If only I had told her

by Laura Nowlin, Noémie Saint-Gal (Translator)

Genres: Romance

440 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2025

About the author

Laura Nowlin holds a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Missouri State University. . In addition to being ambitious writer Laura is also an avid reader who believes that books allow her to live many lives in one lifetime. When she isn’t at home agonizing over her own novels Laura works at the public library where the patrons give her plenty of inspiration for her writing. She lives in St. Louis with her musician husband, neurotic dog, and psychotic cat.

Reviews

[kitti · Rating 4 out of 5]

well it broke me. i needed to know finny’s point of view and thats all i can say. i loved reading these books but the emotional rollercoaster i was on. i sobbed at the funeral chapter srry bout the spoiler.
i dont know what more to write.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll give it an average score. I loved the first book so much, I couldn’t wait for this one! I’m a little disappointed by the sequence of events, but it was easy to read and follow. I just wish some of the other things could have been left out and really followed Finn’s side of the love story.

[Andrew Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing that new just the POVs of the characters from before, during and after Finny’s incident.

[LiSa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Laura Nowlins "If I Had Told Her" knüpft inhaltlich an den Vorgängerroman "If He Had Been With Me" an und wählt diesmal ein dreigeteiltes Erzählverhalten: Aus der personalen Perspektive von Finn, Autumn und Jack wird die Geschichte erzählt und über seinen Tod hinaus erweitert.

Finns Sichtweise wirkt über weite Strecken wie eine bloße Kopie des ersten Buches. Zwar nimmt man formal eine andere Perspektive ein, inhaltlich erfährt man aber kaum etwas Neues. Wer den ersten Roman kennt, wird vieles einfach nur erneut lesen – leider ohne spürbaren Mehrwert.

Jacks Perspektive beginnt vielversprechend, sein neuer Lebensabschnitt im College beginnt und er trifft dort neue Leute. Seine Gedanken lösen sich nur langsam von seinem Toten Freund. Seine Damenwahl am Ende - naja, nicht mein Geschmack.

Am wenigsten abgeholt hat mich Autumns Perspektive. Sie ist schwanger, es folgen Gespräche mit den Müttern über die kommende Zeit, ihre Unsicherheit steht im Fokus. Doch ihre innere Entwicklung – von anfänglichen Zweifeln bis zur Akzeptanz der Mutterschaft holt mich nicht ab.

Insgesamt empfand ich den Roman als eher langweilig und langatmig. Ich kann ihn leider nicht empfehlen.

[clemencesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Il y a toujours des choses qu'on aurait pu faire différemment. L'important, c'est ce qu'on fait maintenant. 
🌧️
Un fils, un meilleur ami, un premier amour, dans la personne de Finn.
Tous vont devoir surmonter sa perte.
Le deuil est magnifiquement dépeint dans ce roman à trois points de vues : celui de Finn, celui de son meilleur ami, et celui de son premier amour Autumn.
Cette histoire, plus que touchante, est fortement susceptible de vous faire verser quelques larmes dans le réalisme et la puissance de chaque personnage.
« Je crois que c'est la différence entre les gens qui sortent des sous-sols et ceux qui y restent. Tu choisis d'y croire. »

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this books was underwhelming. I was expecting more from it. It felt like it could have been 100 pages shorter. It didn’t add much context to what we already knew. Jack’s pov did nothing for me. I wish Finny’s pov started further back than what it was. I think more detail could have been added to give better context from the first book. I got bored in the middle. If I didn’t listen to it on audio I probably would have dnf the book.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came for Finn’s point of view, but it was Jack’s that cut me the deepest. I hadn’t cried during the first book or Finn’s because I always knew what was coming, but Jack’s POV destroyed me. Autumn’s had some wonderful nuggets of wisdom about being a mom, but also just about life in general.

[Reagan McKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good more like a 3.5. Not as good as the original and it’s been a while since I read the first book but I caught back on quickly. Helped me learn a lot about not only grief but learning that life continues through and after hardships (even if the two things are similar in a way).

[Vivyan Mendiola · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an easy read, I just was expecting more from the ending and I’m not thrilled that the next book goes into the history leading up to this book’s turn of events instead of what their lives changed into and lead up to.

[Sveya Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich fand dieser Teil am besten. Es hat mich zwar nicht zum heulen gebracht, aber ich war oft kurz davor. Es hat mich auch viel zum nachdenken gebracht und ich glaub das war auch die Mission von diesem buch. Ich finde es Super. ☺️

[Clara Longeron · Rating 5 out of 5]

mimi

[Katie Bauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked better than the first book tbh

[Marissa Kataoka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an overall heartbreaking book.

[Ban · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was too sad

[Hayley Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book followed on from He should have been with me. Life is unfair this read is happy, sad but so very true. I hope there will be a follow on from this one.

[Tegan Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally liked the first one more but I lived how this portrayed grief.

[Jess Facc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series and was glad to hear the story from Finn’s POV.

[book_girlie (semi-ish hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made me cry so hard. Why did he have to dieeeeeeee.

[Haley Hotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

literally loved this book, I read it under 2 hours and I cried.

[Camryn Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacks pov destroyed me
You will need 3-5 business days to recover

[Emi · Rating 4 out of 5]

and if you think the first one is sad wait till you read this one 💔

[Annie Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this one to, jacks chapter also made me cry very hard, loved his pov, gave me a whole new perspective!!

[Jillian Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spent the entire book sobbing

[Grace McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tears I did cry

[Alexis Feldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent way to ”continue” the storyline after finnys passing. I understand fellow readers being mad that we didn’t get much from him but like… he’s dead. Loved getting the best friends perspective!

[Marie-Claude Lechasseur · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐️

[Imaan Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really sad especially jacks pov and his funeral was nice to see

[meemo *ੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4.5

jacks pov should’ve come with a warning

[mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really didn't need to make me cry like this 3