09 November 2022

This book follows Fallon and Ben as they meet on the day Fallon is moving to the other side of the country. They meet and instantly feel a connection and agree to see each other every year on the same day. You follow their story for seven years, every November 9 different from the last.

I hate to say it but this book did not grab my attention as all the others did. I mean I knew it would eventually happen as Colleen Hoover herself has said she writes very different styles and genres for every book. So it is understandable that I have found a format that I do not love. It is normal and I still have every intention of reading many more Colleen Hoover books in the future.

Okay, so let’s talk about the reason this book was not my favourite. The characters. My gosh, they were bad. You can give a terrible plot and subplot, but as long as you have good relatable characters that grow over time, I will love it.  However, the characters in this book were the worst. This is not the first time Colleen Hoover has had me disliking main characters for example Verity from Verity and Leeds from Layla. However, the difference between them is that you are supposed to dislike Verity and Leeds but Ben and Fallon you are meant to care about and feel for them.

Benton James Kessler. When I first read that I 100% read that as Ben Ten. I thought it was hilarious. Ben just made me super uncomfortable. I just got grossed out every time he said anything to Fallon. For example, the two are planning to go out to dinner and Ben chooses what Fallon is going to wear. When she says she does not want to and it makes her uncomfortable he says “I’m paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.” GROSS! And there are multiple scenes where Ben crosses Fallon’s boundaries. I found his obsession with Fallon’s scars to be super uncomfortable as well and it is worst when you get that last plot twist.

Fallon needed a backbone. There were times when I wanted to hug her but then she does something stupid again and I just want to strangle her. I think the whole redemption arc for her father was so unnecessary. Also, her just chilling on her moving day was weirdly hilarious to me because I just knew that if it was me I would be running up and down with like a thousand things that need to get done.

I loved the overall message behind Fallon’s character, the positivity that she learns and even though there are times you want to yell at her (especially when it comes to her choice in love interests) you cannot help but root for her and hope she gets her happy ending.

I loved following both of their careers and I think that was my favourite part of the book. Watching Fallon try to make it on Broadway and Ben write his novel.

Overall I would recommend you give it a try as we all have differing opinions and you might just love it as many other people have.