's out to prove she can rely on him. He doesn't want to make rodeo into a career--that was Walker's dream, not his. So he's trying to figure out how to keep living--on his own terms.

The number of quotes I highlighted!! I'm not exaggerating--this book had me tearing up over and over again. Hahn has such a magical way with words. She captures perfectly little snapshots of time--those teenage moments--with honesty, finding beauty and strength even in the middle of immense grief. Having lost friends close to me, I am so proud of Case for finding ways to honor Walker and yet also live his own life. And Winnie. Precious Winnie, carrying a weight she was never supposed to carry--I'm proud of her, too, for learning to trust and rely on other people. As Case says, "It's okay to accept help. The world won't fall apart it you're not holding it together."

This book is a treasure. 10/10. No notes.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I'm a horse girl at heart but the premise didn't really do a ton to sway me. Case's best friend and partner on the bull riding circle has passed away, leaving him a list of things he wants him to do to live for him. One of the things on the list: befriend Winnie Sutton. Winnie works on Case's family's ranch to support her younger siblings due to her absent parents. She sacrifices much of her happiness for her family and it isn't until she and Case get close that she decides she can shoot her shot at rodeo stardom.

Don't get me wrong - this isn't one of those 'rich boy saves poor girl' stories - in a lot of ways it feels like so much more than that. Winnie helps out Case just as much as he helps out her as they become friends and eventually more. This is a slowish burn which I really appreciated. The two of them learn about each other, learn to be friends with one another and are able to help each other without being it being a romance until it all of a sudden is one.

There isn't a ton of external conflict in this book - a lot of that came before the book started. Instead, this is such a great character-driven book about coming of age and becoming who you are meant to be and surrounding yourself with people that will support you and care for you.

I loved Case and Winnie and all of Winnie's siblings and just everything about this book was exceedingly lovely. If you liked Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood I think this is similar vibes.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author Erin Hahn, publishers Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART. All views are mine.

Opening Quote: The less you have, the tighter you hold on. Loc.1910.

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. The writing is strong. I've read at least a dozen similar opening scenes– A young person speaking through a first person narrator, reflecting on life and love while succumbing to death– but this really had my attention. Even the narrator's self effacing

2. For me, the details make this story easy to connect with. I understand these characters, particularly Winnie, through these smoothly interconnecting details.

3. Once the plot of this story opens up, it's pretty excellent!

4. Hahn gets pretty intensely at the heart and agony of neglect. Eventually, you become protective of that tiny, muddy, shit-filled backyard. Because it’s yours, and because all you love in the whole world is in that space. Loc.1908.

5. There's a *lot* of it and I'm not convinced it all needs to be there, but I do love all the horse racing and bull-riding details. It's exciting content!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. Some interesting fourth-wall breakage around loc.497 where the first person narrator directly address the audience in a parenthetical paragraph. I almost love this to bits, except that the tone shifts substantially within the parentheses, at least at first. Great examples at Kindle locations 497 and 1297.

2. I'm still not really sure what this story is about, and I'm a third of the way in. The story isn't coming together fast enough. (This resolves at about the halfway point.)

3. Not a fan of casual name calling– "dummy," "idiot," etc.

Closing quote: I’ve never been happier . That she might not feel the same . . . Doesn’t matter right now. She matters. Loc.3390.

Rating: 🐎🐎🐎🐎 bucking broncos
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Feb 4 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
💖 young romance
🐴 ranch stories
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
👭🏽 sister stories
💇‍♀️ girl's coming of age
🏇 horse racing and rodeo

I've been a fan of Erin Hahn's last several books that I've read - my favorite being Built to Last.

"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."

After losing his best friend to a lung disease, 19 year old Case is just trying to keep his head above water. He is working to complete a to do list that his friend left behind for him, which includes befriending Winnie Sutton, who works on his father's ranch. Winne is 18 and she is struggling to keep her family together, with a younger brother in trouble for truancy, a child prodigy of a little sister, and a dad who is mostly working or MIA.

This book read like a YA romance to me, low on the steam factor which is okay with me. I thought the relationship/connection between the two main characters was lacking for me, but I enjoyed watching them each find their way in the world separately and together.

Even if it Breaks Your Heart was an amazing read. I never would have thought I would be so invested in a book about rodeo and horses, but I was. Because, it was SO much more than that. It was a story about loss and grief, but also about friendship, family, love and dreams.
We have Case, who recently lost his best friend and who’s struggling to continue with his life and trying to fulfill a bucket list that Walker left for him. Then, we have Winnie who’s struggling to keep her family afloat. Slowly, they learn there’s more the them that they have thought.
All the characters were incredible (except for the dads), I loved Case and Winnie both individually and together and I loved Garreth too. I really enjoyed reading this story, it gave me all the feels.
It is such a heartfelt and sweet story. I loved how wholesome everything felt. I am not the biggest fan of YA stories anymore, but EIIBYH proved me wrong because it was gripping and overall just lovely.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

ALL. THE. FEELS.

This book hit me so hard. And I just wasn't expecting it.

