Tag: Colleen Hoover

This Chick Read: Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Kenna Rowan returns to town after serving five years for a tragic mistake. Wanting the chance to be near her daughter she is shut out by everyone except bar owner, Ledger Ward. Ledger sees Kenna’s trying to start a life and wonders if the way she is being treated by everyone would hurt Scotty, who had loved her, but if he cracks that door open Ledger could lose the trust of those he loves, including her daughter.

This was such a simple story, but Colleen Hoover’s ability to create complex characters and draw readers into the intricacies behind their actions, made this simple story simply spellbinding. The reader is kept dark about why Kenna went to jail and given only glimpses. Her regret and love for Scotty kept alive by the journal entries she writes to him daily, revealing small pieces of their story. At the same time we see her everyday life, interactions with Ledger, the folks around her in the apartment complex where she lives and we draw our own conclusions that this is a young woman who may have done wrong but was also wronged and deserves forgiveness and trust. The moment when Ledger finally realizes that their perception of what happened was actually incorrect and he finds forgiveness for her, is absolutely gripping. I realized at that moment the talent in this author’s writing.

There’s something to be said for an author who can make the reader love not only a current love interest but a past one too. Through everyone’s eyes, we see what a great guy Scotty was, the cruelty in the fact that he died too young, and also how Ledger has tried to stand in for him with Scotty’s parents and daughter. Ledger too showed qualities that made me feel like it was ok that Kenna moves on from her lost love to this new one. It’s only because the author made that connection that allowed the reader to move forward with Kenna. I think a lesser author would’ve left the reader going, what? She’s moving on already? After all those feelings? Somehow I was ok with it all, and then of course Ledger’s relationship with Diem, Kenna and Scotty’s daughter, was the final piece that made the puzzle whole.

This story was angst filled, but had an honest and real feel. Life can change in a moment and one mistake should not identify who that person is for the rest of their life. I loved the message of love and forgiveness that this book told. That was the real story.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Reminders of Him

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: It Starts With Us (It Ends With Us #2) by Colleen Hoover

Co-parenting with her ex Ryle is finally moving along smoothly and although he still holds out hope for getting back together Lily is ready to move forward in her life. When she accidentally bumps into Atlas on the street it seems like fate is pushing them together. It’s something she wants but introducing him back into her life will make waves with her volatile ex and she has her little girl’s future to take into account.

It Ends With Us is the conclusion to the best-selling It Starts With Us and I’ll admit I was eager to give Lily her happily ever after, so why do I feel a little let down? Atlas was everything he needed to be. He had her back, was emotionally available, stable, and an all around likable character. Lily and her baby certainly needed that after her rocky first marriage. Colleen Hoover even gave Atlas a sweet story arc that gave her readers a reason to care for him besides his love for Lily. I did really like him, but didn’t love this story. It felt a little bland after the volatility and emotional impact in the first novel.

What did I like about this book? I really liked how Lily had such a great support group, including Ryle’s own family who took her side against his actions. They were there for her and continued to be there for her and truthfully if this were a real life situation, they were the only reason why Ryle didn’t continue with his horrible behavior. They stood by her and made him face the consequences for his actions. I loved that!

If there was a reason to write this novel it was to give fans of It Starts With Us the happy ending that they felt like Lily and Atlas deserved. This novel does that for these characters. It’s well written, but a little safe and steady. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if it was a stand alone novel where I needed only the words on these pages to identify with these characters I wouldn’t be giving this as good a rating as I did.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* It Starts With Us

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

I think I must be the only person who has never read a Colleen Hoover novel before, or at least that’s the way I feel. It Ends With Us has been on the bestseller list since it was released in 2016 and now that it’s been announced that a movie will be made starring Blake Lively as our heroine Lily it is back at the top again. I received this book and it’s sequel, It Starts With Us as a Christmas present from my mother. A good choice because I had looked at this book over and over again, but hadn’t yet picked it up. Why? Well, it looked like it would be a drama filled piece of fiction and that’s not usually the kind of book I like to read. However, I have been trying to broaden my comfort zone so I was determined to give it a go.

There may be a few spoilers, so please read at your own risk.

Lily Kincaid had a tough childhood. Her family life was rough and she protected herself by not building relationships with anyone at school so she was a pretty solitary child. One night when she’s looking out over her back yard from her upstairs window she sees a boy (Atlas) she goes to school with entering the abandoned house behind hers. After watching for a couple of days she realizes that he’s living in that home. She leaves him food and a friendship is started. Years later she is living in Boston, dating a gorgeous neurosurgeon (Ryle), when she bumps into Atlas at a restaurant while Ryle is meeting her mother for the first time. All of the things from her childhood come to the surface and her happy life implodes. It was at this moment that I realized how difficult it was going to be to read this book and not be totally invested in these characters.

Colleen Hoover was genius at building Lily’s character. We knew exactly who she was because we had her childhood as a reference. We knew she was smart and had fortitude, wanting to build and achieve her dreams. We also know life sometimes throws things in the path that makes achieving those dreams difficult. When the reader is introduced to Ryle, he is everything you’d hope for Lily. As we get to know him, we see that there’s something holding him back but we want him for Lily so much. He seems just perfect, but of course, he is also one of the obstacles in Lily’s way to happiness. It’s amazing how well this author made us believe in that happiness, and even made us feel bad for him as well as her when it all fell apart. That’s talent!

Atlas was more of a romance novel leading man. He was all big, handsome, and alpha in a protector kind of way. Once he and Lily reconnect, he does let her live her life- but he’s there when it all falls apart. I’m curious to see what’s behind this alpha male wall that will make him different and also as beloved as Ryle once was. That’s in the next novel though. In It Ends With Us, he is relegated to catalyst for everything that happens between Lily and Ryle, but he also steps back and waits- allowing Lily to decide what direction her life will take. I admired that about his character. It was a smart choice by the author because I’m now more than invested in their future story.

As I stated in the first paragraph, this was not my usual choice for a quiet evening read. There was a lot of love, angst, and pain in Lily and Ryle’s story. It was not easy to read, yet the story was interesting and kept me hooked. I think this is the type of novel that is subjective to what the reader’s own experiences are and have been- that will determine if they like or don’t like the novel. I enjoyed it but I don’t think this is a story that I would go back and re-read. I’m debating whether I’ll even see the movie. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* It Ends With Us

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads