Reminders of Him: A Novel
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'For once I actually thought Colleen wasn’t going to make me cry. I made it about 320 pages and the floodgates opened.\n\nSomeone asked me the other day if Reminders of Him was a romance. With most of Colleen’s books, they’re typecast into romance but to me, it was just a novel. Not <I>just</I> a novel but romance wasn’t the center of it. It’s a story of tragedy and growth and forgiveness. Yes, there is a relationship and an HEA but for me, the HEA is with the entire cast of characters. An ensemble.\n\nAs with all of Hoover’s books, I recommend going in blind. It’s filled with grief, has plenty of humor, and will leave your heart warmed.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-2 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I wanted to give this book 5 stars but just couldn’t. There are so many f-bombs I almost stopped reading it but I kept at it. Glad I did too. But I will never read it again or listen to it because I don’t need that word in my mind. Why oh why is it so necessary to the story?'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': "This book just wasn't for me. The writing isn't bad. But the characters wear their hearts on their sleeves and make choices that don't seem particularly sensible or believable. I knew I was in trouble when I hit the chapter in which the main character writes a letter to her dead boyfriend. Then there was the chapter devoted to a five-year-old's T-Ball practice. Many may find this entertaining. But like I said, this just wasn't for me."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Colleen Hoover never ceases to amaze me. Her wickedly insightful brain comes up with these stories that I cannot put down and devour in one sitting. Reminders of Him, is just one of those stories that will stick with you for a long time. A story about, love, loss, grief and forgiveness. It’s about the journey not the destination.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Colleen did it again. She ripped soul to pieces to pit it back together again. There were tears, laughs and shortened breaths in this masterpiece. Well done.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': "This beautiful cover held so much promise! Alas, this story was not for me.\n\nAfter hearing that many readers cried their hearts out after reading Colleen Hoover's latest book, I was expecting a novel with more depth, more feeling, more connection? I wasn't really feeling it.\n\nKenna was imprisoned for 5 years (for vehicular manslaughter? Because her actual crime was never mentioned.) Nor was there any description of life behind bars (other than a few words of platitude from her friend), or mention of any type of parole officer or Court supervision after Kenna was released.\n\nOkay, already we are in fantasy land. To be very clear: Kenna drove while intoxicated and killed her boyfriend at the time, Scotty. He was also alive when she fled the scene of the accident, and he lived for hours after. She did not call for help, but instead went home and passed out.\n\nKenna then gave birth to their child, Diem; had her parental rights terminated; and has now arrived back in the small town where everyone is supposed to know everyone else, but somehow Scotty's best friend Ledger doesn't know who she is at first.\n\nDiem is being raised by Scotty's parents, but Ledger is also obsessed with Diem, sorry, I mean Ledger is actively involved in Diem's life and upbringing. I will skip over the part where Kenna and Ledger quickly fall in love and go right to the part where Scotty's parents obtain a restraining order against Kenna barring her from approaching them and/or Diem (I think, more pesky details that were omitted from the book.)\n\nHowever, Ledger finally convinces Scotty's parents to overcome their hatred of Kenna (through an invasion of privacy, in my opinion), and everyone lives happily ever after. That's it!\n\nI finished the book so I am rounding up from 2 stars but I think this one was meant for a younger demographic. The conclusion was far too rushed and predictable for me. I read the Acknowledgements where the author explained why she did not specifically name the town or setting of the book, but to me, that was just another main detail that was sorely missing from this book. Here's to hoping I can connect more with Colleen Hoover's next book."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Ever since I read her slammed series, I read everything Colleen Hoover writes without knowing anything about it. Just her name on the cover is enough and this latest book is no exception. I read it straight through in one sitting and was hooked from page one. Just read it, that's my review. You won't regret it."