November 9 by Colleen Hoover [REVIEW + GIVEAWAY]

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day of her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

"November 9 is yet another breathtaking novel by Colleen Hoover that's full of blushing, gushing, and heartache. I loved every page and breathed in every beautiful word."

—Anna Todd, Author of the After series

Never Never (Never Never, #1) by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Never Never by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Where do I begin stars?

FINALLY I like a COHO READ!!!!! OH THANK GOD!!!!

I haven’t liked a CoHo read since Hopeless. I was starting to think I woke up in la la land and everyone was invaded by body snatchers because I just didn’t get it.

ANYHOW, yay for serials… I guess, but I’m going with it.

Never Never is part one of serials (I have no idea how many parts there will be, I am assuming 3, based on the length of Never Never, I’m sure CoHo has it on her site). Like I said, I have a Love/Hate relationship with serials. I hate them because of the cliffys, but I love them because of the cliffys.

I know. I’m a little crazy.

I really DID LIKE Never Never as a serial. I felt like if it was any longer I would have gotten bored with the storyline and needed a break. The pace was fast and slow at the same time.

It’s about the Hero and Heroine not having any memories. They do not know who they are and why they both lost their memories.

It was fast because I HAD NO CLUE TO WHAT WAS GOING ON, it was kind of slow because the characters had no clue to what was going on and as they were putting the pieces together, I felt like it just needed the pace to pick up (JUST A TINY BIT).

Anyhow, if you are like me and was a bit hesitant because you didn’t like Ugly Love, or The Opportunist, well you will not be disappointed with Never Never.

AMAZON

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Flyin’ High Stars

First off let me say this…



YEP! I JUST.DO.NOT.GET.IT

I can tell you that you will either LOVE this story or be like me and be left a little puzzled and wondering what the book was REALLY about.

Disclaimer - >

I love CoHo books, but I’ve been disappointed with the last few. Do I have high expectations? Maybe. There are a few things I do not like to read in a book, these things are:

1 Love Triangles

2 Flashbacks

3 Stories that jump from past to present THROUGH OUT the entire book

And …. Ugly Love had this… okay maybe number 1 is debatable, but I will explain what I mean.
What worked for me

I love CoHo’s writing style. It’s engaging, it’s polished, it’s just top notch in my opinion. No matter what she writes, I’m always intrigued and engrossed. Her books are the type of books I can read in one sitting.

What didn’t work for me

THE SEX I know, you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking, what are you talking about? Well my friends, I like a steamy read, but when I pick up a CoHo book I don’t think of them as “steamy”, yes she writes nice steamy scenes, but they are all necessary and there is a point.

Ugly Love had too much sex for my taste. I just couldn’t get past the random sex scenes and some have mention how “steamy” some are, but I didn’t find anything that interesting.

The LOVE TRIANGLE… SORT OF

The story is written in two POV’s. Tate is written in present form and Mile’s is written in past form. Mile’s is hung up on his ex, Rachel. (this is no spoiler, you will find this out within the first chapter). Can you imagine reading a book where half of it is about the Hero hung up on his ex? I consider this a love triangle and I had NO INTEREST in it.

Which leads me to the next issue…

There is no chemistry between Tate and Miles

Because half of the book is about Miles hung up on Rachel, I couldn’t feel a connection with Miles and Tate. I felt like Tate was just a lap puppy. She was willing to take anything Miles threw at her and I’m thinking to myself, what girl would put up with that? Yes, us as the reader know what’s up with Miles, but Tate doesn’t know that and I felt like she gave too much slack.

Too Heavy

I’m over how “heavy” CoHo books are. Yes, she writes some dramatic reads, that make you want to “cry”, but when I know that coming into a book, it’s like… oh okay, what’s gonna happen? I kind of figured it out before it happened and yes it kind of messed with my reading experience.

Overall

I didn’t dislike Ugly Love, despite my rant, but I didn’t fall in love with it like everyone else. I didn’t like the story line and I couldn’t get sucked in with the characters. I had too many issues with so many things and this was simply NOT FOR ME.

AMAZON

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Musical Lovin’ Stars

And if I can’t be yours now
I’ll wait here on this ground
Til you come, til you take me away
Maybe someday
Maybe someday

The way I feel for reading Maybe Someday is the same way as I feel towards ketchup. Everyone loves it, it’s a great condiment, but for the life of me, I just can’t stomach it. As much as I love the writing, I do not like love triangles (or it’s very HARD for me to read books with a love triangle, especially the kind that is in Maybe Someday).


Summary
Sydney finds herself homeless because her longtime boyfriend cheated on Sydney with her roommate and best friend. Ridge lives across the apartment building. He plays guitar on his balcony and over the course of weeks, Sydney has watched him play. Now, on the streets, Sydney stays in Ridge’s apartment as the fourth roommate. As Sydney and Ridge form a sweet friendship, there are lines drawn since Ridge is in a serious five year relationship with Maggie.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

The summary says a lot, but I didn’t even tell you half the stuff that goes on. First off, let’s put this out there. I can’t stand love triangles. I can’t stand love triangles where all the parties are good. I wish I could hate Maggie, but I didn’t.

