I have had the pleasure of reading every book (so far) from Erin Hahn and this may be my favorite to date! Case and Winnie definitely go through it and my heart ached for each of them. While this is YA it didn't read like YA and with their lives they were more mature. I don't normally love epilogues but I wouldn't have minded one from like 10 years down the road to see where they are now.

Erin Hahn writes the sweetest books. Even when dealing with difficult topics she does it so well and in such a way that I think it can be read in an impactful way by anyone. Winn and Case were written so well, starting with friendship and building into more through mutual affection for Walker. This was a story of healing and chasing your dreams, about friendship and love, and I had an incredible time taking this personal journey. I absolutely recommend this book! Such a great read

Do you know when you see a book cover and think, “That will be cute on my bookshelf!” That is what I felt when I saw EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART by Erin Hahn. Then I read the book blurb and realized she was trying to distract me with the cute cover, so I didn’t pay attention to the title because Erin Hahn was truly trying to break my heart. Spoiler alert regarding me: she did; I cried a lot.

Erin Hahn’s talent for character development shines in the book. I was quickly drawn to Case and Winnie, rooting for them individually throughout the book and, eventually, as a couple. Their distinct personalities made it easy for me to imagine them as my friends. The side characters, too, added depth to the story, making it more meaningful.

This book is an excellent, EX-CELL-ENT representation of different types of grief and how people cope. Hahn also writes a beautiful representation of the sick-kid friendship and how important it is to both sides, but also tolling. I am the sick-kid, so Walker’s reactions felt real to me. I have a couple of friends like Case who mean more to me than they know.

I didn’t expect EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART to be such an emotional ride. I thought it would be a cute, fun cowboy romance. I mean, look at the cover!?! While there were lots of laughs and cute moments, it’s a heavy book (hence the title…), and it’s definitely one I will read again. I loved every emotional moment, laughter, and tears the characters pulled from me.

Thanks, Wednesday Books, for the book!

I love a good western romance so of course I had to read this one. It is YA so obviously the spice isn't there like in adult western romances but that doesn't take away from the book at all! This is an angsty read, full of grief and young adults with far more on their shoulders than they should have. Winnie and Case are fabulous characters that you can't help but root for

Even if it Breaks Your Heart was a sweet story. Our FMC, Winnie Sutton, has had to raise her siblings for the last 10 years after their mom took off and their father refusing to step up. She's been putting her dreams on hold because she can't leave them out to dry just like her mother did to them. She works at a local ranch leading trail rides and training horses to barrel race. She's a loner and really only talks to her siblings or her boss. Our MMC is Case Michels and his dad own the ranch Winnie works for. Case is drowning in sorrow and sadness because his best friend Walker died of cancer the year before. Walker left behind a list of things he wanted to do before he died and Case is trying to complete it for him. He's stumbling through it and also trying to process his grief and move on with his life. After a wild night of Partying, Case is punished by mucking out stalls in the stables along side Winnie. The 2 strike up a loose antagonistic friendship and Case ends up helping Winnie with her siblings a few times before getting involved in her life more. The 2 quickly start to fall for each other and push each other to be better. Case convinces his dad to sponsor Winnie in the next local rodeo for barrel racing which throws her life into chaos between what she wants and what she thinks she should be doing with her life. The rest of the story is how the 2 struggle to figure out what they want and push each other to reach for those wants. I enjoyed it overall and would definitely recommend this to a YA/NA audience looking for a cowboy/rodeo romance.

I am extremely picky when it comes to YA books. I have a particular list of things that work for me (and what doesn't, of course), and Hahn knocked it out of the park with "Even If It Breaks Your Heart".

Case and Winnie couldn't be more different - they come from such mismatched backgrounds - yet they bring the very best out in each other. I love that they are respectful of boundaries and feelings, especially since they both are so young and have been dealt terrible heartaches in life.

Winnie is the true shining star in EIIBYH. I love how she cared for her siblings, how she leaned into her role as eldest sibling without hesitation (I know this role all too well). I love that she was tough and hard, but loved big and openly. She's wise beyond her years and I absolutely love her character.

