COLLEEN HOOVER REVIEWS
CONFESS
by Colleen Hoover
contemporary // romance // new adult
"Don't allow anyone to make you feel less than what you are."
It's safe to say that the art was my favorite part of this book. OMG it is beautiful, and I love Colleen so much for, once again, going that extra step to bring everything to life for the reader. The main character here is an artist, and Colleen incorporated a real artist's work into the novel. It is stunning.
Confess is about a young woman who moves to Texas. She's miserable, friendless, and looking for a job when she happens upon this building with a desperate Help Wanted sign on the door. The building turns out to be an art studio where passers-by leave written confessions for the artist who then uses those confessions as inspiration for his paintings. Again, this was my absolute favorite part of the entire book. The artwork plus the idea of these confessions-- it was just amazing.
However, until I reached the end of the book, it was pretty much a 4-star read for me. It wasn't quite up to the level of Maybe Someday or Ugly Love. It was too short and the characters didn't manage to crawl into my heart like they usually do. The very first thing I noticed about the book when I picked it up off of the table in Barnes & Noble on release day, was how short it was. But I tried not to be immediately disappointed because she can pack a huge punch in a very small amount of space. Unfortunately, I still feel ultimately unsatisfied. It could have been so much more, and there are many loose ends. It felt uncharacteristically rushed. I also didn't care for Auburn. She just sort of exists and lets everything happen to her. She is a good person and she has good reason to keep her mouth shut and go with the flow but as a character, she didn't do anything for me.
But this book was still extremely enjoyable. That ending! That ending was the huge punch in the small space I was looking for. It made me feel all the feels and... Colleen is queen.
UGLY LOVE
by Colleen Hoover
contemporary // romance // hurt and loss // adult
"It's intense. It's heartbreaking. It's devastating.
It's ugly.
It's over."
I had to get up for work at 5 o'clock this morning, so I had this great plan to actually go to bed at a decent hour last night. But Ugly Love had just been released. Ugly Love, which I've been impatiently waiting for FOREVER, was sitting at my bedside, calling to me. So I picked it up in the evening-- still planning to go to bed early-- and I read. And read. And read. And then, somehow, it was 1 o'clock in the morning, but I finished it. The entire book, devoured in one sitting. (that whole sleeping thing didn't happen but oh well. This is becoming a trend for me with her books. I should have known.)
I knew this was going to be a good one, but I wasn't prepared for just how completely unputdownable and infuriating it was going to be.
Miles is a dedicated pilot and Tate is a nurse, still working her way through school. They both work crazy hours and have no time or desire to entangle themselves in a relationship. But they're attracted to each other, and they live across the hall from each other, so of course the logical thing to do is become friends with benefits (because that always turns out well, right?). Although, they're hardly even friends due to Miles' complete inability to express any emotion or open up to anyone. Tate hopes for more. Miles breaks her heart over and over. It's just sad. And all the while, you're left to wonder what the hell Miles' problem is. We're given glimpses into Miles' past with flashbacks centered around the first love, Rachel. We know from the beginning that Rachel was somehow instrumental in creating this pain and fear he drags around, but how? Since he doesn't allow his stone wall to come down at all in the present, those flashbacks are really the only clues we get in trying to figure him out.
I loved how the Rachel chapters were done. The present day chapters were written in prose. Rachel was poetry. The structure of the writing, the words "cascading
down
the
page",
it was beautiful. It reminded me of the gorgeous slam poetry in Colleen Hoover's first book, Slammed. The poems were my favorite part of that book, so it was great to feel some connection back to that. Colleen is a talented author in general, but she has an extra special gift with poetry.
Without giving away any spoilers, I just have to say how touching it was to see that poetic style shift as the story progressed.
"Her
love
is
beautiful."
^ That was the best. It was a subtle shift, but so purposeful and poignant.
Colleen Hoover is hilarious. If you follow her on any social media, you already know this. And she is fantastic at bringing her humor into her writing. It's not often that books make me laugh out loud, but hers always do. This was no exception. I appreciated the laughs I got from this story so much more than usual, because most of this book was intensely heartbreaking. Ugly Love certainly lives up to its name. I felt conflicted through the entire story. I... didn't like Miles? But then he would do something sweet (like when he bought that blanket) and I LOVED him. Then I'd go right back to disliking him again. I could tell there was a decent guy hiding in there somewhere, but for the most part, he treated Tate like shit and I wanted to smack him. I also wanted to smack her for not having a little more self-respect and allowing herself to be treated that way. She's not an idiot and she was fully aware of what she was doing to herself, but it was still infuriating that she couldn't muster up more strength around Miles. It's not like he gave her much to fall in love with, anyway. He was brooding and distant and flat-out rude any time somebody asked him the simplest of questions. Somehow, though, Colleen had me rooting for them anyway. I don't know how she does it.