Winnie and Case. I dare them not to pull at your heartstrings. I mean - Winnie breaks your heart with all the trauma she has suffered, plus the fact that she is 18 and has to put her hopes and dreams aside to ensure that her younger siblings are taking care of. Case has lost his best friend and is in that year afterward - if you've ever lost anyone close to you, you know what I mean - the year of fog: where consequences be damned, just getting through the day is the challenge.

But they find one another, and as they slowly build their friendship you can see that they are exactly what the other person needs. And for all the set-up of Case being a rich kid from the right side of the tracks - he's dependable, kind, empathetic and sweet. Winnie is strong and independent and tough as nails. Her fearlessness and grit are exactly what Case needs. You can't not cheer these two on - because together they are magic.

This story is going to break your heart, put it back together again and then break it again a little. No 3rd act break-ups -- just life being life, and these kids facing their grief head-on. Joined by a cast of wonderful characters (Garret needs her own story - seriously - let's see where she is when she's 20) and I love how everyone was there for one another.

This reminded me of Jennifer Niven's "All the Bright Places" and John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars". Raw, messy, heartbreaking but uplifting all at once.

I am so glad I picked this up.

Also - and completely randomly - but Winnie's love of horses reminded me of Jilly Cooper's character Perdita MacLeod (from the book Polo). They seem to share the same fire and determination towards horses and racing.

Even If It Breaks Your Heart is a beautiful story about finding love, finding yourself, and and finding friendship. Winnie's mom left when she was 9, and her dad hasn't stepped up to be a father to Winnie and her two younger siblings. Winnie graduated early from high school, works full time, and takes care of her siblings. She works at the ranch, and she secretly dreams of barrel racing one day. Case's best friend, Walker, passed away, and he is struggling with the immense loss and grief over Walker's death. Walker left a list of things for Case to do, and Case starts trying to accomplish them. One of those things is to become friends with Winnie.

Winnie works on Case's family ranch. They start to develop a friendship over time, and she even lets him help her with her family responsibilities. They are like two lost souls clinging to each other, but they don't want to admit that yet. Their friendship develops into feelings for both of them, but they don't want to ruin the friendship by saying anything or doing anything about it.

This story has some heavier topics, but they are handled beautifully. It's a story of two teenagers who long to have a connection with someone who will really understand them and be there for them. Winnie and Case find that with each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC.

In solidarity with the SMP Boycott I will be withholding my review for this title (which I was given prior to the boycott) until SMP acts on the following:

1. Address and denounce the Islamophobic and racist remarks from their employee.
2. Offer tangible steps for how they are going to mitigate the harm this employee caused.
3. Address how, moving forward, they will support and protect their Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian influencers, authors and readers, in addition to supporting their BIPOC influencers, authors, and readers.

This is not a reflection of the author personally, nor is it a call to boycott buying this particular book. And this star rating is a reflection of how much I enjoyed the book.

I love cowboy romances, so thought I could try a YA one! This book was a great story and overall book - it was just a bit too slow for me, and the inner dialogue kept putting me off. I wish that we had more verbal and in depth conversations between Winne and Case, rather than just the monologue and SO much of what they were thinking.

Both MCs have ALOT going on in their life and have grief that they are dealing with - and I do think that the author handled it with care and respect, which I really appreciated while I was reading.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you @wednesdaybooks @netgalley for a copy of this book. This book blew me away. A great YA story that deals with grief and coming of age. Case is a bad boy rodeo star that recently lost his best friend. Winnie works at Case's family stables and is struggling to keep up with caring for her siblings while her single dad neglects his duties. They form a friendship and starts helping each other. There's so much growth on both characters and their friendship to lovers story is so beautiful. I really enjoyed Winnie's siblings which added some light touches.

Wednesday Books eARC
I adore Erin Hahn, and this might be tied for my new favorite. I absolutely loved this sad rodeo book. The story of grief from an 18 year old’s POV, Case, was just so impactful. It’s so important to have these types of stories out there for young adults. I also could relate so much to Winnie and being grown up way before you should have to. Her story hit me in all the feels. These characters becoming friends was just the sweetest story of resilience, support, and pushing each other to be their best. I also loved all of the rodeo things - such a fun side plot element.

I never thought I’d say this, but I like Hahn’s young adult stories better than Built to Last and Friends Don’t Fall In Love. Did these characters feel like they were just out of high school? No, and maybe that would matter to a younger reader, but both main characters had a reason for their maturity that I believed. They were great separately, and they were great together, too.

What didn’t work for me

Winnie’s father: I totally understand that her father had to be a total screw-up for a lot of the plot points to make sense, but I feel like the story resolved itself almost too easily—making anything having to do with Winnie and her dad feel fake or unresolved (even though it was meant to feel resolved).

Some of the rodeo language: I know absolutely nothing about rodeo. I don’t know what barrel racing is and have barely ever even seen a horse. I felt like sometimes I was the tiniest bit lost when they were talking about horse things, and though that didn’t affect my experience or understanding of anything, I just wanted to point it out.

