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November 9
Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before 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.
Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before 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.
Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?
310 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2015
About the author
Colleen Hoover
112 books736k followersInternational and #1 New York Times bestselling author of romance, YA, thriller, women's fiction and paranormal romance.
I don't like to be confined to one genre. If you put me in a box, I'll claw my way out.
My social media username is @colleenhoover pretty much everywhere except my email, which is colleenhooverbooks@gmail.com
Founder of www.thebookwormbox.com charity and Book Bonanza.
I don't like to be confined to one genre. If you put me in a box, I'll claw my way out.
My social media username is @colleenhoover pretty much everywhere except my email, which is colleenhooverbooks@gmail.com
Founder of www.thebookwormbox.com charity and Book Bonanza.
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March 12, 2017
2/18/2017 Update:
Hoover responded via a Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCollee...
The ebook and the next printing of November 9 (if one will happen) will have a major edit to update the scene where Ben is touching Fallon without her consent. I'm incredibly grateful for this and you can see my follow-up response in the link above.
In the aftermath of this apology, I have edited my review for a less hostile tone (and to cut out my overuse of the word "literally" lol). My original review can be read here: http://whittynovels.tumblr.com/post/1...
TW: Abuse, rape
****SPOILER ALERT****
I would give this zero stars if I could. Since I was on the plane when I began reading this, I was unable to snapchat vlog how much I hated it. Therefore, here’s my list of complaints in word format:
• Fallon describes herself as being “obsessive-compulsive” about hygiene. You could just say you find hygiene important instead of belittling an actual mental illness for a hyperbole.
• Homeboy (Ben) eavesdrops on a conversation Fallon has with her father in a restaurant, then when she says she hasn’t had a boyfriend, he SLIPS INTO THE BOOTH NEXT TO HER AND PRETENDS TO BE HER BOYFRIEND? WTF THE FUCK? GO SIT BACK AT YOUR OWN TABLE. STOP TOUCHING HER AND CALLING HER LADYBUG AND BABY. 1-800-DID-NOT-ASK AND WAS NOT INVITED.
• I’m tired of every colleen hoover being about a girl with self-confidence issues. Even worse, in this one, the MC has disfiguring scars, which just worsens the fact that Hoover would exploit trauma and burn victims to establish a character trait.
• LITERALLY THE ENTIRE FIRST CHAPTER IN BEN’S PERSPECTIVE IS TALKING ABOUT HER BOOBS AND WHAT COLOR UNDERWEAR SHE IS WEARING. WHAT THE FUCK???? HOW IS THAT SEXY OR ROMANTIC FOR A GUY TO BE FANTASIZING ABOUT UNDRESSING A GIRL IN HIS HEAD BARELY TWO MINUTES AFTER THEY MEET?????
• FURTHERMORE, (I’ll stop using caps now bc I feel like I’m wearing it out but please do bear in mind that I’m furious) he literally says “if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . convent-inspired” (pg. 24). IT’S CHAPTER 2 AND YOU’RE ALREADY DICTATING HOW SHE SHOULD DRESS?????? OH MY FUCKING GOD I WANT TO TEAR THIS BOOK APART
• A few paragraphs later he starts looking at her scars and he’s like “Are [her breasts] scarred, too? How much of her body is actually affected?” And I get that it might be a genuine curiosity to see her and wonder how much of her body is affected by the burns, bUT YOU CAN’T JUST ASK SOMEONE THAT OR BLATANTLY FANTASIZE ABOUT UNDRESSING THEM JUST TO SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT THEIR DISEASE OR SCARS!!! I literally don’t understand this. This is absolutely disgusting. “I begin to mentally undress her, and not in a sexual way. I’m just curious. Really curious.” (pg 25). WTTTFFFFF??????!!!!!!!!!! this is so wrongly voyeuristic and completely fetishizes her scars.
• I call bullshit on this book. I know the romance genre is unrealistic because it’s mostly just womens’ wish fulfillment, but a straight, not unattractive guy swooping in to save a girl from a verbally abusive dad, buys her dinner, is a creative writing student, etc.? It doesn’t happen. This doesn’t exist.
• I’ve always gotten subtle homophobic vibes from Hoover’s books, but on page 28 MC says “No gay man I know would have left the house looking like you do right now” and just the outright stereotyping and trying to use that to be funny is just gross. Assuming every single gay man puts fashion on an alter is so stupidly stereotypical and I’m angry about it.
• Ahhh. Page 34. He begins to get all romantic and heavy and saying “want to know what I was thinking about when I saw you for the first time?” and we thought we were going to get a touching story about looking past her scars at her beauty but nope. Full paragraphs talking about her ass and him wondering if she was going commando. The objectification of women in this one is so undeniably and painfully real.
• Ben basically navigates throughout this book doing whatever he wants without asking Fallon’s consent and then forcing her to do things because he thinks she’s uncomfortable for no reason. It’s just disgusting that the man’s presence in this book is written so much more naturally and commandeering in this book.
• For instance, there’s this entire scene where Ben wants her to wear this really revealing dress and she doesn’t want to but he keeps pressuring her to and finally Fallon is about to have a panic attack and cry and she’s squeezing her eyes shut because Ben is running his hands along her shirt and unbuttoning it (WHICH DEFINITELY MEANS FUCK OFF SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU TOUCHING HER FUCK YOU BEN FUCK YOU) and he finally takes off her shirt and looks her over and it’s so uncomfortable and nonconsensual and totally inappropriate having only met a few hours ago. then he taKES OFF HER PANTS AND DOES THE SAME THEN TELLS HER TO LIFT HER ARMS AND PHYSICALLY PUTS THE DRESS ON FOR HER and I just wanted her to literally slice him in half like I’m so done with him. He is the opposite of romantic and if I were to ever encounter him in person I would literally stomp him like a roach.
• May I just say that when he was telling her what dress to wear, he literally said “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what I stare at while we eat.” Is that not a characteristic of an abusive boyfriend to be so controlling to force her to wear what he wants her to wear? And they’ve only been “friends” for 3 hours?
• Ben tells her, 3 hours into their friendship, I quote, “It’s your own fault people feel uncomfortable looking at you.” I can’t even make this up. He tells her it’s her fault that she has burn scars, that they make her feel self-conscious, and the reaction people have to them. If I didn’t already hate this character so much I would actually tear him to shreds with my bare hands.
• You wanna know what the male gaze is? It’s a male supposed-love-interest saying shit like “There’s just enough showing at her neckline to keep me good and happy.” Because women, their boobs, and their lowcut shirts exist to make men “good and happy.” Barf. Gag. Vomit.
• HE LITERALLY SAID TO HER, “ . . . you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty” (pg. 57). WAY TO FUCKING OBJECTIFY A WOMAN TO REDUCE HER TO HAVING NO CAPACITY FOR INTELLIGENCE AT ALL, AS LONG AS SHE’S WEARING A LOWCUT SHIRT.
• There’s this scene where he’s running his hands along her scars. He asks, “is this okay?” asking for consent. Great. Awesome. But she responds “I don’t know.” And he fuCKING KEEPS GOING. NOPE. YOU RUINED IT. GOODBYE. I’M NOT EVEN SURPRISED SHE’S DESCRIBED AS HAVING TEARS IN HER EYES THE NEXT PAGE. BECAUSE YOU FUCKING KEPT GOING WHEN SHE DIDN’T CONSENT TO BEING TOUCHED MORE.
• They start outlining rules for what to do between the time that they’ll see each other again and whereas fallon’s are things like “read these books and have fun,” ben’s is literally, “go on dates. You don’t have enough experience for girls of your age.” Like, great. That makes me feel really good about myself. Great job.
• She eventually reveals that her left breast was disfigured from the fire and in the next line of dialogue ben is like LET ME SEE IT I NEED TO SEE IT CONSIDER IT RESEARCH I WANT TO KNOW. Like in what the fuck world is that acceptable? It’s her number one insecurity and he’s such an entitled asshole that he’s like “uhhuh cool but let me see it. Because I’m curious.”
• Every sexual advance after that wasn’t because “you’re beautiful I love you,” it was, “let me take off your clothes so I can see the scars you keep trying to hide.” So disgusting.
• I think the saddest thing is Fallon never stops Ben from doing anything. She continually complies, even if it causes her to have tears in her eyes, shakiness, etc. She has so much internalized misogyny that she allows men to control her and tell her what to do and she contributes it to the alpha male personality in the romance books she reads. I’m so, so upset for her that she can’t stick up for herself, and Ben disguises his exploitative, disgusting, and toxic obsession with her scars and undressing her as concern and love.
• They were talking about their favorite foods. Ben said Pad Thai. Fallon said Sushi. “they’re almost the same thing . . . [because t]hey’re both Asian food” (pg 121) lmao okay…………..
• Fuck the Tate and Miles cameo. I fucking hate Miles.
• “I step forward and shut her up with my mouth” lollolololol I hate this. I fucking hate this. Let her speak. Stay in your own fucking lane. You don’t dictate when she needs to shut up, especially kissing her forcibly to make her stop talking.
• “He kisses me with entitlement” is a real fucking line in the book. It literally just proved my point. Ben thinks he’s so entitled to her body. This is actually a perfect summary of any CoHo book you’ll read. Such arrogant, ridiculous, entitled men.
• After she loses her virginity to him, she literally describes it as she “lost a part of [her]self to the person inside [her] . . . as if the second [they] joined together, a tiny piece of [their] souls got confused and a piece of his fell into [her] and a piece of [hers] fell into him.” IS THIS NOT THE EXACT WORDING OF ABSINTANCE-ONLY SEX ED??? TELLING GIRLS THAT THEY ARE POLLUTING THEMSELVES AND GIVING AWAY PARTS OF THEMSELVES TO MEN WHEN THEY LOSE THEIR VIRGINITY????? VIRGINITY IS A CONSTRUCT. YOU AREN’T LOSING ANYTHING. YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON EVEN AFTER SEX. OH MY GOD THIS BOOK IS UNBEARABLE PLEASE MAKE IT END.
• fuCKING GUESS WHAT IT GOT WORSE
• the next morning she was like “I gotta go” and he literally said, I quote, “I’ve never wanted to use physical force on a girl before, but I want to push her to the ground and hold her there until the cab drives away.” He literally threatens physical violence on her. BUT SO CUTE AND RELATABLE!!!! AM I RIGHT???!!!!!
• He actually gets pissed when she refuses to let him move in with her and exchange numbers. Like cry me a river, fuckboy.
• This book is just so outright woman hating. Ben has such frail masculinity. He was like “Fallon said she hates insta-love, but apparently she hates semi-instant love and slow love and love at a snail’s pace and love in general.” Like way to villainize a woman because she wants the best for you???? Horny motherfucker, go take a nap.
• At this point I stopped taking notes because shit was happening every paragraph but here’s the rest of what I remember
• SEVERAL times in this book, Fallon tells Ben “I need to leave” and he either grabs her, stands in front of the door, or otherwise blocks her exit. That’s extremely controlling and nasty.
• At one point she tries to drive away from him but he grabs her keys out of her hand and walks to his own car, forcing her to scream after him and follow him to get them back. He walks all over her life and calls it “alpha male” romance.
• Near the end of the book Fallon’s out on a date with another guy and he shows up and is super manipulative pretending like he’s interviewing them for an article or some shit, but he’s actually just creeping on the guy she’s with because he hates how she’s moved on from him. That’s so controlling and disgusting? Literally leave her alone, she’s with another man? What the fuck? Grow up?
• During this same scene, Fallon is drunk at the bar and Ben takes her, drags her down a hallway, corners her there, demands to know who he is, and Fallon laughs. Hoover continually normalizes and REWARDS this behavior by making the main female character perceive it as humor or protectiveness.
• At one point she tells him “I need to get back to my date” and it says that he “lean[s] closer and sandwich[es] her against the wall,” then he says, “Don’t be like that . . . I’ve been through hell today trying to find you.” OH, OKAY, SO YOU STALKED HER, CORNERED HER, AND NOW YOU FEEL ENTITLED TO AN EXPLANATION? ENTITLED FOR HER TO LEAVE HER CURRENT DATE FOR YOU? I hate this man. Fuck his privilege and entitlement.
• At this point I’ve yelled so much. I’m going to try and stay calm for this one because it’s the most serious one. While they are in a bar together—Fallon drunk, Ben sober—he pulls her into a storage closet and they begin making out. Ben initiates this. Fallon is hesitant but complies. He starts touching her, and clear as day, she tells him “Stop, . . . [her] voice louder than it’s been all night.” This is an absolute, loud, clear indication that she does not want to proceed. But what does Ben do? His hands continue to “graze the edge of [her] panties” and he whispers—he fucking whispers to her face—“I’m trying. Ask me again.” He didn’t stop. He. Didn’t. Stop. THIS IS RAPE CULTURE. I TOLD MYSELF I WOULDN’T USE CAPS BUT IN A COLLEEN HOOVER BOOK THAT HAS A 4.45 RATING ON GOODREADS, THE MAIN CHARACTER TOLD THE LOVE INTEREST TO STOP DURING A HEAVY ROMANCE SCENE AND HE CONTINUED TO SHOVE HIS HAND UP HER SKIRT WHILE SAYING, “ASK AGAIN.” (UPDATE 2/18/17: Hoover will be editing this out of the book. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCollee...)
• At this point in the book, I was done. Then the plot twist occurred.
• The plot twist just secured this book’s place in hell for me. Ben was manipulative. Ben lied. Ben was voyeuristic, trying to see her scars because HE. CAUSED. THEM. This isn’t cute. This isn’t romance. This is a drunk driver running a red light and hitting another car, nearly killing a passenger, and then stalking, abusing, and preying on the passenger who now bears scars because of his reckless behavior. Behavior that she. Forgives. Him. For. And Hoover subsequently normalizes by publishing this book. By publishing this book, Hoover has said, “it is okay to allow men to get away with this behavior if he loves you. If it was an accident. If he had good intentions. If he’s angsty. If it was meant to be.”
• Fallon’s father, who at the beginning of the book told her “you’re too ugly for broadway, no one will hire you, your career is over, boys don’t love you, etc.” is posed as “misunderstood” and someone who doesn’t know how to communicate. HE RECEIVES FORGIVENESS. FOR THE DESPICABLE WORDS HE SAID TO HER AT THE BEGINNING, HE RECEIVES FORGIVENESS AND AN EXCUSE.
• I have to stop this, otherwise my head is going to explode. I’m not shaming anyone who likes this book, but I can’t believe it has escaped notice of so many people. I can’t believe I’m the only person who’s livid.
This is the end of my support for Colleen Hoover. Her books aren’t going to half price books, they’re going in the trash.
Hoover responded via a Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCollee...
The ebook and the next printing of November 9 (if one will happen) will have a major edit to update the scene where Ben is touching Fallon without her consent. I'm incredibly grateful for this and you can see my follow-up response in the link above.
In the aftermath of this apology, I have edited my review for a less hostile tone (and to cut out my overuse of the word "literally" lol). My original review can be read here: http://whittynovels.tumblr.com/post/1...
TW: Abuse, rape
****SPOILER ALERT****
I would give this zero stars if I could. Since I was on the plane when I began reading this, I was unable to snapchat vlog how much I hated it. Therefore, here’s my list of complaints in word format:
• Fallon describes herself as being “obsessive-compulsive” about hygiene. You could just say you find hygiene important instead of belittling an actual mental illness for a hyperbole.
• Homeboy (Ben) eavesdrops on a conversation Fallon has with her father in a restaurant, then when she says she hasn’t had a boyfriend, he SLIPS INTO THE BOOTH NEXT TO HER AND PRETENDS TO BE HER BOYFRIEND? WTF THE FUCK? GO SIT BACK AT YOUR OWN TABLE. STOP TOUCHING HER AND CALLING HER LADYBUG AND BABY. 1-800-DID-NOT-ASK AND WAS NOT INVITED.
• I’m tired of every colleen hoover being about a girl with self-confidence issues. Even worse, in this one, the MC has disfiguring scars, which just worsens the fact that Hoover would exploit trauma and burn victims to establish a character trait.
• LITERALLY THE ENTIRE FIRST CHAPTER IN BEN’S PERSPECTIVE IS TALKING ABOUT HER BOOBS AND WHAT COLOR UNDERWEAR SHE IS WEARING. WHAT THE FUCK???? HOW IS THAT SEXY OR ROMANTIC FOR A GUY TO BE FANTASIZING ABOUT UNDRESSING A GIRL IN HIS HEAD BARELY TWO MINUTES AFTER THEY MEET?????
• FURTHERMORE, (I’ll stop using caps now bc I feel like I’m wearing it out but please do bear in mind that I’m furious) he literally says “if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . convent-inspired” (pg. 24). IT’S CHAPTER 2 AND YOU’RE ALREADY DICTATING HOW SHE SHOULD DRESS?????? OH MY FUCKING GOD I WANT TO TEAR THIS BOOK APART
• A few paragraphs later he starts looking at her scars and he’s like “Are [her breasts] scarred, too? How much of her body is actually affected?” And I get that it might be a genuine curiosity to see her and wonder how much of her body is affected by the burns, bUT YOU CAN’T JUST ASK SOMEONE THAT OR BLATANTLY FANTASIZE ABOUT UNDRESSING THEM JUST TO SATISFY YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT THEIR DISEASE OR SCARS!!! I literally don’t understand this. This is absolutely disgusting. “I begin to mentally undress her, and not in a sexual way. I’m just curious. Really curious.” (pg 25). WTTTFFFFF??????!!!!!!!!!! this is so wrongly voyeuristic and completely fetishizes her scars.
• I call bullshit on this book. I know the romance genre is unrealistic because it’s mostly just womens’ wish fulfillment, but a straight, not unattractive guy swooping in to save a girl from a verbally abusive dad, buys her dinner, is a creative writing student, etc.? It doesn’t happen. This doesn’t exist.
• I’ve always gotten subtle homophobic vibes from Hoover’s books, but on page 28 MC says “No gay man I know would have left the house looking like you do right now” and just the outright stereotyping and trying to use that to be funny is just gross. Assuming every single gay man puts fashion on an alter is so stupidly stereotypical and I’m angry about it.
• Ahhh. Page 34. He begins to get all romantic and heavy and saying “want to know what I was thinking about when I saw you for the first time?” and we thought we were going to get a touching story about looking past her scars at her beauty but nope. Full paragraphs talking about her ass and him wondering if she was going commando. The objectification of women in this one is so undeniably and painfully real.
• Ben basically navigates throughout this book doing whatever he wants without asking Fallon’s consent and then forcing her to do things because he thinks she’s uncomfortable for no reason. It’s just disgusting that the man’s presence in this book is written so much more naturally and commandeering in this book.
• For instance, there’s this entire scene where Ben wants her to wear this really revealing dress and she doesn’t want to but he keeps pressuring her to and finally Fallon is about to have a panic attack and cry and she’s squeezing her eyes shut because Ben is running his hands along her shirt and unbuttoning it (WHICH DEFINITELY MEANS FUCK OFF SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU TOUCHING HER FUCK YOU BEN FUCK YOU) and he finally takes off her shirt and looks her over and it’s so uncomfortable and nonconsensual and totally inappropriate having only met a few hours ago. then he taKES OFF HER PANTS AND DOES THE SAME THEN TELLS HER TO LIFT HER ARMS AND PHYSICALLY PUTS THE DRESS ON FOR HER and I just wanted her to literally slice him in half like I’m so done with him. He is the opposite of romantic and if I were to ever encounter him in person I would literally stomp him like a roach.
• May I just say that when he was telling her what dress to wear, he literally said “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what I stare at while we eat.” Is that not a characteristic of an abusive boyfriend to be so controlling to force her to wear what he wants her to wear? And they’ve only been “friends” for 3 hours?
• Ben tells her, 3 hours into their friendship, I quote, “It’s your own fault people feel uncomfortable looking at you.” I can’t even make this up. He tells her it’s her fault that she has burn scars, that they make her feel self-conscious, and the reaction people have to them. If I didn’t already hate this character so much I would actually tear him to shreds with my bare hands.
• You wanna know what the male gaze is? It’s a male supposed-love-interest saying shit like “There’s just enough showing at her neckline to keep me good and happy.” Because women, their boobs, and their lowcut shirts exist to make men “good and happy.” Barf. Gag. Vomit.
• HE LITERALLY SAID TO HER, “ . . . you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty” (pg. 57). WAY TO FUCKING OBJECTIFY A WOMAN TO REDUCE HER TO HAVING NO CAPACITY FOR INTELLIGENCE AT ALL, AS LONG AS SHE’S WEARING A LOWCUT SHIRT.
• There’s this scene where he’s running his hands along her scars. He asks, “is this okay?” asking for consent. Great. Awesome. But she responds “I don’t know.” And he fuCKING KEEPS GOING. NOPE. YOU RUINED IT. GOODBYE. I’M NOT EVEN SURPRISED SHE’S DESCRIBED AS HAVING TEARS IN HER EYES THE NEXT PAGE. BECAUSE YOU FUCKING KEPT GOING WHEN SHE DIDN’T CONSENT TO BEING TOUCHED MORE.
