3.75 stars
Wow, this book covered not one, but two really serious topics, with a woman struggling with a past with a serial killer and a man struggling with depression and a below the knee amputation, resulting in job loss and losing his fiance.
I will say that all the horror talk did get to me a bit, I'm a total chicken so even the parts that weren't supposed to be intense got my heart rate up (since most of the book was about dealing with murderers.)
I enjoyed this a lot. I do wish that they had a little bit more time getting to know each other, it seemed to progress super fast considering their histories... then again maybe the point was they were finally comfortable with someone, and when you know, you know.

An emotional love story about overcoming past traumas and learning to trust another in love again.

• Grumpy/Sunshine
• Dual POV
• Slow Burn

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶🌶.5/5: Explicit

Roni Loren is 2 for 2 in the Say Everything series. I was just as much blown away by Andi and Hill’s story as I was with Hollyn and Jasper! Yes & I Love You is in my top 5 favorites from this year and What if You & Me just made that list too. I think it would be unfair to compare these two books because the characters all suffer from different traumas in their past, making for very different stories. Although Hollyn and Andi both suffer from anxiety, it stems from very different reasons.

One thing I love about this series is these characters who are suffering from anxiety are in therapy for it and sought out help. Both main characters in What if You & Me are in therapy and I don’t think we see that often enough in books. In a way, efforts like this novel normalize therapy and encourage readers to seek help if needed.

Andi has a super interesting backstory. It’s partly the reason for her profession, but the biggest reason for her anxiety and mistrust. I kept thinking “what happened?? What happened to her???”. Once it’s explained, it makes so much sense and is a huge shock. Even with her past, Andi still was this bright and extroverted person that was really fun to read.

Hill is also struggling with his own demons. He is the classic grump in the grumpy/sunshine trope. Andi pushes her way in and challenges Hill; they both do. Hill is a sexy ex fireman who is trying to heal from an on-the-job accident. He came off as rude (as one does when they are the grump) in some interactions, but that’s why I LOVE dual POV. Once you read Hill’s POV, your heart goes out to the guy🥺.

Now I’m going to patiently sit here and wait for the third in this wonderful series, Eliza’s story!!

Thanks to the publishers, Netgalley and the author for an Advance Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an absolutely beautiful moving love story that all fans of contemporary romance will enjoy. Andi Lockley and Hill Dawson are neighbours who are hiding some pretty scary scars, both internal and external. It's mesmerising to watch their tentative friendship turn into full-blown attraction and then satisfying companionship and fulfilment.

I really empathised with these characters who have to struggle with PTSD among other issues in order to lead healthy lives and ultimately allow themselves to risk getting hurt. Despite it's heavy themes this is ultimately an uplifting and life-affirming story ... with extra steam.

Ms Loren - I am a fan for life. Thanks for this little gem of a story - I'm still smiling!

I absolutely loved Yes & I Love You and jumped at the opportunity to read the 2nd book in the Say Everything Series, What If You & Me.

This book centers around Andi, the true-crime podcaster/horror writer who is working on her next book while navigating her own fears.

I am in awe of how author Roni Loren can create such incredible characters and storylines. Where I loved the humor of Hollyn & Jasper in Book 1, I fell even harder for the depth and tenderness that this book has. Hill and Andi, although flawed and working through their traumas, are captivating.

Movie lovers will really enjoy the references throughout this one! I couldn't put this down--and I tried--but found myself getting in bed and reading 6 more chapters! I loved experiencing Andi and Hill's growth throughout this one, both in their individual and shared experiences. So glad I discovered Roni's work this year and can't believe she delivered us two incredible reads so far this year!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Roni Loren’s Say Everything series has officially become one of favorites! What If You & Me is the second installment in this depth-filled, laugh-out-loud, swoon-y romance series! My favorite part about Roni Loren’s writing is her ability to take fictional characters and make them not only relatable, but also so darn realistic! This series tackles so many tough subjects/circumstances and I adore how Roni gives a voice to those who typically aren’t written about in romance novels. I highly recommend everyone put What If You & Me on their summer reading list! I am so excited for more from this MUST READ series!

