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amplawrence's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment
vereadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
1.0
“It took four years for me to fall in love with him. It only took four pages to stop.”
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
sinjinsladle's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Sexual harassment
ayvahb's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, and Medical trauma
comopanini's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent
1tbsofjan's review
This is a huge 0 stars from me. If you believe that women are more than objects to be lusted after, i suggest that you should skip this book. I know i’m only 36 pages in, but the way the main guy character THINKS, and his thought process is a HUGE RED FLAG. The first chapter was all good, i was even smiling from how cute it was when he defended her. But when it switched to his POV….
So when they’re sitting across from each other at the table, he thinks about her boobs. Then in his head, he’s already controlling and manipulating what HE thinks she SHOULD wear.
“But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’ll be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long sleeved shirt”
He describes what he thought of when he first saw her
“I stared at your ass the whole time you were stomping away, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of panties you had on. Thong? Commando? I don’t see an outline”
WTHECK???
Then he starts getting insecure about HIS own looks, so he starts wishing SHE was ugly
“I saw your scars. I was so relieved. Because I could tell that you were insecure.”
UM??? This is literally the start of a manipulative relationship! He prefers her insecure so it’s easier to make himself feel better and to control her?!
The thoughts that were going through Ben’s head were just outright disgusting. I don’t understand how could Colleen write a guy like this and expect us to love him? Sure, you can argue “guys are like that”. Um? Shouldn’t we have a little more self respect and find a guy who isn’t like that? Or at least isn’t PROUD he’s like this?
The other thing I was pissed about is how Fallon just ACCEPTED it and moved on. Like, Yes okay u wanna get in my pants? Let’s do it.
I’ve read more than enough.
So when they’re sitting across from each other at the table, he thinks about her boobs. Then in his head, he’s already controlling and manipulating what HE thinks she SHOULD wear.
“But if we’re just going to sit here and stare at each other, it’ll be nice if she were showing a little cleavage, instead of wearing this long sleeved shirt”
He describes what he thought of when he first saw her
“I stared at your ass the whole time you were stomping away, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of panties you had on. Thong? Commando? I don’t see an outline”
WTHECK???
Then he starts getting insecure about HIS own looks, so he starts wishing SHE was ugly
“I saw your scars. I was so relieved. Because I could tell that you were insecure.”
UM??? This is literally the start of a manipulative relationship! He prefers her insecure so it’s easier to make himself feel better and to control her?!
The thoughts that were going through Ben’s head were just outright disgusting. I don’t understand how could Colleen write a guy like this and expect us to love him? Sure, you can argue “guys are like that”. Um? Shouldn’t we have a little more self respect and find a guy who isn’t like that? Or at least isn’t PROUD he’s like this?
The other thing I was pissed about is how Fallon just ACCEPTED it and moved on. Like, Yes okay u wanna get in my pants? Let’s do it.
I’ve read more than enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual harassment
beaubooks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was definitely the most problematic book by Colleen Hoover I’ve read so far. If you’re not a fan of (internal) misogyny, this isn’t the book for you.
I quite liked the idea of only meeting on a certain day, but it was badly executed. I wish I rewatched the ‘Before Sunrise’ trilogy instead of reading November 9.
I quite liked the idea of only meeting on a certain day, but it was badly executed. I wish I rewatched the ‘Before Sunrise’ trilogy instead of reading November 9.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body shaming and Misogyny
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