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Sensitivity is synonymous with the name of this author ! Creator of a Captivating story line that encompasses all the aspects motherhood and redemption. Master of Evocative and compelling prose skills, she manages to keep every story fresh even after a spectacular catalogue in her kitty. She writes with simplicity and stark honesty which resonates with every reader heart all across the globe crossing language & age barriers, her omnipotent power is writing deeply empathetic tales that speak to all of us on a subconscious level.\nAll the emotions I felt were new, I saw them with new eyes, felt them in a new corner of my soul. this remarkably profound story touched me deep on every level, Being a mother, this story was especially effectual for me.\nOne remarkable thing to note here is that the author didn\'t turn the story in a favourable direction out of sympathy. She starkly lays out the time line of events, highlighting the imperfections that make human but also manages to elicit sympathy for the characters. All of whom are stuck in the quagmire of debilitating loss.\n\n"It is what it is. A messed-up situation, with no evil people to blame. We’re all just a bunch of sad people doing what we have to do to make it until tomorrow. Some of us sadder than others. Some of us more willing to forgive than others."\n\nThe main story revolves around Scotty whose presence looms large over the left behind people.\nHis parents, his girlfriend Kenna and his best friend Ledger.\nKenna is THE MOST tragically unfortunate character I\'ve come across in recent years. She is still living the repercussions of a horrendous mistake that wiped out 5 years of Her life and snatched EVERYTHING from her hands. Following her only connection to life, she still returns to a town that has Reminders Of Him at every Nook, cranny & corner. I was in awe of her courage, her bravery, her mettle.\n\n"The girl who smoked the cigarette and didn’t close her eyes during dinner prayer and moaned too loud in your quiet house.\nUnremorseful. Uninvolved. Uncaring. Unworthy"\n\nThe biggest sentiment front & center is remorse. It effects and shapes each character of the book.\nRemorse for actions taken, of being irresponsible, of not closing your eyes at prayer, of not trying hard enough, of just being young, naive and scared. Nothing prepares you for tragedy and everyone grieves differently, is the motto that the author hammers home. A lesson to not preconceive any notion about anybody in life, for we don\'t know how many broken people are breathing amongst us, trying to stay alive one sobbing gasp at a time.\n\n"I think there’s room in a tragedy this size for everyone to be both right and wrong."\n\nThe true hero of the story is Ledger. His generosity and compassion is as big as all outdoors. His kindness and reluctant forgiveness form the backbone of the story as he becomes the catalyst for change of perceptions. I mean he did have to bear two jaw knocking punches, a split lip and a proverbial boot in the rump from Roman, but at least he took the first step...thats what counts.\n\n“Sometimes I wonder what Scotty would think if he could see us. It makes me hope that an afterlife doesn’t exist, because if it does, Scotty is probably the only sad person in heaven.”\n\nThe entire story is steeped in sadness. I cried from first page to the last. I couldn\'t read a it fast enough with blurry eyed vision and grieved the loss of these endearing characters when I finished the book.\nI remember all the fables and tales I\'d read in childhood came with moral at the end.\nThis tale of unconditional love, sacrifice and absolution comes with a strong one.\n\nMoral : "It proves that time, distance, and devastation allow people enough opportunity to craft villains out of people they don’t even know."\n\nThere\'s a very thin line between Villains and Victims and real maturity is when you can differentiate between the two.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-2 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I\'m being SUPER generous by giving this two stars. I want to like your books Colleen, I really do. But it is a struggle. I felt like majority of the book was slow and boring - especially with all the will they won\'t they nonsense, but my biggest frustration with this book is how it ends. There is NO WAY in any universe that this would have ended happily ever after. The only reason it does is because Ledger goes the entire book wanting to sleep with Kenna. He convinces everyone to forgive her purely based on the power of his boner. He says several times he just wants what is best for Diem (the five year old daughter that Kenna has never met), but come on man. If he didn\'t want to so desperately have sex with Kenna, he would have never forgiven her for Scotty\'s death - and thus convince Scotty\'s (still clearly grieving) parents to forgive her as well. She left him to die for six hours.. He suffered for six hours after she left him. I mean, yeah, people make bad decisions, but you\'re not even going to call for help? You\'re going to actively try and kill yourself by jumping in-front of another vehicle? Which would kill even more people or possibly ruin the rest of their lives in the process? I don\'t care about any of these characters because guess what Kenna? I don\'t forgive you. You\'re selfish and I hope you live with guilt. You can say that nonsense about the women in jail still being mothers and daughters and what not, but you made your bed - go f*** in it.