Grief and loss are present within the pages of this book, but Hahn handles both with humor and heart, with so much grace. She gives readers just want we need in a book without truly diving into the weeds. Maybe that's because this is a YA book, but I appreciate it. I prefer to not have my heart broken too often with fictional characters.

This book has: friends to lovers, a bucket list, HEA, slow burn, ****NO THIRD ACT CONFLICT****, an amazing fourth grader, reversal of gender role stereotypes, and dealing with grief after a death of a friend

All of the above are done so well and made this book special.

Also, if you liked the family from <i>Check and Mate</i> by Ali Hazelwood, then this family is for you. If you found <i> The Fault in Our Stars</i> to be a little <i>too</i> much about sick kids, but still want a little bit of emotional damage from said sick kids, then this is for you. And if you like your romance to be really slow burn, but then have some normal YA spice (I.e. mostly off-page) then this is for you.

This book follows Case and Winnie. Case’s family owns a ranch and he’s a nationally known bull rider. And his best friend just died due to cancer and left him a list of things to do, and one of them is befriend Winnie. Winnie is horse trainer at Case’s ranch and also the breadwinner for her family, after her mother left and her dad decided to be pretty absent as well.

Case and Winnie had the most well-written relationship I’ve read in a while. This book isn’t very long, and yet the author did such a good job from writing their “meet cute” to transitioning them to friends, and then finally turning into romance. I really enjoyed watching them grow as characters along the way. This was *maybe* the least toxic relationship I’ve read in a while from YA. Both of them really took time to fix their own problems while also getting to know each other before they really let any romance bloom between the two of them.

I also found the discussion about grief/loss to be so perfect. I had a couple of sports that I tested up at listening to Case describe his heartbreak.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

Even If it Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
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A cowboy romance! Case is still grieving the death of his best friend. His friend left a list behind for Case to follow, which includes befriending Winnie. Winnie works the ranch but dreams of barrel racing. What’s stopping her is her responsibilities to her younger siblings.
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What I liked:
-The audio is fantastic. I can highly recommend.
-I loved Case and Winnie. They both have had a hard few years despite being from different worlds. I loved seeing (hearing?) them interact with each other and how their relationship grew from acquaintances to friends to lovers.
-I am not a big rodeo fan but I was here for this book! I loved the chapters of Winnie training and riding in the rodeo.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Erin knows how to write a great story that delivers all the feels! I really enjoyed Even if it Breaks Your Heart.

Case and his best friend Walker grew up on the rodeo circuit with big dreams, but when Walker dies, Case isn’t sure how to go on. All he has left of Walker is a list of things Walker wanted Case to do once he’s gone, and Case is determined to do it all. But one task surprises him: Walker wanted him to befriend Winnie, the quiet girl who works at Cases’ family’s ranch to support her siblings. Winnie and Case could not be more opposite but as they spend time together it becomes clear they have a lot to learn from each other.

I saw Erin Hahn describe this book as her “sad rodeo” book and that is truly the perfect description. This book was an emotional ride that had me crying from the beginning. It deals with some tough issues - I would suggest reading over the trigger warnings at the beginning - but it does so in a beautiful way that is also so captivating. I was also fascinated by the rodeo aspects and learned a lot about barrel racing, which was really interesting. This book is an incredible journey that is definitely worth reading, especially if you are looking for a good cathartic cry.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance copy.

A stunning YA contemporary romance. I loved the characters and the setting was unique as I don’t often read YA with a western feel.

Erin Hahn strikes my heart again! This was an instant new favorite—I cried hysterically, I was tempted to get "unflinching" tattooed, and I snort-laughed at the banter between these two. This is a heartfelt, poignant, raw YA contemporary that everyone should read.

Case's life has drastically taken a downturn with the loss of his best friend. Completing a bucket list his best friend left him is what keeps him moving forward.

Winnie is a helping hand around Case's family ranch. To keep her family together, she's sacrificed her dreams. She has no time for the nonsense of a boy who has only just noticed her existence despite having worked there for so long...except he won't stop trying to befriend her.