Colleen Hoover writes beautifully, she has a way of writing books where I have to block out an entire afternoon so I can read it one sitting

I loved the words, I loved the passion, the emotions and I would be lying if I said Maybe Someday didn’t gut me.

The Characters

Ridge

Ridge is a strong character. I love Ridge as in the idea of he is the Hero, I am not sure if I like his actions. Ridge is artistic, sweet and VERY loyal, sometimes to a fault. You only get a glimpse of his feelings for Maggie in the beginning. You just know he would never leave Maggie. I question a lot of actions and his justification. By the end of the book, I wasn’t sure if I was still for Ridge.

Sydney

I really liked how strong Sydney was. When her boyfriend cheated on her, she punched him in the face. Who doesn’t like a Heroine who kind of stands up for herself? As her feelings grow for Ridge, I start to question how strong Sydney really is. To a point I felt like she was too “nice”. I am not saying Ridge’s actions should make Sydney be mean, but it was hard to really believe Sydney was THAT understanding.

Maggie

Poor sweet Maggie, no one wants to be in her shoes. I wanted to hate Maggie and I wanted her to be the villain, but this isn’t that type of book. Maggie was probably my favorite character. Yup, I love the damsel in distress. I wanted to reach through the pages and root for Ridge and Sydney, but Maggie just made it too hard for me to be fully open to it.

Review

I love Colleen Hoover reads, she’s like a wizard. Her writing is out of this world and I wish she would publish books weekly. I am slightly disappointed in the storyline. It’s my personal issues that prevent me from fully enjoying this beautiful writing.

I know MANY will love it and I am envious of you for that

What worked for me

- The Music, I love listening to music as I read books, but what I love most about Maybe Someday is that Colleen worked with an artist to write actual music for this book. You can listen to the soundtrack as you read (like I did) HERE.


- Warren who is hilarious, if Colleen wanted to write a book about Warren, I would read it. I laughed out loud many times on some of his witty comments.


- Hold on to You was my favorite song. I think it’s because I love tortured songs.


- I loved how Sydney and Ridge formed the friendship. They bonded over writing music and it was so romantic and moving. I loved seeing the words they formed and how it related to the scene. Colleen sure knows how to set it up.


Overall

I wish I could love Maybe Someday, but I just couldn’t. I will say, the direction was different and it was something I wasn’t expecting at all. There was a lot of sexual tension and tortured reading I had to go through. I wished I wasn’t so emotional after finishing the read, but it wouldn’t be a Colleen Hoover book if it wasn’t.


You can read the Epilogue of Maggie, the password is the last page of the book HERE

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review

AMAZON

Jacqueline's Reads 3,000 Likes Signed Paperback, Tote, Swag and Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

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Book Review - Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2) by Colleen Hoover

5 in the SKY Stars

I must warn you, there will be A LOT of hand holding pictures, I just COULD.NOT.HELP.MYSELF!!!

What can I say… I absolutely loved Hopeless and is probably if not my favorite read of all time.

Damn Colleen Hoover, YOU.CAN.WRITE

Losing Hope is Hopeless from Holder’s POV. Remember the part where Sky and Holder didn’t talk to each other for one month, oh.my.gah…. it was killing me… I wanted to know what Holder was doing, what he was up to, what he was thinking, who he was seeing and YES, Yes, and YES I got it! Thank you!!!

I am mad at you Holder… But no matter how mad I’ve been, I never for one second stopped wanting you here with me

If you kind of liked Holder from Hopeless then you basically want to pin him to the bed and face rape him when you finish Losing Hope

I LOVED HOLDER from Hopeless, but by GOD having Holder’s POV is like drinking a glass of wine… no matter how much you consume… you just want more and get drunk on it

And… so did Jacqueline (just saying)

The moment my lips touch yours, it will be your first kiss. Because if you’ve never felt anything when someone’s kissed you, then no one’s ever really kissed you. Not the way I plan on kissing you

Do not even get me started on the first non-kiss. Oh lord, who knew dry humping and NOT kissing was so freaking hot! I just LOVE IT! I’ll say it again, I LOVE Colleen Hoover’s writing. I want to go into my kitchen right now and force husband to make me dinner, just so I can make-out with him or have him grope me.

What made Hopeless such a great read was all the dynamics that went on, like Sky unraveling her past and Holder making Sky whole again. Now, what makes Losing Hope such a great read was seeing the inner struggles Holder was dealing with and how he overcame them. I didn’t think he was so abrasive in Hopeless, but damn, when he fights, it’s SEXY!

Oh and the things that come out of his mouth…

You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight.

