Well....this book ruined me, such an emotional and heavy story. It had great character development and such a great storyline. It dealt with heavy topics and did it well. Highly recommend

Very cute! The characters are very interesting and whimsical! Cute and heartfelt. I want more!!!!! This is what i need in more books

This book was pure fire - I could not put it down. I needed to know what would happen next. I am now off to read everything by Flood!

I have no words to really describe what this book put me through. I cried, I laughed, but mainly I cried 🥲

Thank you so so much for this book and I do not know how I am going to recover!

This book was great! It was very emotional and I really liked the character development in this book. And the romance was perfect!

ARC Review of When I Was Theirs by Evelyn Flood
* * * * *
An emotional romance where you find the right love at the wrong time, and find it again unexpectedly in a person you least expect.

Emmy met Ben, her adorable protective caring knight, the bar where she worked by chance.
He didn't want to make any promises.
He didn't want to fall for her, like she had with him.
But he did.
And now, he's breaking both of their hearts unintentionally.
When Jared comes into the picture, angry at the world for Benny and conflicted about the presense of Emmy, he's now trying to face his own feelings towards the woman who loved his brother.

Just wow. A complex romance on loving who at what time, when the conflicts of illness and strangers and anger mix into all of it. Grief and loss, trying to make things better, holding onto hope that other knows is lost, other past hurts that affect the present.

Wow. I’m at a loss for words. I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this book, but I’m kinda glad I did. Sometimes, you just need a good cry, and this story delivered. It’s an emotional rollercoaster that captures the healing journey after losing the love of your life which I find both beautiful and utterly heartbreaking.

Absolutely beautifully written story of love, loss and healing. The writing style was fantastic and kept me hooked. I ended up staying up way too late reading this one as I couldn't put it down!

Emotionally gripping from start to finish.

My absolute favorite quote from the book has stuck with me for days:

“You’re a worrier, aren’t you?” My throat tightens.

“Maybe. I like to be prepared for things that might happen, I guess. I take it you’re not?”

Ben shrugs. “I used to be. But then I realized that things are going to happen, whether you worry about them or not. Life is too short to waste the good times worrying about when the bad things might hit.”

Oh my goodness, I knew in the first few minutes this book was going to wreck me and it had me sobbing at the 20% mark!! I was drawn in emotionally right away, and I could not stop reading once I started!

Now, the characters - Oh how I love the Bennett boys, and wish that I, too, could be a Bennett girl! I immediately fell in love with Ben & then Jared swept in and stole my heart just as easily. Both MMCs were easy to love, and were different from one another in enough ways that didn’t make me feel like they were repetitive, but also similar in ways that felt true to their being brothers and perfect for Emmy in different ways.

The FMC, Emmy, was also so beautifully written and I felt like I was experiencing all of the things she experienced right along with her.

I really enjoyed this book, and am so glad I got to read it!

Thank you to the author, Evelyn Flood, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review after reading.

When I Was Theirs by Evelyn Flood delivers a love story that makes you believe in soulmates—only to remind you that not all love stories are meant to last. The story follows a young woman who falls deeply in love with Ben, a man whose presence feels like fate. Their romance is intense, passionate, and bittersweet, as both of them carry burdens from their pasts that threaten to pull them apart.

As their story unfolds, you experience the highs of their connection and the devastating lows of their inevitable struggles. When Ben's brother enters the picture, the emotional landscape shifts again. His presence brings out hidden truths and forces the protagonist to confront not only her feelings for Ben but also her own pain and resilience.

This book masterfully explores themes of living in the moment, coping with loss, and wondering "what if." It’s a story that leaves you torn between wanting to savor every page and needing a moment to compose yourself through the tears. Flood has crafted a tale that lingers in your heart long after you’ve turned the last page.

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