Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - November 9

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

I think Ben might be my least favorite male lead of all time, and that's hard to top considering the amount of disappointing men there are in literature. He is constantly fetishizing and sexualizing Fallon, even when it makes her uncomfortable! He makes her feel like shit, but it's ok because he's the male lead? I got the ending spoiled for me and just by knowing that, all of Ben's actions are made to be much worse than what I initially thought.

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lusheeta_toel's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

An interesting concept, and I read through it relatively fast so it was something I enjoyed in a way. But the relationship dynamic was a bit disturbing- it felt like it romanticized and normalized behaviors and dynamics that shouldn't be. The twists and turns shocked me..

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kendradodd's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

UPDATE- NOVEMBER 8, 2023: one time when i was in third grade, i was mad at my “friend” on her birthday (her fault - she told people not to pick me for kickball cuz it would be funny to see me get upset) so i purposefully wrote the next day’s date on all my papers and made a point of her seeing it so she could tell that as far as i was concerned, her birthday (and existence) had not occurred. and then she quite literally groveled (as in on the floor) for my forgiveness. i expect the same thing to happen tomorrow, because in my world, it will be november 10. colleen, i’ll accept your apology in the form of cash, check, or venmo.

—

I pride myself on my intellect. I think I come off as a person of above-average intelligence. When I speak, I like to believe that other people notice that I’ve got something more substantial inside my skull than just hot air. In the midst of a sea of other things about myself that I dislike, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been able to count on being passably smart.

I think that last remaining vestige of pride I had died today. Because not only am I a person who has willingly read A Colleen Hoover book, singular, I am a person who has read THREE. And, no, I am not currently a prisoner of war, so we can cross torture off the list of possible explanations. Verity was bad. It Ends With Us was worse (in spite of that cute little exploitative end-note). But, in a way, my other two reading experiences weren’t wholly awful. At least they were kind of funny in how terrible they were.

There is quite literally nothing funny about November 9, and I am indubitably a stupider person for having read it. Every time I opened the book, I could feel the synapses in my brain dying. I could hear the tinny voices of my dying neurons, collectively begging me to spare them the agony. I wish I had heeded the warning that nothing is worth the decline in IQ that comes from each subsequent consumption of the nonsensical waste yielded from the wad of gum that takes up the space between Colleen Hoover’s ears.

November 9 is about two of the most god-awful human beings that have ever been cast into fiction. And thank you, to whichever deity is out there, for only allowing Fallon and Ben (short for BENTON, which is almost as bad of a name as RYLE. What is with this woman and non-names???) to exist as fictional characters. I’m not sure the world could handle two walking, talking torture devices. Think of Ben as the human equivalent of the Iron Maiden and Fallon as the personification of being drawn and quartered. Because that’s what reading this book feels like. Having your limbs torn mercilessly from their sockets. It’s just about as painful. These are two of the most perpetually annoying characters in literary history and both of them are in serious need of some intense and prolonged psychiatric intervention. Fallon (more like FELON - thanks to Danny for this one) is an egregious, self-righteous, melodramatic pain in the ass who, in real life, would be impossible to stomach through a conversation with, and Ben (more like PEN(itentiary)) is a criminal. Full stop. Like, literally.

Spoiler

And let’s just get this straight: Ben loves Fallon and her scars so much because they’re evidence that he’s only guilty of arson, and not also of manslaughter. Fallon’s survival, in his mind, absolves him of his guilt. It doesn’t matter that he set the fire that permanently disfigured her. He didn’t MEAN for her to get hurt. And she lived. So, what’s the big deal? (Read: sarcasm.)

And let’s give a hand to the author and her craft. Colleen Hoover might be the least talented writer on the planet, which is pretty impressive considering how many terrible writers there are out there. But I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve read traffic signs with more finesse than anything she’s ever written. The entire book is just absolutely riddled with the most mind-numbing, soul-sucking cliches. Seriously, I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to write prose that is simultaneously the driest, most boring, uncreative drivel AND the most pretentious, pseudo-intellectual bullshit. When you put it all together, it averages out to writing that’s roughly the equivalent of a damp towel. Too soppy to be useful but too dry to wring anything out. The superficiality is painful. Anyway, what’s the opposite of a Nobel Peace Prize? Serious question. Because I think we should nominate Colleen Hoover for it. The Nuremberg Award? Best Breakage of the Geneva Convention? Outstanding Crimes Against Humanity? Whatever it is, she’s a shoo-in.

In conclusion: I think I need a lobotomy now. And if anyone ever catches me reading another Colleen Hoover book, I want you to find me and kidnap me on the spot, because the ONLY reason I can think of that I would ever put myself through this again is that I’ve been brainwashed by a cult and need deprogramming.

I’m kind of impressed at Colleen, honestly, because no book has ever made me feel such deep, unbridled rage at how genuinely fucking awful it is.
Like, forreal, this me:
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livslibraryy's review

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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elizabethc3's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Honestly kinda a messed up book. It gives a false reality to women about how to be treated by men. Basically if a man treats you like Ben treated Fallon on the first date, RUN

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smileydmd's review

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I was done with this book at about page 25. It never got better and I was thoroughly frustrated by the end. Thank goodness I borrowed this from the library and didn't spend any of my own money on it.

I wanted to give this book the benefit of the doubt and read it for myself, but I had a feeling going into it that I wasn't going to like this after reading other reviews, and after reading the book for myself, boy was I correct.

I had many issues with this book, most of which have been outlined in a detailed review by Whitney Atkinson. A lot of it is Ben's behavior, which is not acceptable in any way, shape, or form.

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chaotically_katie's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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marisa_egg's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

The .25 is because Fallon is amazing. Ben is the worst thing to every exist

The sexual assault scene in the bar made me hate him, this book, and made it nearly impossible to finish. She says no several times to him and he keeps going. They then just brush past this?? What the hell! Genuinely fucked up that Colleen Hoover doesn’t address how he assaulted her and just plays it off as she loves him back so it’s fine. Great book if you want to cry over how genuinely fucked up the things he does are. She has no confidence and forgives him/takes the blame for things in the end… what in the manipulative hell?!?

Horrible book overall.

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