What I liked

The slow burn: Generally if the burn is too slow in a book, I get disinterested, but the way that these characters truly became friends (more than friends, really, because they depended on each other) and then sort of just realized they were in love was so sweet. They were always on the same page and there was no third-act breakup, which is becoming a trend that I really, really enjoy.

The main characters: I’m putting Case and Winnie separately here because it’s the first time in a while that I’ve read a book where there is a dual POV—and that I both care equally about each character and feel like if they didn’t get together I would still be happy for them. They each had really rich, fulfilling storylines separate from each other, and their coming together was just icing on top.

Garrett: I loved Winnie’s 10-year-old genius sister. She added levity while also adding some real-world stakes for Winnie. I sort of wish she got a spin-off book of her own, but I also know that it wouldn’t be marketed to me, and I’d miss it. #GarrettForPresident

4 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced book copy in exchange for my honest review.

A sad rodeo book as described by the author

Case Michaels grew up on a ranch, and competing in bull riding with his best friend Walker. Unfortunately Walker died almost a year ago from a terminal illness at almost 18. Case has been struggling since and the only thing that has kept him going is a list Walker left him to accomplish, and the final item on the list to befriend Winnie Sutton is what ends up changing it all for him.

Winnie Sutton had to grow up real fast as a young teenager when her mother abandoned her and her siblings, and her dad is the most absent yet physically present father you could imagine. She works on the Michaels' family farm taking care of the horses, leading trail rides, and training horses for competition. When Case sees her ride and her natural talent he makes it his personal mission to convince her to compete. Along with trying to win her over with his friendship, he finally becomes the person in her life who supports, and believes in her. They could not be more different but they find they might just be perfect for each other.

This is best described at Chestnut Springs but make it young/new adult. Erin Hahn once again has hit it out of the park. The other always does such a good job of tackling tough topics, in this case grief and parental neglect, but also have a beautifully developed love story at the forefront of the story. Her characters are so human, and so relatable, even though i have almost nothing in common with them. I laughed, and cried at many moments in this book, and the autor does such a wonderful job balancing the highs and lows within the story.

I'm not sure I can full explain how much I loved this book. Erin Hahn is always an insta-read for me, and she quite honestly never misses. She always manages to write stories and characters that punch you in the gut, break your heart, and then put the pieces back together like a puzzle.

Case's grief feels so real. For the first part of the book, it's almost a character in and of itself. And it was so gratifying to watch him remember who he is underneath the weight of it all. He cares so much, even when he pretends he doesn't. And Winnie is drowning in raising her siblings and holding her family together because her father can't or won't. Your heart will break for her, for all the opportunities she's forced to miss for their benefit. And you will cheer unabashedly when she starts to realize she wants to try doing something for herself.

The romance is so sweet and natural. These two read like 19-year-olds, who are making mistakes and afraid to put themselves out there and risk their friendship. The pacing was exactly right.

But Even if it Breaks Your Heart is so much more than romance. There's so much emotion and growth in these pages, and I cannot recommend this book enough. The title isn't lying - your heart will break, but honestly, aren't those sometimes the best books?

This book was so sweet and comforting. Case and Winnie were a wonderful friends to lovers pair, and they truly brought out the best in each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! Everything from the setting, to the processing of grief for Case, and the family dynamics and caring of Winnie.

I loved watching these two go through the process of getting to know each other, becoming friends, falling for each other and then getting together. I was afraid Case would have a bad phase in the book of pushing people away because of his grief of losing his best friend, but I think where we were at in his journey in the book allowed for him to already be over that phase and ready to move on and find peace.

While both dad’s in the book were present and aren’t #1 dad of the year, they were human and I’m very glad they mostly redeemed themselves by becoming more understanding of their children by the end of the book.

Winnie’s relationship with her siblings was precious. The three of them were always on the same team and supported each other when their dad didn’t and I love to see sibling bonding. Good siblings can really make or break you.

Loved this novel!

Nicely written, this contemporary romance includes many points I look for. Characters who are not perfect but who are actively trying not to harm each other, a short but clear emphasis on consent, and clear eyed view of each other. This story isn't new or different from some other romance novels, but it's well written. The supporting characters are real people as well as the main characters. I definitely enjoyed this read.

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. You are also currently saying that you support black women in black history month but you have ignored their concerns for months and shown them no support.

Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

Temporary DNF @ 33% due to triggering content. Make sure you are in a healthy place before starting, especially if cancer/terminal illness is a sensitive spot.

T/CW as of 33%: terminal illness (on-page), death of a best friend, grief, poverty, vomiting, references to COVID-19 pandemic

I am not in the headspace to finish this one right now, even though I can confidently say this is Erin Hahn's best work so far. At the very least this will be 4 stars. The characters are so compelling and the developing relationship between Case and Winnie is one of my favorites in YA right now.

I was planning to binge it in one sitting, but I had to put it down after I couldn't stop crying. Then every time I tried to keep reading I'd end up sobbing. My emotional stability is a little off right now, so once I no longer have a loved one with a terminal illness (*eye twitches*) I might be able to return and keep reading.

Also, sending soooo much love to Erin and her family right now. ❤️

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Here's hoping I can finish it at some point.