If He Had Been with Me: The Tiktok Sensation

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The beautiful cover and the description of this book lured me in and I couldn’t wait to read this story. I knew from the description, that a tragedy would occur. I was more than prepared to take the journey and meet Autumn and Finny. The part that I wasn’t prepared for was the abrupt anticlimactic ending.

If you're looking for an emotionally-charged teen read, this is your book-hands down. Fans of YA Contemporary Romance, New Adult, or Coming of Age will also enjoy this book." - Literary Meanderings

The ending is sad. I think it’s one of those things you don’t even really care about and you think, “oh whatever, it doesn't seem that bad” but then it comes and at first you’re like ??? HUH and then you sit with it for five minutes or something and next thing you know, TEARS. I can see some of the roses still blooming in my mother´s garden. Brown on the edges and bright in other colors, their petals drooping downward, dying just as their lives have begun." Finny is wearing his seat belt. He is blameless. It is Sylvie who is not. When the impact occurs, she sails through the windshield and out into the night, improbably, miraculously, only suffering minor cuts on her arms and face. Though true, it is hard to imagine, so hard that even I cannot achieve the image. All I can see is the moment afterward, the moment of her weightless suspension in the air, her arms flailing in slow motion, her hair, a bit bloody and now wet with rain, streaming behind her like a mermaid's, her mouth a round O in a scream of panic, the dark wet night surrounding her in perfect silhouette. If you're looking for an emotionally-charged teen read, this is your book—hands down. Fans of YA Contemporary Romance, New Adult, or Coming of Age will also enjoy this book." — Literary Meanderings

I keep thinking about Finn and Autumn and how all of the behind the scenes of their relationship contributed to the ending, AND THAT ENDING?? Oh my god. Stop. It hurts my heart to remember it. Another thing I didn't like was the characters. Like the way Autumn was so dependent on her friends and boyfriend. She felt like there was no way her and Finny could be friends (even though they knew each other since birth) and she wouldn't do anything without their permission. And then there was how childish she was. The book goes over memories from elementary school, middle school, and high school and it seemed like they were all the same. None of them showed any growth in her besides the fact that she didn't want to be friends with Finny anymore. It was weird. She still seemed as if she was in middle school the entire time. And Finny? He was just unrealistic to me. Character-wise? This book landed right on the mark. The characters felt unique, well thought out, and completely individualistic when it came to quirks, emotions, and driving forces. Autumn was well-written even if she was a bit annoying at times. Finn, of course, was my favorite. Because, of course, the nice, shy, cutesy guy is my favorite. I love a dude who blushes.Regarding the ending, I can say that I had a guess of what was happening- like, the prologue basically tells you what happens, just not explicitly, but I apparently was just really confused and didn't know what it meant, but I just created my own guess for the ending and got it correct (and I may have seen a review that basically confirmed my suspicions-)