This book had me in a choke hold. I'm still trying to process all of it. We meet Nate and Macy at Pioneer Camp as teenagers and follow their story back to love. It's told in dual timeline, which held me in place, wanting to know every detail. I only wish it was longer.

Read if you like
* Second Chance Love
* Friends to lovers
* Dual Time-line
* YA feel
* Easy and quick read

I will be thinking about Macy and Nate for a long time.

A very special THANK YOU to NetGalley and Kayla Tirrell for the E-ARC of Even When It Wasn't You in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, I really LOVED Macy and Nate. They were super sweet and several times while I was reading this book, I texted my best friend saying how much I loved it all - it felt like me in a book! I was so excited to see musical references and just... reactions that felt genuine. It was a really fun read for me.

I will say that the ending felt a little bit rushed for me. While I know this was a second chance romance, it still felt a bit too fast. I got to about 80% in the book and wondered how it would be wrapped up so quickly. Otherwise, I think the story in present day and flashbacks was helpful. It was amazing to watch Macy and Nate's relationship grow in the flashbacks. It definitely took me back to my high school crush days!

I think this is truly a really sweet book - full of swoon-worthy moments you don't always find in a closed-door romance. It was special and lovely and I'm thrilled I got to read it. Thank you, NetGally and Kayla Tirrell! Looking forward to reading more of your books, Kayla!

Note: Review the trigger warnings at the start of the book and make sure you're in a good space if it's something that bothers you.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Macey thought she found her happily ever after in Nate. But when life threw a curveball, she decides their relationship has to come to an end. Enduring four years of heartache hasn’t been easy, but now that Nate is set to return home for his sister’s wedding, avoidance is no longer an option. Will the two be able to coexist, or will their interactions bring about more sorrow.

This is a:
*best friend’s brother
*opposites attract
*he falls first
*second chance
* sweet romance
*featuring dual timelines.

I recently had the privilege of reading, Their Second Chance at Love, by Kayla Tirrell. After falling in love with her writing, I couldn’t wait to start this one. I devoured this book in less than two days, even though I had a packed schedule.

Tirrell has written the sweetest love story in Macey and Nate. While their journey is full of ups and downs, Nate was one of the most understanding and endearing male love interests I have ever read. If you are looking for a clean romance that will make you believe in love, be sure to check this book out when it releases April 23rd!

Special thanks to Netgalley, Victoria Editing, and Kayla Tirrell for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

What an adorable and sweet love story! This book had both of my favorite tropes Second chance and friends to lovers as well as an interesting plot line with 1800s pioneering camp. Our heroine was a strong and powerful woman while our hero had big golden retriever energy. I really enjoyed that the gap wasn't too large it had only been 4 years since they had seen each other. I feel in some years that when the gap is 10 years that is a long time to still be pining for each other, I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // 5 stars

okay…WOW. i had the pleasure of reading this as an ARC and im so stinkin’ thankful! it ended up being such an amazing story for me - one i was actually able to relate to more aspects than id imagined.

the story holds such an immense amount of depth while touching on heavier topics but in the lightest, most beautiful way. i absolutely LOVED the dual timeline, where we walk through the school & college journey of Macy and Nate, and then their journey several years later when Macy’s bestfriend (Nate’s sister) Evie is getting married.

i loved all of the family relationships, as mace (macy) and her dad are super close and she grows up going to a pioneer reenactment camp she initially hates - you just have to read it to know 😂🤭 - but i ate this up! this aspect was so much fun and humored me!

overall, id recommend this to anyone seeking a SWEET, funny romance. (check your TW’s beforehand) 💜🥹💜🥹💜

4,5 ⭐️
I read this book in one day and I really enjoyed it! I liked Kayla her writing style, it is a very fast and easy read. The story itself was heartbreaking but I’m glad that there was a happy ending. I hope that there will be a next book because I want to read more! I recommend to read the trigger warnings before starting the book. This was a great friends to lovers, second chance romance
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc

*4.5

This was really cute. I loved how we got a lot of flashback chapters from when they were younger, it really helped me connect with them. I love how they never stopped loving each other and have seemingly never been with anyone even in the four years they've been broken up. They were just meant for each other.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I will be honest, I did not have high hopes for this novel as I generally don’t read a lot of romance. However, this book was absolutely adorable. I laughed, I blushed, I smiled, I cried. The amount of emotion crammed into 200 pages truly blew my mind.

Macy is such a relatable FMC. She’s intelligent, she’s friendly, she’s successful on a realistic scale, and she’s insecure. Her internal battles with her own feelings and accomplishments helped make this story much more relatable than I anticipated. How she handles her past and present is heartbreaking, but it doesn’t make me fault her in any way.