\n\nIt\'s all ridiculous. I\'m sorry Colleen Hoover, and I\'m sorry to all the people who like this book. I\'m not judging any of you, but I don\'t know what you see here. I\'d like to go back in time to the day I ordered this book and stop past David from thinking that it might be good. AND I swear if anyone notices future David adding another Colleen Hoover book to his want to read/currently reading - please punch him/me in the face. I usually like garbage, its a guilty pleasure of mine.. I\'ve given this more than one star because you got a reaction out of me Colleen, so congrats on that.\n\nThe most cringe moment from this book was after Kenna and Ledger have sex for the first time.. THEY BOTH DISCUSS OUT LOUD IF LEDGER WAS BETTER IN BED THAN DEAD SCOTTY! AND THEN they openly talk to Scotty like he\'s been in the room watching the entire time! WHAT?!?! Ya\'ll deserve nothing - every single character in this book is selfish and garbage. Except for Diem. But she was given a stupid name so somehow I hate her too... Okay, I\'m done.\n\nFavorite Quote: "Moments like these remind me that happiness isn\'t some permanent thing we\'re all trying to achieve in life, it\'s merely a thing that shows up every now and then, sometimes in tiny doses that are just substantial enough to keep us going."'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "Wow! Just wow. I wasn’t sure how to write this review or where to start this review. This book was so much and its hard to put it all into words.\n\nI finished this book in a day and a half. I just couldn’t put it down, I just had to know what was going to happen.\n\nThis is one of the saddest book I've read. Kenna's story just broke me heart. This book really made me cry.\n\nKenna made one mistake and it has impacted her whole life, and let be honest even before her mistake she didn’t have the best life.\n\nShe was finally able to have a moment of happiness and its ripped away from her in the harshest of ways possible.\n\nI couldn’t believe how unfair her life has been and I just wanted her to get a win just one.\n\nLedger was a bit of a jerk in the beginning which was understandable given the situation.\n\nBut he was a caring and considerate to the people he cares about and extremely protective.\n\n“I don’t like that the one person I dislike the most in this world reminds me of the person I love the most.”\n\nAfter some time he realizes that maybe he didn’t know the whole story and he was led to believe something that wasn’t true. And maliciously but because that was what it seemed like.\n\nLedger starts to see a side of Kenna that he didn’t realize existed and he sees the sadness in her, even though he doesn’t want to he finds himself being protective of her.\n\nKenna does everything she can to try to redeem herself, but it seems like its always out of her reach.\n\nEveryone judges her and doesn’t know a thing about what she's been through the hurt, the pain, the utter despair and the depression she felt. It just broke my heart.\n\n“So, you decide right now, right here. Are you gonna live in your sadness or are you gonna die in it?”\n\nColleen Hoover really took me on a rollercoaster ride in this book. You feel the hurt of all the character and their pain.\n\n“Please don’t,” I whisper. “It hurts enough already.”\n\nWhat was really amazing too was while we were in the present in the story we got to understand the past and the relationship between Scotty and Kenna. And how much they felt for each other.\n\nThis was beautifully written I literally could put the book down all day I just had to know how things would end for Kenna, Ledger and the rest of the characters.\n\n“Maybe it doesn’t matter whether something is a coincidence or a sign. Maybe the best way to cope with the loss of the people we love is to find them in as many places and things as we possibly can. And in the off chance that the people we lose are still somehow able to hear us, maybe we should never stop talking to them.”\n\nIt takes Kenna a really long time but she does find a way to forgive herself for the mistake she's made. And for her to find some sort of happiness. I enjoyed this part some much and was so happy for her.\n\n“Now that I’ve forgiven myself, the reminders of him only make me smile.”\n\nLedger and Kenna are so good together, I love that Ms. Hoover took the time to let the characters really get to know each other and it wasn’t rushed. They peeled back every layer and got to the heart of everything. Which bound them together even more.\n\nColleen Hoover weaves a story of love, loss and forgiveness that will have you crying and wishing that you could give Kenna a hug. I wanted so much for things to go right for her for. And for someone to give her a chance.\n\nThis is an amazing story, that will bring all your emotions to the forefront and make you cry."}]