Was I Ever Here: Was I Ever, Book 1

This was a beautiful debut novel from Naomi Loud. I fell in love with her style of writing and how poetic and descriptive it was so in that respect I am already so excited to see what she comes out with next.Sunny and Byzantine were great characters to read about, with a love that spans lifetimes just trying to avoid making the same mistakes that affected their relationship previously. I couldn’t help but fall for them both and with his nickname for her who wouldn’t melt. It really is a beautiful story about love, mental health, and soulmates.The only thing I will say that is that if you're expecting this to be within the urban fantasy type realm, then I would change your expectation. I spent a lot of this book waiting for things to happen that didn't because it's not that kind of book, and that's totally on me.All in all, if you're looking for a dark romance, with some quite heavy themes but also a strong love story then this is for you!

Book Content Warning: active suicidal ideation (major theme throughout), mentions of suicide attempt, self harm, the concept of death and dying, stalking, violence, murder, depression, anxiety, near-death experiences, substance abuse and explicit sexual scenes.I was incredibly fortunate to receive this as an ARC. I have very rarely (tbh I don't think I ever have) found a book that speaks to my soul on such a spiritual level. I felt, from the beginning, that Sunny and I had a lot in common. I am fortunate enough to not have depression or anxiety/suicidal ideations however I have always had a lot of feelings on the concept of death and dying and not feeling like you are enough for someone to love and there is just something in Naomi's writing that resonated with me on such an emotional level that there were many moments in Sunny's POV that I just sat there and had a "Woah" moment having related so much to the thought process. (I never highlight or annotate books however I pretty much highlighted something in every chapter because of how it resonated with me).POSSIBLE SPOILER: towards the end of the book when Sunny is talking about finally believing she is enough to be loved by Byzantine made my heart ache in the most amazing way and made me break out into the biggest smile whilst simultaneously balling my eyes as they got the ending they deserved. The end of chapter 55 especially got to me and I cannot wait to have my own moment like these two.END OF POSSIBLE SPOILERThe spice in this is *chefs kiss* - Byzantine is everything you want in an anti-hero/morally grey man and so much more. He is the perfect mixture between hard (no pun intended), possessive. alphahole and gentle, compassionate and understanding when Sunny needs him to be and it made me fall all that more in love with him.I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have read in the last year! If I could give this book more than 5 stars I absolutely would! I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this book and I cannot wait for the next book from Naomi!!!

Kindly note that the review may contain spoilers!Thank you for providing a copy for Advanced Readers! Kindly note to check the trigger warnings before reading!I went into this book blind, having only seen the cover and knowing the author from watching her booktok content on TikTok, which I adore and am addicted to.Her debut novel is amazing; the plot revolves around soulmates who meet in every lifetime. This book has broken me numerous times because it is both spicy and heartbreaking, which I enjoy. I adored the book's main characters, especially Byzantine, who quickly became one of my many book boyfriends.The spice in this book is incredible!I can't wait to see what Naomi writes next because I know I'll devour the book!

This book left me completely speechless 🥺 it's such a beautiful story of love and loss, and finding your soulmate again and again in multiple lifetimes. The plot, the characters, the writing were amazing (I still can't believe this is a debut!!). These characters haven't left me since I finished reading this book. And I absolutely sobbed at least 10 times whilst reading and again whilst writing my reviews 😭 WIEH is easily one of my top 3 reads of the year!I can't wait for more from this author. WIEH introduces the characters of the next book and I'm HOOKED on them and their story already.