Case and Winnie are two individuals from opposite sides of the track, but gradually grow closer. She helps keep him grounded while Case refuses to believe her dreams are impossible. These are two individuals who need something more to believe in. Through each other, they find the healing they need and the will to move forward.

I've been a little pickier with my YA contemporary romances, and just when I thought I wouldn't be able to find one I liked I got access to this one. It was a quick read. I enjoyed the evolution of their relationship. I loved how Winnie gradually lets Case in despite her prickly nature. I can't help liking grumpy FMCs.

4.5 stars !!

There is just something about the way Erin Hahn’s writing makes you feel viscerally connected to the characters and encourage you to root for them beyond all sense. The stream of consciousness style writing, the imagery and the vulnerability in this book were top tier. Absolutely loved this!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

This sadly wasn’t my favorite of Erin Hahn’s but I think two factors played into that. The first being the rodeo being a big plot point, it’s just not something I am too interested in or can relate to. The second being that my son’s name is Walker and that being the same name as the friend who dies from cancer immediately threw me for a loop.

However, I am so impressed by how Erin wrote about a teenager going through this kind of grief. Both Winnie and Case had so much to overcome and struggle with in their young lives and it was a beautiful story of the two of them coming together and supporting one another through it. The end definitely had me in my feels.

Case and Whitney were just dreamy. They shouldn't work as a couple on paper, but totally do. Erin Hahn is a fantastic storyteller.

This is a sweet contemporary romance set in the world of rodeos and Texas ranches. Winnie is a girl thrust into caretaker when her deadbeat dad can't function and her mother abandoned them, dealing with too few resources and too little time, graduating early so she can make a living working horses at the ranch of Case Michael's father. Case is a hard-living bull rider struck with grief over the death of his best friend, standing at a crossroads in life and facing questions about what it means to be a man. The two collide through Case's friend's to-do list he left for him after death--near the top is make a friend out of Winnie.

So that's what this book is. Two people figuring out what they want to do with their lives--Winnie doing more than just surviving and Case finding the courage to transcend what his father considers masculine, both of them finding meaning and eventually love. It's a sweet story and the horse details are really nicely written. (As a horse person that's important!) This is like a YA version of the popular rodeo romances that are out there in the vein of Elsie Silver. Give it a go.

A sweet unexpected love story from enemies or better yet unknowns to lovers. Case has lost his friend walker to cancer and he has left him a list to complete. Case thinks this was Walkers unfinished list but soon realizes this was a list was for him and along the way met Winnie.

this was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review which will be posted once I get my hands on a physical copy to annotate 🥺💕 wanna preface this is more of a sad cowboy/cowgirl book than a ya cowboy romance. Also this is dual POV!!

Case and Winnie are both going thru there own struggles or grief and they truly find comfort in each others company. And learn to set boundaries with family and help each other. def a slow burn 🫶🏼

few random notes 🐎💕

🩵 grief, struggling family, emotionally unavailable parents, rich boy/poor girl

🩵 ranch/rodeo setting in texas (which im a tx girly) 🫶🏼

🩵 setting boundaries at home, few social media references nothing bad at all just kno this book is set in a timeline post covid. I have never come across this in a book but it played a huge part for Case and his story.

It’s hard for me to really get into books where I can’t relate to any of the characters. Case and Winnie were both going through so much, it was like the good times were too far between. This is a weightier YA romance.

I loved the ranch setting and the bull riding world!!

This was the perfect read to start my Spring reading mood. It was fast-paced contemporary with a sweet romance. I enjoyed the sibling relationships between the characters. The romance was just the right amount for my current mood and I thought Winnie and Case's relationship was perfectly paced out from beginning to end.

I thought the addition of the "list" Walker made for Case, and seeing him check each thing off, was a lot of fun and added a lightness to the story. Winnie's natural talent for barrel racing and working on Cases ranch made for a great setting. It also put them in close proximity and allowed them to build a friendship that grew to love by the end of the book.

Both characters really helped each other to realize just how much they've been living for other people but don't have the support they need to believe in following their own dreams. It was a great balance to have. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fast-paced and heartwarming contemporary.