I really want to give absolutely nothing away about this book, but please believe me when I say that it absolutely broke me. Very few books have the power to make me cry but I sobbed like a big ol' baby reading this. I'd never read anything by Evelyn Flood until I read WHEN I WAS THEIRS but you can guarantee I will be devouring everything she has ever written!

This is beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that explores themes of love, identity, and healing. The characters are well-developed and the narrative offers a balance of heartache and hope that lingers long after the final page.

I have really enjoyed this author's past books but this one should be a hard pass. Its a bit too much like a Colleen Hoover, with bad boyfriends galore and way too much angsty drama. The female character is a doormat and the guy she ends up with is mean to her almost for the entire book and is not worthy of her or any other woman. Minor spoiler but our heroine's original boyfriend dies and his brother who has an unhealthy dislike of our heroine becomes the guy she ends up with ... there is also an abusive guy in between. The book is just a mess of manufactured angst and truthfully I couldn't wait until it was over.

Ok you had me crying at the beginning of this book and and the end of it!!!

It was nice to read a book, with a different story line. I was gutted for Ben and Emmy, but i was glad Jared was there for her In the end!!

There was lots of different issues address in this story and I liked to see that they were getting the help needed to overcome them.

A really rollercoaster of emotions this book brought out in me, and i would happily read this or another one of Evelyn's books again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

Trust me when I say this book will eat you up and spit you out in the best way. This was so heartbreakingly beautiful, it tore my heart out of chest and then it was shoved right back now my throat.

Going into this book, I thought this was going to be a love triangle with lots of tension and angst and decisions made where one party wasn’t going to end up happy. However I was plenty surprised because the way that this story was written was one of most beautiful piece of literature I have ever read.

Emmy, Ben and Jared all made me quite emotional. If you want a book that will rip your heart out, stomp all over it, put it back together and then hand you yours and it’s after, then this is the book for you.

Such beautiful story telling, I have highlighted a couple of spelling mistakes but other than I have no complaints.

Absolutely wonderful.

e happy. Be brave, and dance in the rain.

5/5 no notes. This book teaches you many lessons about love and loss and relationships. The good, the bad, the ones you wish you had more time with.

I couldn’t put the book down. I was captivated from beginning to end. This is a must read. Please make sure to read the trigger warnings. Be warned, your heart will shatter.

Trigger warnings include: domestic abuse, difficult parental relationships, managing grief and loss, illness/cancer, death, childhood cancer

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Let me dry my eyes first…
I’m usually not a cryer, but this book made me sob. So, if you want your heart broken, go ahead, read it. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Some reader said: “Ben Bennett broke my heart. And Jared put it back together.” And I couldn’t have said it any better.

When I Was Theirs deals with difficult topics such as domestic violence, serious illness, loss and grief. But also beautiful things like insta love, second chances and healing. It’s beautifully written and very emotional. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: don’t read this book in public, unless you have no problem with others seeing you cry over a book.

So, do I recommend this book? Yes, BUT please check the trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader or if you lost someone recently. Otherwise I suggest going in blind.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of When I Was Theirs by Evelyn Flood. I wish I could give this story a higher rating, but I felt like I have read it before, many times. This was the several sad stories rolled into one but nothing new.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

I LOVED this book! It was a bit slow in the beginning but then boom I was hooked!! I finished it in one sitting! My first by this author but will not be my last!!

WHY AM I CRYING SO MUCH

I think I shed more tears reading this then I did at my grandfathers funeral. Like holy shit, this was heart wrenching but beautiful and I loved EVERY SINGLE thing

This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story. There’re three main characters, a woman and two brothers who have been gone to terrible times, but didn’t give up. It is a story about losses and love. Picking up life and choosing to be happy again.

Thanks to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the chance to read this story.

This book pulled me in from the start and I read it in less than a day. The love story with Ben is sweet and full of little moments that made me smile, but then everything falls apart. Jared's character adds tension and emotion to the story. Their connection is messy but also unexpectedly healing.

The heavy themes hit hard (make sure you check the warnings), Emmy went through SO much.. but the author balances the heartbreak with hope. If you’re up for an emotional ride, it’s worth the read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Evelyn Flood for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is my third book I’ve read from this author and it’s amazing! Very different from the others and I was not expecting to cry but oh did I!!
This is so powerful and emotional but with the HEA, it really does hit you!!
Absolutely amazing writing !

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.
I appreciate the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, for this was not an easy read for me, but it is a nice detail to let people know what they are about to encounter.

The romance was quite beautiful, tragic, and even hopeful, somehow. Evely Flood writes beautifully, making me see the narration easily in my mind.
Was it worth the tears? Maybe.
Is it worth the read? Yes.

I am so glad I took a chance on a new author!! This book captivated me from the moment I saw the gorgeous cover all the way to end when I was wishing it would never end!! This book had all the feels and took me on an emotional rollercoaster that I am still reeling from. Emmy, Ben, and Jared were everything and more!! This story touches on some real life issues and I love how perfectly the author portrayed them. And I love how the author let the characters work through the issues they had as a person before immediately throwing them together. There was so much character growth and I enjoyed being brought along on that journey. Overall, this was a great yet emotional read that talks about illness, grief, overcoming your own problems, and finding love. Highly recommend and I cannot wait to read more by this author!

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.