I guessed the reason for Miles' heartache about halfway through the book, but when my suspicions were confirmed, it was just as crushing as if it blindsided me.
I began to cut Miles more slack when I discovered what he had been through. Take a minute to think about the worst kind of pain you can possibly imagine.
Miles' pain is worse.
Years ago, my close family friends went through this-- it did not happen in the same way, but it happened. It is undeniably the worst pain in the world. It's something that changes you forever. Changes the way you think, the way you believe, the way you love, the way you live. And sometimes people are never able to climb out of it.
Miles is circling that drain, not even trying to figure out how to claw his way back up.
This book is so well-crafted. It's a powerful story about forgiveness and moving on. It's frustrating and funny and devastating and ugly.
And wonderful.
MAYBE SOMEDAY
by Colleen Hoover
contemporary // romance // music // new adult
"A life of mediocrity is a waste of a life"
I had high hopes for this book. Everything about it sounded epic to me, and I love Colleen Hoover of course. But Maybe Someday managed to exceed my expectations and I don’t know whether to cry or smile or sing all the songs because I’ve been doing all three since I finished the book this morning.
This story is so compelling, unique, funny, and completely unputdownable— literally. I picked it up last night and did not break for one second until it was over at 5am. I forgot to sleep. This world sweeps you up and does not let go. I was immediately intrigued by the characters and how Ridge and Sydney were connected, but then I was actually stunned when a certain detail about Ridge was revealed. This detail is one of the things that makes the story so special to me because this type of thing is not seen enough in fiction. It was handled so well and I love how much it shocked me.
Another unique aspect was Maggie— the roadblock. I can’t recall any other book at the moment that handles a Maggie situation quite like this. For once, the obstacle was actually a beautiful person. None of the usual outs were used to clear an easy path for Ridge and Sydney to be together. Maggie wasn’t a bitch or a cheat. She was wonderful. And so was Sydney. And so was Ridge. This story explored the harsh realities of loving too much. How can you be fair to the people you love when your heart is pulling you in opposite directions?
I loved Ridge so much, but he made me nervous for a while there. I was afraid he was going to be an Étienne from Anna and the French Kiss-- which is a cute story overall, but Étienne spoiled it for me. The fact that he needlessly strung two girls along because he didn’t want to be alone was rotten. You don’t play with women’s emotions because you’re scared, dude. Not cool. So when Ridge said he would never leave Maggie I thought, oh no, here we go again, BUT, Ridge had legitimate reasons and it was actually killing ME because I loved both girls. And this is all just insane because I loathe love triangles. But of course, Colleen Hoover knows how to get to me.
And last but far from least, the music. Griffin Peterson’s music was completely lovely to listen to as I was reading. It brought everything to life and it’s clear that SO much heart went into this whole project.
"Are you in the mood to make beautiful music together?"
OH MY GOD ALSO, the Pine-Sol?! LOLed so hard. I think we’ve found the TRUE power of pine-sol, baby.
click for
Maybe Someday MUSIC!
SLAMMED series
SLAMMED, POINT of RETREAT, and THIS GIRL
by Colleen Hoover
contemporary // romance // music // new adult
"Put the emphasis on life."
Poetry slams have intrigued me for years, and this book really captures everything that is so amazing about them. The poetry in this book made me cry. Every. Single. Time.
The poems were definitely my favorite part of this entire series. They took what would have been another ordinary romance and elevated it to a truly unique place.
This series begins with Slammed-- a forbidden romance between high school senior, Layken, and her new neighbor, Will.
The characters were strong. They felt real and smart, and not once did I roll my eyes at their decisions, which I often find myself doing while reading. The little brothers in this series were perfect. These are the first Colleen Hoover books I ever had the pleasure of reading, and I got a strong feeling that she had a few boys of her own because of how real and vibrant these kids were.
At times the drama felt a bit... excessive? It was just one tragedy after another. But I love the story and originality here.
I also took so much away from this without ever feeling like it was preaching at me.
Point of Retreat was a butterflying perfect sequel, and This Girl was a beautiful end to a wonderfully unique series.
