Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

24 reviews

daydaybookbay's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I rated this book an 7.5 out of 10. This emotional story hits close to home in multiple ways. It's easy to put yourself into each character's shoes and understand their individual point of views. I feel the story would've been more enjoyable without the romance. 

This was a quick read for me, and I have some mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the story of Kenna and her journey to get her daughter back. She had everything going against her, but she knew that her daughter was the entire world and wanted to be a positive addition to her life. I wish the focus of the book was more on Kenna than anything else. 

I felt there were additions to the story that I couldn't care less about. The shmexy scenes were toned down slightly, but I could've done without them in general. I didn't want a relationship. I also felt this was a typical romcom... nothing new. It accomplished the goal of getting people emotional, but the story is the same.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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5.0

 Finished reading: November 30th 2023


"Grudges are heavy, but for the people hurting the most, I suppose forgiveness is even heavier."

It's no secret that I have a love/hate relationship with her books, but when I do enjoy a story I end up giving it a very high rating most of the time. This story is without doubt one of them. Colleen Hoover is the queen of writing flawed and realistic characters in impossible situations, and this is exactly what Reminders Of Him offers. I was hooked as soon as I read the first chapter, and I couldn't stop turning those pages. The dilemma in this story is such a difficult one; you can understand both sides of the story, and finding a solution that will make everyone happy seems impossible. I enjoyed watching the bond between Kenna and Ledger grow, and the character development is spot on. The forbidden love trope is also very well done! I could also really appreciate what Kenna's letters to Scotty added to the plot; it gave the story more dept without slowing down the pace itself. It was so easy to become fully invested in the outcome of this story, and boy did Colleen Hoover toy with my emotions during the journey! I hardly ever cry while reading a book, but I couldn't keep it dry this time. Make sure to have tissues at hand, because it's a true tearjerker indeed. I confess that I did skim over the sexy scenes, which were too much for me, but I loved the rest of the story too much to be truly bothered by them. I guess that's another CoHo book to be added to my list of all time favorites! 

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brandie_abbie19's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • 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

5.0


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y3llow_umbr3lla's review

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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alyssaa04's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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juliamb's review

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emotional sad 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

2.75


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gabriella_'s review against another edition

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sad medium-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

1.75

I don’t know what this author’s obsession is with male saviors but it’s in all her books somehow. Every character reads like they have the same voice: the author’s voice. It’s like Colleen is talking to herself in the mirror for the majority of the book. Characters trauma-dump for exposition instead of letting the story or dialogues progress organically. It’s got all the nuance of a tweet and the depth of a kiddie pool. 

Naming background characters and identifying their race won’t give you diversity points, especially not when you just use them as plot devices to fuel the protagonist thinking he’s a “good person” and “decent human” solely for being around POC. Reducing them to just characters who make your white cast look better isn’t diversity, it’s optics

Having a character with alcohol-related PTSD say she wants to “order alcohol specifically to walk away from it” out of a sense of control, and to have an alcoholic character respect that decision is tone-deaf. It accessorizes addiction and trauma, making mental illness an aesthetic that is pick-me at best and inherently exploitative at worst.  

The fact that this book is her “least problematic” and the male lead is just cardboard but
he kisses her without consent when he first meets her
isn’t really a good look. This isn’t a story about grief, this is a love story with a struggle for child custody, the grief is just a decorative ornament for an uninspired “forbidden romance”, skip this read lmao

There were only two quotes that felt like it had heart in the entire book and one is an OOC tiktok sound that feels jarring in context considering how insignificant the mourning felt throughout the book until it was narratively relevant to talk about it. 

And despite how problematic it is - the race baiting, male savior complex, turning addiction into an aesthetic - its worst crime is it’s just plain boring.

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kat1105's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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

5.0


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rose_1191's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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

5.0


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rachelizx's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • 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

5.0


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