[Review] REGRETTING YOU by Colleen Hoover

Source: Received a review copy through work/
Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son.
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: December 10, 2019
Number of Pages: 366 (Paperback)

DESCRIPTION

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us comes a poignant novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters.

G E T   Y O U R   C O P Y   N O W !
Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Indigo

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REVIEW

When I first finished Regretting You, I was totally lost for words! I was so full and overwhelmed emotions, but I totally knew that I loved it...I've cleaned this up a bit now, but for the most part, here's my very ramble-filled first impression after having finished Regretting You.

First off, as soon as I started Regretting You, I didn't want to put it down! My emotions were all over the place, and like I typically do with CoHo's books...I cried (more than once haha), but I loved this book so, so much!

I don't think I've ever read a book where a mother/daughter relationship was such a central focus or portrayed the way that it was here, and plot-wise, I most certainly have never read anything remotely like Regretting You. This book is raw and doesn't hold back...it actually made my jaw drop several times. It completely enraptured me and it overwhelmed feeling-wise, but in the best way.



This is the sort of book that you finish and it makes you realize why you love reading...it was such an absolute pleasure to read.

I loved Morgan and Clara and I loved how the story alternated between their POVs...I loved the romantic parts of the story, the family struggles...absolutely everything! I wasn't sure what kind of story to expect going in, but I loved every moment. For a long time Maybe Someday has sat at the top of my mind as my favourite CoHo book, but honestly I think Regretting You has just faced off against it to fight for that top spot on the list (sorry Maybe Someday!). Soooooo amazing!

All in all, I just have to say that I absolutely LOVED this book! I'd recommend it to readers who already love CoHo (trust me, you'll LOVE this one, too), but I'd also recommend it to readers who are new to Colleen Hoover and are looking for books that kind of toe the line between romance and woman's fiction, especially if you like stories that unfold in unexpected ways and push you to think and feel. Highly, highly recommend...especially as Regretting You is 100% on my top books list for 2019--can confirm that now!

Star Rating:

★★★★★

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Now I want to know ALL THE THINGS and want to talk about Regretting You like crazy!!!

Are you a fan of Colleen Hoover's?
If yes...what's your fave CoHo book?

Have you read Regretting You yet?

If not, are you planning to?

[Review] ALL YOUR PERFECTS by Colleen Hoover

Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Number of Pages: 320 (Paperback)

DESCRIPTION

Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?

G E T   Y O U R   C O P Y   N O W !
Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Indigo | B&N | Kobo

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REVIEW

Wow.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d end up loving or even liking All Your Perfects because there were times where it completely tore me up inside and I was an absolute, utter wreck...but I took a bit of a breather and picked it back up, and it managed to pull me back together. I didn’t want to stop reading, but I just wasn’t in the headspace to read such an emotional story. I’m glad I put it down for a bit because I think it helped me appreciate it more when I picked it up again.

I absolutely loved All Your Perfects. It was heart-wrenching, raw and oh so, emotional. I won’t say I loved every moment because I didn’t, but what I did love was that despite those moments that tore me up and made me sad, All Your Perfects, still made me happy. It made me see things in a different way, and made me consider how sometimes looking at the things that are going wrong...or are flawed in our lives...can keep us from seeing all of the good. It can keep us from appreciating what we do have, and focusing on those flaws can keep us closed off from finding happiness.

While I’m nowhere even close to being in Quinn and Graham’s shoes, Colleen Hoover managed to make me feel as if I were in the same position. I felt all that they did and I saw how their life was crumbling. I did have the blessing of foresight and wanted them to talk sooooo much because I knew it would help, but I also saw why they behaved as they did. What I loved about this story was that even if you don’t feel as if you can relate to their situation, Colleen makes it so that you do relate to Graham and Quinn. You feel for them. You hope for them. You love with them. And that is why I loved this book so much. I loved it even more now that I’ve turned to the last page than when I read the lines that were my favourite, and I think I’ll love it even more the longer I think it over.

Highly, highly recommend All Your Perfects! It may tear you up inside, but trust me...it’ll also help put you back together. 

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Thoughts?

Any other CoHorts out there?
If you haven't yet read a Colleen Hoover book, does ALL YOUR PERFECTS sound like a book you'd enjoy?

Review: WITHOUT MERIT by Colleen Hoover

Source: Received an ARC from Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Number of Pages: 384 (Paperback)

DESCRIPTION:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends With Us and November 9 comes a moving and haunting novel of family, love, and the power of the truth.Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines, when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.

