Sometimes you come across an author that just speaks to you. For me, that is Roni Loren. I fell in love with Roni's writing when I read Yes & I Love You, and her follow-up book, What If You & Me does not disappoint.
Andi, a true crime podcaster and horror novelist, is content living in her 1920s shotgun apartment until she keeps getting interrupted by her extremely noisy nocturnal neighbor. Constantly playing the "what-ifs" in her mind, Andi is trying to move past her anxiety and PTSD from high school. She's on a dating hiatus as she figures her life out. When Hill Dawson, her retired firefighter neighbor that's also dealing with his own baggage, pounds on her door in the middle of the night, the two spark a friendship...until it's not. Hill doesn’t date after the breakup with his fiancé, because he doesn’t want to be seen as a charity case. He's also haunted by the sights and sounds of the house fire that took the lower part of his leg. Both are not willing to enter into a relationship, but a friends with benefits situation just might allow both to heal, build trust and eventually break down each others' walls.
Roni Loren’s books make me feel seen. She has a brilliant way of taking heavy, taboo topics and normalizing them, showing people that everyone deserves a happy ending, no matter their circumstances or previous trauma. While I loved Yes & I Love You, because of my son's Tourette's diagnosis, I loved What If You & Me, because I saw so much of myself in Andi. In the first book, Andi seems carefree, sarcastic and an extreme extrovert. But, in this book, we see the anxiety that she carries around, but masks around most, something I really relate to. Where Andi uses horror and true crime as an outlet to process her anxiety in a safe way, I find books to be my escape.
I adored Andi's character in Yes & I Love You and immediately wanted to be friends with her. After reading this book, I could not love her more. Andi is open, honest, and extremely brave, especially with the trauma of her past. She makes zero excuses and owns her anxiety, instead of trying to hide it. I love how passionate she is about horror films, and when she speaks about them, her entire face and body radiates with enthusiasm.
Hill is the absolute perfect man for her. Their immediate chemistry brought snarky, sarcastic banter that was utterly adorable. I loved their awkward interactions. The best part of their relationship was how they both pushed each other when they needed it and would call the other out on their crap without fear of damaging the relationship. On top of it, Hill was incredibly respectful of Andi's boundaries. I would take Hill as my grumpy werewolf any day of the week.
What If You & Me lived up to all the hype and I loved it. All the stars, all the feels. Roni Loren is a new favorite author of mine and I can't wait to read the third book in this series. I loved being able to see Hollyn and Jasper again. Their organic friendship group is something I want to be a part of.
⚠️ CW: PTSD, anxiety, depression, assault, physical disability, partner infidelity
Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
What If You & Me publishes July 6.
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