This book is everything!
.
Andi Lockley is a horror fiction writer whose anxiety is making her think that someone is out to get her all the time. After escaping her ex-boyfriend who turned out to be a psychotic killer, she has been scared of forming any new relationships and has you can expect the experience left her traumatized. She is always anxious about a lot of things. As a writer and a true-crime podcaster, she has a lot of o deadlines to meet, but her neighbour is constantly moving in his room even late into the night.

So she decides that the best way to get back at him is to play her horror movies as loud as possible. This leads her neighbour, Hill Dawson to come knocking on her door thinking she was being assaulted or worse murdered. Hill is a former firefighter who lost his leg during a reuse mission in a burning building. He is dealing with the pain of his loss of both of his leg, his job and the woman he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with. This has left him not bitter but reserved. He has moved away from society and spends his day either with his physical therapist on in his room. He feels that he is no longer the man he used to be.

You would expect this to be a quick love story but it is not. Considering that these two have more emotional garbage than clothes in Christian Boltanski art, it was both heartbreaking and heartmending to see the two of them navigate life and their relationship. It was beautiful to see Andi explore her emotional and sexual boundaries with Hill, they having open and clear discussions about emotional availability and body dysmorphia was just so raw and almost unseen in adult romance fiction.

Andi helps Hills capitalise on his love for cooking, with them making videos online that caught the attention of all her fanbase and new fans because apparently, Hill is delicious looking. But as you can expect, there are also hate comments which were new to Hill. He decides to report this only to find that some haters have been tracking Andi...

Fans of Yes & I Love You will love this book! Based on Andi (Hollyn's friend from Workaround) this lovely story about trauma recovery and romance will give you all the feels!! Roni Loren's has mastered the perfect mix of sweet romance & steamy love scenes.

I absolutely adored Andi and Hill. I love any story that features a sunny, happy character and a grumpy character coming together. The stories behind each character and why they behaved the way they do where so interesting and I loved seeing their growth throughout the book, with the help of each other. This is a book I will definitely be picking up when it comes out, it was that good! I wouldn’t change anything about this book. I think it was perfect from start to finish.

Over the last two years or so, I've absolutely adored Roni Loren's books. They feature strong, complex characters, and while there's always a romance at the forefront, they delve into personal issues that go much deeper than the surface. This book was no different and I loved it!

Andi was such a cool and quirky lead - she hosts a horror podcast and writes horror novels - while also dealing with the aftereffects of a traumatic incident in her teens. Her past influenced her present, but this book shows her stepping out from behind her fear and insecurities and, yes, while she's learning to trust a man again, she's also learning to trust herself.

And then Hill was amazing too. I'm a sucker for firefighter leads, but he was so complex because he'd been injured in the line of duty and lost everything - his job, his fiancee, his happiness. It's a great journey to see him come out of that hole and fall in love with Andi. They're definitely opposites, but they work well together.

This was an amazing read, and I'm really hoping Eliza gets her own story (possibly with Ramsey as the love interest?) but if she doesn't, I'll still be sure to pick up the author's next work regardless.

After reading Yes & I Love You, Say Everything Book #1, I knew this would be a series I'd be investing quality reading time.

What if You & Me, Book #2, is a compelling sequel with Andi as the main character and references book #1's beloved cast.

This book is a chance meet-up for neighbors, Andi and Hill. The attraction is strong and can't be ignored so they agree to friends with benefits. This noncommittal relationship is due to the trauma they've each experienced. Andi's last relationship still terrorizes her way of being and Hill’s nightmares involve the fire that took his leg.

Each has their own demons and struggles to understand the affections rising to flame their heart which causes an incredible amount of drama and smoldering heat. It is absolutely delicious how Andi helps Hill with his passion for cooking and the meals they make together YUM.

Overall this book is smart, witty and addresses physical disabilities, internet trolls and depression. There is a lot to unpack with Andi and Hill characters more so than with book #1.

Intrigued who will get book #3?? Can’t wait to continue the Say Everything series.

Thank you @sourcebookscasa for a complimentary copy for an honest review. What if You & Me by @roniloren publishes July 6, 2021.

I think I liked this even more than Yes & I Love You, which is saying something. Andi and Hill were such fully realized characters and I think their respective traumas were handled really well. Plus they had great believable chemistry that I was 100% here for. I’m not a horror movie fan myself but I loved Andi’s cultural analysis of them and the former murderino in me loved the parts about her podcast too.

