When you have a perfect marriage, only an impossible reconnection could make you risk it all. From USA Today best-selling author Marni Mann comes Even If It Hurts, an emotionally charged contemporary romance. OLIVER When I met her, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.We were so young and so passionate.We studied business in the day and each other’s bodies at night.We always knew it would end with … business in the day and each other’s bodies at night.
We always knew it would end with the semester, so we loved hard with no regrets.
LANCE
When I met her, I couldn’t get her off my mind.
We were fresh out of college and ready to take on the world.
We fit each other like missing puzzle pieces.
And just when I thought my life was perfect, it got better. She became my wife.
CHLOE
I met my first love while studying abroad in London.
When I moved home, I didn’t think I’d ever fall in love again.
Until I met him. The man who became my husband.
The one I promised a lifetime to.
Then, my first love came back into my life …
And I realized that love was bigger than any one man.
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This was my first read from this author and I have mixed emotions with it. I loved the premise of this First love v Forever love and I think Marni did a brilliant job with each character, telling their story and setting the scene. Whilst its told in Chloe’s POV I would have loved at certain points to have read it from Lance and Oliver’s.
Whilst I enjoyed the build up, the development of the characters I was slightly disappointed with the last chapter, I felt slightly let down I guess I was just expecting more. I felt sad for the guy not picked despite me feeling slightly ragey towards him for go after her knowing she was married.
That being said I did like the authors style of writing and I will be reading her again.
She does it again and blows me away with another amazing book. I couldnt stop reading this beautiful story. It had me at my heart. It pulled my heart strings, I smiled, I cried, i even got mad at times. I cant really say much to spoil the story but it was just an overall a beautiful and a delightful read. These characters, Chloe for one she had every emotion in me, I felt for her. You could feel her while you were reading, Oliver, you could feel his character strongly as well. Lance he had my romance meters so high I just loved all these characters. You have to read this one because this one will stick with you just like it will stick with me.
I miss young love. First loves!
From the moment I started reading this book I was hooked.
“I’m in so deep; I’m drowning before I even get wet.”
I love the friendships in this book. They were true, long lasting friendships!
My heart hurt from nervousness of how everything was going to turn out.
My head and heart were all over the place. Is it possible to root for two men?
Having finished this book my heart is broken. For a man who only loved and a woman who only loved one man. Because when you pick one over the other that’s the one you love the most. There can only ever be one.
Y’all I’m so torn on this book. I don’t want to give anything away even though I want people to know. I loved everything in this book except when I didn’t. I hate to give it four stars because I’m sure it’s truly five but I’m really upset with Chloe and don’t know how to feel.
Wow, I don’t even know where to start! This book was Phenomenal! So raw and emotional! I knew going into this book, it was going to be an emotional read but this was just…steal all the breath from your lungs and so deep it grips your soul kinda book! I was literally heartbroken at the end of part one, soaring and full of hope with part 2, and part 3 just wrecks you because you just know someone is going to get hurt, part 4 is tough and you’re trying to breathe again. I loved it, it was beautiful and heart wreaking, but it was so original and just leaves you in awe! Even If It Hurts is the story of Love, Loss and what happens when your soul has two pieces. This book was a hard read, but it’s a book that needs to be read! It’s so very complicated and conflicting, I’m an emotional basket case after this book because it’s just so hard to put together. It leaves you speechless and for me, it has just reminded me that I don’t do good with goodbyes. This book gave me such a punch to the gut, such a hard trip down memory lane of me at an airport trying to keep it all together while my husband had to board his plane back to the Army. That soul-sucking, can’t breathe, cain’t function feeling is not something I will ever forget and never want to repeat. This was so consuming, I just couldn’t put it down. I fell in love with Oliver in part one, and it’s so hard to read part 3 because there is so much that stands out. I feel like Molly should have given better advice to Chole. I also know, I’m not the author and this book was meant to be told this way. I feel so attached to Lance, he gives you such hope for Chloe and you feel the love he has. I would have loved his point to view. The piece we get of Oliver, Killed me, I’m still shaking over his beautiful soul. Chloe is the strongest character I know, I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. Love is beautiful and it’s hard, it takes work, I can’t imagine the weight of everything she had. One thing for certain is that Mann is one he!! of an author, she really gives her all into her books and I really felt it. I received an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I finished this last night and I’m still trying to process. I knew someone was going to eventually end up broken hearted and usually I know exactly who I want that to be. Not with this book though, I never could decide who I wanted.
Marni Mann made me fall in love with both Oliver and Lance, and Chloe is such an amazing woman that who could blame them both for falling in love with her.
