by Courtney Williams on May 7, 2024
The book I read is If Only I Had Told Her by Laura Nowlin. This is a follow-up to the book If He Had Been With Me. It is a fictional romance novel telling the story of Autumn and Finn’s love, told in the perspectives of Autumn Davis, Phineas Smith, and Finn’s best friend, Jack Murphy. It depicts the hardships of unrequited love, heartbreak, and grief for all of the characters. I was drawn to this book because of the attention it was getting online, so I decided to read it myself.
Finny and Autumn have known each other since they were babies; their mothers were very close friends, and they were even next-door neighbors. When they were young, they were inseparable. They spent all their time together playing, having sleepovers, and hanging out in school. This all began to change when they got to high school. They grew apart from each other, and neither of them really knew why. Both Finny and Autumn got into different relationships. Autumn got a toxic boy named Jamie, and Finny got a very put-together girl named Sylvie. They never felt fulfilled with their relationships, and after a lot of time, they figure out it is because they are in love with each other. Unfortunately, they confessed their love too late, and tragedy struck. Finny had died the night they finally confessed their true feelings and left Autumn, both their mothers, Jack and Sylvie, learning to live without someone they all loved. The rest of this book shows how everyone dealt with the loss of Phineas Smith.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would rate it very highly. Although it is very heartbreaking, it was written very well. All of the characters are complex but very lovable. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes romance, sad stories, and books without perfect or convenient endings. Overall, I would rate this book four out of five stars.
