What If You & Me by Roni Loren: Book Review

What If You & Me

By Roni Loren

Rating: 4.75/5 
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Steam: Explicit!
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pub Date: July 6, 2021
Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop

What If You & Me Synopsis (from GoodReads):

The world can be a scary place. At least, that’s what Andi Lockley’s anxiety wants her to believe. It doesn’t help that she narrowly escaped a dangerous man years ago, or that every relationship since has been colored with that lingering fear. But things are better now―she’s channeling everything into her career as a horror novelist and true crime podcaster, and her next book may be the breakthrough she needs.

If only her grumpy new neighbor would stop stomping around at all hours of the night.

Former firefighter Hill Dawson can’t sleep. After losing part of his leg in a rescue gone wrong, he’s now stuck in limbo. He needs to figure out what he’s supposed to do with his life, and he can’t let himself get distracted by the pretty redhead next door. But when someone breaks into Andi’s place, Hill can’t stop himself from rushing in to play the hero. Soon, a tentative bond forms between the unlikely pair. But what starts out as a neighborly exchange quickly turns into the chance for so much more…if Andi can learn to put aside her fear and trust in herself―and love―again.

Content Warning: Mental Health, Stalking, Domestic Abuse, PTSD, Toxic Relationships, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, Murder (off page), Emotional Abuse

What If You & Me Mini Review:

This book. Wow. While it may not look like a typical romance novel–it is. It’s a criminally underrated novel. 

This book is everything. It has character depth, it has a fascinating plot, the histories of the characters(!), the emotional scope, and so much more. I devoured this book within a day because you don’t want to put it down. You have to know the next. If It isn’t Hill and Andie’s relationship that you’re invested in in that moment, it’s Andie’s past and finding out why she has her anxiety or it’s with Hill and learning how he’s adjusting to the world. What If You & Me

It’s a romance that deals with two characters with a TON of baggage. Like so much baggage. PLEASE read the content warnings before going into this book.

That being said, the character arcs in this novel were superb. Like tippy top of the perfection scale. The communication– on point. And Andi’s backstory the perfect addition of some mystery. Plus, Andi does a true crime podcast and writes horror novels!!!!

The steamier parts were also very well done. And this was like an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers with forced proximity and teaching and ahhh just so much swoon. Seriously a top level book.

Long Story Short:

Do I recommend this book? Yes! After devouring the first novel I ran to the book store to get this second one. Loren’s writing is absolutely superb. The crafting of the characters and their character arcs are the most amazing things. What If You & Me is a heavy book that deals with a LOT, so please be aware of this before going in. But, this book is totally worth reading and I really wish I saw it talked about more often.

EVEN IF YOU DON’T TYPICALLY READ ROMANCE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING THIS. THERE’S SO MUCH TO LOVE.

If You Liked This One…

Have you read the first novel in this series? Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren can be read after this one (just don’t be surprised when the characters show up in What If You & Me, but there aren’t spoilers per say). It’s just as amazing and tackles other big issues like this one. HIGHLY recommend it . Review is here. Additionally, here are five romance novels that are sorely under appreciated (Yes & I Love You is featured!!). The post is here.