This story has left me a little heartbroken for what could have been and I’m also left with questions about that, but I’m torn because I’m also partially happy how it ended. I’ve never been more torn and speechless over the end of a book before.
My advice is read it experience it for yourself and avoid spoilers at all costs. Five stars
“I’m in so deep; I’m drowning before I even get wet.”
6 and half hours…that’s how long I stayed awake to finish this gem…
As a new reader to Marni, I have experienced much of her work just yet, however, Even If It hurts is a book I will never forget.
I find this book hard to review because the emotions I was feeling as I read it were so raw, truly raw. Chole, Oliver and Lance are entwined by fate it seems, and fate has plans for them. My heart soared, the broke, then I was sobbing into my favorite stuffed animal. Marni Mann can pull emotions from her readers and immerse them in a turbulent journey of love, heartbreak and romance.
I have never been a big fan of triangle romances, but this one has definitely changed my mind. Get ready to have your heartbroken and love it while it breaks, you will ugly cry as you finish this book, but smile when you close that last page.
Oh, the angst! The connections! The travels! I love this story, even though it broke my heart.
Chloe is a woman I could be friends with. Oliver and Lance are both guys I could see hanging out with. Building friendships that would last a lifetime. These 3 characters stole my heart and knew exactly how to crush it!
While the book ends exactly how I feel it should….. ugh. Still broken-hearted for my 3 new friends.
Stop what you’re doing and read this book. Immediately!
I am officially blown away. Marni has done it once again with Even If It Hurts. The story of first love and true love, Marni hits on every single emotional point. This story is powerful and poignant and I absolutely devoured it.
Even If It Hurts is told in primarily Chloe’s point of view. She’s a bit shy and reserved at college and she’s embarking on an overseas opportunity to study abroad. She made a vow to her best friend to get out and live. That’s just what she did. She knew her time with Oliver was fleeting. She made the most of it.
“He was overwhelming my senses.”
After healing from her heartbreak of leaving Oliver, she meets Lance and he sweeps her off her feet. The perfect book boyfriend, really, Lance is head over heels for this girl and she is to him as well. Live happens, Olivia and Lance move forward with their beautiful relationship. Nothing can interrupt their love.
“Thank you for being my happy today.”
This story still has me reeling. In a true emotional overload, Marni takes us on a journey of love, trust, betrayal, loss, and healing. Even If It Hurts will leave you absolutely breathless.
5.5 Amazing Stars!
I’m going to be completely honest here. I HATED Chloe, one of the main characters, for close to twenty-five percent of Even If It Hurts, an emotional and heartbreaking Second Chance romance. I felt so conflicted while reading; I loved her too and I felt her pain and understood her actions the other seventy-five percent of the story. Can I just say it takes an amazing author, with mad writing skills, to pull off this kind of romance, knowing how this subject matter is something a lot of readers won’t touch? I’d never been bothered by this trope, it wasn’t on my no-no list, and I loved how anguished I felt while reading this amazing story! My feelings had more to do with what I thought were reckless and selfish decisions Chloe made and I realized I was being judgmental; that’s when I decided to put my feelings aside, curious to see how the story would end. Because we all know that a romance is supposed to end with a HEA, right? I’m so happy I made the right decision! I loved this story and it ended just as it should have, even though I’m convinced more than one reader will disagree.
“Sometimes, you have to leave for a while to remember why you fell in love in the first place.”
Chloe Kennedy, a junior at Boston University studying International Marketing, is chosen for a coveted spot at the University of Westminster, in London, for a semester. While there she meets Oliver and his friends, and quickly falls for him. Oliver becomes her first love, despite knowing their time is limited. Chloe hopes he’ll ask her to stay in London when the semester is over but instead he says goodbye, knowing they won’t see each other again.
Oliver Bennett falls for Chloe and is torn between letting her go back home and asking her to stay. When she finds out she’s been accepted for an important internship, Oliver knows he has to let her go, knowing they’re too young and an ocean apart, to make promises to each other.
Years later, after graduating and starting her career, Chloe meets Lance Hamilton, a successful and wealthy attorney at his family’s law firm, the Hamilton Law Group. After a whirlwind romance they marry and life looks good for them. When Chloe is offered a promotion at work, to help with a merger between the US and European office, it means she’ll have to fly once a month to Amsterdam and work from there every two weeks for six months. Lance loves and supports Chloe and convinces her to take the position, and they decide to postpone starting a family until the contract ends.
“Time has certainly never been in our favor, has it?”
Chloe is surprised to run into Oliver in Amsterdam, six years after saying goodbye, and despite her intentions to keep away from him she’s soon swept away with memories and feelings she thought were forgotten. Apparently they were just dormant, waiting to be awakened.