Poignant and powerful, Without Merit explores the layers of lies that tie a family together and the power of love and truth.

ABOUT COLLEEN HOOVER:

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, This Girl, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Ugly Love, Maybe Not, Confess, November 9, and It Ends with Us. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Please visit ColleenHoover.com.

CONNECT WITH COLLEEN HOOVER: 
Facebook | CoHort FB Group | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website 

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REVIEW:

I started reading WITHOUT MERIT the day that I received the ARC in the mail! 
When I opened the package, I proceeded to squee and hug the book to my chest. Not long after that I started reading and I couldn't put it down!!! I kept reading and I didn't stop until I'd finished!!!

Merit is definitely not a traditional main character. She's brash, abrasive, and extremely impulsive, but I really enjoyed her narrative and I loved her sardonic sense of humour. She was raw, and real and flawed...and I loved seeing her overcome all of the obstacles she faced in the book. And Sagan...oh boy. I loved Sagan!!!! He had some lines that were just soooo swoony!! I also really enjoyed getting to know Merit's family. She lives in a pretty unconventional household, and their family dynamics were really intriguing!

The story itself was wonderful!!! It was all about family dynamics, love, and perspective! When I finished reading that was my biggest thought, that the book was all about perspective and I absolutely loved that. So often we live our lives wrapped up in our own little bubbles, only ever thinking of and considering things from our own viewpoints, and WITHOUT MERIT kind of shows you that sometimes our perspectives can be extremely biased and completely wrong. The truths that we think we see aren't the full story and coming to terms with the reality of certain situations can be revolutionary, so I really loved what Colleen was doing with this story! It didn't wreak my heart like some of her previous books, but it completely enthralled me and it captivated my attention wholly and left me wondering and considering the world we live in, my place in it, and how my perspective could be shifted to keep myself from getting too wrapped up in my own little world!

Finally, and this is totally separate from the characters and the story as a whole, I also loved that Colleen dedicated WITHOUT MERIT to one of her sons! It's one of the sweetest, and best dedications I've ever read. It's also pretty clear that Merit's hometown is based on the town that Colleen lives in and there was a little bookstore that Cohorts will likely recognize...it was probably the most adorable cameo I've ever seen and it was in a book! ;)

I adored WITHOUT MERIT! Colleen Hoover is definitely moving away from romance-centric stories towards ones that are more on the literary fiction side, and while I love my swoony, sexy or sweet romances, I really love that she's creating stories with so much depth! Merit and her family deal with quite a few big issues in this book that they end up confronting head on and I really, really appreciate that Colleen is willing to bring sensitive topics up for discussion like she has here! Cohorts will definitely love this one, and I hope that newbies to Colleen Hoover who are looking for a story full of heart will pick it up and love WITHOUT MERIT, too!

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Any other CoHorts out there?
Does WITHOUT MERIT sound like something you'd like to read?

Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

Source: Purchased for myself.
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: Already Released.
Number of Pages: 306 (Paperback)


Description from Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a new novel about risking everything for love—and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies.

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

And Colleen Hoover has done it again!!!! I had Confess preordered for months, but I ended up being in a bit of a reading slump when the release date finally rolled around, but I picked it up last night...started reading, stayed up way too late reading, forced myself to get to sleep, and promptly devoured it this morning!!!

I loved Confess! Owen and Auburn were amazing characters, and their story was so intricately woven, and so captivating that I just didn't want to stop reading...or for the book to end!!! It's still totally continuing on in my head, and I'm actually pretty sad that I finished because I really just want more and more of Auburn and Owen. I completely loved it though, but I definitely wouldn't pass up the chance to read more about these two. ;) I think that their story ended in a really sweet, remarkable way, and I just loved it so much!! :D This is how I'm tortured by standalones though because I love how the book ends and is summed up, but would also love more. :P haha

I completely and wholeheartedly recommend Confess! If you love Colleen Hoover already, you'll definitely love this one, and if you haven't had the extreme pleasure of reading her books yet, then I think this one would be an absolutely fabulous one to start with! It was breathtaking and wonderful, and made me feel every single amazing and awe-inspiring feeling while reading it. Seriously...read it! I hope you love it as much as I did! ;)

What do you think? 

Does Confess sound like a book you'd like?

Have you read Confess yet?

Have you read any of Colleen Hoover's books yet?