10/10 would recommend to anyone looking for a quick read that will make your eyes water without feeling too heavy.

3.5 stars!

Wow! I loved reading Macy and Nate's love story! This book is told in dual timelines and relates the past to the present. Very quirky and fun!

I am a sucker for any type of romance books, but I will say that it has been a while since I’ve read clean romance... BUT this one did not let me down! This one had some of my favorite tropes: he falls first, best friend's brother, second chances, opposites attract...

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS:

Easy, likable read. I surprisingly LOVED the LARP element-- made it seem so funny.

I felt like the timeline of how long characters knew each other, were together, broken up was a little confusing.

I did not like that Nate's sister Evie was discouraging of them being together even when Macy decided to tell Nate the truth. That was sorta crappy "best friend" energy.

Overall I gave this 4 stars because it gave enough tense longing energy that I look for in a 2nd chance romance. Nate was a gem and Macy was likable and I understood her reason for pushing Nate away initially.

Publisher: I noticed one TYPO in Chapter 16 The Past... it says NATE when it should say Jake....

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC of Even When It Wasn’t You by Kayla Tirrell!

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a sucker for dual timeline, second chance romances, so this definitely hit the right spots. Macy has been in love with Nate for years, but only reunites with him for his sister’s wedding four years after their breakup. I enjoyed the premise a lot, and felt the breakup plot point was rational and well done. However, the beginning of the novel felt very slow, and I felt we didn’t see enough of Nate and Macy getting together romantically, more just as friends. I think the ending felt similarly abrupt to me as well, when things quickly worked out. I wish there was more buildup to the last chapter. Other than that, I liked the characters and their camp meet cute.

I couldn't put this book down!

Macy and Nate were wonderful characters. You could see the strength and resilience in each of them, but they also had their vulnerabilities, too. It was a captivating mix, and I just needed to keep reading to make sure they found their HEA.

I absolutely loved the switch between past and present. Seeing how Macy and Nate met and slowly watching how it came to be present day was so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. This second chance romance was so good.

Because the majority of this book was SOOO well done, I had a little bit of difficulty fully connecting with the ending. The big reveal felt a bit rushed, and I felt like everything Macy went through could have used some more time to focus on her healing and giving her support. While I wasn't a huge fan of Macy's decision, I also completely understand it and thought the author did a great job in having Macy mature and come to the eventual conclusion that she can't decide how someone responds to the tough times.

Even with the ending feeling just a bit rushed, I remained so invested in their story. The top-notch, playful banter and the best humor combined with the raw emotions made this such a quick and addicting read. I'd definitely recommend!

#Review: *Even when it wasn't you* - ARC - Kayla Tirrell
4.9/5✨

This book was really sweet and emotional. I enjoyed my first encounter with this author 💙. Thank you Kayla Tirrell and NetGalley for this copy.🫶🏼

Macy is a teenager who mingled into the wrong crowd. So, his father decided to bring her to a campsite to take her away from that environment. Here she meets the Delaney family, which includes her soon to be love of her life, Nathan. She becomes best friends with his sister too, Evie.

This story has two timelines: one from the present and one from the past, from their beginning of their friendship. I was super curious about what happened in the past to lead to the present situation. I supposed something similar but not exactly what it actually happened. It was really emotional and affected Macy then and is still affecting her in the present.

The present has the main focus on the preparations for Evies wedding. Also, we have the awkward reunion between Macy and Nate, after a couple of years apart. They will learn new things about eachother and will find out why everything happened that way.

I loved this book. It was nice to see the whole picture behind the character's past and to understand their decisions. I really loved how sweet was Macy and Nate's relationship from the past. It was genuine and innocent.
I recommend this book if you like these tropes:
💐 #FirstLove;
💐 #SecondChance;
💐 #FriendsToLovers;
💐 #ChildhoodSweethearts;
💐 #ReturningHometown;
💐 #ReunitedLovers;
💐 #LoveAtFirstSight;
💐 #SoulMate.

Young love, second chance, angsty, homeschool family, a pioneer reenactment camp, hidden trauma, best friend’s brother. If any of that peaks your interest, then you’ll probably enjoy this book! I loved that the MMC was homeschooled (as someone who was homeschooled for a chunk of time, and plans to homeschool), I felt like it was represented well! This is a shorter book that can easily be read in a day with a guaranteed happy ending! I loved the epilogue!

Thank you to Kayla Tirrell, Victory Editing, and NetGalley for this ARC!

