If He Had Been with Me was everything and more to me. The story follows Autumn and Finn, childhood best friends who had drifted apart, but remained in each other's lives. The novel explores their unfulfilled love, as they both go through life and relationship struggles. I have read many romance books, but none had me so in love with the characters as this did. This book inspired me to remember that I have to face reality along with the idea of love. I was up at night thinking about Finny and Autumn, even when I hadn’t finished the book yet. Slow burns usually bore me, but I fell so in love with this book so quickly, that it did not matter to me. What I loved was how Nowlin gets you so attached to the characters by detailing them so well. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance, but also can enjoy some jaw dropping moments. Absolutely love, happy to say it was one of the few 5 stars of my year.