I really liked this one! Probably better than Yes & I Love You. I love the aspects of Andi and HIll's relationship. I love a good rom com with depths. Healing mentally is such an important thing, and it doesn't need to be a serious book to deal with something like that. Hopefully Roni Loren will have another entry into this series and tell Eliza's story!

Andi and Hill's story while sometimes thrilling was delightful. I loved their budding friendship into a relationship. They might be some of my favorite book characters. They are honest with each other and themselves on what they are going through. their mental health, and what they need and want from the other.
Andi has a whole luggage set of baggage relating to her first boyfriend, but Hill intrgiues her with his grouchy face and she wants to be his friend and more.
I love that Hill comes to us as a fully formed person who is going through a difficult time. He isn't trying to power through his trauma, he's just trying to survive, and it is heartbreaking and interesting.
Their journey together is interesting and fun and felt real and honest in a way a lot of romances don't. Loren does a great job grounding her characters in real life as fully formed people who are complex and different.

A huge thank you to Sourcebooks Casablance and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

The first book in this series was one of my absolute fave books ever so diving into this, I was extra excited especially since it was Andi’s book. Roni Loren did not disappoint!! This quickly became a 5 star read for me! I love how she perfectly balances the heartfelt romance, steamy scenes and mental health rep in her books. This dealt with much heavier topics than the last but that made me love it more!

This follows Andi who writes horror books and does a true crime podcast and Hill who is a former firefighter. They meet when they find out that they’re neighbors but when someone breaks into Andi’s place one night and she goes to Hill for safety, they form a friendship which eventually leads to more!

When I first met Andi in the first book, I found her interesting especially with line of work she does. She has a fascination for horror movies (which I love! Every movie mentioned in the book, I’m also a fan of!) and is a publisher author in the horror genre. She also runs a podcast where she analyzes true crime cases that helps people, mostly women, take whatever they can learn from it to be safer in life. But what I didn’t expect was these interests were rooted from a horrifying experience which gave her the trauma she suffers from now. As said in the book, she’s a whimsical person but she never does things on a whim. She’s a huge overthinker and she takes extra precaution to be safe. It breaks my heart knowing this prevented her from living her life to the fullest.

Hill is another interesting character! He’s a former firefighter who lost his leg in an accident and he’s been suffering from trauma and depression since then. On top of that, his ex-fiancée and ex-best friend went behind his back and got together while he was recovering. He’s living his life deciding what to do next until he meets Andi. All in all, he’s amazing and book boyfriend material! Plus points as well bc he knows how to cook good food!

I really enjoyed the grumpy x sunshine, friends with benefits romance between them especially as it led to them breaking their own rules. I’m a believer in finding the right person at the right time and that’s exactly what happened with them! I loved how they were what each other needed. Their banter and chemistry was on point!

But adding to that, I loved how they bonded over their vulnerabilities and helped each other get through their own traumas. It was educating how this book highlighted the different traumas and efffects it could have on a person, physically, psychologically and emotionally.

Moreover, the level of understanding and consent between them was immense! I enjoyed how they emphasized taking things slow to cater to what they can handle emotionally and physically! The way constantly communicated what they wanted was so heartwarming. This then led to the most natural, well-written smut scenes! The sexual tension was high but I also felt the comforting rawness of each scene!

Overall, I’m again blown away by Roni Loren’s talent in writing the best books filled with the most captivating plot, swoony romance, deliciously written smut and unforgettable characters! I love this series with all my heart and I’m emotionally ready for any more she has in store!

I did not finish this book. The characters felt like cookie cutters immediately and there was not any life to them. I love contemporary rom-com's but unfortunately this one was not for me.

This was an okay read for me. I did not read book one first but it didn't see like I was really missing out on anything important. This was a good steamy romance but not without flaws. I'm not a huge fan of "quirk" and Andi was definitely one of those not-like-other-girls tropes that seems to be present in a lot of contemporary romances these days. The dialogue did get quite cheesy at times and for a couple who talk a lot about honesty they don't seem to communicate very well, both assuming the other person doesn't want anything serious and it just led to confusion. The threat element was handled pretty well and it actually came across really creepy and fit in nicely with the rest of the story. There were things I didn't care about - like Hill telling Andi he wasn't comfortable being on camera and her going ahead and "surprising" him with it anyway. And on the other side Hill seemed to have an issue telling Andi how she felt. Overall, I enjoyed this. And people who love a steamy romance will find a lot to like here.

