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jenna11's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Toxic relationship
lovelymisanthrope's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book tackles a lot of important issues, and is very dark and possibly triggering for some, so check content warnings! I loved seeing the impact that Fallon and Ben had on each other despite their limited time actually interacting. You can really leave an impact on someone that alters the entire trajectory of their life in a simple moment. I loved seeing Fallon and Ben come into their own and becoming the best versions of themselves so that they could be the best together. They met when they were 18, and they both still had a lot to learn and grow from.
Colleen Hoover just writes the books I want to read, and I love it!
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Death, Suicide, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness
Minor: Pregnancy
izzydelaya's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
wrengrey's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I don't understand why this book is so loved by readers.
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.
“Fucking beautiful,” I whisper.
She smiles and then ducks her head. “I feel stupid.”
“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 and Fallon's relationship is so troubled that I don't know where to begin.
Fallon suffered an accident when she was sixteen that ended her acting career. Her father's house caught fire, and she was inside it. The burns left scars on her body and her face. So she has low self-esteem and is very insecure about her body.
“Because I could tell with that one simple movement that you were really insecure. And I realized—since you obviously had no idea how fucking beautiful you were—that I just might actually have a chance with you. And so I smiled. Because I was hoping if I played my cards right—I might get to find out exactly what kind of panties you were wearing under those jeans.”
But her insecurities disappear the moment that Ben tells her she's beautiful. I have a hard time accepting that a woman's insecurities about her body vanish just because a man says so. It is a bad example for young people to establish that one's confidence is given by the look of a man.
From the moment Ben crosses paths with Fallon, he shows signs of toxic masculinity. He is the one who introduces himself as her boyfriend without her consent. He invades her personal space to "defend" her from her asshole father because he thinks she needs to be saved.
Despite meeting her only hours before, he makes comments about what color underwear Fallon wears. He also wonders if she does or doesn't go commando.
“If you're packing underwear, that means you don't go commando. So by process of elimination, I've figured out that you're currently wearing a thong. Now I just have to find out what color it is”
He dares to tell her how to dress. We have to remember that they just met.
“I'm paying for dinner, so I get to choose what to stare at while we eat.”
Ben asks her to wear a dress that Fallon doesn't feel comfortable in. But, he ignores her refusal and decides to undress her and put on the dress that he wants her to wear. At this point, She is crying and clearly does not feel comfortable with the situation.
“My stomach clenches when his hands meet the top of my jeans. This is going too far. Too far, too far, too far, but all I can do is suck in a wild breath and let his finger pop open the bottom on my jeans, because as much as I wish he would stop.”
This is a huge red flag for me.
After having sex for the first time, Fallon says she feels like she lost something.
“I'm not sure if sex is supposed to make you feel like you've just lost a part of yourself to the person inside you, but that's exactly what I felt like.”
No sexual encounter should feel like this. Never.
Ben is a psychopath, stalker, and manipulator. We later find out that he causes the fire where Fallon suffers her burns. It's hard for me not to think about how sick and twisted this is. He is obsessed with seeing Fallon's scars and enjoys touching and admiring her scars. It's all so twisted that I can't believe Colleen Hoover published this book.
She romantizides suicide. She presents it as an act of kindness and love. Giving that message seems disrespectful. She says that suicide is better than fighting cancer. This message is disrespectful to those who have battled or are still battling cancer. And also to those who have lost someone because of suicide.
“But either way, I'm going to be dead before you turn seventeen. At least this way, it will be quick and easy. You can call 911, they'll take away my body, and it'll be over in less than a few hours. A few hours for me to die and be removed from the house is so much better than the several months it could potentially take for the cancer to do its job.”
In the end, Fallon and psycho Ben end up together, although he was the cause of the fire.
I know that this story is fiction and that this romance is not healthy and should not be considered as an example. But many people can take this story as something normal and healthy when it is not. Authors should be more responsible for how they write this kind of story. They should highlight and condemn misconduct and not romanticize it.
It saddens me to know that an author who has written a book as It ends with us has also written this book.
Graphic: Cancer, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Car accident, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, and Cancer
nk_1's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Violence
brookey8888's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
mary20's review
1.5
Graphic: Gaslighting and Toxic relationship
writtenbydnicole's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
toofondofbooks_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
If you know this book at all, you know that it's about Ben and Fallon, who meet on the same day every year for 5 years while Ben writes a book about it. I wasn't prepared for it to be way more than that.
For that reason...
I'm gonna start off by calling out @colleenhoover directly and letting her know that i'm going to need some $$ for upcoming therapy bills because so far everything that i've read from her has made me feel literally insane and feral.
I loved this book and I hated this book. These characters are both dumb clowns. I love them, but they are, in fact, dumb clowns and they made me want to scream so much of the time. I'm not saying this is a bad thing or a good thing, it's just a thing. I tend to think that if a book can elicit some sort of strong reaction from me, then it's good. So, I suppose I'm counting it as a good thing.
In order for Ben to not immediately start giving me serial killer vibes, I had to picture him as Avan Jogia because *swoon* - anyway though, if you read the book, you know why this ultimately did not work out for me, and why I, in the end, wore the clown nose and shoes.
I thought that the writing was good and engaging; it had dual POVs which I always love. I sometimes feel like something is missing if there isn't a dual POV. I did think that sometimes the language was a little corny for me, but then when I sat back and assessed each character a little more: they are very, very corny people at heart. It is simply a part of the characterization, so I was no longer holding that against them.
So much of this book - particularly the second half, had me crying my eyes out. I was sitting out on the balcony of my apartment openly weeping for Ben and Fallon. Having said this, I do have some critiques of their relationship overall, which I've just discussed with a friend over DM. I won't get into specifics here, but there is toxicity there and some things that personally, if it were me, I'd be outta there. However, that didn't affect my overall enjoyment of the book. If you follow me closely, you know that I sort of love messy dynamics and complicated relationships and even toxic, horrible ones. However, if these things trigger you, I would advise maybe skipping this one.
Colleen, if you are reading this for some reason - first of all, why are you reading this???? and second of all - please know I love your books very much and that my excruciating pain is merely an indication of just how much I love them. Thank you.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy