"I think I've been overlooking the best part of romance novels. Maybe the grand gestures don't matter nearly as much as all the inconsequential things between the two main characters." - Colleen Hoover, November 9
(On a side note: we're starting in on March and this is only the fourth book I've read?? Shameful.)
Hello, friends! Today we're going to be looking at November 9 by Colleen Hoover, and I'm just gonna dive right into it by saying I loved this book so much.
This wonderful book starts off with Fallon, an 18-year-old actress preparing for her cross-country move from LA to New York. On the day of said move, while in a fight with her dillhole father, she meets Ben--an aspiring novelist, who slides into their restaurant booth and instantly becomes her fake boyfriend, with the sole purpose of defending her against her asshole dad. They spend the rest of the day together, drawn together by this new connection, and all-too aware of the move that's about to tear them apart.
So what do they do? They decide to meet up on the same day every year, with no contact information to satisfy them the other 364. The story follows them over the course of five years, as Fallon follows her ambitions in NYC and Ben writes about their unique relationship, creating the grandest of all romance novels.
Until, you know, everything goes to shit. BECAUSE NOTHING GOOD CAN EVER LAST, APPARENTLY.
This book started out all fluffy, cutesy, and happy, and then about halfway through turned into a major soap opera. But y'know what? I ain't even mad. I soaked it all up. And it's weird, because I'm pretty sure that if someone had explained the plot to me before hand--like, summarized the entire book, the same way I summarized it to my best friend after the fact--I wouldn't have wanted to read it. Not because I don't like being spoiled (because to be honest I spoil 95% of the content I consume, anyway), but because it sounds so ridiculous when told out of context.
Some people may have problems with the plot in that way, which I totally get, but I loved it. I'm not ashamed to admit it.
This was my first Colleen Hoover book, but damn girl, I am tempted to run out and buy all your other stuff right now. I actually already own one of her other books, Slammed, but I avoided picking it up next because I'm scared that I started with the best of the lot, and everything else is going to pale in comparison.
Because this girl? She can write. Her sentences are smooth and flawless and my eyes practically FLY across those pages, which is the best and worst thing that any writer could ever do for me, because it makes it both easy to read and impossible to put down. (I had an essay due today, and I spent four damn hours reading this on Monday. It was stressful. I loved it.)
Her humour is great, too. I loved all of references she made to romance books, through insta-love and cheesy romance scenes and the discussion of making a kiss "book-worthy". (I just love reading books that talk about other books, okay?)
And can we just talk about Ben for a second? Because he is both smooth and dorky at the same time, which are two traits that I never thought could coexist simultaneously in one human being. And yet, here we are. The fact that he gave me not one, but TWO incredibly cute airport departure scenes means that I am forever in his debt.
I'm always warry about multiple POVs, but Hoover pulls it off very well. The only complaint I have is that, when telling it from Ben's perspective, she didn't do much alluding to the final twist at the end. (Which you don't want to give away, of course...but some hints would have been nice.) It was just a very personal twist at the end, and there were plenty of opportunities (aside from the punch Kyle gave him) were some hints could have easily been dropped. Just to make it a little less, y'know, out of the blue.
While we're on the topic of complaints, I did find the plot a LITTLE predictable. But not really in an, "omg-I-know-exactly-what's-going-to-happen" way, but more in an "lol-what-if-this-happens-oh-wait-it-just-did-way". Y'know? Like, this was stuff I all thought might happen, but I didn't actually think it would...until it did. So on that front, there were no real shocking twists for me. (But there rarely are, and I don't mind!)
ANYWAY. This book gets five stars. Easy. I loved this book so much and y'all need to go out and read it RIGHT NOW.
What were your thoughts? Let me know!
Until later,
- Justyne
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