Layla by Colleen Hoover

 

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her―until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow―another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

I have read quite a few Colleen Hoover books now but I have to say this one was the most bizarre one I have read of hers and I actually at one point had to relook at the cover to see if it was a Colleen Hoover as it felt a little more like a Freida McFadden!

I am not one who enjoys books that have a supernatural element so I am not going to lie there did get a point in this book that I felt like this book was going to be a DNF for me after being completely thrown by the turn the book took and thinking what on earth am I reading but I persevered and in a way I am glad that I did because it was certainly unpredictable and I did find I became more intrigued by the outcome.

Would I recommend this one? In all honesty I don't know, but all I can say is have an open mind and be ready and open to embrace the supernatural element. Personally it is not my favourite by this author but I also have to say it is unlike anything I have read before and she certainly has an out there imagination to think this storyline up.

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Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

 

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.

I am relatively late to the Colleen Hoover party and I have read some so far that I have loved and some not so much but having just finished Regretting You this is firmly going on the books I loved list.

This book follows a family who are navigating grief after the loss of a Father/Husband and Auntie/Sister and this highlights how differently people deal with grief but also especially for Morgan looks at dealing with grief when secrets are revealed leaving you to deal with grief, heartbreak, trust and the ultimate betrayal. So often when someone passes they are put on a pedestal and people only remember and reminisce on how wonderful the deceased are but there are often more to the person and with both Chris and Jenny they have turned Morgan's life upside down and my heart really went out to this poor lady as her whole life as she knows it is ripped away from under her feet whilst she also has to be there for her daughter Clara who is dealing with the loss in a challenging way.

Clara finds comfort and love in the form of Miller but she is going through the motions of a new romance whilst dealing with the loss of her aunt and dad whilst also batting heads with her mother and having this overwhelming thought of being responsible for their deaths.

I was really taken in by these characters and this touching storyline, it doesn't sugar coat the challenging issues that are faced during grief and I was wishing for both Clara and Morgan to come together and get through this devastating time together and sometimes although you may have all the best intentions of keeping secrets to protect the people you love ultimately truth is always the best outcome.

The romance that builds around our characters felt genuine and honest, I was really routing for a happy wholesome outcome for all of our characters involved. I definitely recommend this book and I can't wait for this one to make it to the big screen because I will definitely be grabbing the popcorn.

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

 

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

I am sure I am one of the last booklovers to pick up It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover and yet although I have seen it everywhere I managed to avoid all spoilers so I went into this one with no expectations other than expecting it to blow my socks off with the amount of praise it has received.

Lily Bloom didn’t have the easiest childhood and we begin to build a picture of her younger years through her diaries. She always dreamed of opening her own flower shop and through hard work and being Brave and Bold she made her dream come true. Life is looking up for Lily and when she hires her first employee who becomes her best friend and through her she didn’t expect to be reunited with someone she met briefly. As she opens her heart too when she meets Ryle, a career focused handsome man but what looks like a perfect relationship on the outside soon begins to feel like history repeating itself on the inside.

This wasn’t the breezy read I was half expecting to find inside this book is packed with hard hitting trauma and what I appreciate the most is the way the author has dealt with tough situations in such a raw, dignified and honest way rather than sugar coating it. It really raises awareness and gives insight into abuse and how your mind jumps through different thought processes from anger to hurt to then forgiveness and self-blame too.

For me the ending of this book is what really stood out for me and one that is praiseworthy, I never expected the book to end the way it did and now knowing there is another book that follows on to this one I am intrigued to see where this storyline heads next.

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

 

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.

I am late to the party and only discovered Colleen Hoover this year when my mum brought me a copy of Verity which I absolutely loved. I have now just finished my second book by this author called All Your Perfects and it was another wonderful read.

This book focuses on infertility and the effect it has on not just the individual but also on a relationship, how men and women deal with the issue in different ways and also shows how the lack of communication can have unnecessary and dramatic effects on a relationship.

Quinn and Graham are both easy characters to love and because we meet them at the same time they meet each other we follow their whirlwind romance from the start and because of the situation that resulted in them meeting in the first place I already was hoping for a happy outcome for them both. The love they both had for each other was exciting and heartwarming, the kind of romance we all crave when looking for our long-term partner.

The author has an effortless flow to her writing and sweeps you away speeding through the pages with ease and before you realise it your already half way through the book in no time. The chapters are short and sharp alternating between Then and Now in their relationship. The first half of the book is lighter and enjoyable and then towards the end of the book things start to get heavier and emotions start running high and I have to confess that I did surprise myself at one point when I had a tear rolling down my face, my heart broke for them and the unfairness of life sometimes.

This is such a raw and honest novel that highlights a very real topic that so many couples are going through in life and so this one will certainly leave a lasting impression on me. I can certainly see why so many people love and rave about Colleen Hoover books because I certainly feel like I have been missing out but at the same time am excited to still be able to make my way through her huge backlist of books if they are all as promising as the two I have read so far.

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Verity by Colleen Hoover

 

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night their family was forever altered.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already-grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her . . .

I can’t believe I am saying this but, this is my first Colleen Hoover novel that I have read! My mum for the first time brought me two books for Christmas and Verity was one of them so I was going into this novel with no expectations but wow I now know this is an author I have been missing out on.

Author Lowen Ashleigh is given the opportunity of a lifetime that could save her from financial ruin, all she has to do is complete the books in the series by author Verity Crawford who is injured after a car crash.

Lowen is invited to the family home to see what she can discover in Verity’s office that may help her to find ideas Verity had for her upcoming novels but when Lowen unexpectedly finds an unpublished autobiography of Verity’s life and the part she has played in the devastation her family has faced will Lowen be able to keep it hidden from husband Jeremy?

I sat down to start reading Verity and I didn’t put this book down once, I was completely enthralled by this storyine and the characters that I couldn’t leave them even for one second. The authors writing skill is an incredible craft because it seemed so effortless and yet there was something happening at every moment keeping me on my toes, eager to find out what else Lowen was going to uncover and how she was going to prove what she has been seeing and sensing in the house too.

This storyline was both thrilling and exciting whilst being completely unpredictable too and one shocking revelation lead to the next and at times it was quite chilling with the goings on in the house ( I don’t want to give any spoilers so that is all I will say on the matter).

The structure of the book worked really well with the chapters of Verity’s book being weaved into our own chapters too so we can see what Lowen is discovering allowing us to form our own opinions alongside her.

If like me you are new to Colleen Hoover this is definitely a book I would recommend you pick up because I now know that I have a lot of catching up to do with her other novels and I am off into town today to grab another one, I am excited to have found another fantastic new author to me.

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