I enjoyed this one. It was a well-thought-out, well-written book. This is a new to me author and I liked her style and voice. I like how the main characters met and how they got to know each other and how the relationship grew. I like real characters who have been through stuff to get to where they are. It is not two picture-perfect people who have picture-perfect lives. it is real and enagaging,

Yes & I Love You was the first book I have ever read by Roni Lauren and I was not disappointed. What If You & Me is the second book in this series and God, I loved it. Yes & I Love You got me out of reading slump... but What If You & Me was the first book in a long long time to not make me want to skim the book or read too fast... I wanted to read every single words and kept wanting to read more.

This contemporary romance tells the story of Andi (whom we saw in Yes & I Love You), a horror writer and true crime podcaster who narrowly escaped a dangerous man a few years ago, and Hill, a grumpy former firefighter who lost a part of his leg during a rescue gone wrong. Both of them are fighting their own demons, dealing with anxiety and PTSD. What started as a neighborly exchanged quickly changed for something more. This unlikely duo will keep you wanting more. From awkward exchanges to spicy scenes... this book made me utterly speechless. I believe I enjoyed it more than the first book.

One of my favourite romance trope is the "You're safe with me" trope and this book did an amazing job at representing it.
Their personal growth and how much Andi evolved throughout the book was so worth it. Their emotions are raw and Loren did an amazing job at writing their fears and overcome them.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for allowing me to read this book. I needed it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am happy to give my honest review.

I am a Roni Loren fan. I read the first book in this series and found it fresh and different so I was excited to get into this book. It did not disappoint.

Andi is a horror writer and true crime podcaster. She struggles with anxiety after trauma from when she was a teenager and she uses her platforms to educate and meet her fears head-on. You didn't see this side of Andi much in Hollyn's book so I was really glad to dig more into her personality. She is cautious, protective, and always aware but a great friend whose loved language is baked goods.

Hill is a retired firefighter, leaving his job after a bad accident that left him losing part of his leg and his fiance. He moves in next door to Andi and is in a dark spot in his life so he pushes away at her extroverted attempts at becoming friends. He's trying to figure out what comes next in his life when it feels like everything came crashing down without a warning.

They become better friends when Andi thinks someone broke into her house. They begin watching movies together, cooking meals, and slowly begin to trust each other. This was so nice to watch, especially with Andi having some pretty severe trauma and trust issues. It turns into a "friends with benefits" relationship which helps Andi trust and Hill become more confident in his new body. I loved the two of them together.

This was a cute book and I will definitely keep reading the series. I like how Roni Loren doesn't shy away from heavier topics and LOVED the disability representation in this book.

3.5 stars

‘What If You & Me’ deals with trauma (of various kinds) and the healing journey that the characters go on past that very defining point in time that they find themselves changed. For that reason, such stories feel as though that they can either get bogged down with angsty recollections, or float along with forced levity that inadvertently makes light of grievous situations.

By and large, Roni Loren struck a pretty good balance here, outlining both Andi’s and Hill’s accidental meeting, their personal histories, their own paths to getting better, and finally, the odd friends/lovers odd-straddle that they did until, well, push came to shove. I liked Andi’s chosen profession and her fixation with horror; it was an innovative portfolio that Loren created for Andi and the complex issues she faced, as opposed to Hill’s not-any-less-important but still-more-common hurt from his previous job as a firefighter. Given the context of the story, I was surprised that very little suspense was written into this, though it was inserted toward the end, almost for the sake of creating conflict and providing the final push for Hill to cement his feelings and get his head out of his arse.

There were parts that did leave me dissatisfied—some mentions of cheating and some cheeky leanings toward playing the victim on the cheater’s part being one of the main ones—but they didn’t really play up too much for the rest of the story. That said, if you like a slow burn with some steam and baby steps out of a tunnel into the bright light, ‘What If You & Me’ provides it with minimal drama.