There’s a secondary character that’s very important to the story, Chloe’s best friend, Molly. Everyone should have a BFF that’s as supportive and offers so much unconditional love as Molly, she was Chloe’s voice of reason, and I loved her so much!
I don’t even know what to say to give this review the justice it deserves but I’ll try. Weeks later and I’m still reeling. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this story. Since page one, Marni’s words had me floating and falling in love with her writing all over again.
Even If It Hurts left me in tears. My heart is gutted. Once again, I’m questioning myself. Wondering what I would do. Regardless, everyone will have a different opinion. Life doesn’t always go as planned.
What I enjoy the most about reading Marni’s books is you never know where the story is going to take you. This is one of the many reasons why she’s an automatic one-click author for me.
An incredible story that will give you all the feels. I absolutely loved it!
“One thought plagued my mind as I stared at this handsome, wonderful guy. How will I ever say good-bye to you?”
I have absolutely no clue where to even start this review or how to express the amount of love I have for this book. A love triangle isn’t a trope I shy from. Believe me, they STRESS ME OUT, but that’s never stopped me from picking one up. However, there was something I experienced for the first time while reading this specific one.
While being painfully heart-deep in Even If It Hurts, I came to the realization I couldn’t pick “the guy” for Chloe. I didn’t have that moment. That, “Him. It’s HIM! That’s who she needs, or I want her to be with.”
THAT’S NEVER HAPPENED TO ME…EVER.
I’m usually able to narrow it down. I’m usually able to PICK a favorite guy. My favorite guy — even if he’s not the one the heroine ends up with.
And, what I have to say to that is: Bravo, Marni Mann! This book. These characters. They obliterated my heart. They left me confused, torn, and in tears. I STILL tear-up when I think of one specific line. And…I’m okay, but I’m also NOT okay. I’m STILL torn, and I LOVE that. In this book, we not only had one incredible hero, but two! They both had characteristics that a reader would easily fall in love with.
Chloe makes some questionable choices, but I don’t fault her. We experience the highest-highs with her, and her lowest-lows. We experience just how torn she is. I really wanted to be her second Molly.
Even If It Hurts is a complexities of the heart type of love story. It’s a story that will have your heart soaring, only to have it crashing back to the ground — on more than one occasion. It’s a poignant, captivating love that’ll leave a lasting impression.
I described Marni Mann to a friend yesterday as an author that will completely rip your heart out before she puts it back together but, that it would be totally worth it. I think Even If it Hurts is a perfect example of that. This book ripped me to shreds. I think I experienced every emotion possible while reading. It’s real, honest, raw, and flawless. It’s about love and life and the journey that’s all to real. I’m not really sure if I should recommend that you read it or if you should run in the other direction. It’s hard and soft in all the right places. It’s passionate. It’s exceptional. It’s a must read.
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Can you say heart wrenching? OMG Marni Mann you slay me with your words. The story around this book is amazing, the characters are wonderful, the life choices that need to be made broke me. When I want a great love story with LOTS of angst, I know Marni will fill my order… LOVE.
Marni Mann is an incredible writer. The emotion, the raw feelings of pain and joy from one book utterly destroyed me but in a beautiful way. Her writing is flawless, unique and addicting. I read Even If it Hurts in one sitting. The story enticed me from the first page and I was unable to put it down.
The story begins with Chloe travelling abroad for school, where she meets Oliver and they have a whirlwind romance but unfortunately they are forced apart when she returns home to the states and later meets Lance. She has become a sucessful in her career and falls head over heels for Lance.
I loved Lance and Oliver equally. I was truly invested and my heart took a beating but what a beautiful story in the end. I felt every single emotion. A roller coaster of epic porportions but so truly worth it in the end. These characters will stick with me for a long time to come.
*ARC received in exchange of an honest review*
This book really pulled at my heartstrings. I got to a point when I had to step away from this book and come back later. I don’t think I was in the right frame of mind when I started. When I came back to Even if it Hurts I couldn’t get enough. The emotions and the way this story was written, I couldn’t stop.
I love a good love triangle and both of the men were so good. It was really hard while I was reading this book to choose which one I wanted the heroine to end up with. Both men had qualities I loved. Marni Mann had my emotions all over the place with this book.
This book pulled me in and pulled out so many emotions.
This woman blows me away with every book she writes. It’s quite incredible!
This book was amazing in every way. The characters were on point. We fell in love with them right away.
