When I Was Theirs Review: This One Left a Mark

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I didn’t expect When I Was Theirs to sit with me like this.

Not in the way where you close it, feel a little emotional, and move on.

I mean the kind of sitting where it lingers.
Where you’re doing something completely unrelated, and suddenly you’re thinking about it again.
Where your chest tightens just a little because a moment comes back to you.

That kind.

I picked up When I Was Theirs by Evelyn Flood almost by accident. One of those NetGalley approvals you forget about. One of those books you don’t plan to read right now.

But the universe has a way of handing you stories at exactly the moment you’re able to feel them.

And this one?

This one didn’t just ask to be read.
It asked to be felt.

Title: When I Was Theirs

Author: Evelyn Flood

Publisher: Independently Published

Format: eBook

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Slow Burn

Release Date: November 14, 2024

Pages: 335

Star Rating: 5 stars

Spice Rating: 1 chili pepper

Ben and Emmy: A Connection That Feels Effortless and Real

It starts with a storm.

The sky opens up and just rages.
The kind of night that feels like a warning even before anything happens.

And that’s when Emilia “Emmy” Marsters meets Benjamin Bennett.

Their connection is immediate, but not overwhelming. It’s quiet. Easy. Like slipping into something that already fits.

Emmy is the kind of character you don’t just read about…you recognize her within.
She’s afraid of the dark, soft in the way she moves through the world, collecting things no one else wants. Lonely thing. Forgotten things. There’s something so deeply endearing about that. The way she creates her own light instead of waiting for it.

And Ben?

You understand him almost immediately.

Especially when you realize what “leaving” means.

The Moment This Book Broke Me (And Didn’t Let Go)

There’s a shift in this story that you feel before you can even name it.

And by Chapter 16…

I was gone.

Fully crying. Not the quiet kind either. The kind where you’re full on blubbering into your pillow. Trying to breathe through it because it hurts a little too much.

Ben dreaming of the life he and Emmy would have had…should have had…

It’s a part that stayed with me.

If you’re even slightly curious right now, this is your moment to pick it up. Because this part? It hits harder when you don’t see it coming.

And it doesn’t let up.

The more the story unfolds, the more it presses into you. Even now, as I sit here writing this, I can feel it again. That tightness in my throat. An ache that’s sitting just under the surface.

Because this isn’t just a love story.

It is a story about grief.

About how quickly everything can change.
About how love can feel as easy as breathing…until suddenly it isn’t there anymore.

And what you’re left with after.

This is one of those stories you don’t fully understand until you’re inside it. If you’ve been looking for something that actually makes you feel something again…this might be it.

Jared Bennett: Grief, Love, and Losing Everything Too Soon

When Jared Bennett enters the story, everything shifts again. And I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to like him at first.

He’s angry. Sharp in a way that cuts. And it makes sense. He’s grieving too, but instead of softening, it hardens him beyond measure. Emmy becomes the easiest place to put that anger, and you feel the tension immediately.

But the complexity here?

That is where this book really shines.

Because nothing about this is simple. The grief. Not the love. Not even the healing.

And watching Emmy and Jared exist in the same space, hurt, guarded, and slowly unraveling in front of each other…

It’s messy. It’s uncomfortable. It feels real.

Character Driven Storytelling That Feels Real and Layered

What stood out to me the most is how deeply character-driven When I Was Theirs is. The world exists, but it doesn’t overwhelm you. It’s just enough to ground you so the focus stays exactly where it needs to be.

On them.

On Ben.
Emmy.
On Jared.

Even the side characters, like Angelo (I love Angelo), feel layered. No one is just there to fill space. Everyone carries something.

And Ben…

I don’t think he’s leaving me anytime soon.

He feels real in that way that lingers. Like someone you knew. Like someone you lost—someone who deserves to be remembered.

Soft, Melancholic Writing That Pulls You ALl the way In

The writing itself is soft but heavy.

There’s this quiet melancholy threaded through every page. Even in moments that should feel lighter, there’s still something underneath. Something that reminds you what’s been lost.

I read this in four hours.

Four.

No breaks. No distractions. Just completely locked in, feeling everything as it unfolded.

And I didn’t even expect it to be this sad.

*side note* I don’t read synopses like that. I go in blind most of the time. And even if I had read it, I probably wouldn’t have been prepared for this.

It’s not a spicy book.

There are maybe two scenes, nothing overly graphic. That’s not what this story is trying to do. This is about connection. About loss. About the quiet, painful process of putting yourself back together.

And I think that’s why it hits the way it does.

Who Is When I Was Theirs For? And Who Is it Not For?

Read this if you:

• want a romance that leans deeply into grief and healing
• love character driven stories that feel intimate and real
• want something that will make you feel it physically, not just emotionally
• are drawn to soft, melancholic writing that lingers

This might not be for you if you:

• want something fast paced or plot heavy
• prefer romance that stays light or escapist
• need clear emotional distance from heavy themes like lost, domestic abuse, and difficult parental relationships

This Is Where I Tell You to SHop Indie

This is where I tell you to shop indie.

Not in a “you should” kind of way.
In a this book deserves to be held, passed around, talked about kind of way.

If this sound like something that might sit with you too, consider picking it up through your local bookstore. This one is available on Kindle Unlimited so if you have a sub read it there.

You’re not just buying a book.
You’re keeping stories like this in circulation.

And this one?
It’s worth that.

If this sounds like the kind of book that would stay with you too, you might want to read it for yourself before anything else gets spoiled. This one of those stories best experienced, not explained.

Final Thoughts

I don’t think I’ll be the same after reading this.

And I think that’s the point.

When I Was Theirs is a story about loving, losing, and somehow finding a way to keep going anyway. About holding onto the little moments because you never really know which ones will be the last.

It broke my heart.

And then, quietly, it helped put something back together again.

I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while.

And honeslty?

I don’t think I want to let it go just yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Evelyn Flood for providing me with a copy of When I Was Theirs to read and review.

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