Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

nov9 November 9
By: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: Nov. 10, 2015
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:

goodreadsbutton BN Amazon-Button

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

 

 

My thoughts…

I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book that had my emotions so all over the place before. I would be elated one second, balling my eyes out the next, and then smiling and laughing within the next chapter. I was a complete and utter mess while reading this. I am so glad the Mister was away at work when I read this because he probably would have asked me if I was off my rocker with how many outward emotions this book invoked in me.

I LOVE the concept of this. This is honest to God a 307 page novel about 7 days. We watch these two comfort each other, build confidence within one another, love each other with all of their being, have their lives shattered, and then watch them build it back up again. Now, I know what you’re thinking, but trust me, this rollercoaster of events and emotions happen over 7 years, but only on November 9th. These two do not have contact with each other except on that day. Heck, they live across the country from each other 364 days of the year. So, how do they build up this intense connection? Magic! No, no, I’m joking. It’s as simple as “they just click.” They are exactly what the other person needs at that moment and the suspense of waiting a whole year to see that person again and tell them all that you’ve accomplished during your time apart built up a lot of the angst. I mean, it all started when Ben pretended to be Fallon’s fake boyfriend at a diner when he overheard her argument with her father where he pretty much pointed out the scars on her face hindering her looks and ability to get a guy. So, Ben pops over to their table and plays the pretend boyfriend and from there they click. We don’t read about either of their lives both before or during November 9th throughout the passing of years. We literally only read what transpires on that day when they meet up.

Okay so I guess I should explain WHY they meet once a year instead of making the relationship work. Well, Fallon’s mom told her that you haven’t grown into who you are until you’re 23 years old and to hold off on falling in love until you, as a person, are finished growing. Unfortunately for Fallon and Ben, they meet when they are 18 years old. So, Fallon and Ben come up with a plan to meet every year on November 9th  to reconnect and give each other a push in achieving their goals in life. However, in all great stories, nothing is as easy as that and there are a few hiccups along the way that rock the boat and pretty much tear your heart out. Hence, a few crying sessions on my part.

This story isn’t all about crying though. I did mention that I laughed while reading this book, and laugh a lot I did. Ben is just so carefree and open that sometimes the things he said had me grinning like the Cheshire cat or outwardly laughing at the absurdity of it all. My book was full of little scraps of paper to bookmark spots in the book that I found funny, incredibly romantic, or just deep. Let’s just say I ripped through half a cover flap from Netflix while reading this book. That’s a lot of little scraps of paper. Just about every other page has a piece of paper in it. Which is why the “favorites” part of this post is a bit long with quotes. 😉

November 9 was so… so… jeez, I can’t even think of a word to explain it. It literally held onto me from the first sentence, “I wonder what kind of sound it would make if I were to smash this glass against the side of his head,” all the way to the very last word. I was just expecting some cutesy read about a physically and emotionally scarred girl, meeting a cute guy on November 9th and them meeting once a year to build their story of love and quite possibly loss, but I was not expecting this. This was so much more that I could have imagined, dreamed, and hoped for. I kind of want to reread it all over again RIGHT NOW! I just… I feel like I have been sucked in and spit out of this alternate universe and I just don’t know how to go about my day without them [Fallon and Ben] in my life. Ugh, book hangovers suck!

 

Favorite quotes…

“Fallon, we’ve been dating for two hours now. I can read you like a book, and right now I do believe that book is full of erotica.” -Ben

“I barely know you, so I’m not about to argue with you over your level of intelligence, because you could very well be as dumb as a rock. But at least you’re pretty.” -Ben

“Guys don’t say no to a girl like her, no matter how unappealing relationships are to him. Guys see boobs coupled with a great sense of humor and they think they’ve found the holy fucking grail.” -Ben

“I enjoy reading books like that because it’s not at all the life I lead. It’s completely different than any situation I’ll ever be in, thank God. But I get entertainment out of it. Because as much as I like to read about a guy telling a girl she’s so, so wet for him… if anyone ever said that to me during sex, I wouldn’t be turned on by it. I would be terrified I accidentally peed on myself.” -Fallon

 

4 Thoughts on “Review: November 9 by Colleen Hoover

  1. Awesome review!!! I’m glad to see you loved this book, too!

  2. I think this one would mess with my emotions a lot @_@ I still want it though hahaha

  3. Great review! I really loved this one, too. I loved Ben and Fallon so much and there were so many parts that just broke my heart.

  4. This sounds like an emotional read. I only have read one book by this author so far, Hopeless, but I really enjoyed that one. I really should check out some of her other books as they all sound good. It sounds interesting how this book takes place over 7 years but only 7 days of that. You make me curious about this one!

Leave a Reply to Brandie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Post Navigation