First we fall in love with Chloe Kennedy and Oliver Bennett. Two young lovers falling head over heals in love when Chloé has to go to London for school. She meets and falls in love with Oliver. It was instalove!! They spend a semester together and when she gets the internship she’s always wanted he makes her leave so she doesn’t miss out on her opportunity.
6 years go by and Chloe is madly in love with Lance. Delicious Lance. This man lives her something fierce! Their love was instant too but in a more mature kind of way. They make the best couple ever!
The next part is the part when things get tricky. And you’ll have to read it to get to it because the book isn’t currently out yet.
It will throw you off. This twisted turn will have you yelling Nnnnoooooo at Chloe a million times. You will feel her emotions like they were your own.
You can never go wrong with this author like ever! Her characters reach into you and stay there throughout the whole book and you feel ever little or big emotion they feel. It really is nuts.
Get prepared for a twisty turney ride that will have you not breathing starting in part two.
I freaking love this girl!!
Marni Mann
Chloe has had two loves in her life. The first, young college love Oliver, whom she spent a semester with in England, but grew apart from when she moved back home to the US. The second, current love, husband Lance, whom she loves irrevocably and with whom she is planning on starting a family. But then she gets a promotion and has to spend 6 months in Amsterdam. It’s where her past collides with her present, and she will end up having to make a hard choice: first love, the love that still hasn’t faded, or current love, the love that grounds her and her life revolves around.
Yep, this is one of those stories. And yes, if you have hard limits then this is most certainly not the story for you. I normally do, and I admit I hated some of Chloe’s choices and her behavior, but I still enjoyed this story. It’s a fascinating tale that weaves past and present seamlessly, with lots of emotions swirling, tons of steamy sex, and a really well written story. I decided that despite everything, I could get behind this story, fell in love with all three characters. I won’t say if I’m TeamLance or TeamOliver, but I will say I loved them both and felt for Chloe as she had to make such a hard choice.
3.5 stars
Chloe Kennedy’s first love was a whirlwind romance while studying abroad. Oliver Bennett gave her a lot of her firsts but their relationship was always meant to be temporary. When Lance Hamilton came into her life, she was ready for a future with him. But no one could predict the future no matter how well it was planned.
I always appreciate it when authors are willing to take risks in telling their stories. This book touched one of the most sensitive subjects for a lot of Romance readers, but it’s actually among my favorite types of books. I loved and understood the circumstances that were explored in the story. However, I needed deeper connections. For me, certain things happened too fast and too easy, making the characters’ actions and consequences less convincing/impactful.
I liked both of the male characters and I had my favorite right from the beginning. The author never failed when it comes to sexual chemistry, which was palpable and intense in this one.
Even If It Hurts is a story of making life-changing choices. It would appeal to readers who enjoy a sexy romance with doses of angst.
Wow did I hurt with this book!!! Marni Mann knows how to write about those complex emotional situations. Everyone has a first love and in this story, Chloe is no different. When she meets Oliver she knows it’s only going to be for a semester abroad. But there is such an incredibly special connection between them. Oliver is almost effervescent with the way he loves Chloe. But Chloe does indeed leave. At 30% in I was sobbing! Then a year later Chloe finishes school and starts her job. This is when she meets Lance. Is it possible to find a perfect love twice in a lifetime? Chloe and Lance have such a different relationship from her previous one but the love that Lance gives to Chloe is beautiful. Chloe & Lance marry and she feels so happy and then the impossible happens. Chloe is astonished to learn her new account is working with Oliver’s company in Amsterdam. The story is about asking those critical questions, especially about first loves, but also about forever loves. How do you decide? Is there really a question? The ending was as it should be but it also left you feeling broken hearted. Yay for Marni for her exquisite writing and pushing us out of our comfort zone to experience this incredible story. Definitely you want this for your next 1 click!
I always go into a Marni Mann book blind. It makes no difference what she writes as it is always exemplary and I know that I will love the journey she takes me on. Whether it be a dark romance, a suspense thriller, or a contemporary sob fest, her stories and her characters always touch a place within me.
Even If It Hurts is a quiet novel that unfurls its sad story slowly and eloquently, leaving its mark on your heart. An unforgettable book crafted by a brilliant author. The complexity of the relationships in this tale slowly unfurl, building into a crescendo of heartache, pain and love.
A first love is forever. It changes you and is something you will never forget. One’s first love is always perfect, until one meets their second love. They say your second love teaches you that love still exists after you never thought you could do it again. But what if you had the chance to have that first love back again? Would you do it? Could you do it? Chloe Kennedy has that opportunity to feel those feelings of first love again, but are those feelings more prominent than your second love? One click this heart wrenching tale to find out which is the deepest love, the furthest fall, the hardest goodbye for Chloe Kennedy.