I unexpectedly LOVED this book! I am blown away. I ate this book up in a day. This has to be one of the best second chance romances I have read. I am happy to say that I will be looking into Kayla Tirrell’s other books.

I really appreciated the emphasis on family in the story. Seeing Macey and Nate interact with their families was so sweet. I felt so attached for the characters and cried a lot. Nate was such a great character. Everything he said to Macey just made me giggly and happy.

I really believed in Nate and Macey’s love. The past timeline really helped me understand them as people and provided me with the back story I needed to root for the couple. Also, the fact that they both like musicals is the cutest thing ever, goodbye!!!

BRB, going to sit and bed and think about this couple for a while.

Nate and Macy met at a pioneer camp when they were teens after Macy's father took her there for a week's holiday. Macy hates having to act like she's living in the 1800's until she meets Nate and his sister Evie. For the week she's there, she spends the whole time with her new friends but she makes her dad promise to never go back there.

That's until Macy throws a house party to impress her friends and her dad comes home early. He grounds her before taking her back to the pioneer camp but the first morning she arrives she sees Nate again and just like before, she spends the whole week with him and Evie until their last night, when she suddenly realises she has a crush on Nate. He obviously feels the same way as he asks her to take a chance on them, even if they do live an hour apart.

For awhile the relationship works, but then something happens to make Macy break up with Nate. Though she never tells him why.

Fast forward four years, and Macy now runs her own florist shop and is doing the flowers for Evie's wedding when Nate shows back up in town - a week early for the wedding! She finds out he's looking to move back to town and when she realises that they both still have feelings for each other, it's time for her to finally tell Nate the truth about why she broke up with him.

I enjoyed the story a lot and it's told in dual timeline. I found Macy to be a bit childish when she broke up with Nate but as we learn what actually happened and why she did what she did, it was easy to forgive her for that. She was young as well and didn't have the emotional maturity to let someone else decide how they react to the situation. Thankfully she realises it this time around though and is able to get her happy ever after.

This was a really quick read and while it didn't take long for Nate and Macy to realise their feelings were still there, it did take quite awhile to actually talk about their past and once that was done, it basically ended.

Possible TW for r*pe and pregnancy loss.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the characters and I felt like the writing is really wonderful. The plot is very interesting and well thought out!

4⭐️
If you like….
- 1 POV
- Clean romance
- Second chance
- Renaissance camp
- Growing up
- Young love
- Opposites attract
This was my first ARC from net galley and I was so grateful to receive this’d guys I won’t lie I kinda went into this blind all I knew was that it had a similar mood to forget me not so I was all for it. Yes this book has a similar vibe but it is no where near the same it has it own charm and I ate it up. Macy and Nate meet at a Renaissance camp of all things and I honestly loved this setting I thought it was so fun! Watching them fall in love along the timeline of them working out how to fix their relationship was super pure and their young love was the cutest thing ever. The way this man cared for Macy was top their book boyfriend material. I was eating up their story and was hooked on what would happen next which surprised me because I soon worked out it was 1 POV which usually isn’t my vibe as I feel I can’t connect with the other half of the couple but Nate was so in love with Macy his personality shone through so well and Kaylas writing was really beautiful to read. This was my first read of this author and reminded how much I can love clean romance!!

This book is beautiful is features a past and present storyline. The main characters Macy and Nate meet at a 1800s pioneer reenactment camp. Nate introduces Macy to his sister who quickly becomes best friends. The book starts with the preparation of her best friends wedding which bring back Nate to her hometown. The book explores a hard topic which when reading I missed so had to reread. Towards the end the book felt rushed. I would have like the epilogue to be a tiny bit longer but that’s is just me.
Overall I really enjoyed this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Thank you Kayla, Victory Editing, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Possible T/W: Implied SA, drugging, loss of pregnancy. It’s never explicitly said, just implied and there are no details.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Private school girl Macy meets homeschooled boy Nate at a pioneer LARP camp and they hit it off. Macy doesn’t think they will ever see each other again until her dad drags her back the very next year. A romance sparks between Macy and Nate, and Macy and Nate’s sister Evie become best friends. After a traumatic experience, Macy breaks up with Nate and they don’t meet again until 4 years later at Evie’s wedding that they’re both in.

I don’t like spoilers so I will just leave it at that, but this was such a good little read! I loved the characters, I loved the tropes (friends to lovers, meet cute, second chance romance) and I loved the plot. Kayla’s writing was beautiful, and she had a great way of making us understand the characters and what they were feeling, especially Macy as it was her POV. So good, I definitely recommend especially if you are looking for a semi-quick read!