• They start outlining rules for what to do between the time that they’ll see each other again and whereas fallon’s are things like “read these books and have fun,” ben’s is literally, “go on dates. You don’t have enough experience for girls of your age.” Like, great. That makes me feel really good about myself. Great job.
• She eventually reveals that her left breast was disfigured from the fire and in the next line of dialogue ben is like LET ME SEE IT I NEED TO SEE IT CONSIDER IT RESEARCH I WANT TO KNOW. Like in what the fuck world is that acceptable? It’s her number one insecurity and he’s such an entitled asshole that he’s like “uhhuh cool but let me see it. Because I’m curious.”
• Every sexual advance after that wasn’t because “you’re beautiful I love you,” it was, “let me take off your clothes so I can see the scars you keep trying to hide.” So disgusting.
• I think the saddest thing is Fallon never stops Ben from doing anything. She continually complies, even if it causes her to have tears in her eyes, shakiness, etc. She has so much internalized misogyny that she allows men to control her and tell her what to do and she contributes it to the alpha male personality in the romance books she reads. I’m so, so upset for her that she can’t stick up for herself, and Ben disguises his exploitative, disgusting, and toxic obsession with her scars and undressing her as concern and love.
• They were talking about their favorite foods. Ben said Pad Thai. Fallon said Sushi. “they’re almost the same thing . . . [because t]hey’re both Asian food” (pg 121) lmao okay…………..
• Fuck the Tate and Miles cameo. I fucking hate Miles.
• “I step forward and shut her up with my mouth” lollolololol I hate this. I fucking hate this. Let her speak. Stay in your own fucking lane. You don’t dictate when she needs to shut up, especially kissing her forcibly to make her stop talking.
• “He kisses me with entitlement” is a real fucking line in the book. It literally just proved my point. Ben thinks he’s so entitled to her body. This is actually a perfect summary of any CoHo book you’ll read. Such arrogant, ridiculous, entitled men.
• After she loses her virginity to him, she literally describes it as she “lost a part of [her]self to the person inside [her] . . . as if the second [they] joined together, a tiny piece of [their] souls got confused and a piece of his fell into [her] and a piece of [hers] fell into him.” IS THIS NOT THE EXACT WORDING OF ABSINTANCE-ONLY SEX ED??? TELLING GIRLS THAT THEY ARE POLLUTING THEMSELVES AND GIVING AWAY PARTS OF THEMSELVES TO MEN WHEN THEY LOSE THEIR VIRGINITY????? VIRGINITY IS A CONSTRUCT. YOU AREN’T LOSING ANYTHING. YOU ARE AN INDIVIDUAL PERSON EVEN AFTER SEX. OH MY GOD THIS BOOK IS UNBEARABLE PLEASE MAKE IT END.
• fuCKING GUESS WHAT IT GOT WORSE
• the next morning she was like “I gotta go” and he literally said, I quote, “I’ve never wanted to use physical force on a girl before, but I want to push her to the ground and hold her there until the cab drives away.” He literally threatens physical violence on her. BUT SO CUTE AND RELATABLE!!!! AM I RIGHT???!!!!!
• He actually gets pissed when she refuses to let him move in with her and exchange numbers. Like cry me a river, fuckboy.
• This book is just so outright woman hating. Ben has such frail masculinity. He was like “Fallon said she hates insta-love, but apparently she hates semi-instant love and slow love and love at a snail’s pace and love in general.” Like way to villainize a woman because she wants the best for you???? Horny motherfucker, go take a nap.
• At this point I stopped taking notes because shit was happening every paragraph but here’s the rest of what I remember
• SEVERAL times in this book, Fallon tells Ben “I need to leave” and he either grabs her, stands in front of the door, or otherwise blocks her exit. That’s extremely controlling and nasty.
• At one point she tries to drive away from him but he grabs her keys out of her hand and walks to his own car, forcing her to scream after him and follow him to get them back. He walks all over her life and calls it “alpha male” romance.
• Near the end of the book Fallon’s out on a date with another guy and he shows up and is super manipulative pretending like he’s interviewing them for an article or some shit, but he’s actually just creeping on the guy she’s with because he hates how she’s moved on from him. That’s so controlling and disgusting? Literally leave her alone, she’s with another man? What the fuck? Grow up?
• During this same scene, Fallon is drunk at the bar and Ben takes her, drags her down a hallway, corners her there, demands to know who he is, and Fallon laughs. Hoover continually normalizes and REWARDS this behavior by making the main female character perceive it as humor or protectiveness.
• At one point she tells him “I need to get back to my date” and it says that he “lean[s] closer and sandwich[es] her against the wall,” then he says, “Don’t be like that . . . I’ve been through hell today trying to find you.” OH, OKAY, SO YOU STALKED HER, CORNERED HER, AND NOW YOU FEEL ENTITLED TO AN EXPLANATION? ENTITLED FOR HER TO LEAVE HER CURRENT DATE FOR YOU? I hate this man. Fuck his privilege and entitlement.
• At this point I’ve yelled so much. I’m going to try and stay calm for this one because it’s the most serious one. While they are in a bar together—Fallon drunk, Ben sober—he pulls her into a storage closet and they begin making out. Ben initiates this. Fallon is hesitant but complies. He starts touching her, and clear as day, she tells him “Stop, . . . [her] voice louder than it’s been all night.” This is an absolute, loud, clear indication that she does not want to proceed. But what does Ben do? His hands continue to “graze the edge of [her] panties” and he whispers—he fucking whispers to her face—“I’m trying. Ask me again.” He didn’t stop. He. Didn’t. Stop. THIS IS RAPE CULTURE. I TOLD MYSELF I WOULDN’T USE CAPS BUT IN A COLLEEN HOOVER BOOK THAT HAS A 4.45 RATING ON GOODREADS, THE MAIN CHARACTER TOLD THE LOVE INTEREST TO STOP DURING A HEAVY ROMANCE SCENE AND HE CONTINUED TO SHOVE HIS HAND UP HER SKIRT WHILE SAYING, “ASK AGAIN.” (UPDATE 2/18/17: Hoover will be editing this out of the book. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCollee...)
• At this point in the book, I was done. Then the plot twist occurred.
• The plot twist just secured this book’s place in hell for me. Ben was manipulative. Ben lied. Ben was voyeuristic, trying to see her scars because HE. CAUSED. THEM. This isn’t cute. This isn’t romance. This is a drunk driver running a red light and hitting another car, nearly killing a passenger, and then stalking, abusing, and preying on the passenger who now bears scars because of his reckless behavior. Behavior that she. Forgives. Him. For. And Hoover subsequently normalizes by publishing this book. By publishing this book, Hoover has said, “it is okay to allow men to get away with this behavior if he loves you. If it was an accident. If he had good intentions. If he’s angsty. If it was meant to be.”
• Fallon’s father, who at the beginning of the book told her “you’re too ugly for broadway, no one will hire you, your career is over, boys don’t love you, etc.” is posed as “misunderstood” and someone who doesn’t know how to communicate. HE RECEIVES FORGIVENESS. FOR THE DESPICABLE WORDS HE SAID TO HER AT THE BEGINNING, HE RECEIVES FORGIVENESS AND AN EXCUSE.
• I have to stop this, otherwise my head is going to explode. I’m not shaming anyone who likes this book, but I can’t believe it has escaped notice of so many people. I can’t believe I’m the only person who’s livid.
This is the end of my support for Colleen Hoover. Her books aren’t going to half price books, they’re going in the trash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2021
First of all a very big fuck you to past Jonathan who started this two weeks ago, read 30% and took 3 pages of notes, making it virtually impossible to dnf because all that work would have gone to waste then. Next time either finish it yourself or don't take notes, I hate you.
Can Colleen Hoover write likable male characters? Like is she even capable to? Because I doubt it.
This is my second Colleen Hoover book and once again the main male character is shit.
The first chapter of this book really could have fooled me into liking this but then Ben opened his mouth.
What is cute about Ben? Why do you all like about him? Explain it? Is it because he keeps going on about her panties? Are we into that? I genuinely want to know.
Why is it apparently considered sexy when a guy she has never met tells her he's been wondering whether or not she is wearing underwear since the second he first saw her because "he couldn't see an outline". How can you look at this and not find it creepy? It's disgusting. It's borderline sexual harassment. Imagine a stranger approaches you and tells you "Hey, so I've been staring at you and I just can't make out a pantie outline, are you not wearing any? That would be so hot." What exactly about this situation would make someone go "Omg he's so hot" instead of spraying them with five liters of pepper spray?
The worst thing about the whole "panties situation" is that Ben never stops going on about them? He still keeps talking about her underwear NINETY-SIX PERCENT in. It doesn't get cuter the more you mention it, it just gets more creepy.
Less than 10% in Ben says: "I like that you're insecure, that means I have a chance to see these panties.". 911, please help. This is just all kinds of wrong, I don't even know where to begin. The implication that he only has a chance with insecure women (maybe because confident women would recognize him for the creep that he is and call him out on his disgusting and manipulative behavior?) and that he will actually use her insecurities for his own gain? He's disgusting and a creep and if anyone likes him I'm suing.
He constantly forces her into uncomfortable situations. You know those situations are uncomfortable for her because Fallon's entire narrative just sounds like she is about to cry at any second and because she tells him MULTIPLE TIMES that she DOES NOT WANT to do the things he wants her to do.
He forces her to wear a dress that makes her wildly uncomfortable. She tells him she doesn't want to. He then proceeds to undress her, while she is CRYING. She wishes he would stop, she is crying, she is shaking - she doesn't voice this, because she's scared but, honestly? She shouldn't even have to. SHE IS CRYING FOR GOD'S SAKE. She shouldn't even have to ask him to stop, he should have never started in the first place.
He says he does this because he wants her to gain self-confidence. No.
Ben is a creep and there is nothing sexy about him nor about that he did. It was an invasion of personal space, just served to prove a point. She was uncomfortable the entire time but couldn't voice it because she is insecure - and he knew that. He just took advantage of her insecurities (as he already threatened to in the beginning) and showed a complete disregard for her personal comfort. He pretended it was to give her self-confidence but then he admits that he just did it so that he could see her underwear. That's not even mentioning that either way undressing her while she's crying is not the way to give her more self-confidence. It's just a complete disregard of her wishes and discomfort (which she did voice when she didn't want to wear the dress and which becomes apparent if you can read the most basic form of social clues), if anything this situation was just some kind of powerplay for him and honestly warrants a police report.
He tells her to go on dates because she doesn't have enough experience. She is 18. Meanwhile she tells him to read books. What a cute dynamic they have.
When they first have sex Fallon describes it as: "lost a part of herself inside him, giving away part of her soul to him". That's just what conservatives tell young girls to discourage them from having sex: that they will loose something of themselves, "dirtying" themselves if they have sex. What are you teaching your audience, Colleen? Why do you think this is okay?
The next morning when Fallon is like "I gotta go" Ben considers using physical violence to make her stay. How cute. What an OTP.
During a scene in a bar he drags her into a corner, demanding to know who the man is she is with. What is cute about this? This is not attractive. He is not protective, he is outright behaving like he owns her and deserves to know every single piece of personal information.
In the same corner, in the same bar, they start making out. Ben starts touching her and she clearly tells him to stop. He doesn't. He instead says "Ask again" and still doesn't stop.
In countries like Finland only a clear "Yes" is a sign of consensual sex. This was a clear "No". This is rape culture. This is normalizing not stopping even though your partner asks you to because you think "you know better what they want". Once again, Colleen, what are you teaching your audience? Why is Ben never called out on his behaviour?
This scene was apparently deleted from future additions, which is at least one step in the right direction.
Ben also practically forces her to get in contact with her father. The same man who told her in the beginning of the book that she is too ugly for broadway, that she will never find a job, that no-one will love her. And in the end we pretend like he was just misunderstood? And Fallon forgives him? Fuck that. Fuck your emotionally abusive parents. Fallon clearly didn't want contact when Ben told her to do it. He has no say in this. Fallon's father doesn't deserve forgiveness just because "he is her only father". No shit. But sometimes, people are better off without certain people in their lives.
SPOILERS
One time Ben tells her that: "It's your own fault people feel uncomfortable looking at you."
He tells her it's her fault that she has burn scars, that people react weirdly to her. This on it's own is disgusting enough, but then when you find out that HE CAUSED those scars? What the actual fuck? Does that boy have any kind of self-awareness?
This whole plot twist makes all his behaviour in this book even worse. He lied, he manipulated her, he DEMANDED to see her scars. The scars HE caused. This isn't cute, this isn't romantic. He pretends like he is helping her out of the goodness of his heart, to help her with her self-esteem issues, but this information changes everything. He is not. He caused those self-esteem issues. He is directly responsible, HE is the reason she can't have a normal life. He is FORCING her into a "normal" life because he feels bad for his actions. He's just doing it to soothe his conscious, to make himself feel better about his involvement. And he's not even doing a good job.
Ben is 99% of the reason why I hate this book. The rest include the following:
- Fallon's internal monologue just constantly sounds like she's about to cry. I get it. I would too if I was spending even one second with Ben.
- Fallon is so obsessed with Ben, even though he has never done anything good for her. His disgusting, creepy and manipulative behaviour just gets constantly brushed off and excused. Those two have met three times and act like they are soulmates. I get that there are years in between but the fact is they don't communicate between each November 9. They literally meet 3 times. They know basically nothing about each other. They are in love with the idea of the other person, not with the actual person. This is not a good nor a romantic portrayal of love.
- Ben literally starts dating his dead brother's wife a few months after his death. But then tells Fallon he would leave said wife if Fallon tells him that she loves him. What a great guy he is.
Final thoughts
Why is Ben forgiven for his actions? Why is the moral of the story basically that men can get away with anything if they have "good intentions", if it's "true love".
This is not true love.
This is someone who committed an act of violence inserting themselves in their victims life. Pretending they have pure intentions while lying to them and being manipulative and controlling.
This is not a cute story, this is not romantic. This should not have a happy ever after. Ben should have been called out on at least one of his actions. Ben does nothing to redeem himself. Yet he is forgiven because he is allegedly her "soulmate". If a soulmate forces themselves on you and treats you like shit in the name of "love", maybe we are all better off without them. If your partner acts like Ben does, call the police.
Ben does not deserve forgiveness. Ben deserves jail.
TL;DR: 0 stars.
Can Colleen Hoover write likable male characters? Like is she even capable to? Because I doubt it.
This is my second Colleen Hoover book and once again the main male character is shit.
The first chapter of this book really could have fooled me into liking this but then Ben opened his mouth.
What is cute about Ben? Why do you all like about him? Explain it? Is it because he keeps going on about her panties? Are we into that? I genuinely want to know.
Why is it apparently considered sexy when a guy she has never met tells her he's been wondering whether or not she is wearing underwear since the second he first saw her because "he couldn't see an outline". How can you look at this and not find it creepy? It's disgusting. It's borderline sexual harassment. Imagine a stranger approaches you and tells you "Hey, so I've been staring at you and I just can't make out a pantie outline, are you not wearing any? That would be so hot." What exactly about this situation would make someone go "Omg he's so hot" instead of spraying them with five liters of pepper spray?
The worst thing about the whole "panties situation" is that Ben never stops going on about them? He still keeps talking about her underwear NINETY-SIX PERCENT in. It doesn't get cuter the more you mention it, it just gets more creepy.
Less than 10% in Ben says: "I like that you're insecure, that means I have a chance to see these panties.". 911, please help. This is just all kinds of wrong, I don't even know where to begin. The implication that he only has a chance with insecure women (maybe because confident women would recognize him for the creep that he is and call him out on his disgusting and manipulative behavior?) and that he will actually use her insecurities for his own gain? He's disgusting and a creep and if anyone likes him I'm suing.
He constantly forces her into uncomfortable situations. You know those situations are uncomfortable for her because Fallon's entire narrative just sounds like she is about to cry at any second and because she tells him MULTIPLE TIMES that she DOES NOT WANT to do the things he wants her to do.
He forces her to wear a dress that makes her wildly uncomfortable. She tells him she doesn't want to. He then proceeds to undress her, while she is CRYING. She wishes he would stop, she is crying, she is shaking - she doesn't voice this, because she's scared but, honestly? She shouldn't even have to. SHE IS CRYING FOR GOD'S SAKE. She shouldn't even have to ask him to stop, he should have never started in the first place.
He says he does this because he wants her to gain self-confidence. No.
Ben is a creep and there is nothing sexy about him nor about that he did. It was an invasion of personal space, just served to prove a point. She was uncomfortable the entire time but couldn't voice it because she is insecure - and he knew that. He just took advantage of her insecurities (as he already threatened to in the beginning) and showed a complete disregard for her personal comfort. He pretended it was to give her self-confidence but then he admits that he just did it so that he could see her underwear. That's not even mentioning that either way undressing her while she's crying is not the way to give her more self-confidence. It's just a complete disregard of her wishes and discomfort (which she did voice when she didn't want to wear the dress and which becomes apparent if you can read the most basic form of social clues), if anything this situation was just some kind of powerplay for him and honestly warrants a police report.
He tells her to go on dates because she doesn't have enough experience. She is 18. Meanwhile she tells him to read books. What a cute dynamic they have.
When they first have sex Fallon describes it as: "lost a part of herself inside him, giving away part of her soul to him". That's just what conservatives tell young girls to discourage them from having sex: that they will loose something of themselves, "dirtying" themselves if they have sex. What are you teaching your audience, Colleen? Why do you think this is okay?
The next morning when Fallon is like "I gotta go" Ben considers using physical violence to make her stay. How cute. What an OTP.
During a scene in a bar he drags her into a corner, demanding to know who the man is she is with. What is cute about this? This is not attractive. He is not protective, he is outright behaving like he owns her and deserves to know every single piece of personal information.
In the same corner, in the same bar, they start making out. Ben starts touching her and she clearly tells him to stop. He doesn't. He instead says "Ask again" and still doesn't stop.
In countries like Finland only a clear "Yes" is a sign of consensual sex. This was a clear "No". This is rape culture. This is normalizing not stopping even though your partner asks you to because you think "you know better what they want". Once again, Colleen, what are you teaching your audience? Why is Ben never called out on his behaviour?
This scene was apparently deleted from future additions, which is at least one step in the right direction.
Ben also practically forces her to get in contact with her father. The same man who told her in the beginning of the book that she is too ugly for broadway, that she will never find a job, that no-one will love her. And in the end we pretend like he was just misunderstood? And Fallon forgives him? Fuck that. Fuck your emotionally abusive parents. Fallon clearly didn't want contact when Ben told her to do it. He has no say in this. Fallon's father doesn't deserve forgiveness just because "he is her only father". No shit. But sometimes, people are better off without certain people in their lives.
SPOILERS
One time Ben tells her that: "It's your own fault people feel uncomfortable looking at you."
He tells her it's her fault that she has burn scars, that people react weirdly to her. This on it's own is disgusting enough, but then when you find out that HE CAUSED those scars? What the actual fuck? Does that boy have any kind of self-awareness?
This whole plot twist makes all his behaviour in this book even worse. He lied, he manipulated her, he DEMANDED to see her scars. The scars HE caused. This isn't cute, this isn't romantic. He pretends like he is helping her out of the goodness of his heart, to help her with her self-esteem issues, but this information changes everything. He is not. He caused those self-esteem issues. He is directly responsible, HE is the reason she can't have a normal life. He is FORCING her into a "normal" life because he feels bad for his actions. He's just doing it to soothe his conscious, to make himself feel better about his involvement. And he's not even doing a good job.
Ben is 99% of the reason why I hate this book. The rest include the following:
- Fallon's internal monologue just constantly sounds like she's about to cry. I get it. I would too if I was spending even one second with Ben.
- Fallon is so obsessed with Ben, even though he has never done anything good for her. His disgusting, creepy and manipulative behaviour just gets constantly brushed off and excused. Those two have met three times and act like they are soulmates. I get that there are years in between but the fact is they don't communicate between each November 9. They literally meet 3 times. They know basically nothing about each other. They are in love with the idea of the other person, not with the actual person. This is not a good nor a romantic portrayal of love.
- Ben literally starts dating his dead brother's wife a few months after his death. But then tells Fallon he would leave said wife if Fallon tells him that she loves him. What a great guy he is.
Final thoughts
Why is Ben forgiven for his actions? Why is the moral of the story basically that men can get away with anything if they have "good intentions", if it's "true love".
This is not true love.
This is someone who committed an act of violence inserting themselves in their victims life. Pretending they have pure intentions while lying to them and being manipulative and controlling.
This is not a cute story, this is not romantic. This should not have a happy ever after. Ben should have been called out on at least one of his actions. Ben does nothing to redeem himself. Yet he is forgiven because he is allegedly her "soulmate". If a soulmate forces themselves on you and treats you like shit in the name of "love", maybe we are all better off without them. If your partner acts like Ben does, call the police.
