Book Review: Even If It Breaks Your Heart

Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn ~ 320 pages ~ to be published on February 6, 2024 by Wednesday Books

Goodreads Synopsis:

A heart-buckling ride of a romance by beloved author Erin Hahn, 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.

The only thing keeping nineteen-year-old Case Michaels together after the death of his best friend, Walker, is a list Walker left behind of things he wants Case to accomplish in his absence. So far, though, Case hasn’t even been able to continue riding bulls in the rodeo circuit, something he’s done his entire life, balking at the thought of competing without Walker by his side. But the list? Case is determined to follow it to the letter– and he follows it all the way to Winnie Sutton.

Eighteen-year-old Winnie Sutton just wants to keep her family together. She graduated high school early to work long shifts at the Michaels family ranch so she can support her younger siblings and a father who’s more than happy to let Winnie fill the responsible parent role. If she sometimes sneaks out to ride the horses herself and forget about life for a while– well, that’s no one else’s business– until the day she crashes headfirst into Case Michaels. Case sees her riding skills and immediately ropes her into competing for the ranch and becoming his friend.

Winnie and Case couldn’t be more different, but Case can’t help but be inspired by Winnie’s badly-hidden passion for riding and competition. And there’s something about Case that makes Winnie want to try grasping onto a dream for herself, whether that’s a shot at a rodeo trophy, the annoyingly handsome rancher’s son who won’t leave her alone, or maybe both.

What I Thought:

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC!*

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. 🥰

Erin Hahn has quickly become one of my favorite authors, because her books always deliver. Her characters are relatable and multi-dimensional, and her stories are fun and unique. Even If It Breaks Your Heart is no different, and I absolutely loved it!

The main characters in this book, Case and Winnie are both such great characters to get to follow around. Case is struggling with grief and trying to figure out what he actually wants to do with his life. His ways of coping with said grief are not the most constructive or healthy, but that makes his character arc that much more satisfying. Winnie, on the other hand, knows what she wants to do, but struggles to do anything about it because she is having to basically be a mom to her two younger siblings because of her present-but-absent father. I love how they each have their own very unique struggles, but they are able to be there for one another in the ways that they need.

The supporting characters aren’t quite as strong in this book as in some of Hahn’s previous books, except for Winnie’s siblings, Garrett and Jesse. I love them both so much, and I want to just hug them and never let them go! Sweet babies🥰 It is even more heartbreaking to read Winnie’s story because I completely sympathize with what she is going through.

I don’t know a lot about horses or bulls, or really much about rodeo life in general, but this book made me feel the excitement that these characters felt. I loved getting to be in Winnie’s head when she was barrel racing. Her love for the sport made me want to go to a rodeo! I would love to see barrel racing in the flesh now! Bull riding still sounds terrifying to me, but I would maybe want to go watch that at least once now.

I am from Texas, and the description of the setting was lovely. I’m not from the panhandle area, but I am from North Texas, so there are definitely certain similarities. I love when I can really visualize myself in a setting, and I felt Hahn did a great job immersing the reader in this world.

I thought this book also dealt with grief in a gentle way. It took us through the beginning stages through the end, and it was a bittersweet ride. Both Case and Winnie had things to grieve, and watching them both work through their individual situations was very interesting and well-written.

This was a lovely book with a sweet love story and wonderful family ties. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a small town, slow burn romance with grief, rodeos and family dynamic storylines. Well done Erin, well done!