This is not a book, this was a journey… this was two people who life tried to break healing together!

This was heartbreak, illness, trauma, abandonment and healing, laughter and love in all forms!
I absolutely loved this book.

Ben, Emmy and Jared all deserve happy endings, these are characters that will stay with you and hopefully inspire you to live your life to the fullest!

This is my first book this author,
but it will definitely not be my last!

5 tear-jerking stars!

I’m still crying as I write this review. This book is so beautifully written and tragic, but I simply couldn’t put it down. This is my favorite book of the year.

In this novel we follow Emmy who is a bartender by night and florist by day. On one particular night at the bar, there is a blackout and Ben saves her when she starts to have a panic attack. From there the first part of our love story blossoms. We fall in love with Emmy and Ben only to have their hearts break. Ben makes his older brother Jared vow to take care of Emmy in his place, and he does just that. This is the second love story: Jared and Emmy. We watch them both face internal struggles, support each other through loss, and lend a shoulder when times get tough.

I don’t have enough good things to say. I’m not kidding when I say I cried for about 20 chapters, but I didn’t mind. I think it was a combination of the story and having just lost my own loved one. The two combined left me with swollen eyes and an aching chest. This book should definitely be read with a box of tissues.

I loved everything about this book. It has short chapters, but everything is paced well. I never thought the plot was lagging. I just wanted more and more. The characters are also lovable. There weren’t too many but each added to the story. I also loved Emmy, Ben, and Jared. They were such great characters, it made the heartbreak even worse. But I still would live through the heartache again to read this book. The journey you go on is so inspiring.

This is my first book by this author, but you can rest assured I will be looking into her other works.

*An ARC was received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! This book....was soo. freaking. good. I shouldn't be surprised as Evelyn is the author for my first 5 star reads of 2024, but I am. She has outdone herself. Also, yet again, here is a book that has made me a liar when I say that I hardly ever cry when reading, because yet again, I sobbed like a baby. Everything about this book made me fall in love with it. I can't find one single thing wrong with it. It highlighted the fact that just because love is different from person to person, it is no less valid and no less life-changing.

Ben broke my heart. He made it hard not to love him, even if he wasn't the HEA.
Jared was so damaged, and he worked SO hard to heal himself.
And Emmy was so strong. Not in the way where she kicks butts and take names, but in the way she kept going through all her hardships, and was just so good throughout it all.

Read this book if you like:
*Emotional Love stories
*Mental Health Rep
*Overcoming Grief and loss
*Instalove
*Slow burn (ha gonna confuse you there)

Favorite Character: Jared. He was a jerk in the beginning but he grew so much throughout the story, and once he gave in to his feelings he put his whole heart into healing himself for her, and he would do ANYTHING for Emmy.

Favorite Quote: "I think that every single broken piece of me was built to love every part of you, Emmy Marsters." - Jared

Thank you to Netgally for providing me with an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I Was Theirs is my first book from this author, so I was beyond excited to read it. It was a surprisingly emotionally good story that gives us Ben, Emmy and Jared's story. This story touches on real life issues that I think the author handled in a great way and I enjoyed how she gave the characters time to work on their own problems and selves before bringing them together because the love was there. Overall, this was a good read, and it left me looking forward to reading more books from this author.

3.5⭐️
Emmy, a pesar de su juventud, ha pasado por muchas experiencias que la han dejado marcada. Ya no confía en la gente y prefiere estar sola, hasta que conoce a Ben.

Ben, por su parte, también ha vivido situaciones difíciles y guarda un devastador secreto. Cuando conoce a Emmy, no puede alejarse de ella, a pesar de saber que debería hacerlo.

Ambos caen rápidamente en un romance intenso, pero cuando Ben se va, su hermano Jared aparece.

Jared no confía en Emmy, pero le hizo una promesa a su hermano y debe cumplirla: cuidarla.





Spoilers ⚠️
Siento que el romance con Jared necesita algo más. Quizás más desarrollo en su relación con Emmy, una mayor conexión emocional o un conflicto interno que haga que la relación con ella evolucione de forma más profunda.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Evelyn Flood had NO business making me cry like that. It was truly cruel.

This is an emotional story from start to finish. The author does an incredible job at making you care about the characters just from the first few chapters. The way she can write a character literally never disappoints.

It really is a beautiful story. It's gripping, an emotional rollercoaster, and has everything you hope it will. The spice scenes are incrediblely well placed and add so much.

The only thing is I wish we got more of I guess the background. The side characters were really interesting, but a lot of their problems and life happened off page and I wish we got to see that a little more.

This book had me in my feels from the beginning. It follows the story of Emmy, a young woman with a tragic past who finds love when she least expects it, on a thunderous rainy night.

The worst happens and Emmy is left to pick up the pieces while someone unexpected helps glue herself back together.

100 pages in and I was crying. I felt the characters feelings leaping right off the pages. It's a vulnerable, painful story. There is an HEA but it's a journey of twists and turns to get there.

One thing I took away from this book is that sometimes 2nd chances come from the most unexpected places at the lowest point in life. It embodies the phrase "All the little moments". Because that's what really makes life turn, right?

The characters in this story do the hard thing that allows them to grow, both separately and apart. If I could only use one word to describe the story, it would be poignant.

I'm excited to see what comes next for Evelyn Flood's writing journey!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I feel so lucky to have received an ARC of When I Was Theirs from NetGalley—thank you for the chance to dive into this incredible story! Evelyn, where have you been keeping this gem all this time? My heart feels like it’s been shattered and stitched back together, and I mean that in the best way possible.

From the first page, I was pulled in, and I’m pretty sure I sobbed through half the book. This story is both heart-wrenching and beautiful, packed with moments so expertly crafted that they felt like a part of my own life. Evelyn Flood doesn’t shy away from heavy, real-life themes: cancer, loss, domestic abuse, self-discovery, and love—all interwoven in a way that resonates deeply. Every page is full of these "little moments" that hit close to home, drawing you into the characters’ lives and making you feel every emotion they go through.

I was blown away by how Flood handles each theme with such care and sensitivity. There’s a rawness to the story, but it’s also incredibly hopeful, showing that even through the darkest times, there’s a path forward. This is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Evelyn, for bringing this story to life.

Highly, highly recommend—When I Was Theirs is a five-star masterpiece that will stay in my heart for a long time.

Listen… When I Was Theirs broke me. I knew going in this was going to be heavy on the emotions, but my god I wasn’t prepared to be this genuinely devastated.

I sobbed, so fucking much. Seriously, so so much. I honestly didn’t think I would ever stop crying, but I didn’t because this ended up being such a beautifully written story about healing and finding love after loss & every little moment mended my broken heart.

Highly recommend if you enjoy getting your heart shattered and sobbing uncontrollably.

I hate to be this person, but it just confused me to much with all the diffrient POV’s, I personaly try my best to avoid putting myself in these situations but sometimes it is not obvious from the blurb that it is a multiple POV book. And sadly this is, but before my brain got all to scrambled i did enjoy what i was reading. It was just not for me

First and foremost all I can say is, WOW.

“When I Was Theirs” made my heart gush, break and heal all at once.

One night working in a bar Emmy Marsters meets Ben Bennett under unusual circumstances. What should have been an odd occurrence between two strangers turns into a nightly routine. However a dark secret looks over Emmy and Ben’s bright future. Ben tries to shelter Emmy from feeling the inevitable pain, but he is no match for Emmy. He lets down his guard and lets Emmy in. As quickly as their love story begins, it’s over just as fast… until Ben’s brother Jared comes along

Jared was never meant to stay. A ball of anger due to life’s unfortunate circumstances, he’s abrasive and cold. That is until Ben asks Jared for a promise. Wanting nothing to do with the request, Jared drowns himself in the comfort of alcohol while trying to ignore his brother’s request. Eventually Jared decides to follow through. Instead of driving right in, he puts up walls and boundaries that won’t allow him to cross any lines.

Slowly over time Jared and Emmy start to spend time together bonding over pain, Jared taking over Ben’s nightly routine. During one of those routines, Emmy’s dark past turns up causing Jared to doubt her. Jared realizing he made a mistake, decides to block out his regret and shame by getting drunk. What he doesn’t know is Emmy’s nightmare is waiting for her. From there, hell breaks loose leaving Emmy and Jared to deal with the consequences. In dealing with the fallout, the power of hope, healing and love is uncovered.


Evelyn Flood did an amazing job creating such emotion behind the story. For those who have suffered the same fate as Ben (along with loved ones) it’s a heartbreaking reminder that life is never fair. Be that as it may it serves as a beautiful reminder to as Evelyn puts it, “Breathe. Live in the Little Moments. The bigger things will still be there, whether you worry about them or not.”

Another thing I truly appreciated that Evelyn articulated well, is Jared’s struggles && recovery. Without spoiling the story line, the sacrifices Jared made not only for himself but for Emmy eventually leading to Emmy’s self discovery was absolutely beautiful. It shows what a real relationship with someone in recovery should look like. Both people working on themselves first, before coming together as one.

I thoroughly enjoyed “When I Was Theirs” and I’ll definitely be reading Evelyn Flood’s books..

ARC - PUBLICATION DATE 14TH NOV 2024

5 ☆

『 tropes 』
•insta-love
•second chances
•cancer
•alcoholism
•mental health
•death
•two brothers

『 plot 』
emmy is hurting, she is just getting by, she works two jobs just to distract herself from her past, and is just living in limbo.

ben is leaving, it’s not permanent, it can’t be. he’s hurting, he’s leaving, he’s trying really hard to stay positive and leave how he wants to, alone and hurting no one else.

but the night emmy and ben meet, ben knows he can’t stay away from her, he should, but he can’t. they have a fast, instant, whirlwind romance but ben has a secret, a secret that will inevitably break them apart, with ben leaving and emmy heartbroken.

then comes jared, ben’s brother. he’s bitter, he’s hurting and he’s angry. but he needs to see ben before ben leaves.

ben broke emmy’s heart, but can jared but it back together?

『 my thoughts 』
this book made me feel, SO much. it was beautiful, it was heartbreaking, it was hopeful, it was meaningful, it was just everything.

this book is just simply about love, about different love, at different stages of a person’s life.

emmy and ben’s love was fast, it was instant, it was all consuming, it was temporary, it took and took and took and it was exactly the kind of love that ben needed in that particular time in his life, he needed someone to love him with everything they had. it was also the love that emmy needed at that particular time, it needed to show her what real love was, it needed to heal her, to consume her, even though in the end it broke her.

emmy and jared’s love was slow, it was cautious, it was thoughtful, it was unconditional, it was healing, it was unselfish and beautiful and it was forever

『 overall 』
i loved this book so much, i loved the complexity of all the characters and topics and themes of the story. it was thought provoking, it was insightful, it was messy and scary and bittersweet. i need this book to be read far and wide. i’m obsessed.