Ben does not deserve forgiveness. Ben deserves jail.
TL;DR: 0 stars.
November 11, 2015
::: FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED. SPOILER-FREE :::
WOW. WOW. WOW!!!! November 9 blew me away!!! I read it in one sitting with my heart racing the whole time!! The story was SO unique and unexpected that it took me completely by surprise over and over again!! I swooned, I fell in love, my heart was broken, and then healed again. And THE TWIST!!!!! Holy hell, that twist!!! Total shocker but I LOVED it. This book was perfect from cover to cover and definitely one of the BEST BOOKS of the year!! 5 stars!!
I went into this story completely blind without knowing anything other than what the blurb said and knowing the fact that it was a standalone. My personal recommendation is that you do the same thing. Try not to read anything about the plot and just dive right into the story! As such, I’m not going to talk about the storyline at all here — this is a spoiler-free review — and instead, I’m only going to share the blurb:
Now in complete honesty, blurbs usually over-exaggerate when they say things like “for the sake of the ultimate plot twist” but I promise you that wording is fully deserved here!! I genuinely did not see the twist coming and I absolutely loved that it surprised me! It just gave the story that extra *ooomph*!
This book starts off by just throwing you right into the story. You hit the ground running and it’s a non-stop ride until the very end. As you can guess from the blurb, the story takes place over several years focusing on Fallon and Ben’s single day together each year. I fell in love with them together. Each time, I desperately waited for them to reconnect and couldn’t wait to see where each new year would take them.
I was especially impressed with the way their relationship was set up so strongly that even after spending an entire year apart with literally no contact, they could pick up like they’d never been separated.
“He slowly plants kisses down my neck, keeping my hands secured to the bed, not allowing me to touch him back while he explores my skin. God, I’ve missed him. I’ve missed the way I feel when I’m with him. I wish I could have this every day. Once a year isn’t enough.”
PS: this is a complete standalone (not part of a series) but there’s a secret something in this book that’s guaranteed to make you SQUEE if you’re already a fan of Colleen Hoover’s books!!!
Anyways, I started this book late at night but ended up staying up til the wee hours of the morning to finish it because I just needed to find out what happened next for Fallon and Ben. The more I read, the more my heart squeezed. I was deliriously excited for their reunions, while being kinda scared about what would happen each year while they were apart. My heart was in my throat!!!! I felt ALL THE FEELS!!!
Ohhhh and this story really built up. My gosh, there was this one specific point where seriously guys, I was raging!!! OMG. My stomach dropped. I was so mad that I was practically shedding angry tears. I was furious to the point of not believing I could ever forgive [that person]. I was done. MAD!!!!! But ohhhhh how the grovel was epic! It was so epic that it actually did make me genuinely feel for and understand that character and believe the apology in a way that made me forgive what I thought would probably be unforgivable and still fully love that character. To me, that’s a sign of damn good writing!!
In the final hour of reading this book, I went from full on freaking out, angst-filled, stomach dropping rage to sitting with the biggest silliest, happiest grin on my face basking in all the warm happy feels.
I really found it to be amazing how these two characters could literally spend only a matter of hours together over the years and still have me wholeheartedly believe their love for each other. But I really did. I felt the feels, believed their love, understood the mistakes, cheered for the victories. I loved it so much!
Isn’t that an awesome quote??
This book was unique, unexpected, gripping, addictive, a lot of fun, but angsty at times, and also totally swoon-filled and beautiful because the truth is that no person is perfect and even the best of us make mistakes. What counts is whether we learn from them, and how we repair the damage, and how far we are willing to go to prove our love for each other no matter what happens. I really felt like (regardless of whether I agreed with them), I understood these characters and I absolutely adored their beautiful yet unconventional love story. I laughed, cried, swooned, and fell completely in love.
I have loved every single book that Colleen Hoover has written. Her stories just reach right into my heart and this book was another top-notch winner — a truly fantastic top recommendation!
This is one of those books you’ll want to drop everything to read the moment it’s live!
Rating: 5 STARS!! Standalone romance.
_______________________________________
For more of my reviews, book news and updates:
✦ Main blog: Aestas Book Blog
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✦ Subscribe by email
“If she’s not careful, I might just fall in love with her. Tonight.”
WOW. WOW. WOW!!!! November 9 blew me away!!! I read it in one sitting with my heart racing the whole time!! The story was SO unique and unexpected that it took me completely by surprise over and over again!! I swooned, I fell in love, my heart was broken, and then healed again. And THE TWIST!!!!! Holy hell, that twist!!! Total shocker but I LOVED it. This book was perfect from cover to cover and definitely one of the BEST BOOKS of the year!! 5 stars!!
I went into this story completely blind without knowing anything other than what the blurb said and knowing the fact that it was a standalone. My personal recommendation is that you do the same thing. Try not to read anything about the plot and just dive right into the story! As such, I’m not going to talk about the storyline at all here — this is a spoiler-free review — and instead, I’m only going to share the blurb:
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before 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…
Now in complete honesty, blurbs usually over-exaggerate when they say things like “for the sake of the ultimate plot twist” but I promise you that wording is fully deserved here!! I genuinely did not see the twist coming and I absolutely loved that it surprised me! It just gave the story that extra *ooomph*!
This book starts off by just throwing you right into the story. You hit the ground running and it’s a non-stop ride until the very end. As you can guess from the blurb, the story takes place over several years focusing on Fallon and Ben’s single day together each year. I fell in love with them together. Each time, I desperately waited for them to reconnect and couldn’t wait to see where each new year would take them.
“You can’t leave yet. I’m not finished falling in love with you.”
I was especially impressed with the way their relationship was set up so strongly that even after spending an entire year apart with literally no contact, they could pick up like they’d never been separated.
“He slowly plants kisses down my neck, keeping my hands secured to the bed, not allowing me to touch him back while he explores my skin. God, I’ve missed him. I’ve missed the way I feel when I’m with him. I wish I could have this every day. Once a year isn’t enough.”
PS: this is a complete standalone (not part of a series) but there’s a secret something in this book that’s guaranteed to make you SQUEE if you’re already a fan of Colleen Hoover’s books!!!
Anyways, I started this book late at night but ended up staying up til the wee hours of the morning to finish it because I just needed to find out what happened next for Fallon and Ben. The more I read, the more my heart squeezed. I was deliriously excited for their reunions, while being kinda scared about what would happen each year while they were apart. My heart was in my throat!!!! I felt ALL THE FEELS!!!
“She’s the only one I want with me today, and here she is.
Just for me. Because she missed me.
If she’s not careful, I just might beg her to stay.
For good.”
Ohhhh and this story really built up. My gosh, there was this one specific point where seriously guys, I was raging!!! OMG. My stomach dropped. I was so mad that I was practically shedding angry tears. I was furious to the point of not believing I could ever forgive [that person]. I was done. MAD!!!!! But ohhhhh how the grovel was epic! It was so epic that it actually did make me genuinely feel for and understand that character and believe the apology in a way that made me forgive what I thought would probably be unforgivable and still fully love that character. To me, that’s a sign of damn good writing!!
In the final hour of reading this book, I went from full on freaking out, angst-filled, stomach dropping rage to sitting with the biggest silliest, happiest grin on my face basking in all the warm happy feels.
I really found it to be amazing how these two characters could literally spend only a matter of hours together over the years and still have me wholeheartedly believe their love for each other. But I really did. I felt the feels, believed their love, understood the mistakes, cheered for the victories. I loved it so much!
“This is real life, and in the real world you have to bust your ass for the happy ever after… When you find love, you take it. You grab it with both hands and you do everything in your power not to let it go.”
Isn’t that an awesome quote??
This book was unique, unexpected, gripping, addictive, a lot of fun, but angsty at times, and also totally swoon-filled and beautiful because the truth is that no person is perfect and even the best of us make mistakes. What counts is whether we learn from them, and how we repair the damage, and how far we are willing to go to prove our love for each other no matter what happens. I really felt like (regardless of whether I agreed with them), I understood these characters and I absolutely adored their beautiful yet unconventional love story. I laughed, cried, swooned, and fell completely in love.
I have loved every single book that Colleen Hoover has written. Her stories just reach right into my heart and this book was another top-notch winner — a truly fantastic top recommendation!
“I think about you every second of every day and I don’t know how to get over you,” she says.
“Don’t,” I beg her. “Please don’t get over me.”
This is one of those books you’ll want to drop everything to read the moment it’s live!
Rating: 5 STARS!! Standalone romance.
_______________________________________
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November 14, 2015
“Why would a girl care to find herself when she’ll never be able to make herself feel as good as a guy can?”
I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I like Hoover's writing, I like her concepts for novels that differ from the standard format of NA romance books, I really enjoyed Never Never and I also liked Confess. This book, however, reminded me of all the reasons her stories and characters have annoyed me in the past.
The relationship between writers and the truth is something I find fascinating. I especially like it when authors structure their novel so it's like a book within a book, or a story within a story, and you can't be sure whether you're reading the "truth" or what the writer wants you to believe. November 9 touches upon that concept... barely.
But the reality is it just isn't done very well. From that opening quote that had my jaw dropping in horror at what I was reading to the weird apologies made for bad romance novels. Seriously, this should be called “in defence of shitty romance novels” or “how to write a shitty romance novel” because all the tips are here.
The book tries to make excuses for itself through the use of Ben being a romance writer. Fallon doesn't like instalove (one of my own biggest pet peeves) and yet both her and Ben conclude that they did have a kind of instalove. But, you know, acknowledging something doesn't necessarily make it okay. In this case, it doesn't at all.
Fallon is so annoying and melodramatic. I swear she must cry at least once per chapter. Also, she makes some sweeping, dramatic statements that seem off. Why does she think it would be a normal reaction for Ben/her hypothetical boyfriend to dump her after witnessing her argument with her father? What a drama llama. Just imagine it... your boyfriend sees you having an argument with your dad and he's like "oh wow, that's it, it's over". I wouldn't think that was normal, I'd think "what a jackass".
Ben is another controlling douche wrapped up in a gorgeous "I give you new self-esteem" package.
I shove the dress back at him. “I don’t want to wear that, I want to wear this.”
“No,” he says. “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
Be still my beating heart, I think I'm in love < /sarcasm>
He also, at one point, interrupts Fallon and puts his hand over her mouth so she can't speak while he delivers this big speech about how beautiful she is and only she cares about her scars. Which, as the book shows, actually isn't true, and also: get your controlling hands off her mouth, douchebag!
So, those are the characters, but there were other things I didn't like. Like the fact that Ben quotes poetry when he sees her naked and they're about to have sex (eww) and he says this cringy line:
“Baby,” he says, his lips forming a smile. “You have already made this the best I’ve ever had, and I’m not even inside you yet.”
And, oh my god, when he finds out she's a virgin:
“Fallon,” he whispers, dragging his lips slowly across mine. “Thank you for this beautiful gift.”
Oh, please. Just let me unsee it. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.
Then there's the fact that the blurb refers to "the ultimate plot twist" which can really only be one thing. The characters lives are not developed enough that there are multiple possibilities regarding the twist. It was so obvious what it had to be about.
And, finally, the plot/angst wasn't very well-conceived. I honestly didn't buy into their reasons for not being together - it seemed like excuses made to prolong the story. I've experienced what it's like to meet someone new, click with them instantly, and become completely wrapped up in them and your emotions. You generally do whatever you can to be with these rare people; you do not come up with crappy excuses why it won't work.
Fallon and Ben like each other, they’re falling in love with each other, but oh no, they can’t be together. It’s not time. They would just distract one another from their goals. What a load of bullshit.
Also, one last thing. This is a small matter, given all the other criticisms I have, but can we stop using stereotypes for gay men? And can we stop saying that the guy over there can't possibly be gay because he forgot to shave today? It's just stupid. And, let me tell you, my brother is gay and he waits until we're all like "it looks like a bunch of furry caterpillars died on your face" before he shaves. Just sayin'.
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February 17, 2022
Ok. So.
Everything about this was creepy and bad.
I would like to preface this review by saying that generally speaking, I like Coho books. It Ends With Us is probably one of my favorite novels ever and I also gave Ugly Love 5 stars, both are on my favorites and featured favorites shelves. But this was just-
Bad. No.
Honestly, I felt conflicted about what my rating should be for a while because the writing was still very good and the plot kept me intrigued, but Ben was just so horrible (for reasons I will explain later in detail) and I was not happy with the way this ended, so I couldn't in good conscience give it more that one star.
Ben is a one-star male lead.
We start off in a restaurant. Fallon and her dad are having lunch together, discussing Fallon's plans to move to New York, to try and make it on Broadway. You see, Fallon used to be an actress, but her acting career abruptly ended when she was in a tragic fire that badly burned half her body and face. Her father (who admittedly seems like kind of an ass) tells her that he doesn't think she'll make it in theatre, remarking to her that she needs to pick a more realistic career and also goes on to criticize her for not having a boyfriend (what does that have to do with anything???)
Oh look, here comes Ben.
What are you doing here Ben? It kind of seems like this is none of your f88king business. 🤔
Anyways, so this Ben guy comes over and- pretends to be Fallon's boyfriend. He's all, "Hey, sorry I'm late Babe. 😎" Creepily whispers in Fallon's ear, "Just go with it 😜"
(Me while reading this): 😐😐😐
Fallon goes along with it to save face and I guess at this point I can't really blame her because it's kind of just an awkward situation all around. Ben goes on to yell at her dad about how Fallon should be able to do what she wants and yada yada yada.
After her dad leaves, Fallon invites Ben out for frozen yogurt. On their impromptu frozen yogurt date, Ben tells Fallon how hot she is and how he wants to know what kind of panties she's wearing, that he wishes she was wearing more revealing clothing, and that he's glad she looks insecure?? Predatory behavior much?? A little much on the much much?????
Anyways,
Instead of being like, "Oh wow, this guy is obviously a creepy psychopath and I should probably make a polite exit and hope I never see him again," Fallon invites him over to her house, to help her pack for her move to New York in hopes of making out with him.
I mean- you do you girlie, but also, HE IS OBVIOUSLY A CREEPY PSYCHO, DONT MAKE OUT WITH CREEPY PSYCHOS.
They go to Fallon's house- and Ben asks her to dinner. He picks out a really skanky dress for her to wear and she's obviously uncomfortable with the idea of wearing it but he presses on anyway, saying that if he's paying for dinner, he gets to pick "what he looks at all night." Fallon's like, "no, I don't want to wear this dress." and Ben proceeds to FREAKING UNDRESS HER WITHOUT PERMISSION AND SHE'S LITERALLY CRYING AND ITS LIKE WHAT THE FRICK AND YEAH OBVIOUSLY I HATE HIM.
Then- somehow- they are sort of making out and Ben is just casually like, "By the way, it's your fault people think you're ugly."
Sir, that is the worst dirty talk I have ever heard in my short time on this earth, please exit the premises immediately.
After that point, I guess they like each other or some sh8t and they agree to meet every year for 5 years on November 9th until they're both 23 because apparently, that's the age you magically have your whole life figured out.
I don't have enough energy to pick apart every other single thing that bothered me about this book, so I'll just skip to the ending.
After Fallon reads Ben's manuscript, revealing the real reason he was so obsessed with her, she leaves and files a restraining order against him, never to see him again.
This is where the book should have ended.
You had a tumultuous and toxic relationship with a psychopath, who but you got out, and you're fine now.
But, no.
You read the rest of his dumb novel and you forgive him because he was "in a difficult spot" when he and you all live happily ever after.
The End.
What the f88k, Colleen Hoover.
Is this really what we're teaching young girls now? That it's ok for boys to act like this?? I won't even mention all the other scenes where Ben wouldn't let Fallon leave somewhere or touched her without her permission.
Ok, wait, I have to mention one.
That scene with the restaurant.
When Ben goes to get Fallon back, after their fallout last year, stealing her away to "talk."
And by "talk" I mean basically molest her in a broom closet and then not stopping when she says no, and I know it was supposed to be sexy or whatever but honestly- just no. No.
So yeah, this whole thing is a big nope from me, I'm sorry, I know some people loved it. I honestly swear I can handle toxic relationships in books, I know books aren't real life and that they're just for entertainment, but everything about this made me mad and was super creepy.
Everything about this was creepy and bad.
I would like to preface this review by saying that generally speaking, I like Coho books. It Ends With Us is probably one of my favorite novels ever and I also gave Ugly Love 5 stars, both are on my favorites and featured favorites shelves. But this was just-
Bad. No.
Honestly, I felt conflicted about what my rating should be for a while because the writing was still very good and the plot kept me intrigued, but Ben was just so horrible (for reasons I will explain later in detail) and I was not happy with the way this ended, so I couldn't in good conscience give it more that one star.
Ben is a one-star male lead.
We start off in a restaurant. Fallon and her dad are having lunch together, discussing Fallon's plans to move to New York, to try and make it on Broadway. You see, Fallon used to be an actress, but her acting career abruptly ended when she was in a tragic fire that badly burned half her body and face. Her father (who admittedly seems like kind of an ass) tells her that he doesn't think she'll make it in theatre, remarking to her that she needs to pick a more realistic career and also goes on to criticize her for not having a boyfriend (what does that have to do with anything???)
Oh look, here comes Ben.
What are you doing here Ben? It kind of seems like this is none of your f88king business. 🤔
Anyways, so this Ben guy comes over and- pretends to be Fallon's boyfriend. He's all, "Hey, sorry I'm late Babe. 😎" Creepily whispers in Fallon's ear, "Just go with it 😜"
(Me while reading this): 😐😐😐
Fallon goes along with it to save face and I guess at this point I can't really blame her because it's kind of just an awkward situation all around. Ben goes on to yell at her dad about how Fallon should be able to do what she wants and yada yada yada.
After her dad leaves, Fallon invites Ben out for frozen yogurt. On their impromptu frozen yogurt date, Ben tells Fallon how hot she is and how he wants to know what kind of panties she's wearing, that he wishes she was wearing more revealing clothing, and that he's glad she looks insecure?? Predatory behavior much?? A little much on the much much?????
Anyways,
Instead of being like, "Oh wow, this guy is obviously a creepy psychopath and I should probably make a polite exit and hope I never see him again," Fallon invites him over to her house, to help her pack for her move to New York in hopes of making out with him.
I mean- you do you girlie, but also, HE IS OBVIOUSLY A CREEPY PSYCHO, DONT MAKE OUT WITH CREEPY PSYCHOS.
They go to Fallon's house- and Ben asks her to dinner. He picks out a really skanky dress for her to wear and she's obviously uncomfortable with the idea of wearing it but he presses on anyway, saying that if he's paying for dinner, he gets to pick "what he looks at all night." Fallon's like, "no, I don't want to wear this dress." and Ben proceeds to FREAKING UNDRESS HER WITHOUT PERMISSION AND SHE'S LITERALLY CRYING AND ITS LIKE WHAT THE FRICK AND YEAH OBVIOUSLY I HATE HIM.
Then- somehow- they are sort of making out and Ben is just casually like, "By the way, it's your fault people think you're ugly."
Sir, that is the worst dirty talk I have ever heard in my short time on this earth, please exit the premises immediately.
After that point, I guess they like each other or some sh8t and they agree to meet every year for 5 years on November 9th until they're both 23 because apparently, that's the age you magically have your whole life figured out.
I don't have enough energy to pick apart every other single thing that bothered me about this book, so I'll just skip to the ending.
After Fallon reads Ben's manuscript, revealing the real reason he was so obsessed with her, she leaves and files a restraining order against him, never to see him again.
This is where the book should have ended.
You had a tumultuous and toxic relationship with a psychopath, who but you got out, and you're fine now.
But, no.
You read the rest of his dumb novel and you forgive him because he was "in a difficult spot" when he and you all live happily ever after.
The End.
What the f88k, Colleen Hoover.
Is this really what we're teaching young girls now? That it's ok for boys to act like this?? I won't even mention all the other scenes where Ben wouldn't let Fallon leave somewhere or touched her without her permission.
Ok, wait, I have to mention one.
That scene with the restaurant.
When Ben goes to get Fallon back, after their fallout last year, stealing her away to "talk."
And by "talk" I mean basically molest her in a broom closet and then not stopping when she says no, and I know it was supposed to be sexy or whatever but honestly- just no. No.
So yeah, this whole thing is a big nope from me, I'm sorry, I know some people loved it. I honestly swear I can handle toxic relationships in books, I know books aren't real life and that they're just for entertainment, but everything about this made me mad and was super creepy.
