Even If We're Broken by A.M. Weald
Published by Independently Published
Age Group: Adult
Format: Fiction
Genres and Categories: Archaeology, Mental Health, Chronic Illness, Neurodivergent, Physical Disabilities, Trauma, Disabled and Neurodivergent
My Rating:
Published on: 4th April 2024
Pages: 331
Disability Representation: Chronic pain, back pain, suicide ideation, suicide attempt, mobility aids, fatigue, herniated discs, panic attacks, chronic insomnia, ADHD, PTSD, internalised fatphobia, erectile dysfunction, depression and dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder).
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US / Waterstones
Add to Goodreads

Two over-40 millennials each fighting their own mental health battles reunite for a summer archaeology job after 12 years and an ocean apart in this emotional own-voice debut novel for readers who enjoy slow-burn friends-to-lovers romances.

Still reeling from being ghosted by her girlfriend, bioarchaeologist Kate Roth agrees to join an estranged colleague to teach at his field school at a Viking-age archaeology site in the wilds of Newfoundland. While welcoming the escape from Colorado where she’s been medicating resurfaced anxieties with wine and angry rock music, she’s wary of three important facts: 1) she’s had a crush on Viking Cowboy Ben for half her life, 2) Ben is a family man who lives in Norway, and 3) all her romantic relationships, and most friendships, seem to have an expiration date.

For archaeologist Esben “Ben” Veholt, inviting the woman he’s been in love with since digging alongside her 23 years ago was, of course, the worst possible thing he could have done for himself. This summer was supposed to be his escape from reality: a love life in ruins, worsening body image issues, and a teenage daughter who suddenly wants nothing to do with him. When Kate accepts his offer, he intends to retain a professional relationship with her. A woman like Kate could never love him anyway—not with how much he’s changed inside and out.

All seems fine on the surface as Kate and Esben’s friendship rebuilds, but as they dig deeper, they realize just how broken they both are. To heal from their painful pasts and reclaim their crumbling presents, they each need a friend who accepts them, mess and all. But summer won’t last forever, and a third chance at romance threatens to drift across the ocean yet again.

Even If We’re Broken is for anyone who’s ever struggled with depression, anxiety, body image, chronic pain, suicide, and loss. It’s for archaeologists, and anyone who wanted to be an archaeologist. It’s for anyone who’s ever been in a long-distance relationship, and anyone who’s ever loved someone from afar.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

Please note
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programmes I earn a small commission from items purchased using links featured in this post at no extra cost to you. Click here to learn more. Every purchase you make through Just Geeking By helps keep this blog running.

Please note: Even If We’re Broken has a lot of content that may be difficult for people to read, especially those with chronic and mental health conditions or who have been in an abusive relationship. Please be kind to yourself and check the content warnings before reading 🙂

Gorgeous cover, chronic illness and mental health representation by an author with lived experience and a unique setting? Of course, Even If We’re Broken by A.M. Weald was immediately on my radar! The hardest part was saving it for repDISND 2024, but finally, the wait is over, and I can finally gush all about it 🙂

Reeling from an awful breakup, the last thing Kate expected was an email from an old colleague offering her a great opportunity. She’s initially reluctant to accept; she had a huge crush on Ben when they studied together, and those feelings never quite disappeared. After all, Ben has a wife and daughter. He’s happily married and has his life together, while she on the other hand has been self-medicating as she tries to process being ghosted by her ex.

With the urging of her best friend, Kate accepts.

Despite what Kate thinks, Esben, Ben to his friends, does not have his life together in any way shape or form. His ex-wife is trying to break their custody agreement, and his daughter Frida seems to want nothing to do with him. As for being happy; Ben can’t remember the last time he’s felt that. He’s been struggling with depression for a long time, and combined with chronic back pain and body image issues it’s a whole complicated mess. He’s a complex mess that no woman could ever find attractive.

So what on earth was he thinking when he invited Kate to fill the open teaching spot at his field school this summer?!

He’s had feelings for her since they studied together twenty-three years ago, but when their study camp ended, Kate had started a relationship with someone else. Ben’s determined to keep their relationship professional.

Completely unaware of how the other feels and has felt all this time, both Kate and Ben start to rebuild their friendship while trying to hide the messy and painful parts of their lives.

Even If We’re Broken by A. M. Weald is exactly how I like my romance; raw, genuine and filled with representation. I came for the chronic illness and mental health representation, but I adored all the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and cultural representation in the book. None of it felt forced, I want to emphasise that. Weald listed the full LGBTQIA+ representation on her Instagram;

Kate (MC): bisexual
Clara (Kate’s BFF): lesbian
Felicity (Clara’s wife): trans, lesbian
Sam (Kate’s student): nonbinary, pansexual
Jorunn (Ben’s BFF): lesbian
Alex (Ben & Jorunn’s colleague): gay man
Zoe (Alex’s student): pansexual
Nikki (Kate’s ex): lesbian
Rio (Alex’s husband): gay man
Sylvi (Jorunn’s wife): bisexual
(spoiler): questioning

Even if I didn’t already know that this was written by an author with lived experiences, I would have recognised it as one. It isn’t just Weald’s attention to detail as someone living with chronic and mental health conditions, it’s the content she has included. With a title like Even If We’re Broken, you’d expect a book to go into the painful parts of the characters’ pasts. The synopsis says as much, right? But I’ve seen other books promise the same and then not deliver.

The huge difference is Weald’s lived experience, and it is clear that she’s poured her entire heart into this book. From the scenes about fat shaming from medical professionals and past partners to finding the right medication and the difficulty in doing physio exercises alone when you’re in pain. Every single thing is perfectly nuanced. My heart was in my throat, and tears in my eyes so many times. This isn’t an easy read at times, but it is a cathartic one.

There is also joy and humour with Weald’s characters, even the dodgy professor, coming to life in full-blown colour. The dialogue is great, as is the pacing, and seeing people find their people is always wonderful. Even If We’re Broken is one of those books that had me feeling so many things, and it’s hard to put into words. So rather than start keyboard smashing, I’m just going to keep it simple; read this book.

About A.M. Weald

A.M. Weald grew up in the United States but has lived and studied all over the world. While in grad school, as a mode of productive procrastination she started writing fiction as well as professionally editing academic manuscripts which, after obtaining a PhD in anthropology, she continues to this day.

She uses Scrivener to compose and structure novels, Google Docs to jot down midnight ideas or write on the go, and heavily edits her own work before letting anyone else see it.

A.M. splits her life between the US and France. Her only children are of the quadrupedal feline variety—cats make for great writing partners.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Blue Sky | Threads

Thanks for reading my book review for Even If We’re Broken by A.M. Weald!

This review is part of repDISND (formerly known as GeekDis) an annual event I run for the disabled and neurodivergent community to discuss representation. Follow the hashtag #repdisnd or follow me on social media for more!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂 You can also now sign up for my newsletter to get an email each month with a list of my new reviews!

Support Just Geeking By

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, please consider sharing it on social media using the nifty buttons at the end of this post <3

If you enjoyed this content, please consider supporting my blog. You can do this in multiple ways (click here to find out how!) or by donating via Ko-Fi to help me reach my current goal.