Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

Steam Rating: 🍆🍆🍆 /5

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Dreamscape Media for gifting me review copies of What If You & Me by Roni Loren.

This is book two in the Say Everything series, and if you haven’t read the first one Yes & I Love You, you really, really should! I really loved the first one, but if it’s possible I think I loved this one even more! There are some really heavy topics covered in the book (sexual and emotional abuse, serial killers, anxiety, PTSD, physical disability and more) but it’s also full of hilarious banter, and steamy tension. I thought the characters were real and wonderful and this was a book I just wanted to hug at the end.

Andi is a dealing with a past trauma, and part of her process is to write horror novels and run a podcast looking at what women can learn from horror movies and true crime. She hears her neighbor banging around at all hours (paper-thin walls) and dubs him the werewolf. Turns out he’s a grumpy ex-firefighter who has trouble sleeping after losing part of his leg during an accident on the job. After an awkward first meeting, the two strike up a friendship, which turns into friends with benefits. They help each other grow throughout the book, and each of them is trying really hard not to let their past stop them from living their lives. The two of them were really sweet, and it warmed my heart to hear their inner thoughts about each other.

The audiobook was wonderfully narrated by Desiree Ketchum (who also performed Yes & I Love You) and comes in at 9 hours and 16 minutes. You can grab a copy of the audio here or click the button below for a physical copy.

This is definitely a book you should bump up your TBR, and don’t forget to pick up a copy of the first book in the series if you haven’t read it already!

Synopsis:

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.