August 12, 2023
every kiss might start with kay but every solid romance starts with arson
there is something so compulsively readable about coho's books and i keep getting sucked in... and yet my reading experiences with her books are wildly varied.
and after finishing this book that i really did not enjoy, i find myself wondering what the "difference maker" is between the books she writes that i enjoy v. not. because she definitely has a formula! and i think i am starting to parse it out.
it comes down to what you are and are not willing to put up with. the twists in hoover's books are always meant to get you thinking about morality and choice. and a big part of your enjoyment of her books comes down to what you're willing to overlook or how you choose to interpret things. for instance, in one of her books (not this one) cheating is the theme and there is a twist surrounding it. are you willing to overlook the cheating because of the twist or is it still unforgivable.
of the books i've read of hers that i've liked, i've been cool with the twists and the resulting "message." that was really, really, not the case here. love does not in fact conquer all.
there is something so compulsively readable about coho's books and i keep getting sucked in... and yet my reading experiences with her books are wildly varied.
and after finishing this book that i really did not enjoy, i find myself wondering what the "difference maker" is between the books she writes that i enjoy v. not. because she definitely has a formula! and i think i am starting to parse it out.
it comes down to what you are and are not willing to put up with. the twists in hoover's books are always meant to get you thinking about morality and choice. and a big part of your enjoyment of her books comes down to what you're willing to overlook or how you choose to interpret things. for instance, in one of her books (not this one) cheating is the theme and there is a twist surrounding it. are you willing to overlook the cheating because of the twist or is it still unforgivable.
of the books i've read of hers that i've liked, i've been cool with the twists and the resulting "message." that was really, really, not the case here. love does not in fact conquer all.
November 7, 2022
joe goldberg tries his hand at arson
June 22, 2023
and to think trees were cut down for this atrocity to be printed out.
July 10, 2022
"You'll never be able to find yourself if you're lost in someone else."
COLLEEN HOOVER YOU COLD HEARTED SHE DEMON!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO PEOPLE!?! I must seriously love abuse because I keep coming back for more of it when it comes to your books! This could be the last book I read all year and I would be perfectly content with it. November 9 is stunning.
All us book nerds have one serious thing in common when it comes to reading... We love book quotes! We love to say them, we love to share them, we love to make pictures with them, we just seriously love them. November 9 hands-down has some of my favorite book quotes in it. Not just from things I read this year, from things I've read in general. If I could, I would just copy and paste the entire book as my review and just leave it at that. It's all just so beautiful.
November 9 follows Fallon, a girl who meets a young writer (Ben) the day before she's set to move cross country. With a seriously silly introduction it leads these two characters to spend her last night in town with each other. This becomes the inspiration for Ben's first novel and for the two too met up every year on the same day. I seriously can't get over these two. They're both so easy to fall in love with. Fallon with her insecurities and Ben with his boyish charm will win your heart over within a few pages. Fallon is this character who is struggling to find her footing again in life, and Ben who knows what direction he wants to aim, but needs the arrow guided. I liked their ups and downs. I liked how their struggles became our struggles. We get to grow with these characters and we get to go through so much time with them. Fallon and Ben will make you feel every single emotion. One page these two would have me dying laughing then I would turn it and the next I would be crying so hard I couldn't breathe. Their relationship will have you second guessing your hate for insta love. That's all I'm going to say character wise... Vague I know, but if you've ever read a CoHo book (if you haven't where the hell have you been?!?) you know the last thing you want is to be spoiled on characters.
"What are you waiting for? He drags in a raspy breath. 'To wake up, I think.' He lowers his mouth and kisses my neck. 'I'm dreaming, right?'"
Okay, I'm just going to warn you now, the vague character description is going to be the only organized and put together part of this whole review. From here on out it's going to be a jumbled mess of spoiler free fangirl talk... You've been warned.
The plot... OMG the plot. It's a sucker punch from all directions. It's an uppercut to the face, an elbow to the stomach, a smack to the ear of pure emotion thrust upon you. Let me break this down for you... The first few pages I was all lah-tee-dah minding my own business being all swoony over all the possibilities of where this story could head... WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE I GET FREAKING THROAT PUNCHED BY THE MOST ROMANCE SCENE I HAVE READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE... AND THIS IS FROM A GIRL WHO HAD READ A BUTT TON OF BOOKS!!! I mean good God and it's only 50 pages in!!! I wanted to lay a book worthy kiss on Ben so hard, because that moment is pure perfection. Every girl deserves a Ben! Maybe someone can invent a pocket sized version of him, and whenever were having an ugly day (ladies you know what I'm talking about) you can pull out your pocket sized Ben and he can pay you compliments and make you feel like the princess you are. If you can't tell by that bizarre thing I just said, then let me just come right out and say it, I was completely hooked. I was just sitting on the sofa sobbing. Then it's scene after scene of these perfect stolen moments, breathtaking events, and heart stopping romance that you'll be rooting for... But don't get too comfortable because you know one of those epic CoHo twist are going to happen... AND THIS ONE IS THE PITS! When it happened... I couldn't breathe and I swear I almost threw up. Feeling all emotions at once hit me so hard it almost induced vomiting... But mainly just caused me to do that heavy cry where you can't even function or form words and all your sentences come out in broken fragments. Pain swept my legs out from under me.
Safe to say overall I could barely function reading this. This story is just everything. None of that probably made any sense and I don't care. You know a book is good when you're so jumbled and have so many emotions that it's physically hard to get all of them down. Oh and don't get me wrong with this review. It's not just love and pain in this novel. CoHo has this hilarious thing where she pokes fun at the everything she is doing with this book. Not just that she has this fun way of poking at everything all of us secretively love in books. It's just great! If this wasn't all enough for you there's something a little extra special she puts in this novel that had me jumping all over the place that I can't freaking wait for y'all to read. You can really tell she put her whole heart into writing this book for fans and really set out to give them something to love.
November 9 is a beautiful book with a wonderful message. It's a novel filled with so much passion, humor, with such a dreamy aspect that leaps off the pages and pulls you in. November 9 was my most anticipated New Adult book of the year, and again Colleen Hoover didn't let me down. By the end of November 9 I promise your heartstrings will have been pulled in every single direction.
COLLEEN HOOVER YOU COLD HEARTED SHE DEMON!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO PEOPLE!?! I must seriously love abuse because I keep coming back for more of it when it comes to your books! This could be the last book I read all year and I would be perfectly content with it. November 9 is stunning.
All us book nerds have one serious thing in common when it comes to reading... We love book quotes! We love to say them, we love to share them, we love to make pictures with them, we just seriously love them. November 9 hands-down has some of my favorite book quotes in it. Not just from things I read this year, from things I've read in general. If I could, I would just copy and paste the entire book as my review and just leave it at that. It's all just so beautiful.
November 9 follows Fallon, a girl who meets a young writer (Ben) the day before she's set to move cross country. With a seriously silly introduction it leads these two characters to spend her last night in town with each other. This becomes the inspiration for Ben's first novel and for the two too met up every year on the same day. I seriously can't get over these two. They're both so easy to fall in love with. Fallon with her insecurities and Ben with his boyish charm will win your heart over within a few pages. Fallon is this character who is struggling to find her footing again in life, and Ben who knows what direction he wants to aim, but needs the arrow guided. I liked their ups and downs. I liked how their struggles became our struggles. We get to grow with these characters and we get to go through so much time with them. Fallon and Ben will make you feel every single emotion. One page these two would have me dying laughing then I would turn it and the next I would be crying so hard I couldn't breathe. Their relationship will have you second guessing your hate for insta love. That's all I'm going to say character wise... Vague I know, but if you've ever read a CoHo book (if you haven't where the hell have you been?!?) you know the last thing you want is to be spoiled on characters.
"What are you waiting for? He drags in a raspy breath. 'To wake up, I think.' He lowers his mouth and kisses my neck. 'I'm dreaming, right?'"
Okay, I'm just going to warn you now, the vague character description is going to be the only organized and put together part of this whole review. From here on out it's going to be a jumbled mess of spoiler free fangirl talk... You've been warned.
The plot... OMG the plot. It's a sucker punch from all directions. It's an uppercut to the face, an elbow to the stomach, a smack to the ear of pure emotion thrust upon you. Let me break this down for you... The first few pages I was all lah-tee-dah minding my own business being all swoony over all the possibilities of where this story could head... WHEN OUT OF NOWHERE I GET FREAKING THROAT PUNCHED BY THE MOST ROMANCE SCENE I HAVE READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE... AND THIS IS FROM A GIRL WHO HAD READ A BUTT TON OF BOOKS!!! I mean good God and it's only 50 pages in!!! I wanted to lay a book worthy kiss on Ben so hard, because that moment is pure perfection. Every girl deserves a Ben! Maybe someone can invent a pocket sized version of him, and whenever were having an ugly day (ladies you know what I'm talking about) you can pull out your pocket sized Ben and he can pay you compliments and make you feel like the princess you are. If you can't tell by that bizarre thing I just said, then let me just come right out and say it, I was completely hooked. I was just sitting on the sofa sobbing. Then it's scene after scene of these perfect stolen moments, breathtaking events, and heart stopping romance that you'll be rooting for... But don't get too comfortable because you know one of those epic CoHo twist are going to happen... AND THIS ONE IS THE PITS! When it happened... I couldn't breathe and I swear I almost threw up. Feeling all emotions at once hit me so hard it almost induced vomiting... But mainly just caused me to do that heavy cry where you can't even function or form words and all your sentences come out in broken fragments. Pain swept my legs out from under me.
Safe to say overall I could barely function reading this. This story is just everything. None of that probably made any sense and I don't care. You know a book is good when you're so jumbled and have so many emotions that it's physically hard to get all of them down. Oh and don't get me wrong with this review. It's not just love and pain in this novel. CoHo has this hilarious thing where she pokes fun at the everything she is doing with this book. Not just that she has this fun way of poking at everything all of us secretively love in books. It's just great! If this wasn't all enough for you there's something a little extra special she puts in this novel that had me jumping all over the place that I can't freaking wait for y'all to read. You can really tell she put her whole heart into writing this book for fans and really set out to give them something to love.
November 9 is a beautiful book with a wonderful message. It's a novel filled with so much passion, humor, with such a dreamy aspect that leaps off the pages and pulls you in. November 9 was my most anticipated New Adult book of the year, and again Colleen Hoover didn't let me down. By the end of November 9 I promise your heartstrings will have been pulled in every single direction.
December 10, 2015
Huge disappointment :(. I love everything CoHo writes, but this one didn't work for me.
Let me start from the beginning: I really liked the premise of this book and it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I was really excited when it came out and wanted to love it! I've read some really great reviews and my hopes were high! But oh, it didn't meet my expectations.
To explain myself, let me give you an actual quote from the book.
"Why would a girl care to find herself when she'll never be able to make herself feel as good as a guy can?"
Just... what even...????
And also... THE LIST OF QUOTES I HATED FROM THIS BOOK:
"Her boobs. Both of them. I know. I'm pathetic. But if we're just going to sit here and stare to each other, it'd be nice if she were showing a little cleavage..."
I shove the dress back at him. "I don't want to wear that, I want to wear this."
"No," he says. "I'm paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat."
NOPE. SHE WILL WEAR WHAT SHE WANTS.
"Baby, you already made this the best sex I've had, and I'm not even inside you yet."
*cringes*
And when she was about to lose her virginity to him...
"Fallon... Thank you for this beautiful gift."
OHGODWHY.
And those are not all of them, just the ones I remember. And those are said by Ben, the male protagonist, the one that's supposed to make us fall in love with him. I don't really understand Fallon, there's a scene that really disturbed me the first day they met, he undresses her "not in a perverted way, it was just curiosity". RIIIIGHT.
The thing is... I don't really like Ben. He has some other great quotes and he's a funny guy sometimes, but he's by far the worst fictional boyfriend Colleen ever created (in my opinion). And Fallon... I kind of like her sometimes, but she's too melodramatic.
There are also good things in this book, as I said, there are some funny quotes that really made me laugh and there are also some really nice quotes that I loved... Examples:
"It doesn't take a paycheck to validify that you're a writer."
"Please don't tell me you're one of those pretentious readers who judge people by the books they like."
After their first kiss...
He pulls back in shock, ."Seriously? That's all I get? A seven?"
I shrug. "I've read some great first kisses."
"Confort can sometimes be a crutch when it comes to figuring out your life."
"I'm never going to meet anyone who makes me feel the way he does. People don't get this lucky more than once in the same lifetime."
Another thing that I really liked is that Miles and Tate from Ugly Love made an appearance and it was SO CUTE!!! I'll not spoil you, but their relationship is going really well :'). Miles deserves it.
The truth is I love Colleen Hoover and even if this book disappointed me, I'll still read everything she writes. She's still one of my auto-buy authors. I don't know what happened with this one... I think I'm just tired of the same formula she always uses: A guy with a tragic past and drama and angst and more angst. Or maybe I'm just not into NA anymore. All the "hot scenes" made me roll my eyes.
All in all, I didn't despise the book, I'm just not amused by it.
Let me start from the beginning: I really liked the premise of this book and it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, I was really excited when it came out and wanted to love it! I've read some really great reviews and my hopes were high! But oh, it didn't meet my expectations.
To explain myself, let me give you an actual quote from the book.
"Why would a girl care to find herself when she'll never be able to make herself feel as good as a guy can?"
Just... what even...????
And also... THE LIST OF QUOTES I HATED FROM THIS BOOK:
"Her boobs. Both of them. I know. I'm pathetic. But if we're just going to sit here and stare to each other, it'd be nice if she were showing a little cleavage..."
I shove the dress back at him. "I don't want to wear that, I want to wear this."
"No," he says. "I'm paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat."
NOPE. SHE WILL WEAR WHAT SHE WANTS.
"Baby, you already made this the best sex I've had, and I'm not even inside you yet."
*cringes*
And when she was about to lose her virginity to him...
"Fallon... Thank you for this beautiful gift."
OHGODWHY.
And those are not all of them, just the ones I remember. And those are said by Ben, the male protagonist, the one that's supposed to make us fall in love with him. I don't really understand Fallon, there's a scene that really disturbed me the first day they met, he undresses her "not in a perverted way, it was just curiosity". RIIIIGHT.
The thing is... I don't really like Ben. He has some other great quotes and he's a funny guy sometimes, but he's by far the worst fictional boyfriend Colleen ever created (in my opinion). And Fallon... I kind of like her sometimes, but she's too melodramatic.
There are also good things in this book, as I said, there are some funny quotes that really made me laugh and there are also some really nice quotes that I loved... Examples:
"It doesn't take a paycheck to validify that you're a writer."
"Please don't tell me you're one of those pretentious readers who judge people by the books they like."
After their first kiss...
He pulls back in shock, ."Seriously? That's all I get? A seven?"
I shrug. "I've read some great first kisses."
"Confort can sometimes be a crutch when it comes to figuring out your life."
"I'm never going to meet anyone who makes me feel the way he does. People don't get this lucky more than once in the same lifetime."
Another thing that I really liked is that Miles and Tate from Ugly Love made an appearance and it was SO CUTE!!! I'll not spoil you, but their relationship is going really well :'). Miles deserves it.
The truth is I love Colleen Hoover and even if this book disappointed me, I'll still read everything she writes. She's still one of my auto-buy authors. I don't know what happened with this one... I think I'm just tired of the same formula she always uses: A guy with a tragic past and drama and angst and more angst. Or maybe I'm just not into NA anymore. All the "hot scenes" made me roll my eyes.
All in all, I didn't despise the book, I'm just not amused by it.
February 13, 2017
Now that I've had a couple of days to think about this one, I need to lower my rating. Some of the things that Ben said/did weren't okay and shouldn't be shown to be acceptable in books.
November 14, 2020
3.5 stars!
There is nothing quite like a Colleen Hoover book. She is one of those authors that leaves a stamp on her work. Her plots seem to have this special twist, her story lines are always unique and her characters are witty, wonderful and flawed. When I read November 9 I expected greatness. This is a CoHo book. But I've got to say I was disappointed...
November 9 is a day on the calendar. One day out of 365. It’s a day that I’ve never really thought about, but from now on, I don’t think this date will pass without me thinking of Ben, Fallon, and their story. When I read the blurb for this book, I was intrigued. At first I thought- such a cool idea. Then I thought, how is this going to work?
This is a book that put me through the ringer. My emotions were all over the place. It made me feel. It made me stay up all night reading. There were points I was sad, points i was angry (it’s been a while since I’ve been this upset at a character…. still not over it LOL), and points my heart was bursting full. I want to talk about the story, but I can’t talk about the story. It’s one of those you don’t want to know to much about. Be surprised and let the emotions consume you.
November 9 is the perfect mix of humor, twists and turns, love, angst and it has that Colleen Hoover stamp that is unmistakable. You will laugh, you will cry, if you’re like me, you might be so full of frustration that you want to throw your kindle a time or two, but by the ending, you’re left with an unforgettable story that is real, raw and riveting. I am not sure if I'll ever get over what the hero did, so that's why it wasn't a love book for me. I can see why so many loved it though!
p.s. there were some fantastic and fun bookisms in this story and every single one of them put a smile on my face!
There is nothing quite like a Colleen Hoover book. She is one of those authors that leaves a stamp on her work. Her plots seem to have this special twist, her story lines are always unique and her characters are witty, wonderful and flawed. When I read November 9 I expected greatness. This is a CoHo book. But I've got to say I was disappointed...
November 9 is a day on the calendar. One day out of 365. It’s a day that I’ve never really thought about, but from now on, I don’t think this date will pass without me thinking of Ben, Fallon, and their story. When I read the blurb for this book, I was intrigued. At first I thought- such a cool idea. Then I thought, how is this going to work?
This is a book that put me through the ringer. My emotions were all over the place. It made me feel. It made me stay up all night reading. There were points I was sad, points i was angry (it’s been a while since I’ve been this upset at a character…. still not over it LOL), and points my heart was bursting full. I want to talk about the story, but I can’t talk about the story. It’s one of those you don’t want to know to much about. Be surprised and let the emotions consume you.
November 9 is the perfect mix of humor, twists and turns, love, angst and it has that Colleen Hoover stamp that is unmistakable. You will laugh, you will cry, if you’re like me, you might be so full of frustration that you want to throw your kindle a time or two, but by the ending, you’re left with an unforgettable story that is real, raw and riveting. I am not sure if I'll ever get over what the hero did, so that's why it wasn't a love book for me. I can see why so many loved it though!
p.s. there were some fantastic and fun bookisms in this story and every single one of them put a smile on my face!
November 9, 2024
edit 2024: happy november 9! i am nothing if not a (colleen hoover) hater, so here is my review of november 9 and why you should not read it.
———————————
that's it. this is the last colleen hoover book i'm reading. people keep recommending her books going "oh this one's different from her other ones" and i keep falling for it but it ends up being the exact same.
so this is me being done forever.
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
oh man do i have BONES to PICK with this book.
(if anybody wants a tl;dr, look at the quote i put on the top and make of that what you will)
first, i am convinced that colleen hoover does not know how to write an unproblematic romance. which honestly, is a fact because i get scammed every single year into reading her new release then absolutely regretting it.
i know disliking her is a hot take, i know, but i just don’t understand how her male characters are always viewed as the blueprint of how a boyfriend/significant other should act? they are almost always borderline abusive and always manipulative?
if one of you recommends me another colleen hoover book after this, i will cry. never again will i be fooled. never.
this is the worst case of insta-love ‘but it’s not insta love!’ romance i’ve ever seen in my life. listen, this is no spoiler because it’s literally called november 9, but they only meet once a year and call it a love story. what? what in the world of unrealistic bullshit is that? but i digress. i wish that was the biggest problem with this book, but alas, it is not.
also, disclaimer: i will only be focusing my review on ben, not fallon. fallon is annoying and mopey and it is almost as difficult to get through her narrative as ben's. but if i also write about that, this review would exceed its word limit, so i am just gonna leave it at this: the only reason why fallon was somewhat okay is because colleen hoover does writes horrendously bad male love interests. ben's shittiness simply eclipsed fallon's.
let me first address my most pressing complaint: ben is rapey and controlling and manipulative and voyeuristic. there is no question about this. he is not a dreamy, ideal love interest. he is simply put, awful. the examples aren’t going to be spoilers because it’s not a plot twist or anything (and most happen in the first few chapters), but i am going to be going into some specific examples.
here are some literal lines, word for word, from ben’s pov:
also, i lost the page, but he also imagines what color underwear she’s wearing as soon as he meets her. i’m serious guys. is this your ideal man? not to mention that he literally forces her to wear a dress she doesn’t want to.
but it gets worse. IT GETS WORSE. ben constantly touches her without her consent. at points, she literally says “no” or “i don’t know” but he keeps going until a lot of times, fallon has tears in her eyes. and he has the nerve to say that he loves her? when they are at a bar near the end of the book, they are making out in some storage closet or bathroom, and fallon stays stop. loudly. and what does ben say?
you know what i’m worried about? all those thirteen year olds on tiktok who get recommended this book, over and over. they’re going to read it and think that this is okay. that if they say stop, and a guy keeps going, or god forbid say “i’m trying ask me again”, that’s okay. no. that’s literally perpetuating rape culture.
also, colleen hoover, seriously, what the fuck? these lines:
this was published in 2015. that’s not ‘old’ enough for this to be okay. i don’t care if this is about the characters or as people say, ‘flawed characters’. this is straight up just racially insensitive. you know what this gives me? big eleanor & park vibes.
i originally had this at two stars but writing this review made me so mad i have to bump it down to one star. what a literal clusterfuck trainwreck of a book. this honestly might be the worst book i've ever read and i've read some bad books.