F&ck all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers

Sheesh… FAINT right here

One last thing, I think Hopeless/Losing Hope had one of the most moving, intense and yes BEST sex scene. It wasn’t just steamy, it was just such a vital and pivotal point in the read and I am so glad it was written the way it was written. To this day, I compare that scene to other scenes in my current reads and there is just no comparison.

This isn’t me saying yes, Holder. This is me saying yes

You were always there, you know. Even when I couldn’t remember… you were always there

Despite the first tiny part was a little slow for me, the rest definitely made up for it. If you had any questions about Les and Holder’s relationship, Losing Hope answers that.

5 STARS!!!

**Quotes are from Hopeless

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review through Atria via NetGalley

Book Signing - Colleen Hoover - Jamie McGuire - Tammara Webber

Book signing photos at A Real Bookstore

I didn't get many good pictures during the meet and greet.  Tammara got cut off :(

Snag my photo with Jamie McGuire, author of Beautiful Disaster and one of my top favorite reads!  She's also so beautiful!

Tammara greeting her fans (and one of book buddies).

My book buddy snagging photos.  You never know where you will meet new people!

Snag my photo with Colleen Hoover and got all of my books signed.  Colleen wrote Hopeless and Slammed (again, my top favorite reads).  Click on Hopeless for my review.  

I actually enjoyed meeting Tammara the most.  Tammara wrote Easy and the Heroine's name is Jacqueline, I just had to tell her that (plus her book is super awesome as well)

It may sound cheesy, but I was really happy, excited and just over the moon to meet these authors.  To me they are like super stars.  Every time I read a book that I absolutely love, it just sticks with me and brings a smile to my face.  

Book Signing Photos with R.K. Lilley - > HERE

Book Signing Photos with Jamie McGuire (promotion of Walking Disaster) - > HERE

This Girl by Colleen Hoover

5 Stars

I can’t write a review because I don’t think I can form into words what I would describe as one of the top alternative POV novels I’ve had the pleasure of reading.

….and I don’t like alternative POV novels, however there’s always exceptions, like Walking Disaster and now This Girl

Oh the many ways I love Will…

First sentence…

If I took every romantic poem, every book, every song, and every movie I've ever read, heard, or seen and extracted the breathtaking moments, somehow bottling them up, they would pale in comparison to this moment.

OMG … SWOON… FAINT… Are you serious?! What a great opening. The moment I read that first sentence I knew I would be in for a treat.

Basically I was up and down. I was giddy with joy, then sobbing big fat ugly tears and then just sighing in contentment with swoon-overload.

I LOVE Colleen Hoover. Only she could re-write a story and make me feel like I am reading a completely new book. I needed This Girl I needed to know what Will was thinking, how he was feeling and I am just so freaking ecstatic I GOT IT!

Will is my book boyfriend. I loved him in Slammed and I loved him in Point of Retreat and I freaking want to mold myself to him in This Girl

Just a few of my Favorite Will Quotes…

Looking down at her, watching her laugh… God, I’ve never wanted to kiss a girl so bad in my entire life.

Its new. Its scary. Its exciting. It’s nerve-racking. It’s calming. Its every single emotion I’ve ever felt balled up into an intense urge to grab hold of her and never let go

It’s like I couldn’t breathe unless I was never you

I don’t understand how I went so long without her and now I feel like she’s such a vital part of me, I’ll die if I’m not touching her

One last thought, I thought, from the cover, to the story, to the title… it was sheer PERFECTION!

View all my reviews

Book Review - Hopeless (Hopeless, #1) by Collen Hoover

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Stars

If I could give HOPELESS 15 stars I would. I don’t say this often and I think I am a pretty harsh reviewer, but I absolutely LOVED HOPELESS. This book was an amazing read; everything from the cover, to the title, to Sky and Holder’s characters were just pure perfection.

I don’t even want to write the summary of the book because I didn’t even read the summary prior to reading HOPELESS. In my opinion, a summary isn’t even necessary. Collen Hoover is simply a GREAT writer. I loved Slammed and Point of Retreat , both books I read in one sitting. I actually had HOPELESS for a few days, I didn’t want to read it right away because I was saving it for a day I could devote completely to the book and I am so glad I did, other than the few bathroom breaks and lunch break, I didn’t stop reading until the last page.

I wanted to read an epic, gut-wrenching, pull your hair out novel and I got that by ten-folds. HOPELESS had everything I looked for in a novel, it had romance, betrayal, mystery and drama. I was worried Hopeless would mirror a lot of Collen’s previous book, but it didn’t. I felt like I was reading something new, fresh and very RAW. I also even enjoyed the few pieces of the puzzle Collen sprinkled throughout the book. I had an idea of what I knew happened, but it really was never confirmed until later on and it didn’t matter to me because I was enjoying the ride itself to really care if my theory was correct or not.

I am on a Collen Hoover high and it makes me want to go and read Slammed again so I can get my fix. I can’t wait to see her at her at her book signing in January and I wish she had more books out so I can read them.

HOPELESS is an incredible book, I 100% recommend !

QUOTES FROM THE BOOK BELOW