From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

There is one thing I can always count on with Colleen Hoover's writing and that's consistency.  Every book she's written, and I've read them all, has a unique storyline.   We as lovers of books have read many different romance novels.  Some good, some bad, many of them are unique and different.  Every now and then you stumble upon an author that you just click with.  Whether it's their writing style or the ideas they come up with.  Something appeals to you and you know that you'll always buy a b

There is one thing I can always count on with Colleen Hoover's writing and that's consistency.  Every book she's written, and I've read them all, has a unique storyline.   We as lovers of books have read many different romance novels.  Some good, some bad, many of them are unique and different.  Every now and then you stumble upon an author that you just click with.  Whether it's their writing style or the ideas they come up with.  Something appeals to you and you know that you'll always buy a book from that author.  Even if it's not perfect.  And let's face it, some of the best books out there aren't written well.

What I've seen with Colleen Hoover is that her books are a part of her.  In other words, her personality shows in her stories.  If you follow her on social media you know she's honest, genuine, silly, quirky, gracious, funny, and humble.  I know that she believes in paying it forward.  If you read a Colleen Hoover story, you'll see all of that incorporated in her writing, her characters, and her plots.  She takes a story plain as it may be and she manipulates it in such a way, leaving readers in these big puddles of emotional goo.  Her stories aren't necessarily heavy on the descriptive.  They aren't what some might even consider deep.  Although I think that should be left up to the reader to decide.  What she does is bring her unique perspective of real life and maybe even real people, into a fictional world of make believe where people can do and say anything Ms. Hoover wants.  Whatever that magic mojo is I hope she never runs out.  I'm always down for her brand of storytelling.  I love the way she sees love.  Be it people, places, books, art, music, whatever it may be; she takes her love for those things and in return gives us these little gifts of her love in the form of books.

November 9 left me reeling.  I was surprised by how emotional I became as the story went on.  Not teary emotional, more like an array of emotions.  I actually found myself coming to terms with an outcome I didn't want.  I found my place where I could be happy for these characters no matter the ending.  It was hard.  As a lover of romance what I want is often overridden by what the author wants.  It's most definitely overridden by what a character wants.  You get into a story and you think you know how it's going to play out so you ride that emotional high the author sets up so perfectly for you.  But when you start to see a shift, you feel that burn of disappointment right along with the characters and you try so hard to justify why it's just wrong for them.  Even when you know the author is right.  She's right.  This IS their path.  Not the one I want or the one you want.  UGH that's really hard to come to terms with.  I had to stop reading at one point.  I had to really look at what was happening on the those pages without Ms. Hoover's words to guide me.  I had to find MY happy place because I had no clue what was in store.

“I want you to read it for yourself. Because when you love someone, you owe it to them to help them be the best version of themselves that they can be. And as much as it crushes me to admit this, the best version of you doesn't include me.”

I truly loved what Ms. Hoover did with Ben's character.  I loved the play on romance trope's and teasing of all things that us readers complain about.  Whether it's insta-love or alpha males, we all have pet peeves and we love to complain just as much as some authors like to exploit them.  But it all absolutely works in November 9, be it the jokes or the sincerity of story, it made me love what was happening on the pages that much more.  I lost myself in what was real and what was fiction.

"I debate running after her--giving her a book-worthy performance.  I could chase down the cab and when it comes to a stop, I could pull open her door and whisk her into my arms and tell her I'm in love with her almost immediately after I started, because it was a straight plummet from the top to the bottom.  A whoosh.  An instant.  Insta-love."

Not one time did I get angry with Fallon for her actions.  Not one time did I get angry at Ben for his actions.  I allowed myself to accept them both.  I think part of that may be because of complexity of their relationship.  Essentially strangers and yet not, it's hard to have an opinion when you have so little background to work with.  The reader is left with no choice but to follow the characters lead, allowing the story to develop.  Again it's hard for us, mainly me, to let go of my preconceived notions of what a romance is or should be.  What I want is front and center and I expect the characters to comply.  November 9 doesn't work that way.  But you know what?  I LOVED IT ANYWAY!  I loved that it veered off my predictable course.

I want to be surprised.  Shock me, knock me off my sofa, give me unique and different any day, which is precisely what November 9 is.

"It took four years for me to finally fall completely in love with him.  It only took four pages to stop."

After drying my tears and my shirt I realized that Ben and Fallon's story is definitely one for a repeat performance and I rarely re-read a book.  I gobbled this story up so fast that I want to savor it my next time around.  Pick up November 9 by Colleen Hoover, you won't be disappointed.

"I love you, Fallon.  More than poetry, more than words, more than music, more than your boobs.  Both of them.  Do you have any idea how much that amounts to?"

 *A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*