———————————
“my eyes fall to the dress first. i have to give myself props for picking that one out. there’s just enough showing at her neckline to keep me good and happy.”
that's it. this is the last colleen hoover book i'm reading. people keep recommending her books going "oh this one's different from her other ones" and i keep falling for it but it ends up being the exact same.
so this is me being done forever.
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
oh man do i have BONES to PICK with this book.
(if anybody wants a tl;dr, look at the quote i put on the top and make of that what you will)
first, i am convinced that colleen hoover does not know how to write an unproblematic romance. which honestly, is a fact because i get scammed every single year into reading her new release then absolutely regretting it.
i know disliking her is a hot take, i know, but i just don’t understand how her male characters are always viewed as the blueprint of how a boyfriend/significant other should act? they are almost always borderline abusive and always manipulative?
if one of you recommends me another colleen hoover book after this, i will cry. never again will i be fooled. never.
this is the worst case of insta-love ‘but it’s not insta love!’ romance i’ve ever seen in my life. listen, this is no spoiler because it’s literally called november 9, but they only meet once a year and call it a love story. what? what in the world of unrealistic bullshit is that? but i digress. i wish that was the biggest problem with this book, but alas, it is not.
also, disclaimer: i will only be focusing my review on ben, not fallon. fallon is annoying and mopey and it is almost as difficult to get through her narrative as ben's. but if i also write about that, this review would exceed its word limit, so i am just gonna leave it at this: the only reason why fallon was somewhat okay is because colleen hoover does writes horrendously bad male love interests. ben's shittiness simply eclipsed fallon's.
let me first address my most pressing complaint: ben is rapey and controlling and manipulative and voyeuristic. there is no question about this. he is not a dreamy, ideal love interest. he is simply put, awful. the examples aren’t going to be spoilers because it’s not a plot twist or anything (and most happen in the first few chapters), but i am going to be going into some specific examples.
here are some literal lines, word for word, from ben’s pov:
“But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . convent-inspired.”
“And of course, this thought leads me to her breasts again. Are they scarred, too? How much of her body is actually affected?
I begin to mentally undress her, and not in a sexual way. I’m just curious. Really curious, because I can’t stop staring at her, and that’s not like me.”
also, i lost the page, but he also imagines what color underwear she’s wearing as soon as he meets her. i’m serious guys. is this your ideal man? not to mention that he literally forces her to wear a dress she doesn’t want to.
I shove the dress back at him. “I don’t want to wear that, I want to wear this.”
“No,” he says. “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
but it gets worse. IT GETS WORSE. ben constantly touches her without her consent. at points, she literally says “no” or “i don’t know” but he keeps going until a lot of times, fallon has tears in her eyes. and he has the nerve to say that he loves her? when they are at a bar near the end of the book, they are making out in some storage closet or bathroom, and fallon stays stop. loudly. and what does ben say?
“I’m trying. Ask me again.”
you know what i’m worried about? all those thirteen year olds on tiktok who get recommended this book, over and over. they’re going to read it and think that this is okay. that if they say stop, and a guy keeps going, or god forbid say “i’m trying ask me again”, that’s okay. no. that’s literally perpetuating rape culture.
also, colleen hoover, seriously, what the fuck? these lines:
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Pad Thai,” he says. “Yours?”
“Sushi. They’re almost the same thing.”
“Not even close,” he says.
“They’re both Asian food. What’s your favorite movie?”
this was published in 2015. that’s not ‘old’ enough for this to be okay. i don’t care if this is about the characters or as people say, ‘flawed characters’. this is straight up just racially insensitive. you know what this gives me? big eleanor & park vibes.
i originally had this at two stars but writing this review made me so mad i have to bump it down to one star. what a literal clusterfuck trainwreck of a book. this honestly might be the worst book i've ever read and i've read some bad books.
August 18, 2022
I wish I could give this book zero stars
some questionable things were said in here and i really do not like Ben nor how he used her
some questionable things were said in here and i really do not like Ben nor how he used her
August 6, 2022
reread (2022) — still 2.25 stars ✩⋆
i've had the biggest dilemma after rereading this book because i simply don't know who i hate more:
: ̗̀➛ miles (the stepsister fucker) or
: ̗̀➛ ben (the sister-in-law fucker)
much to think about.
listen. ben "arsonist" kessler has done a lot of shitty things but i can't get over the disaster that is the infamous fourth nov 9. i don't know why this sticks out to me out of all the things he did but here we are. and some might say he was doing that because of grief and ya sure. ok. but the way it was written was just. not. it. i wrote this in reply to a commenter but im gonna write it here again:
: ̗̀➛ the reason why i abhor this trope in this book is because of how it is callously written. it feels like it was there to serve as a shock factor rather than a humanistic view of grief because of the lack of emotional discussion or even a well-written pov of ben’s grief which is evident with how this whole dynamic was barely talked about after this infamous part of the book. coho does a lot of trauma dumping with rushed endings which is why this trope annoyed me here, and why i don't even like most of her books (I SAID WHAT I SAID AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN). however, when this trope is written and handled well, like in the Full Tilt duet by emma scott or even Fighting Solitude by aly martinez, it’s beautiful and full of emotions that just makes me feel all the grief that the characters feel. this book just made me feel anger and annoyance.
⌌⊱⇱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰⌍ ⌎⊱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⇲⊰⌏
original rating (2020) — 2.25 stars ✩⋆
ok so mini rant alert so SPOILERS AHEAD but...
... who tf would be in a relationship with their dead brother's woman less than a year after he died.
oh and this happened at the 60% mark the year after h and H's third November 9 aka when they finally had sex and when he admitted he loved her... what the fuuu-?
i don't know if the H was intimate in any way with his sister in law because the details about their relationship is vague af but i do know they kissed, their relationship "just happened", she "borrowed" his heart whatever that means, this relationship happened mostly because of his nephew, and THEY SHARED A BED (this is how the h found out by the way because he said something about them keeping the baby monitor on at night).
i would like tohopefully think that these two only kissed because i would hope that they had more respect for H's brother but sorrryyyyy this shit ruined the book for me. and the fact that she just forgave him so easily the next November 9? and they barely talked about this like this isn't a big deal? AND the fact that the H apparently had no regrets until h found out? AAAND he had the audacity to think the h would be happy for him to be in a relationship with his sister-in-law?! was he even thinking about his brother and how disrespectful their relationship is??? ya.. no thx
i've had the biggest dilemma after rereading this book because i simply don't know who i hate more:
: ̗̀➛ miles (the stepsister fucker) or
: ̗̀➛ ben (the sister-in-law fucker)
much to think about.
listen. ben "arsonist" kessler has done a lot of shitty things but i can't get over the disaster that is the infamous fourth nov 9. i don't know why this sticks out to me out of all the things he did but here we are. and some might say he was doing that because of grief and ya sure. ok. but the way it was written was just. not. it. i wrote this in reply to a commenter but im gonna write it here again:
: ̗̀➛ the reason why i abhor this trope in this book is because of how it is callously written. it feels like it was there to serve as a shock factor rather than a humanistic view of grief because of the lack of emotional discussion or even a well-written pov of ben’s grief which is evident with how this whole dynamic was barely talked about after this infamous part of the book. coho does a lot of trauma dumping with rushed endings which is why this trope annoyed me here, and why i don't even like most of her books (I SAID WHAT I SAID AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN). however, when this trope is written and handled well, like in the Full Tilt duet by emma scott or even Fighting Solitude by aly martinez, it’s beautiful and full of emotions that just makes me feel all the grief that the characters feel. this book just made me feel anger and annoyance.
⌌⊱⇱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊰⌍ ⌎⊱⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⇲⊰⌏
original rating (2020) — 2.25 stars ✩⋆
ok so mini rant alert so SPOILERS AHEAD but...
... who tf would be in a relationship with their dead brother's woman less than a year after he died.
oh and this happened at the 60% mark the year after h and H's third November 9 aka when they finally had sex and when he admitted he loved her... what the fuuu-?
" It doesn’t matter that Fallon left such a big hole in my heart, I couldn’t help it if someone else found their way in. It doesn’t matter that Jordyn and I were both destroyed after the death of Kyle. It doesn’t matter that things didn’t progress between us until well after Oliver was born. It doesn’t matter that I’ll never feel the same connection with Jordyn that I had with Fallon, but Oliver makes up for anything our relationship lacks. The only thing that matters to Fallon is the unexpected twist in our story. One neither of us saw coming. One neither of us even wanted. And one she’s partly responsible for..."
i don't know if the H was intimate in any way with his sister in law because the details about their relationship is vague af but i do know they kissed, their relationship "just happened", she "borrowed" his heart whatever that means, this relationship happened mostly because of his nephew, and THEY SHARED A BED (this is how the h found out by the way because he said something about them keeping the baby monitor on at night).
"She has no idea that Jordyn was there for me when she wasn’t. I was there for Jordyn when Kyle wasn’t. And after losing two people we both loved, only later to be united with Oliver . . . it wasn’t something we planned. I’m not even sure I wanted it. But it happened, and now I’m the only father Oliver knows."
i would like to
December 21, 2022
this book is a big fucking joke
April 19, 2024
Ben should be in jail and the fact that Fallon said he doesn’t need forgiveness is flat out disgusting
NOVEMBER 9 is worse than UGLY LOVE
https://youtu.be/mb0aypER9eE
NOVEMBER 9 is worse than UGLY LOVE
https://youtu.be/mb0aypER9eE
January 29, 2023
THAT WAS SO PROBLEMATIC AND MY MOST HATED BOOK OF ALL TIME.
the story itself had such an interesting premise, and i really wanted to love it, but WAYYYY too many awful, unaddressed things happened for me to properly enjoy it.
LET US START WITH THE PLOT, SHALL WE?
(DON’T WORRY NO SPOILERS)
November 9.
The day before Fallon’s move from Los Angeles to New York.
The anniversary of the fire that horribly burned and scarred Fallon’s entire left side. The fire that caused her to lose her role as the lead in a hit TV show and ruined her dreams of becoming an star actress.
So today’s already a tense day, even without a lunch with her acting coach father, the man who gave up on his daughter as soon as the fire ruined her face.
Fallon’s father has never helped her wrecked self-confidence, and today is no different. He throws thinly veiled insults at her, instituting that she could never get a role on Broadway with scars like hers.
But then Fallon suddenly feels some strange guy’s arm around her shoulders and hears a voice saying, “Sorry baby, the traffic was terrible today.”
This stranger introduces himself as Ben, an aspiring novelist and Fallon’s boyfriend that she has convienently forgotten to mention until this very moment.
A shocked Fallon plays along, and her dad soon leaves after a verbal fight with Ben.
Ben and Fallon start talking, and quickly find themselves feeling a strong mutual attraction. While at Fallon’s place (so she can pack for her move), they realize that while they want to meet up again, Fallon doesn’t want the stress of a relationship put on her “fresh start” in New York. They decide on something rather unconventional: they block each other on all social medias and agree to meet up in the same place every year for exactly one day: November 9.
This story is told over the course of six November 9s.
okay. THAT’S A COOL PREMISE.
but honey the execution was MILES off.
Fallon was probably the best character in this entire bloody novel, and even she's not great. Even though she made stupid decisions, she actually had dreams, goals, and ambitions, and she didn’t want a guy to get all swept up into it (missed the mark there with him tho)
in addition, I absolutely adored seeing a female protagonist who had to deal with body insecurities and low self-confidence.
lol that sounds so bad.
I mean that the mere fact that Fallon was a heroine who struggles with actual issues and insecurities and who wasn’t this perfectly strong baddie made her feel much more real and relatable.
idk that just made me happy.
I suppose the only two actual reasons why I didn’t rate this zero stars was because the writing was gorgeous (just didn’t like what was being written) and because Fallon was enjoyable.
so Fallon = fine.
alright. now we get to Ben.
Ben.
BEN.
at the veeeerrryyyy start of the book, Ben was 👍
But then the objectifying and gaslighting, Ben.
that was disgusting.
So Ben's looking at Fallon for the first time, and this is apparently what he's thinking:
“The first time you walked past me—before I interrupted your lunch date with your father—I stared at your a** the whole time you were stomping away. And I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of panties you had on.”
WHAT. EW. CREEP. PERVERT. GET AWAY FROM HER.
And then when Ben and Fallon go back to Fallon’s apartment that first of six November 9s, Ben wants Fallon to wear a different dress for dinner that night:
"But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . convent-inspired."
NOPE. NOPE. I HATE THAT.
The dress that he picked out is one that shows the burned skin on her chest and arms. So then Fallon does this:
I shove the dress back at him. “I don’t want to wear that, I want to wear this.”
THAT IS A TOTALLY VALID REACTION. BEING BURNED IN A FIRE IS A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE.
“No,” he says. “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
WHAT WAS THAT BEN. WHAT THE &%@# WAS THAT.
keep in mind, at this point they’ve known each other for about FIVE BLOODY HOURS. SHUT UP BEN. NO ONE EVER HAS A PLACE TO TELL SOMEONE THAT BUT MOST ESPECIALLY NOT YOU.
BUT IT GETS WORSE.
Ben undresses Fallon.
To put the dress he wanted on her.
AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HATED THAT *VOMITS*
She then wears the bloody dress after all of that, and then he thinks:
"My eyes fall to the dress first. I have to give myself props for picking that one out. There’s just enough showing at her neckline to keep me good and happy, but I’m not even positive I’ll be able to look away from her face long enough to stare at her cleavage."
oooo but that's not even CLOSE to all.
“I barely know you, so I’m not about to argue with you over your level of intelligence, because you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty.”
objectification, Ben. EVER HEARD OF IT?
"You know how much I dislike insta-love."
"Oh, it was still insta-love," I tell her. "But ours is legit."
Really.
you RECOGNIZED that your relationship was instalove, and YOU STILL DIDN’T CONSIDER YOUR RELATIONSHIP MIGHT BE GOING TOO FAST.
case in point: 12 hours into their not-a-relationship, and they’ve already gone all the way.
REALLY.
AND ANOTHER THING. HOW DO Y’ALL BLOODY STILL REMEMBER EACH OTHER WHEN YOU ONLY SEE EACH OTHER ONE BLOODY DAY A YEAR. one day a year and HE'S the reason all her self-esteem issues went away?? AND FALLON SAYS THIS:
“Why would a girl care to find herself when she’ll never be able to make herself feel as good as a guy can?”
*screeches in frustration*
I will be destroying something.
there were many other even worse and more problematic things in the last half of the book, but i DID make a no spoilers promise so i will stick with it *vomits again*
Ratings:
Star Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: R
Recommendations That Are Better Than This Book:
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Beach Read by Emily Henry
the story itself had such an interesting premise, and i really wanted to love it, but WAYYYY too many awful, unaddressed things happened for me to properly enjoy it.
LET US START WITH THE PLOT, SHALL WE?
(DON’T WORRY NO SPOILERS)
November 9.
The day before Fallon’s move from Los Angeles to New York.
The anniversary of the fire that horribly burned and scarred Fallon’s entire left side. The fire that caused her to lose her role as the lead in a hit TV show and ruined her dreams of becoming an star actress.
So today’s already a tense day, even without a lunch with her acting coach father, the man who gave up on his daughter as soon as the fire ruined her face.
Fallon’s father has never helped her wrecked self-confidence, and today is no different. He throws thinly veiled insults at her, instituting that she could never get a role on Broadway with scars like hers.
But then Fallon suddenly feels some strange guy’s arm around her shoulders and hears a voice saying, “Sorry baby, the traffic was terrible today.”
This stranger introduces himself as Ben, an aspiring novelist and Fallon’s boyfriend that she has convienently forgotten to mention until this very moment.
A shocked Fallon plays along, and her dad soon leaves after a verbal fight with Ben.
Ben and Fallon start talking, and quickly find themselves feeling a strong mutual attraction. While at Fallon’s place (so she can pack for her move), they realize that while they want to meet up again, Fallon doesn’t want the stress of a relationship put on her “fresh start” in New York. They decide on something rather unconventional: they block each other on all social medias and agree to meet up in the same place every year for exactly one day: November 9.
This story is told over the course of six November 9s.
okay. THAT’S A COOL PREMISE.
but honey the execution was MILES off.
Fallon was probably the best character in this entire bloody novel, and even she's not great. Even though she made stupid decisions, she actually had dreams, goals, and ambitions, and she didn’t want a guy to get all swept up into it (missed the mark there with him tho)
in addition, I absolutely adored seeing a female protagonist who had to deal with body insecurities and low self-confidence.
lol that sounds so bad.
I mean that the mere fact that Fallon was a heroine who struggles with actual issues and insecurities and who wasn’t this perfectly strong baddie made her feel much more real and relatable.
idk that just made me happy.
I suppose the only two actual reasons why I didn’t rate this zero stars was because the writing was gorgeous (just didn’t like what was being written) and because Fallon was enjoyable.
so Fallon = fine.
alright. now we get to Ben.
Ben.
BEN.
at the veeeerrryyyy start of the book, Ben was 👍
But then the objectifying and gaslighting, Ben.
that was disgusting.
So Ben's looking at Fallon for the first time, and this is apparently what he's thinking:
“The first time you walked past me—before I interrupted your lunch date with your father—I stared at your a** the whole time you were stomping away. And I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of panties you had on.”
WHAT. EW. CREEP. PERVERT. GET AWAY FROM HER.
And then when Ben and Fallon go back to Fallon’s apartment that first of six November 9s, Ben wants Fallon to wear a different dress for dinner that night:
"But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . convent-inspired."
NOPE. NOPE. I HATE THAT.
The dress that he picked out is one that shows the burned skin on her chest and arms. So then Fallon does this:
I shove the dress back at him. “I don’t want to wear that, I want to wear this.”
THAT IS A TOTALLY VALID REACTION. BEING BURNED IN A FIRE IS A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE.
“No,” he says. “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
WHAT WAS THAT BEN. WHAT THE &%@# WAS THAT.
keep in mind, at this point they’ve known each other for about FIVE BLOODY HOURS. SHUT UP BEN. NO ONE EVER HAS A PLACE TO TELL SOMEONE THAT BUT MOST ESPECIALLY NOT YOU.
BUT IT GETS WORSE.
Ben undresses Fallon.
To put the dress he wanted on her.
AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO HATED THAT *VOMITS*
She then wears the bloody dress after all of that, and then he thinks:
"My eyes fall to the dress first. I have to give myself props for picking that one out. There’s just enough showing at her neckline to keep me good and happy, but I’m not even positive I’ll be able to look away from her face long enough to stare at her cleavage."
oooo but that's not even CLOSE to all.
“I barely know you, so I’m not about to argue with you over your level of intelligence, because you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty.”
objectification, Ben. EVER HEARD OF IT?
"You know how much I dislike insta-love."
"Oh, it was still insta-love," I tell her. "But ours is legit."
Really.
you RECOGNIZED that your relationship was instalove, and YOU STILL DIDN’T CONSIDER YOUR RELATIONSHIP MIGHT BE GOING TOO FAST.
case in point: 12 hours into their not-a-relationship, and they’ve already gone all the way.
REALLY.
AND ANOTHER THING. HOW DO Y’ALL BLOODY STILL REMEMBER EACH OTHER WHEN YOU ONLY SEE EACH OTHER ONE BLOODY DAY A YEAR. one day a year and HE'S the reason all her self-esteem issues went away?? AND FALLON SAYS THIS:
“Why would a girl care to find herself when she’ll never be able to make herself feel as good as a guy can?”
*screeches in frustration*
I will be destroying something.
there were many other even worse and more problematic things in the last half of the book, but i DID make a no spoilers promise so i will stick with it *vomits again*
Ratings:
Star Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: R
Recommendations That Are Better Than This Book:
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Beach Read by Emily Henry
November 12, 2015
Note to self ... "Give up on NA/YA, Maura!"
As others have said, it is hard to write this review without giving anything away so I won't say too much.
Too cheesy for me.
Too much drama.
Too many coincidences.
Her books are a hit and miss for me. This one definitely missed the mark.
It had everything but the kitchen sink.
I am in the minority here. Most loved it and those of you still to read it will probably love it too.
Hoover's writing is strong but the whole storyline/plot just did not work for me.
Aw, well ...
As others have said, it is hard to write this review without giving anything away so I won't say too much.
Too cheesy for me.
Too much drama.
Too many coincidences.
Her books are a hit and miss for me. This one definitely missed the mark.
It had everything but the kitchen sink.
I am in the minority here. Most loved it and those of you still to read it will probably love it too.
Hoover's writing is strong but the whole storyline/plot just did not work for me.
Aw, well ...
Suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief is a term coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend judgement concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Suspension of disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action, comedy, fantasy, and horror genres. Cognitive estrangement in fiction involves using a person's ignorance or lack of knowledge to promote suspension of disbelief.
November 5, 2015
1.5/5 stars
I think, or at least I hope, that by know you guys know me well enough to know that I'm not the type of reader that loves to hate on hyped books. If I love or hate a book, I don't care how hyped or popular the book or author is, you will get my honest opinion no matter what. I will be the first to admit that I am a huge fan of Colleen Hoover's writing. Her books are always high on my favorites lists and she is an auto-read author for me. Despite the fact that I did not like this book at all and that it didn't work for me one bit, she is still one of my favorite authors and I will still be rushing to read her next book. Unfortunately, and it pains me to have to say this, but November 9 just wasn't for me.
From the summary, this book always made me a little nervous for several reasons. 1) It immediately reminded me of the plot for One Day. 2) I always have issues with romances that start from just one day of knowing each other. 3) The hint about Ben possibly hiding something had me worried this would have one of those shock value plot twists, which I normally hate. But, it's Colleen-freaking-Hoover and there was no way I was not reading this book. I was super excited to get an early copy and despite the fact that October was only reserved for Netflix binging, I couldn't help myself and had to read this book. The thing that upsets me the most is that November 9 had so much potential and the first few chapters showed so much promise. At first, it was just a few things here and there that bothered me, but eventually almost everything started bothering me and combined, it just didn't make this an enjoyable book for me. Since there were so many things that bothered me, I'm gonna list these in a non-spoiler and spoiler section below. If you are avoiding spoilers, simply skip that part and head to the end to my non-spoilery final thoughts. :)
Non-spoiler list of things that bothered me:
- The first thing I had an issue with was the fact that Fallon was scarred on most of her body and face from a house fire that cost her her acting career. Now, I'm not this monster that expects or wants all MC's to be perfect and beautiful and flawless, but this goes back to one of my main problems that I have with New Adult and the fact that everything has to be so fucking tragic. I thought we were at the point in NA where we were past characters needing a tragic past, but apparently not.
-Speaking of New Adult, my friend Megan wrote an awesome Almost Break-Up Letter to New Adult last week and while I was reading it and was agreeing with all her points, I would have never thought a Hoover book would fall victim to so many of those annoying and cliché NA traits. We had tragic pasts for both characters, drama overkill, plot twists that felt like they were simply added for the sake of shock value, recycled tropes that have already been done in previous/popular NA books, super cheesy lines, and conflict that seemed really forced. Just to name a few.
- Ben was too perfect in an unrealistic way. Hoover's male characters always seem to have this really intense feel to them, which I don't mind at all. But in Ben's case, there always felt something off about him. He literally came out of nowhere to save the day and offer to be Fallon's pretend boyfriend in front of her dad. What would have resulted in a one time thing turned into so much more when he stayed with her a few hours while she packed for New York and broke down barriers that no one else could in only a few hours, like letting him take off her clothes. He said just the right things to make Fallon feel better about her scars. He asked Fallon to date around while she was in New York for a year so she didn't 'miss anything', and he sounded like an inspirational coach half the time while the other half he said some really cheesy shit. Things like:
and this lovely gem as he's about to take her virginity:
-And speaking of cheese, Fallon said some really cheesy stuff too that made me roll my eyes.
or:
Keep in mind that this is after he 3rd November 9th they have spent together, roughly 12 hours they have spent together in total since they first met and after the first time they have sex....
- Towards the end of the book, by about the fifth November 9th they've spent together, Ben and Fallon have only spent a grand total of 28 hours together. This is one of the main reasons why I had such a hard time connecting with not only the story, but with Ben and Fallon as a couple. As stated in the summary, Fallon and Ben only meet once a year on November 9th, the day they met. This all sounds romantic, but it didn't work for me in a number of ways. Ben and Fallon agree for some reason (more on that later) that they should have zero contact at all during the years they are apart. They block each other on social media, they never give each other their phone numbers or emails so they don't talk, text or email. Basically, they just show up to an agreed location on November 9th at a certain time and hope the other is there. They have no idea if either of them have met someone else or any of the normal every day things that happen in life. Meanwhile, they always act like theirs is an epic love story despite the fact that in reality they just really basically strangers who happen to have a 'connection.' Each time they met, we had 1-2 chapters in his point-of-view and in her point-of-view and it was on to the next year.
-The fact that this was sort of a book with in a book felt like a cheap ploy to quickly address and dismiss any issues the reader may have, which honestly felt like an insult to us readers. Because Fallon is an avid reader (and gets Ben to read books too) and Ben is a writer, they kind of make fun of certain book scenarios while falling victim to those clichés. Fallon tells Ben early on that she hates insta-love and when she explains to him what insta-love is and he says that it sounds like what they must have, she quickly dismisses it. Years later when it comes up again, we are supposed to buy this half-assed explanation with this:
Isn't that what every author says about their insta-love romance in books? Later on when they have sex, Ben muses about how as an author he has no words to describe that moment in paper so he will just have to... fade to black. Which is exactly what the book does at that moment. After reading Ugly Love, we all know Hoover is capable of writing really great and classy sex scenes. This approach came off as lazy. It felt like Hoover used the fact that Ben was an author, and Fallon was a reader to shut down any problems. I mentioned earlier that the plot of this book reminded me of One Day by David Nichols (which I have read). There is a scene in here that really bothered me when someone brings up the comparison:
I don't like the fact that an international best seller book is reduced to simply an 'Anne Hathaway' movie. I especially dislike it since Hoover is an author herself. I'm sure it was innocent, but this bothered me.
-Another one of my issues with this story is that the conflict always felt forced. The reason why Fallon moves to New York is because he mother says that you don't know who you are until you are 23 years old, and you shouldn't date until then because if you don't know yourself how can you fall in love. And she always listens to her mother because her mother is always right. Something that Fallon feels the need to remind us of several times. So, she moves to New York to try to find herself and put herself out there to try to help out her career. This is all fine, but Fallon is 18 and alone and miserable in New York. And this doesn't explain the fact that she and Ben can't talk on the damn phone or text or email each other, even as friends. Years later, when Ben wants to move to New York to be with Fallon so they could be together, a family tragedy forces Ben to stay home. Or should I say, convinces Fallon that Ben has to stay home and once again can't have any contact with her. For his own good, of course. All of this just felt really forced to me.
Spoiler things that bothered me:
-When Fallon breaks Ben's heart and leaves to New York again, she shows up the next November 9th expecting to find a happy-go-lucky Ben. Instead, Ben is dating his dead brother's ex-wife and is raising his brother's son with her. She is hurt and angry, even though she's the one that told him to stay to help her. Even though she's the one that left without refusing to give him her number. She says something that really annoys me:
The whole 'I did it for your own good' move is stupid and condescending and overdone.
- Plot twist: It turns out that Ben is the one that set fire to Fallon's dad's house two years ago. Intentionally. That day he pretended to be her boyfriend, he was following her dad and fully knew who she was. This kind of negated all the 'your scars are what makes you beautiful' and 'you are lucky to be alive' and all that other after-school speeches he gave her. After that, I never really knew if he really felt that way, or if it was out of guilt for being the cause of that. I know this came as a huge shock to most readers, but it only annoyed me because the whole 'I'm responsible for your traumatic accident and now I'm gonna seek you out to ease my guilt' has been done before in Ten Tiny Breaths by KA Tucker and Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles.
- The reason that Ben set Fallon's dad's house on fire is because Ben's mom killed herself. He found some letters with his name on them and he assumed that they had an affair and he was responsible for his mom killing herself. I would also like to point out that this assumption is incorrect.
- Not only did Fallon have a tragic past (the fire), but Ben did too (his mom killing herself). This felt like overkill for a number of reasons. Ben's mother had terminal cancer and she didn't want to be a burden on her sons. So she shot herself in the head. In their home. Knowing that Ben was there at the time and he would be the one to find her since it was only the two of them that lived there. How terrible and fucked up is that reasoning? Couldn't have she taken pills or something that wouldn't result with her brains being splattered all over her bedroom? What was worse was the suicide note she left for him:
Someone give her the mother of the year award so being so thoughtful!
- In case you missed it, Ben's mom killed herself on November 9. That same day he sets he fire that ruined Fallon's life. Two years later, that's the day they first officially meet. So that date has an important significance for a number of reasons. All of which I'm sure were meant to add to this supposedly epic romance, but only ended up being over he top.
Spoiler-free final thoughts:
I'm not saying that you should not read this book or that's its terrible, because a) that's a shitty thing to say and b) everyone has different tastes. Just because I thought this was Hoover's weakest book and I pretty much hated it, there is no denying that she is one hell of a talented writer. I just honestly think that this was missing the certain.... Hoover feel that makes all her other books stand out and hit you right in the feels. The fact that every single review on Goodreads is 5 stars and nothing less, really makes me question the state of book blogging right now and how honest certain people can be when it comes to reviewing hyped books or books by author 'friends'... I also really wish authors would find beta readers that aren't friends that can be truly objective...
November 9 was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I don't know if I'm more disappointed in the fact that this didn't work for me because it's written by Colleen Hoover, or of the fact that this Colleen Hoover book didn't work for me. If you're on the fence about this, I suggest you read reviews by bloggers you truly trust. And if you do decide to read this book, I hope you like it better than I did. No matter what I thought about this book, I'll always be looking forward to read her upcoming books and I still consider her one of my favorites.
I think, or at least I hope, that by know you guys know me well enough to know that I'm not the type of reader that loves to hate on hyped books. If I love or hate a book, I don't care how hyped or popular the book or author is, you will get my honest opinion no matter what. I will be the first to admit that I am a huge fan of Colleen Hoover's writing. Her books are always high on my favorites lists and she is an auto-read author for me. Despite the fact that I did not like this book at all and that it didn't work for me one bit, she is still one of my favorite authors and I will still be rushing to read her next book. Unfortunately, and it pains me to have to say this, but November 9 just wasn't for me.
From the summary, this book always made me a little nervous for several reasons. 1) It immediately reminded me of the plot for One Day. 2) I always have issues with romances that start from just one day of knowing each other. 3) The hint about Ben possibly hiding something had me worried this would have one of those shock value plot twists, which I normally hate. But, it's Colleen-freaking-Hoover and there was no way I was not reading this book. I was super excited to get an early copy and despite the fact that October was only reserved for Netflix binging, I couldn't help myself and had to read this book. The thing that upsets me the most is that November 9 had so much potential and the first few chapters showed so much promise. At first, it was just a few things here and there that bothered me, but eventually almost everything started bothering me and combined, it just didn't make this an enjoyable book for me. Since there were so many things that bothered me, I'm gonna list these in a non-spoiler and spoiler section below. If you are avoiding spoilers, simply skip that part and head to the end to my non-spoilery final thoughts. :)
Non-spoiler list of things that bothered me:
- The first thing I had an issue with was the fact that Fallon was scarred on most of her body and face from a house fire that cost her her acting career. Now, I'm not this monster that expects or wants all MC's to be perfect and beautiful and flawless, but this goes back to one of my main problems that I have with New Adult and the fact that everything has to be so fucking tragic. I thought we were at the point in NA where we were past characters needing a tragic past, but apparently not.
-Speaking of New Adult, my friend Megan wrote an awesome Almost Break-Up Letter to New Adult last week and while I was reading it and was agreeing with all her points, I would have never thought a Hoover book would fall victim to so many of those annoying and cliché NA traits. We had tragic pasts for both characters, drama overkill, plot twists that felt like they were simply added for the sake of shock value, recycled tropes that have already been done in previous/popular NA books, super cheesy lines, and conflict that seemed really forced. Just to name a few.
- Ben was too perfect in an unrealistic way. Hoover's male characters always seem to have this really intense feel to them, which I don't mind at all. But in Ben's case, there always felt something off about him. He literally came out of nowhere to save the day and offer to be Fallon's pretend boyfriend in front of her dad. What would have resulted in a one time thing turned into so much more when he stayed with her a few hours while she packed for New York and broke down barriers that no one else could in only a few hours, like letting him take off her clothes. He said just the right things to make Fallon feel better about her scars. He asked Fallon to date around while she was in New York for a year so she didn't 'miss anything', and he sounded like an inspirational coach half the time while the other half he said some really cheesy shit. Things like:
"Baby," he says, his lips forming a smile. "You already made this the best sex I've had , and I'm not even inside you yet."
and this lovely gem as he's about to take her virginity:
"Fallon," he whispers, dragging his lips slowly across mine. "Thank you for this beautiful gift."
-And speaking of cheese, Fallon said some really cheesy stuff too that made me roll my eyes.
It felt as if the second we joined together, a tiny piece of our souls got confused and a piece of his fell into me and a piece of mine fell into him.
or:
I just know that there is no way I can tell him goodbye after this. It'll tear me apart, way worse than last year. I can't go another day without him being a part of my everyday life. Not after this.
Keep in mind that this is after he 3rd November 9th they have spent together, roughly 12 hours they have spent together in total since they first met and after the first time they have sex....
- Towards the end of the book, by about the fifth November 9th they've spent together, Ben and Fallon have only spent a grand total of 28 hours together. This is one of the main reasons why I had such a hard time connecting with not only the story, but with Ben and Fallon as a couple. As stated in the summary, Fallon and Ben only meet once a year on November 9th, the day they met. This all sounds romantic, but it didn't work for me in a number of ways. Ben and Fallon agree for some reason (more on that later) that they should have zero contact at all during the years they are apart. They block each other on social media, they never give each other their phone numbers or emails so they don't talk, text or email. Basically, they just show up to an agreed location on November 9th at a certain time and hope the other is there. They have no idea if either of them have met someone else or any of the normal every day things that happen in life. Meanwhile, they always act like theirs is an epic love story despite the fact that in reality they just really basically strangers who happen to have a 'connection.' Each time they met, we had 1-2 chapters in his point-of-view and in her point-of-view and it was on to the next year.
-The fact that this was sort of a book with in a book felt like a cheap ploy to quickly address and dismiss any issues the reader may have, which honestly felt like an insult to us readers. Because Fallon is an avid reader (and gets Ben to read books too) and Ben is a writer, they kind of make fun of certain book scenarios while falling victim to those clichés. Fallon tells Ben early on that she hates insta-love and when she explains to him what insta-love is and he says that it sounds like what they must have, she quickly dismisses it. Years later when it comes up again, we are supposed to buy this half-assed explanation with this:
"You know how much I dislike insta-love."
"Oh, it was still insta-love," I tell her. "But ours is legit."
Isn't that what every author says about their insta-love romance in books? Later on when they have sex, Ben muses about how as an author he has no words to describe that moment in paper so he will just have to... fade to black. Which is exactly what the book does at that moment. After reading Ugly Love, we all know Hoover is capable of writing really great and classy sex scenes. This approach came off as lazy. It felt like Hoover used the fact that Ben was an author, and Fallon was a reader to shut down any problems. I mentioned earlier that the plot of this book reminded me of One Day by David Nichols (which I have read). There is a scene in here that really bothered me when someone brings up the comparison:
"It's a little bit like Sleepless In Seattle'" Tate says.
I immediately shake my head. "It's nothing like that. They only agreed to meet once."
"True. I's like One Day, then. That movie with Anne Hathaway?"
Again, I dismiss her comparison. "That just focuses on one particular day every year, but the two people still interact throughout the year like normal. Fallon and I have no contact."
I don't know why I'm being so defensive. I think writers just naturally become defensive when their ideas are compared to other ideas, even if it's done innocently. But mine and Fallon's story is one-of-a-kind, and I feel somewhat protective of it.
I don't like the fact that an international best seller book is reduced to simply an 'Anne Hathaway' movie. I especially dislike it since Hoover is an author herself. I'm sure it was innocent, but this bothered me.
-Another one of my issues with this story is that the conflict always felt forced. The reason why Fallon moves to New York is because he mother says that you don't know who you are until you are 23 years old, and you shouldn't date until then because if you don't know yourself how can you fall in love. And she always listens to her mother because her mother is always right. Something that Fallon feels the need to remind us of several times. So, she moves to New York to try to find herself and put herself out there to try to help out her career. This is all fine, but Fallon is 18 and alone and miserable in New York. And this doesn't explain the fact that she and Ben can't talk on the damn phone or text or email each other, even as friends. Years later, when Ben wants to move to New York to be with Fallon so they could be together, a family tragedy forces Ben to stay home. Or should I say, convinces Fallon that Ben has to stay home and once again can't have any contact with her. For his own good, of course. All of this just felt really forced to me.
Spoiler things that bothered me:
-When Fallon breaks Ben's heart and leaves to New York again, she shows up the next November 9th expecting to find a happy-go-lucky Ben. Instead, Ben is dating his dead brother's ex-wife and is raising his brother's son with her. She is hurt and angry, even though she's the one that told him to stay to help her. Even though she's the one that left without refusing to give him her number. She says something that really annoys me:
"And no matter who is at fault for that, whether it's mine for walking away last year or yours for not knowing I did it for your own good, none of it changes things."
The whole 'I did it for your own good' move is stupid and condescending and overdone.
- Plot twist: It turns out that Ben is the one that set fire to Fallon's dad's house two years ago. Intentionally. That day he pretended to be her boyfriend, he was following her dad and fully knew who she was. This kind of negated all the 'your scars are what makes you beautiful' and 'you are lucky to be alive' and all that other after-school speeches he gave her. After that, I never really knew if he really felt that way, or if it was out of guilt for being the cause of that. I know this came as a huge shock to most readers, but it only annoyed me because the whole 'I'm responsible for your traumatic accident and now I'm gonna seek you out to ease my guilt' has been done before in Ten Tiny Breaths by KA Tucker and Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles.
- The reason that Ben set Fallon's dad's house on fire is because Ben's mom killed herself. He found some letters with his name on them and he assumed that they had an affair and he was responsible for his mom killing herself. I would also like to point out that this assumption is incorrect.
- Not only did Fallon have a tragic past (the fire), but Ben did too (his mom killing herself). This felt like overkill for a number of reasons. Ben's mother had terminal cancer and she didn't want to be a burden on her sons. So she shot herself in the head. In their home. Knowing that Ben was there at the time and he would be the one to find her since it was only the two of them that lived there. How terrible and fucked up is that reasoning? Couldn't have she taken pills or something that wouldn't result with her brains being splattered all over her bedroom? What was worse was the suicide note she left for him:
I know this will be difficult for you to deal with, so I've tried to make it as easy as possible. Someone will need to clean up after they take my body, so I've left a card on the kitchen counter for who you should call. There's plenty of cash in my purse. I've left it in the kitchen, on the counter.'
Someone give her the mother of the year award so being so thoughtful!
- In case you missed it, Ben's mom killed herself on November 9. That same day he sets he fire that ruined Fallon's life. Two years later, that's the day they first officially meet. So that date has an important significance for a number of reasons. All of which I'm sure were meant to add to this supposedly epic romance, but only ended up being over he top.
Spoiler-free final thoughts:
I'm not saying that you should not read this book or that's its terrible, because a) that's a shitty thing to say and b) everyone has different tastes. Just because I thought this was Hoover's weakest book and I pretty much hated it, there is no denying that she is one hell of a talented writer. I just honestly think that this was missing the certain.... Hoover feel that makes all her other books stand out and hit you right in the feels. The fact that every single review on Goodreads is 5 stars and nothing less, really makes me question the state of book blogging right now and how honest certain people can be when it comes to reviewing hyped books or books by author 'friends'... I also really wish authors would find beta readers that aren't friends that can be truly objective...
November 9 was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I don't know if I'm more disappointed in the fact that this didn't work for me because it's written by Colleen Hoover, or of the fact that this Colleen Hoover book didn't work for me. If you're on the fence about this, I suggest you read reviews by bloggers you truly trust. And if you do decide to read this book, I hope you like it better than I did. No matter what I thought about this book, I'll always be looking forward to read her upcoming books and I still consider her one of my favorites.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2016
I just can't do it. I got 30 pages from the end and I refuse to finish. I hated this so much
I thought Owen from Confess was the worst male love interest, but Ben has him beat. He was awful. And the big plot twist infuriated me to no end. It was ridiculous and such a cheap shot.
At this point I am questioning whether or not I will continue reading Colleen Hoovers books anymore. How can someone who wrote my favorite book ever, write my two most hated books?
I need to cool off before I write a full review for this...
I thought Owen from Confess was the worst male love interest, but Ben has him beat. He was awful. And the big plot twist infuriated me to no end. It was ridiculous and such a cheap shot.
At this point I am questioning whether or not I will continue reading Colleen Hoovers books anymore. How can someone who wrote my favorite book ever, write my two most hated books?
I need to cool off before I write a full review for this...
November 8, 2015
Two words - absolutely brilliant!
I’m amazed at CoHo's ability to deliver a unique story with each and every one of her books. After I was done with November 9 I spent a good hour or two discussing it with Kara. There’s so much I want to say about it but really you can only do that with people who have read the book so not to ruin the story for others.
