A review by zahralwaysreads
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

emotional lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This book took forever to get into. Surprisingly it took me off the reading slump that had taken over me the entire year. It was a very lighthearted read well, except for the ending of the book of course. But it did not live up to the hype of social media. I felt like the author could have cut off a good chunk of the book because it was really slow. I do understand it was ro build the story and suspension but it was a stretch. I did not like any of the characters personally, except for Finn who seems like a cute boy. Somehow the abript ending felt detached to the overall story. I love how depression was written in this, especially for the protagonist not understanding it for herself but gets it for others. It is not a bad book, but it is not that great either. If only the author wrote a few less words.