Y’all, I might have found a new author to add to my “Read Everything They Ever Write” list. Brianna Bourne came in with her debut YA novel You and Me at the End of the World in 2021, and later with The Half-Life of Love this past March — two contemporary romances sprinkled with the right amount of fantasy. I love discovering realistic stories and characters that seem like they’re touched with just a liiiittle bit of magic. Enough to make you want to believe in it.
The premise for You and Me had so much mystery around it that I was hooked by the first page. Houston teens Hannah and Leo find that the entire city is abandoned, and that they’re seemingly the only ones left. Perhaps in the entire world. Why? They have no idea, and frankly, they’re too scared to land on any answers. In their everyday lives, they never would’ve crossed paths, with Hannah being a ballerina and Leo a punk rocker, but here, in empty Houston, they’re all that they have.
Hannah and Leo form an unlikely friendship, learning a lot about each other, and subsequently learning things they didn’t even know about themselves. The romantic spark is immediately there, but oh boy, after that spark, it sure is a slow burn. At first, it kept me on edge, but at a certain point, it did feel like it was dragging. What really kept me going was wanting to figure out where they really were and what was going on. Once the pieces started coming together, and I saw the full picture, I was actually surprised with how satisfied I was. I still had questions, which may be frustrating for others, but for me, it worked.
The Half-Life of Love is similar to You and Me in that it has an opposites-attract couple that are brought together by some kind of strange phenomenon. I think Half-Life is a lot stronger — it comes with that lasting effect that has you feeling all the heart and emotion long after you’ve finished reading it. The heart of the story are the characters Flint and September, two teens who have to deal with past and present grief surrounding the “half-life.” In this world, people have a sort of seizure at the exact point when they’ve lived half their life, telling them exactly when they’re going to die.
Flint half-lifed when he was only eight-years-old. Now, at seventeen, he’s back in his hometown and wanting to get his death over with. No family time, no friend time, no joy of any kind. He doesn’t even let himself eat his favorite foods. Which, agh, the instant heartache I felt for this kid. Then comes September, having her own traumatic experience with the half-life but wanting to face life with a smile regardless. Having Flint and September crashing together in this emotionally messy situation, it was like fireworks. Perfect. I loved seeing how they handled grief in very different ways, and how they opened each other up to truly embracing love and all the pain that comes with it.
I think about every time September could find beauty in places where I could only see ugliness. I think about the times she showed me how to savor something that felt good. The sweetness of a butterscotch candy, a sunset, a kiss, a quiet starlit night. She made me look. She tilted my face to those things when I couldn’t even lift my own chin.
The romance happens so fluidly, naturally, and I could actually feel the growing intensity. Because I knew what the stakes were going in. Brianna Bourne does such a fantastic job fleshing out these characters and making them so lovable, that the closer Flint’s death day comes… it’s legitimately terrifying. At the same time, the cozy autumn vibes and the warmth radiating from the characters provided a sense of calm. It was just beautifully, beautifully written.
So yeah, Brianna Bourne’s definitely got herself a new fan. I can’t wait to see what kind of magic she whips up next.
You and Me at the End of the World: ★★★★☆
The Half-Life of Love: ★★★★★
Sara Bechtol 