One thing that surprised me was when a certain couple made a cameo. It put a smile on my face. I'm so use to CoHo not following book trends that it was pleasant surprise to see the crossover.
CoHo’s men have a way of getting me worked up and not in a good way. It started with her first book Slammed and has continued on in her other books. While they make me want to smash my kindle against a wall, they also make me appreciate the realness of the situation. CoHo's love stories are guaranteed to have the ability to provoke strong emotions in the reader.
My favorite aspect of the story is how the book flowed so well together even though the story took place over a large time span. The story didn’t have any mundane lulls filled with everyday stuff. It held me captive from the opening scene until the very end.
I LOVED IT!!
P.S. I love that CoHo commented on my status update. It made my year.
https://www.goodreads.com/user_status...
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
RELEASE DATE:November 10, 2015
Pre-order | order: http://amzn.to/1ZGkYCP
STANDALONE
**Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**
I’m amazed at CoHo's ability to deliver a unique story with each and every one of her books. After I was done with November 9 I spent a good hour or two discussing it with Kara. There’s so much I want to say about it but really you can only do that with people who have read the book so not to ruin the story for others.
One thing that surprised me was when a certain couple made a cameo. It put a smile on my face. I'm so use to CoHo not following book trends that it was pleasant surprise to see the crossover.
CoHo’s men have a way of getting me worked up and not in a good way. It started with her first book Slammed and has continued on in her other books. While they make me want to smash my kindle against a wall, they also make me appreciate the realness of the situation. CoHo's love stories are guaranteed to have the ability to provoke strong emotions in the reader.
My favorite aspect of the story is how the book flowed so well together even though the story took place over a large time span. The story didn’t have any mundane lulls filled with everyday stuff. It held me captive from the opening scene until the very end.
I LOVED IT!!
P.S. I love that CoHo commented on my status update. It made my year.
https://www.goodreads.com/user_status...
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
RELEASE DATE:November 10, 2015
Pre-order | order: http://amzn.to/1ZGkYCP
STANDALONE
**Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**
October 31, 2017
hey! sometimes people are better at reviewing than me. (i know! shocking, but it happens.) i can't say anything about this book that hasn't been perfectly stated already in Whitney's review.
you should give it a read. her review, that is, not this god-awful book.
(thanks @may for linking this in your most recent blog post)
---------
cookies are my favorite food. i am capable of eating probably dozens of reese's peanut butter cups in a sitting. rather than just eating dessert after every meal, i often have sweets for dinner. my teeth are, at this point, 99% made of sugar and thus incapable of being damaged in any way.
and still this book gave me a cavity.
(& at that moment, emma officially gave up on Colleen Hoover.)
you should give it a read. her review, that is, not this god-awful book.
(thanks @may for linking this in your most recent blog post)
---------
cookies are my favorite food. i am capable of eating probably dozens of reese's peanut butter cups in a sitting. rather than just eating dessert after every meal, i often have sweets for dinner. my teeth are, at this point, 99% made of sugar and thus incapable of being damaged in any way.
and still this book gave me a cavity.
(& at that moment, emma officially gave up on Colleen Hoover.)
October 10, 2022
➥ 0 Stars *:･ﾟ✧ dnf @ 20%
When I tell you this is the worst book I have ever read. And I mean, I cannot fathom how someone could like this book. Did they ignore all the words they were reading or something? How. This book genuinely made me reevaluate my opinions on Colleen Hoover in general because what the fuck. I find it ironic how she wrote It Ends with Us as Ryle being an abuser, yet writes her literal fucking love interests (in this case Ben) as that too. This author is incapable of not only writing healthy relationships, but also writing love interests. It even makes me concerned for her because what men are in your life that make you think this shit is romantic? Put your husband on the phone. Also, considering I dnfd this at 20% (BEFORE THE PLOT TWIST) and hated it even then, because after hearing what the plot twist is (super predictable btw) I cannot believe people like this man.
This is how we meet Ben.
So we can already see his saviour complex here. I bet he thinks he's so slick but this is just creepy and weird. Imagine a man's thought process in deciding to do that? Such entitlement, idgaf.
Anyway, right after that whole fiasco of him defending her in front of her dad (I feel like this is one of those scenarios where dudes talk about liking girls with daddy issues because they can go and be there heroes), he already starts sexualising her. Boom. This girl just got done having a traumatic conversation with her father, this dude pretends to be nice and care about her, and then as soon as we get to his perspective, he sexualises her. All these men care about is sex I'm so serious. I swear in his head I know he just did this because 1: saviour complex and 2: he wants sex in return.
So, not only is he sexualising her right off the bat, but he also already feels like she owes him something. In this case, he thinks she owes him cleavage? That he deserves it??
First of all, he finds a way to sexualise and I'd almost say fetishise her trauma and scars. By questioning whether the harm reached her breasts too?? Disgusting. Then he talks about undressing her but "not in a sexual way" when it's clearly in a sexual way. That's so violating. He's curious because he's been wanting to get into her pants since he saw her. Then he says his mother taught him to be respectful toward women but he just can't help but sexualise her because she's soo different and makes him want to be disrespectful? Cute.
Because I'm doing things chronologically, this was the next thing that upset me. It always feels gross to me when straight people mention gay people in general because it's always either used for a stereotype or a joke. Not only does CoHo also write a really bad gay stereotype in It Ends with Us, but here it's also upholding another stereotype, even if it's one that's not as bad. They talk about gay people like they're these different things and it just pisses me off. And she did make a joke out of it, of course. Lovely. If you're going to write harmful lgbtq+ representation, don't write any at all please.
I absolutely despised when eating is sexualised. As if women aren't sexualised doing everything; eating ice cream, eating bananas etc. I just know CoHo was itching to write "I was imagining it was my cock."
What even is this sentence.
Again, she literally just admitted her trauma and recent struggles and all he can think about it how he can serve as his girlfriend or lover? Gross.
Read that again 😀. How does one sit down and write that shit fr? Let's break this down. First of all, he vocally admits that the first thing he did when he saw he was sexualise her. And fantasise about her underwear? Man, that is fucking disgusting. Incel. Then, he thinks he likes her personality because he heard her have one conversation, with her dad. Ok. Then, he says that he was worried about being ugly because even if she had a good personality, who would want to see someone ugly every day? Can you imagine???? What is this logic. Who is reading this and liking it?? But you're not even ready for this next part.
😀😀😀 *crickets*. I'm mortified. Again, let's process this. He sees she has scars, so he think = insecure. And he's like "OMG GREAT!! Thank goodness she's insecure so now I have a chance with her!!" and he brings up the underwear comment again. Again, showing how he's sexualised her from the beginning and revealing his hidden motives 😀. The crazy thing to me is that he admits this out loud? To a girl? Thinking that it's flattering or some shit?? Well, Fallon certainly thought so😐 this book is fucked up. Of course the only thing she processes from his whole speech was that he thinks she's "fucking beautiful".
So, then she asks him to help her pack and this is what he says to her roommates once she meets them. I truly cannot think of another word that isn't disgusting now, because it perfectly encapsulates my feelings towards this fucker.
Even references like this are so cringy. It's like CoHo tried to write a self-insert narrative for her readers and it's gross.
Someone come over to my house and cry with me, that was so bad. So, so bad. Anyway, after that, he actually doesn't help her pack at all (I'm serious) and she hears him book a table for two at a restaurant without asking her if it's ok. Cool.
His obsession with her underwear is so gross. And he just makes it a joke that he's doing everything step by step just so he can get into her pants??
Excuse me???? Again, he thinks he's entitled to getting her to do what he wants. In this case because he's getting her dinner (that she didn't ask for), and he's specifically picking a dress that's more revealing. It makes me want to puke.
Maybe I agree that she shouldn't have to accommodate for other people's opinions and comfort, but someone outright blaming her for not wanting unnecessary, negative attention is just fucking awful. And he says this without a care in the world!!!!
Again, we're pitting girls against each other? Bullshit.
This is borderline sexual assault, and there's no use of consent. She clearly wants him to stop, but puts his desires (whether sexual or not - they are though) before hers. Then she proceeds to cry while he undresses her, and he continues, unphased. Cute, right? Yeah.
So first, he spews bullshit saying that he's not doing it for his pleasure, but then he basically just coerced her into letting him find out the colour of her underwear???? Repulsive.
That's not funny or cute.
Disgusting. I cannot believe this book was published. I cannot believe people like it. If you did like it, I want you to use some critical thinking skills because this is such bullshit. I agree that sometimes romance books are nice because they don't require that much brain power, but if your brain didn't catch how absolutely terrible this book is...no comment. Again, this was all in the first 2 chapters in the book. I can't how many more terrible things I could have found had I kept on reading. And that plot twist is ass and unforgivable imo.
“I’ve never wanted to use physical force on a girl before, but I want to push her to the ground and hold her there until the cab drives away.”
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━
When I tell you this is the worst book I have ever read. And I mean, I cannot fathom how someone could like this book. Did they ignore all the words they were reading or something? How. This book genuinely made me reevaluate my opinions on Colleen Hoover in general because what the fuck. I find it ironic how she wrote It Ends with Us as Ryle being an abuser, yet writes her literal fucking love interests (in this case Ben) as that too. This author is incapable of not only writing healthy relationships, but also writing love interests. It even makes me concerned for her because what men are in your life that make you think this shit is romantic? Put your husband on the phone. Also, considering I dnfd this at 20% (BEFORE THE PLOT TWIST) and hated it even then, because after hearing what the plot twist is (super predictable btw) I cannot believe people like this man.
➥ Ben (H) is actually disgusting. I cannot believe people like him 😭😭. He is a man with a saviour complex, he's objectifying, he's just the epitome of the reason why I'm afraid of and usually dislike men.
➥ Fallon (h) was just kind of bland from what I read, and so fucking insecure, oh my god, enough.
This is how we meet Ben.
He’s already staring at me again. The same smile he shot at me earlier is still affixed to his face, but this time I don’t look away from him. In fact, my eyes don’t leave his as he makes his way to our booth. Before I can react, he’s sliding into the seat with me. Holy shit. What is he doing?
“Sorry I’m late, babe,” he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He just called me babe. This random dude just put his arm around me and called me babe. What the hell is going on? I glance at my father, thinking he’s in on this somehow, but he’s looking at the stranger next to me with even more confusion than I probably am. I stiffen beneath the guy’s arm when I feel his lips press against the side of my head. “Damn L.A. traffic,” he mutters.
Random Dude just put his lips in my hair. What. Is going. On. The guy reaches across the table for my father’s hand. “I’m Ben,” he says. “Benton James Kessler. Your daughter’s boyfriend.”
Your daughter’s . . . what?
So we can already see his saviour complex here. I bet he thinks he's so slick but this is just creepy and weird. Imagine a man's thought process in deciding to do that? Such entitlement, idgaf.
Anyway, right after that whole fiasco of him defending her in front of her dad (I feel like this is one of those scenarios where dudes talk about liking girls with daddy issues because they can go and be there heroes), he already starts sexualising her. Boom. This girl just got done having a traumatic conversation with her father, this dude pretends to be nice and care about her, and then as soon as we get to his perspective, he sexualises her. All these men care about is sex I'm so serious. I swear in his head I know he just did this because 1: saviour complex and 2: he wants sex in return.
I wish I could say I’m mentally preparing a brilliant apology, but I’m not. I seem to have a one-track mind, and that track leads straight to the two things I shouldn’t even be thinking about right now.
Her boobs.
Both of them.
I know. I’m pathetic. But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’d be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long-sleeved shirt that leaves everything to the imagination. It’s pushing eighty degrees outside. She should be in something a lot less . . . conventinspired.
So, not only is he sexualising her right off the bat, but he also already feels like she owes him something. In this case, he thinks she owes him cleavage? That he deserves it??
A couple seated a few tables over stands up and begins to walk past us, toward the exit. I notice Fallon tilts her head away from them and lets her hair fall in front of her face like a protective shield. I don’t even think she realizes she’s doing it. It seems like such a natural reaction for her to try and cover up what she sees as flaws. That’s probably why she’s wearing the long-sleeved shirt. It shields everyone from seeing what’s beneath it.
And of course, this thought leads me to her breasts again. Are they scarred, too? How much of her body is actually affected?
I begin to mentally undress her, and not in a sexual way. I’m just curious. Really curious, because I can’t stop staring at her, and that’s not like me. My mother raised me with more tact than this, but what my mother failed to teach me is that there would be girls like this one who would test those manners merely by existing.
First of all, he finds a way to sexualise and I'd almost say fetishise her trauma and scars. By questioning whether the harm reached her breasts too?? Disgusting. Then he talks about undressing her but "not in a sexual way" when it's clearly in a sexual way. That's so violating. He's curious because he's been wanting to get into her pants since he saw her. Then he says his mother taught him to be respectful toward women but he just can't help but sexualise her because she's soo different and makes him want to be disrespectful? Cute.
"I've never had a fake boyfriend before," she says.
“I’ve never had a real boyfriend before,” I reply.
Her eyes shift to my hair. “Believe me, that’s obvious. No gay man I know would have left the house looking like you do right now.”
Because I'm doing things chronologically, this was the next thing that upset me. It always feels gross to me when straight people mention gay people in general because it's always either used for a stereotype or a joke. Not only does CoHo also write a really bad gay stereotype in It Ends with Us, but here it's also upholding another stereotype, even if it's one that's not as bad. They talk about gay people like they're these different things and it just pisses me off. And she did make a joke out of it, of course. Lovely. If you're going to write harmful lgbtq+ representation, don't write any at all please.
I wasn’t expecting this today of all days. To be sitting across from this girl, watching her lick ice cream off her lips and having to swallow air just to make sure I’m still breathing.
I absolutely despised when eating is sexualised. As if women aren't sexualised doing everything; eating ice cream, eating bananas etc. I just know CoHo was itching to write "I was imagining it was my cock."
She sighs. Again. I don’t think I’ve ever made a girl sigh this much in such a short amount of time. And they aren’t the kind of sighs that make a guy feel good about his skills. They’re the kind of sighs that make him wonder what the hell he’s doing wrong.
What even is this sentence.
I lean forward to toss my container into the trash can behind her. It’s the closest I’ve come to her since we were sitting in the booth together. Her entire body stiffens with my proximity. Rather than pull back right away, I look her directly in the eye before focusing on her mouth. “That’s what boyfriends are for,” I say as I slowly back away from her.
Again, she literally just admitted her trauma and recent struggles and all he can think about it how he can serve as his girlfriend or lover? Gross.
Now I’m the one releasing a heavy sigh. “You want to know what I thought when I saw you for the first time?”
She tilts her head. “When you saw me for the first time? You mean as in one whole hour ago?”
I ignore her cynicism and continue. “The first time you walked past me— before I interrupted your lunch date with your father—I stared at your ass the whole time you were stomping away. And I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of panties you had on. That’s all I thought about the entire time you were in the restroom. Were you a thong girl? Were you going commando? Because I didn’t see an outline in your jeans that hinted you were wearing normal panties.
“Before you returned from the bathroom, I started to get this panicked feeling in my stomach, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see your face. I had been listening in on your conversation and already knew I was drawn to your personality. But what about your face? People say not to judge a book by its cover, but what if you somehow read the inside of the book without
seeing the cover first? And what if you really liked what was inside that book? Of course when you go to close the book and are about to see the cover for the first time, you hope it’s something you’ll find attractive. Because who wants an incredibly written book sitting on their bookshelf if
they have to stare at a shitty cover?”
Read that again 😀. How does one sit down and write that shit fr? Let's break this down. First of all, he vocally admits that the first thing he did when he saw he was sexualise her. And fantasise about her underwear? Man, that is fucking disgusting. Incel. Then, he thinks he likes her personality because he heard her have one conversation, with her dad. Ok. Then, he says that he was worried about being ugly because even if she had a good personality, who would want to see someone ugly every day? Can you imagine???? What is this logic. Who is reading this and liking it?? But you're not even ready for this next part.
“You were almost to my booth at this point and that’s when my eyes fell to your cheek. To your neck. I saw the scars for the first time, and just as I noticed them, you darted your eyes to the floor and let your hair cover most of your face. And you know what I thought in that moment, Fallon?”
Her eyes flick up to meet mine and I can tell she doesn’t really want me to say it. She thinks she knows exactly what I thought in that moment, but she has no idea.
“I was so relieved,” I tell her. “Because I could tell with that one simple movement that you were really insecure. And I realized—since you obviously had no idea how fucking beautiful you were—that I just might actually have a chance with you. And so I smiled. Because I was hoping if I played my cards right—I might get to find out exactly what kind of panties you were wearing under those jeans.”
😀😀😀 *crickets*. I'm mortified. Again, let's process this. He sees she has scars, so he think = insecure. And he's like "OMG GREAT!! Thank goodness she's insecure so now I have a chance with her!!" and he brings up the underwear comment again. Again, showing how he's sexualised her from the beginning and revealing his hidden motives 😀. The crazy thing to me is that he admits this out loud? To a girl? Thinking that it's flattering or some shit?? Well, Fallon certainly thought so😐 this book is fucked up. Of course the only thing she processes from his whole speech was that he thinks she's "fucking beautiful".
“We’ll be in my room,” I say casually. Ben gives them a quick wave and then removes his arm from around my shoulders, sliding his fingers through mine. “Nice to meet you both.” He points down the hall. “I’m gonna follow Fallon to her room now so I can see what kind of panties she has on.”
So, then she asks him to help her pack and this is what he says to her roommates once she meets them. I truly cannot think of another word that isn't disgusting now, because it perfectly encapsulates my feelings towards this fucker.
“You’re a reader?” he asks.
I look over my shoulder and he’s fingering the books on my shelves. “I love to read. You should hurry up and write a book, because it’s already on my TBR pile.”
“Your TBR pile?”
“To be read pile,” I clarify.
Even references like this are so cringy. It's like CoHo tried to write a self-insert narrative for her readers and it's gross.
He smiles at me from his position on the bed, and the sight of him sitting there makes my cheeks feel all hot and bothered. I suddenly want to beg him to roll around on my sheets so I can smell him when I fall asleep tonight. But then I remember I won’t be sleeping on them tonight because I’ll be on a flight to New York. I turn around and face my closet again so he doesn’t see the flushed look on my face.
He laughs quietly. “You were just thinking dirty thoughts.”
“Was not,” I quip.
“Fallon, we’ve been dating for two hours now. I can read you like a book, and right now I do believe that book is full of erotica.”
Someone come over to my house and cry with me, that was so bad. So, so bad. Anyway, after that, he actually doesn't help her pack at all (I'm serious) and she hears him book a table for two at a restaurant without asking her if it's ok. Cool.
He grins and then peeks over my shoulder at the drawer I’m rifling through.
“Is that your panty drawer?” He reaches around and grabs a pair. I pull them out of his hand and toss them toward my suitcase.
“Hands off,” I tell him.
He walks around me and leans his elbow against the dresser. “If you’re packing underwear, that means you don’t go commando. So by process of elimination, I’ve figured out that you’re currently wearing a thong. Now I just have to find out what color it is.”
I toss the contents of my drawer toward my suitcase. “It takes a lot more than smooth talk to get me down to my panties, Ben the Writer.”
He grins. “Oh yeah? Like what? A fancy dinner?” He pushes off the dresser and stands up straight, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Because it just so happens I have reservations at the Chateau Marmont tonight at seven.”
His obsession with her underwear is so gross. And he just makes it a joke that he's doing everything step by step just so he can get into her pants??
I shake my head and grab the dress from him, hanging it back in its spot. I grab one of the few long-sleeved dresses I own and I pull it off the hanger. “I like this one.”
His eyes fall to the dress he initially picked out and he pulls it off the hanger and shoves it at me. “But I want you to wear this one.”
I shove the dress back at him. “I don’t want to wear that, I want to wear this.”
“No,” he says. “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
Excuse me???? Again, he thinks he's entitled to getting her to do what he wants. In this case because he's getting her dinner (that she didn't ask for), and he's specifically picking a dress that's more revealing. It makes me want to puke.
"Please don’t ask me again to wear that dress, because I’m much more relaxed in clothes that don’t show too much skin. I don’t like making people uncomfortable, and if I wore something like that, they would feel weird looking at me.”
Ben’s jaw tenses and he looks away from me, down at the dress in his hands. “Okay,” he says simply, dropping the dress to the floor. Finally. “But it’s your own fault people feel uncomfortable looking at you.”
I don’t even hide my gasp. It’s the first thing he’s said to me all day that’s made me feel like I was being spoken to by my father. I’m not gonna lie. It hurts. My throat feels like it’s swelling shut, so I clear it.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I say quietly.
Ben takes a step closer to me. My closet is small enough as it is. I certainly don’t need him standing even closer. Especially after saying something as hurtful as he just did.
“It’s the truth,” he says.
Maybe I agree that she shouldn't have to accommodate for other people's opinions and comfort, but someone outright blaming her for not wanting unnecessary, negative attention is just fucking awful. And he says this without a care in the world!!!!
