Confess by Colleen Hoover: A Book Review

Confess by Colleen Hoover: A Book Review

Main Characters: Auburn Mason Reed and Owen Mason Gentry (They are not blood related, fyi.)

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Setting: Texas

Summary

Part One of the book introduces the tragic past of Auburn wherein she lost her first love named Adam because of a serious medical condition. The story unfolds to the present where Auburn was talking to a lawyer and it was also revealed that she has financial issues because she is considering about getting three part-time jobs to pay for the fee. She works as a hair cutter/stylist in a salon in Texas, which she recently moved in.

As fate has a great significance to the story, she came across this signage infront of a studio looking for a helper. As she was reading it, she noticed some notes written on the walls which turned out to be anonymous confessions. Owen suddenly opened the door with another “desperate” signage and that’s when he met Auburn.

Owen Mason Reed is a young painter. He knows Auburn from the past but of course, Auburn does not.

Owen did not tell Auburn about this throughout the novel. Going back, the two had felt their connections. For one night, Auburn helped Owen sell his paintings in an Art Exhibit. The inspiration of the paintings was also given light and it all ended with hanging up in a bar.

The story became more intense when Trey entered. He is the brother of Adam who works as a police officer who is in love with Auburn. Lydia, Trey’s mother also stepped in with a surprising twist – that Auburn has a child from Adam and his name is AJ. Auburn wants custody over her child.

Trey caught Owen for possession of drugs. He was imprisoned. Trey warned Auburn about him. Auburn and Trey started dating but Auburn likes Owen but still dates the former because of her son. Later on, Owen was released and the two got back together. They faced more struggles and Trey just kept on destroying their relationship even resorting to attempted rape. Eventually, Auburn had finally found the courage to defend herself and fight for what is right and she succeeded. She got her son and her second fate in love, Owen.

The ending went back five years earlier revealing how Owen met Adam in the hospital. It was another confession that you have to find out for yourself.

Highlight

1.       The idea of paintings inspired by a confession is new. I like that it is more realistic but it also adds suspense and mystery. Imagine if you wrote a confession then you saw the painting based on that, would you buy it? I am following Colleen Hoover on instagram and in her stories, she asked her readers about their confession and all just poured in. 

2.       There were photos of paintings on the book. All were sentimental and deep.

Favorite quotes

1.        “I’m afraid if I listen to my heart once, I’ll never figure out how to ignore it again.” – Owen

2.       “Selflessness. It should be the basis of every relationship. If a person truly cares about you, they’ll get more pleasure from the way they make you feel, rather than the way you make them feel.” – Auburn

3.       “I think love is a hard word to define. You can love a lot of things about a person but still not love the whole person.” – Owen

4.       “Sometimes we don’t get second chances, Owen. Sometimes things just end.” – Auburn

Reflection

        The story is not so extraordinary. If the confessions and paintings were removed, I would not have continued reading it. It did not give me the chills or intensity that I am looking for a romance novel. I want a novel that can make me cry or laugh or not go to sleep.

        Anyways, if you’re looking for something that shows a mother’s love despite young age, read this. If you are looking for a love story that has no psychological dilemma , read this.

               

Personal Say

        Reading this book made me question all the mistakes that I did and if I am ready to confess all of them. My secrets are safe with me but with time, maybe these will be revealed. The last time I confessed was when I was in grade 6- that was 16 years ago infront of a priest.  I remembered saying sorry for being a stubborn child. Until now, I am still a stubborn child and I might add a stubborn believer.

        I’ve been thinking about confessing but I always back off everytime. I am too scared to admit my sins and I am afraid that I might do those again after saying them. It’s a vicious cycle. Mind you,  I do not regret the decisions I made in the past because those are part of me now and I embraced them.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover: A Book Review

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hover: A Book Review

Aug. 9 2018

I am familiar with the author’s name since I see it in a lot of bookstores. But when I saw the IG post of Lovi Poe and I quote, “Colleen Hoover is probably the reason why my standards of men are high,” I was really intrigued so I searched her name and watched book reviews in youtube and the rest is pretty much history.

I picked It Ends With Us first because the male protagonist is a neurosurgeon and you know how much I am obsessed with those kinds of characters. Lol

Summary

Lily came from an abusive household. Her father who is the town mayor and real-estate holder hits and rapes her mother but never got the courage to leave him. When he died, her mother asked her to deliver a eulogy but during her speech, Lily was not able to express five great things about her father because there was none.  Lily flew back to Boston and found a rooftop to vent her anger and that’s where she met Ryle, a driven, captivating and utterly successful neurosurgeon.

They had an honest conversation which they termed NAKED Truths. It was revealed then that Ryle wants to fuck Lily (that was his term. Haha)  in which she strongly rejected. During their talk, she mentioned her past and that she had sex with a homeless during her teenage years. Ryle almost kissed Lily if not for the phone call from work. After six months, they saw each other again through Alyssa, wife of Marshall (the bestfriend of Ryle) in her would-be flower shop.

They eventually dated but then in a restaurant, Lily saw Atlas, her first love, the homeless guy who turned out to be the restaurant owner and best chef in Boston. Atlas knew about her situation before so when he saw the cut on Lily he confronted her then Ryle showed up.

The next chapters were Ryle’s temper and how this affected their relationship. Ryle’s temper couldn’t be controlled so  he ended up hurting Lily physically. They were married back then. Ryle apologized and promised not to hurt her again but he broke it again and again. Reason? Jealousy.

Atlas rescued her after Ryle headbutted her. They soon found out that Lily was pregnant.

I thought Ryle would change himself and Lily would accept him again but Lily wanted a divorce after she gave birth.

After a year, they were separated and Lily met Atlas again.

Reaction

Characterization

I was disappointed with Ryle. You know when you are rooting for someone because he was projected as the perfect guy in the beginning and in the middle, he was so broken and pitiful and in the end, he was  just a pretty and smart-ass guy. Nobody wants to end up with someone like him, right? With Ryle’s character, we need not to rely on the good lucks and accomplishments. And a relationship must not be rushed most especially marriage. Don’t be like Lily. Get to know the person first. It takes time but it will save you a lot from heartaches and abuse.

Colleen is an expert in characterization. Her characters are dynamic and impressively human.

Social Issues

This story also made light on domestic violence. That you will never know how it feels when you’re in that same exact situation.  It’s easy to say ‘leave him’ but the emotions that were invested and the people  that will be affected would be more important than all the beatings.

And for this, eventhough the church does not approve of it, I am pro-annulment.

Why stay in a fucked-up marriage? You can raise children by yourself.

About the issue of homelessness. It’s also easy for us to judge them. Easy to say that they are lazy and that they should grind their ass; however, we do not  know the whole story to begin with. If we only put more action in being kind and compassionate, the world would be much better to live in.

Style

Her plot twists are insane. I like how she repeats some of the lines for impact and how she connects all the events. She is a master storyteller. She has simple writing but it is evident, how universal and poignant the emotions are.

Favorite Lines

“I am going to make a promise to you, when my life is good enough for you to be a part of it, I’ll come find you. But I don’t want you to wait around for me, because that might never happen.”

“People come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger and make more of an impact than others.  Sometimes, waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those thing tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes.”

“You make me want to be a different person but what if I don’t know how to be what you need?  I want to prove to you  that I want you for so much more than just one night.”

“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”

“I’ll  keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”