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becksreadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Stalking
abbiejolene's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Didn’t love, but didn’t hate this one. Without giving any spoilers, this book had very problematic themes surrounding abuse, captivity, and manipulation, but these themes can be reasoned away given the… lifestyle?… personality?… experiences?… of one of the characters. Not my usual read, but definitely interesting!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Torture
anna_mayes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Layla by Colleen Hoover
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Perhaps what we desire can sometimes be so strong it overpowers our fate.”
There is a LOT of hype around Layla and I didn’t get it at first, but now I do. As far as the love story is concerned, I didn’t like it. I mean I liked the first bit of it, but there was a lot of gaslighting. The way Leeds treats Layla after the shooting is so unhealthy. Manipulating her in the name of love? Disgusting. Also, I wish that I had more of Willow and Layla’s perspectives. Leeds isn’t written as a villain at all which really bothers me. I think Colleen Hoover was trying to make us sympathetic to him, but I hated him. I actually kept reading because I needed to know if Layla/Willow would be okay despite all of his nonsense. There were parts that were very hard to read, but I really couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what was happening next.
I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys a ghost story.
CW: Murder, Drug Use, Drinking, Mental Illness, Gaslighting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
readandsip's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.25
✨ ROMANCE BUT MAKE IT SPOOKY ✨
Ok, anyone who’s said @colleenhoover’s #layla must be read during spooky season is correct. This was a perfect read for me this month - mixing romance, mystery and a little bit of ghosts.
•
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
Review: This is my 3rd #coho book and it was paced just as perfectly as the rest. I found I wasn’t able to put this down - and when I did I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Much like how I felt reading Verity!
*very very light spoilers ahead, they won’t impact your reading of this story but stop here if you’d prefer to go in with no info!*
What starts as a love story between Layla and Leeds is interrupted by tragedy. This book follows as they find their way back to each other and the ending got me good.
There were a few times where I really disliked Leeds and felt like he was gaslighting his girlfriend who was understandably anxious and suffering PTSD from almost being murdered. And then when he starts prioritizing and falling for someone else while on a trip he planned to rekindle their connection I was so confused, then got to fuming at one point that’s somewhat problematic (IYKYK). The nerve!
But I’m glad I kept my hopes up for the love story to make it’s way back and loved the ending.
TW: gun violence, eating disorder, mentions of suicide
#readandsiprecommends: If you’re looking for romance with a splash of mystery and eeriness this is for you. Verity is still my #1 and if you want something that’s more of a thriller go for that one
Ok, anyone who’s said @colleenhoover’s #layla must be read during spooky season is correct. This was a perfect read for me this month - mixing romance, mystery and a little bit of ghosts.
•
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
Review: This is my 3rd #coho book and it was paced just as perfectly as the rest. I found I wasn’t able to put this down - and when I did I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Much like how I felt reading Verity!
*very very light spoilers ahead, they won’t impact your reading of this story but stop here if you’d prefer to go in with no info!*
What starts as a love story between Layla and Leeds is interrupted by tragedy. This book follows as they find their way back to each other and the ending got me good.
There were a few times where I really disliked Leeds and felt like he was gaslighting his girlfriend who was understandably anxious and suffering PTSD from almost being murdered. And then when he starts prioritizing and falling for someone else while on a trip he planned to rekindle their connection I was so confused, then got to fuming at one point that’s somewhat problematic (IYKYK). The nerve!
But I’m glad I kept my hopes up for the love story to make it’s way back and loved the ending.
TW: gun violence, eating disorder, mentions of suicide
#readandsiprecommends: If you’re looking for romance with a splash of mystery and eeriness this is for you. Verity is still my #1 and if you want something that’s more of a thriller go for that one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence
theoneanaisreading's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
cbbyles07's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting
Minor: Blood, Body horror, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
toofondofbooks_'s review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
I'm gonna need at least 200 more of these thriller/supernatural books from Colleen Hoover, because this knocked me on my ass almost as much as Verity. I didn't even know what this book was half the time, but I knew that it was really hard to detach myself from my kindle because I just wanted to know what happened and what it was all leading up to. It didn't disappoint me, I'm happy to report. However, I wanted to push the main character, Leeds, off of the nearest cliff. Have I ever hated a male protagonist more? I don't think so. I feel like that was almost the goal of the narrative, though. If it was, congrats Ms. Hoover, you win at writing insufferable men 😂 i don't even know what to do with myself after this one. I already cried, now what?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Eating disorder, and Body horror
Moderate: Drug use, Stalking, and Self harm
bethanyearle's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Confinement
Moderate: Gaslighting and Eating disorder
aflseniors09's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I went into this book blindly aka I didn't read the summary of what it was about. I did this because I'd heard so many good things about the author. I can now say even if I had read the summary, this book wouldn't have went where I thought it would.
To my understanding this isn't the type of book Colleen usually writes, but was an attempt at something new. Something new it definitely was, but it also left a bad first impression on me.
This book centers around a lot of abuse, murder, and triggering topics, so it definitely needs a heavy TW.
I'm all for reading books with heavy topics, but I just don't think this one was really necessary.
Essentially the entire book is trying to justify Leeds' actions and convince you he's ~not a bad guy~, but even with the twist that aims at justifying his actions, he's still really shitty and it doesn't make any of it okay.
To my understanding this isn't the type of book Colleen usually writes, but was an attempt at something new. Something new it definitely was, but it also left a bad first impression on me.
This book centers around a lot of abuse, murder, and triggering topics, so it definitely needs a heavy TW.
I'm all for reading books with heavy topics, but I just don't think this one was really necessary.
Essentially the entire book is trying to justify Leeds' actions and convince you he's ~not a bad guy~, but even with the twist that aims at justifying his actions, he's still really shitty and it doesn't make any of it okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Torture, Violence, Mental illness, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Death
Moderate: Sexual content
lovelynovellas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Death, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Slavery