“And your lips. Men stare at them because they want to know what they taste like, and women stare at them out of jealousy because if they had lips the color of yours, they’d never have to buy lipstick again.”
Again, we're pitting girls against each other? Bullshit.
This is going too far.
Too far, too far, too far, but all I can do is suck in a wild breath and let his fingers pop open the button on my jeans, because as much as I wish he would stop, I get the feeling he’s not undressing me for pleasure. I’m not sure what he’s doing, but I’m too immobile to ask.
This is borderline sexual assault, and there's no use of consent. She clearly wants him to stop, but puts his desires (whether sexual or not - they are though) before hers. Then she proceeds to cry while he undresses her, and he continues, unphased. Cute, right? Yeah.
“Fucking beautiful,” he says with a slow grin. “And red.”
Red?
I look down at the dress, but it’s definitely black.
“Your panties,” he says as clarification. “They’re red.”
So first, he spews bullshit saying that he's not doing it for his pleasure, but then he basically just coerced her into letting him find out the colour of her underwear???? Repulsive.
“That’s a record,” Ben says, pulling me away from his chest so he can look down at me. “Made my girlfriend cry less than three hours into our relationship.”
That's not funny or cute.
He shuts the door, but I can still hear what he says to Amber and Glenn as
soon as he walks into the living room. “They’re red! Her panties are red!”
Disgusting. I cannot believe this book was published. I cannot believe people like it. If you did like it, I want you to use some critical thinking skills because this is such bullshit. I agree that sometimes romance books are nice because they don't require that much brain power, but if your brain didn't catch how absolutely terrible this book is...no comment. Again, this was all in the first 2 chapters in the book. I can't how many more terrible things I could have found had I kept on reading. And that plot twist is ass and unforgivable imo.
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━
August 17, 2022
To sum up the book for y’all:
Ben: 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Fallon: 👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯
And that’s my least favorite dynamic in existence so no thanks 🤩
Ben: 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Fallon: 👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯👩🏻🦯
And that’s my least favorite dynamic in existence so no thanks 🤩
May 23, 2023
I would rather have my eyes plucked out by an angry seagull than finish this book. 💀
DNF at 70%
Special thanks to my girl vio for suffering with me! 🫶🏼
Well, where do I even begin with this book?
This was horrible, problematic and I kind of wish I could go back in time so I can prevent myself from picking this up..
⁂ THIS IS BASICALLY A RANT WITH LOTS OF SPOILERS! ⁂
Most people who follow me here, know I read a lot of shady books. I’m not ashamed of that, I absolutely love dark romance. I don’t mind non-consent or dub-consent and I don’t have a lot of boundaries in that genre.. HOWEVER- if you write contemporary romance and you have a predominantly young fan base, I’m not okay with it.
Not only does Fallon complain when a guy stops touching her, after telling him to stop (Ben even calling him a ‘fucking douchebag’), sending a message that consent isn’t that big of a deal, we also have a situation where Fallon tells Ben to stop and he just continues until ‘she’s into it’, making the same point.
Young girls who read this think they should just endure this until they start enjoying it or whatever. It’s so toxic and problematic. It’s mind boggling to me to see all these high ratings.
Furthermore the writing style and interactions between the characters was bad. I can only explain it like this; the writing style is very ‘Colleen-ish’. If you’ve read other books by her it will be very recognisable to you. I think it’s a little too simple, it reads like a book for teenagers, but with topics teenagers should not read about.
There’s also a lot of rambling going on, written down as thoughts of the fmc or mc.. most of these ramblings have no point and only contradict itself over and over again.
The interactions felt very 'non-human'..
A guy complimenting a girl on the perfect bone structure of her face right after they meet? Maybe my bone structure is really fucked but that doesn’t happen right?
Their conversations are super super dramatic. It read more like a telanovela instead of a ‘ real life’ couple, which I assumed was the goal of this contemporary romance? But also things like straddling someone in a tattoo salon while they’re being tattooed? who does that? grab a chair you weirdo.
FALLON:
Fallon is the most self centered fmc I’ve read about in a long time.
After Ben’s brother died, all she did was putting herself first. She was more sad about Ben missing their meeting than about his brother's death.. like wtf?
And after she actually spend time with him and his grief (well.. for one day that is), she leaves him while he’s in the worst place of his life, after he begged her to stay and then be maddd when he found comfort somewhere else. What gives you the righttt girl.💀
In earlier years she also said once she was ‘Insanely jealous and unstable when it comes to your passed loves, even though they make each other date other people.. so what do you really want? make it make sense.
BEN:
Ben was a creep since the first second we met him. Firstly, he’s way to comfortable inserting himself into family issues of strangers he’d never met before. secondly, her not wearing a deep/low-cut cleavage is NON OF YOUR CONCERN. She doesn’t have to show her tits, just so you are entertained? And lastly, your obsessing with panties and the color and mentioning it to everyone is weird af dude. stop.
I googled the ending and WHAT WAS THAT, this book is absolutely ridiculous 😂
TL;DR: Do yourself a favor and skip this book. Your brain will thank you.
DNF at 70%
Special thanks to my girl vio for suffering with me! 🫶🏼
Well, where do I even begin with this book?
This was horrible, problematic and I kind of wish I could go back in time so I can prevent myself from picking this up..
⁂ THIS IS BASICALLY A RANT WITH LOTS OF SPOILERS! ⁂
Most people who follow me here, know I read a lot of shady books. I’m not ashamed of that, I absolutely love dark romance. I don’t mind non-consent or dub-consent and I don’t have a lot of boundaries in that genre.. HOWEVER- if you write contemporary romance and you have a predominantly young fan base, I’m not okay with it.
Not only does Fallon complain when a guy stops touching her, after telling him to stop (Ben even calling him a ‘fucking douchebag’), sending a message that consent isn’t that big of a deal, we also have a situation where Fallon tells Ben to stop and he just continues until ‘she’s into it’, making the same point.
Young girls who read this think they should just endure this until they start enjoying it or whatever. It’s so toxic and problematic. It’s mind boggling to me to see all these high ratings.
Furthermore the writing style and interactions between the characters was bad. I can only explain it like this; the writing style is very ‘Colleen-ish’. If you’ve read other books by her it will be very recognisable to you. I think it’s a little too simple, it reads like a book for teenagers, but with topics teenagers should not read about.
There’s also a lot of rambling going on, written down as thoughts of the fmc or mc.. most of these ramblings have no point and only contradict itself over and over again.
The interactions felt very 'non-human'..
A guy complimenting a girl on the perfect bone structure of her face right after they meet? Maybe my bone structure is really fucked but that doesn’t happen right?
Their conversations are super super dramatic. It read more like a telanovela instead of a ‘ real life’ couple, which I assumed was the goal of this contemporary romance? But also things like straddling someone in a tattoo salon while they’re being tattooed? who does that? grab a chair you weirdo.
FALLON:
Fallon is the most self centered fmc I’ve read about in a long time.
After Ben’s brother died, all she did was putting herself first. She was more sad about Ben missing their meeting than about his brother's death.. like wtf?
And after she actually spend time with him and his grief (well.. for one day that is), she leaves him while he’s in the worst place of his life, after he begged her to stay and then be maddd when he found comfort somewhere else. What gives you the righttt girl.💀
In earlier years she also said once she was ‘Insanely jealous and unstable when it comes to your passed loves, even though they make each other date other people.. so what do you really want? make it make sense.
BEN:
Ben was a creep since the first second we met him. Firstly, he’s way to comfortable inserting himself into family issues of strangers he’d never met before. secondly, her not wearing a deep/low-cut cleavage is NON OF YOUR CONCERN. She doesn’t have to show her tits, just so you are entertained? And lastly, your obsessing with panties and the color and mentioning it to everyone is weird af dude. stop.
I googled the ending and WHAT WAS THAT, this book is absolutely ridiculous 😂
TL;DR: Do yourself a favor and skip this book. Your brain will thank you.
May 14, 2023
THE WAY I LOST MY FUCKING BRAINCELLS IN THE PROCESS 💀💀💀
No but seriously for those of you who thought this is a good book and like this book, you really need to rethink your choices again 💀
The book is toxic, problematic, harmful, and disgusting. The characters are disgusting, criminal, stupid, petty, ridiculous, and fucking dramatic. The writing was disgusting and cringey (can't even believe that a grown adult write this bullshit). The plot was ridiculous, too much, doesn't make sense, and unbelievably stupid. (Yes, the premise of growing romance with just meeting once a year is refreshing and interesting but the execution was so shitty)
That's it. That's the review.
Dnf at 89%. I couldn't even had the stomach to go through it anymore. God help me to develop more braincells back. Never have I ever needed a fucking UNREAD button do badly in my entire life.
Notes & warning:
Hi, if you like this book and this author and some how found this review and offended by it, don't be! Because this review is not intended to offend people. My true intention for this review is to show you this book is bad and why is it bad. In this case, how toxic and harmful this book is. And I genuinely feel concern for those who like this innocently think this book is the perfect example of a romance book. Because how is it sexual assaulting counts as romance? How is it sexualizing third degree burn scar counts as romance? How is it forcing a person to strip off their clothes counts as romance? (There are so many toxic things in this book that I haven't mentioned) Now, imagine that a 12-16 years old girl read this book and innocently love everything in it without truly seeing the problem? So yeah, I'm going to show you how bad this book is and why is it so fucking bad.
Also if you fall in the teen age group, I strongly suggest you to never read this- this book is toxic, problematic, and incredibly harmful. First, not to mention this isn't made for teens and second this could mess up your view for some aspects in your life.
Oh and those who love Ben and have him as your book-boyfriend? 💀 please have some time and reconsider it- I mean come on? An arsonist as your book-boyfriend? You're so much better than that 🫶🏻
ㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Hello, welcome to a new series called hate-read. A series where I will be reading a problematic book or shitty book to hate every single pages in it while updating it here because apparently I'm masochist for putting my own ass through hell 🤧
I have a huge feeling that I'm going to lose some of my friends here in platform, especially for those who loves this book very much or love the author. But oh well, I'm going to do it anyway 💀😭
Apparently I'm not the high level masochist because I've decided to do this with my lovely girl Anouk. Hope we have fun and survive until the end of this book 💀🤭 because imagine doing this alone? I can't- we might as well be each other's crutch to walk through this tunnel together. Fingers crossed and wish us luck 💀😭🫶🏻
No but seriously for those of you who thought this is a good book and like this book, you really need to rethink your choices again 💀
The book is toxic, problematic, harmful, and disgusting. The characters are disgusting, criminal, stupid, petty, ridiculous, and fucking dramatic. The writing was disgusting and cringey (can't even believe that a grown adult write this bullshit). The plot was ridiculous, too much, doesn't make sense, and unbelievably stupid. (Yes, the premise of growing romance with just meeting once a year is refreshing and interesting but the execution was so shitty)
That's it. That's the review.
Dnf at 89%. I couldn't even had the stomach to go through it anymore. God help me to develop more braincells back. Never have I ever needed a fucking UNREAD button do badly in my entire life.
Notes & warning:
Hi, if you like this book and this author and some how found this review and offended by it, don't be! Because this review is not intended to offend people. My true intention for this review is to show you this book is bad and why is it bad. In this case, how toxic and harmful this book is. And I genuinely feel concern for those who like this innocently think this book is the perfect example of a romance book. Because how is it sexual assaulting counts as romance? How is it sexualizing third degree burn scar counts as romance? How is it forcing a person to strip off their clothes counts as romance? (There are so many toxic things in this book that I haven't mentioned) Now, imagine that a 12-16 years old girl read this book and innocently love everything in it without truly seeing the problem? So yeah, I'm going to show you how bad this book is and why is it so fucking bad.
Also if you fall in the teen age group, I strongly suggest you to never read this- this book is toxic, problematic, and incredibly harmful. First, not to mention this isn't made for teens and second this could mess up your view for some aspects in your life.
Oh and those who love Ben and have him as your book-boyfriend? 💀 please have some time and reconsider it- I mean come on? An arsonist as your book-boyfriend? You're so much better than that 🫶🏻
ㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Hello, welcome to a new series called hate-read. A series where I will be reading a problematic book or shitty book to hate every single pages in it while updating it here because apparently I'm masochist for putting my own ass through hell 🤧
I have a huge feeling that I'm going to lose some of my friends here in platform, especially for those who loves this book very much or love the author. But oh well, I'm going to do it anyway 💀😭
Apparently I'm not the high level masochist because I've decided to do this with my lovely girl Anouk. Hope we have fun and survive until the end of this book 💀🤭 because imagine doing this alone? I can't- we might as well be each other's crutch to walk through this tunnel together. Fingers crossed and wish us luck 💀😭🫶🏻
November 26, 2015
Ugh, I hate NA. Basically CoHo books are the only ones I can stand in the sea of clichés that is this genre. But after Confess and this new novel I seriously think I should stay away from New Adult books forever.
@ NA AUTHORS please STOP with the bullshit of the girl with low self-esteem and the guy who's hidding a secret. STOP writing insecure girls who fall for the douchey "you don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful" boyfriend. STOP writing relationships that are based on LIES and SECRETS. STOP writing slut-shaming bff's. Please....
On page five I was excited. On page fifty I had a terrible feeling about this read. One page 100 I wanted to cry because every single thing these characters said was cheesy and dumb. Honestly, guys, IT WAS SO BASIC AND SO WRONG. I would've never expected this from CoHo. Just look at these quotes:
He's definitely a fan of One Direction.
Sorry I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Oops, it happened again.
Not only are Ben and Fallon walking clichés but the plot-twist is something you would find in -you guessed right!- any other book of the genre. But I wonder if it can really be considered a plot-twist since it couldn't have been more obvious.
Nice try but it was too obvious, honey.
So Ben lied about everything and instead of telling her the truth about the accident first-hand, he made her fall in love with him and wrote a book about their beautiful story blah blah blah. So yeah, it gets worse:
You know that's what abusers do, right?
SO YOU DON'T REGRET CAUSING THE ACCIDENT THAT ALMOST CLAIMED HER LIFE, TELLING EVERYTHING ABOUT IT TO YOUR BROTHER SO YOU COULD BOTH PROMISED YOU WON'T TELL IT WAS YOUR FAULT?????????????
BYE.
I AM DONE.
And somehow, with the way he’s looking down at me, I even believe I’m beautiful.
@ NA AUTHORS please STOP with the bullshit of the girl with low self-esteem and the guy who's hidding a secret. STOP writing insecure girls who fall for the douchey "you don't know you're beautiful, that's what makes you beautiful" boyfriend. STOP writing relationships that are based on LIES and SECRETS. STOP writing slut-shaming bff's. Please....
On page five I was excited. On page fifty I had a terrible feeling about this read. One page 100 I wanted to cry because every single thing these characters said was cheesy and dumb. Honestly, guys, IT WAS SO BASIC AND SO WRONG. I would've never expected this from CoHo. Just look at these quotes:
I laugh again, and then I press my face to his chest and hug him back, because why couldn’t he have been there the second I woke up in the hospital two years ago? Why did I have to go two whole years before finally being given the tiniest bit of confidence?
“You wear your hair like you do because you don’t want people to see too much of you. You wear long sleeves and collared shirts because you think it helps. But it doesn’t.”
He's definitely a fan of One Direction.
“I don’t want to be your first, Fallon. I want to be your last.”
Sorry I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.
“Baby,” he says, his lips forming a smile. “You have already made this the best sex I’ve ever had, and I’m not even inside you yet.”
Oops, it happened again.
Not only are Ben and Fallon walking clichés but the plot-twist is something you would find in -you guessed right!- any other book of the genre. But I wonder if it can really be considered a plot-twist since it couldn't have been more obvious.
“Does she know, Ben? Does she have any idea that you’re the one who started that fire? That you’re the reason she almost died?”
Nice try but it was too obvious, honey.
So Ben lied about everything and instead of telling her the truth about the accident first-hand, he made her fall in love with him and wrote a book about their beautiful story blah blah blah. So yeah, it gets worse:
I make a new pile with the pages I’ve already read. I stare down at the manuscript in disbelief. I know I should be angry that he’s lied to me for so long, but being in his head is somehow justifying his behavior to me. And not only that, but it’s also justifying my father ’s behavior.
You know that's what abusers do, right?
We were drawn to each other. We made each other happy. And I know without a doubt there were several times during the past few years that we were madly in love with each other at the same time. Not everyone experiences that Fallon, and I’d be lying if I said I regretted it.
SO YOU DON'T REGRET CAUSING THE ACCIDENT THAT ALMOST CLAIMED HER LIFE, TELLING EVERYTHING ABOUT IT TO YOUR BROTHER SO YOU COULD BOTH PROMISED YOU WON'T TELL IT WAS YOUR FAULT?????????????
I should have given you the chance to explain it then. If I had just listened to you, then we could have avoided an entire year of heartache. So for that.... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. And I hope you can forgive me.”
BYE.
I AM DONE.
October 22, 2022
if i were born on november 9th i would have killed myself
October 26, 2015
The perfect blend of sexiness, emotion and intrigue. It's Colleen's best, most exciting book to date.
Colleen Hoover’s one-of-a-kind style of storytelling shines with November 9—a story about a boy and a girl who fall in love, one day at a time. But it’s also so much more. It’s lines of words that tell the story of a girl scarred by an event that made her feel less, made her feel abandoned. A girl whose dreams vanquished with the flames that ravaged her. It’s about a boy, a writer—Benton Kessler—who searches for inspiration and finds it the day that fate pushed him to meet Fallon O’ Neil.
Fallon and Ben meet on her last day in L.A., before she moves to New York City. Ben’s unexpected, easygoing and entirely charming demeanor unnerves Fallon… in the best possible way.
For Fallon, he turns a day marred with frustration and bad memories to a day marked by laughter and surprises.
For Ben, he begins to fall for a girl who hides behind the cards she’s been dealt, but whose feistiness, verve and beauty, win him over all the same. Fallon becomes the muse he’s been hoping for, and a story begins to write itself with each moment they experience.
Before the day is over, they’re not ready to say goodbye. So they agree to meet once a year, for five years, on November 9th. No contact whatsoever… leaving destiny to play out as it will.
They come together and come apart each year as circumstances change. Their story arcs and morphs into a once-in-a-lifetime romance, but not before plot twists threaten everything they’ve held on to so dearly.
Ben and Fallon’s story is irresistible—I couldn’t help but fall in love with them from the very beginning. Their chemistry leaps of the page with humor, passion and an endearing realness. Moreover, Hoover enlivens the story with her intangible magic where every moment feels larger than life, meaningful, and somehow entirely novel in its approach. With November 9, she once again proves that New Adult remains in the game with fresh and exciting stories impossible to forget. I dare you not to fall in love with Ben and Fallon.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Follow Vilma's Book Blog: Website | Facebook | Twitter
Colleen Hoover’s one-of-a-kind style of storytelling shines with November 9—a story about a boy and a girl who fall in love, one day at a time. But it’s also so much more. It’s lines of words that tell the story of a girl scarred by an event that made her feel less, made her feel abandoned. A girl whose dreams vanquished with the flames that ravaged her. It’s about a boy, a writer—Benton Kessler—who searches for inspiration and finds it the day that fate pushed him to meet Fallon O’ Neil.
Fallon and Ben meet on her last day in L.A., before she moves to New York City. Ben’s unexpected, easygoing and entirely charming demeanor unnerves Fallon… in the best possible way.
For Fallon, he turns a day marred with frustration and bad memories to a day marked by laughter and surprises.
“When I woke up this morning, I thought today was going to be one of the toughest days I’ve had in two years. Who knew the anniversary of the worst day of my life might possibly end on a good note.”
For Ben, he begins to fall for a girl who hides behind the cards she’s been dealt, but whose feistiness, verve and beauty, win him over all the same. Fallon becomes the muse he’s been hoping for, and a story begins to write itself with each moment they experience.
“You can’t leave yet. I’m not finished falling in love with you.”
Before the day is over, they’re not ready to say goodbye. So they agree to meet once a year, for five years, on November 9th. No contact whatsoever… leaving destiny to play out as it will.
"November 9th or nothing.”
They come together and come apart each year as circumstances change. Their story arcs and morphs into a once-in-a-lifetime romance, but not before plot twists threaten everything they’ve held on to so dearly.
“When you find love, you take it. You grab it with both hands and you do everything in your power not to let it go. You can’t just walk away from it and expect it to linger until you’re ready for it.”
Ben and Fallon’s story is irresistible—I couldn’t help but fall in love with them from the very beginning. Their chemistry leaps of the page with humor, passion and an endearing realness. Moreover, Hoover enlivens the story with her intangible magic where every moment feels larger than life, meaningful, and somehow entirely novel in its approach. With November 9, she once again proves that New Adult remains in the game with fresh and exciting stories impossible to forget. I dare you not to fall in love with Ben and Fallon.
✦ ✦ ✦ ✦
Follow Vilma's Book Blog: Website | Facebook | Twitter
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