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sharlapeggy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-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
Kenna was a character I didn’t understand at first but then it all made sense.
Ledger was a book boyfriend I didn’t realise I needed. He is different to the other book boyfriends - he’s thoughtful, kind, but also has his darkness.
Scotty - no words.
What I liked:
- characters of Kenna and Ledger in particular
- the letters throughout the book
- the ending and introduction of Diem
- the jungle gym
- Lady Diana
- Ivy the cat
- lack of miscommunication trope which so could have been in there easily
What I disliked:
- not a whole lot!
- not a lot of Roman, I liked his character and wish we’d seen more
- calling the baby Scotty… felt this was a bit cliche but I understood why it was done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
emmi_louise's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I skipped a couple of chapters due to the explicit sexual content, but overall this book genuinely made me feel the deep pain which Kenna felt and I definitely teared up at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
juliamb's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
micaelamariem's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
2.5
I was a little nervous to read this because last summer I read Maybe Someday and hated it but thought this time could be different. Every author deserves more than one chance.
This time was...slightly better.
Reminders of Him is about Kenna, a young woman who made a tragic mistake that landed her in prison and caused her to lose everything she loved--including custody of the life she didn't even realize she was carrying. This is the story of after her prison release, how she found her way back to loved ones in her search for redemption and a way to forgive herself.
And look, put like that, it sounds good. But Kenna's tragic mistake--and this isn't really a spoiler as it's mentioned in the first chapter--involved drunk driving. And while I can empathize with some of her situation, and wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be a better system in place that helps rehabilitated convicts enter into a more accepting world, I still find it hard to agree the stupid decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. There's not really any excuse for that and I can understand why people hated her in the aftermath.
Another thing that disappointed me was how quickly people's opinions and moods changed. Realistically, acceptance and forgiveness is more of a slow burn thing, but this happened way too quickly, without a middle it felt like.
All this negative stuff really affected my enjoyment of the reading. However, I can admit the writing style has really improved since Maybe Someday. And I actually did like Ledger, though he seemed a bit too perfect for a character, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't have minded seeing more flaws in him. But the romance was good, and I mostly enjoyed that aspect.
In the end, I think the book could've been improved with more of a slow burn to forgiveness--even if that meant the book had to be longer. It would've also given me more time to come to terms with the mistake Kenna made.
That being said, this is a highly rated book and I know I'm in an unpopular opinion here. I would rate the book between 2.5 stars to 3 stars, and probably wouldn't recommend it, but that doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't like it!
This time was...slightly better.
Reminders of Him is about Kenna, a young woman who made a tragic mistake that landed her in prison and caused her to lose everything she loved--including custody of the life she didn't even realize she was carrying. This is the story of after her prison release, how she found her way back to loved ones in her search for redemption and a way to forgive herself.
And look, put like that, it sounds good. But Kenna's tragic mistake--and this isn't really a spoiler as it's mentioned in the first chapter--involved drunk driving. And while I can empathize with some of her situation, and wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be a better system in place that helps rehabilitated convicts enter into a more accepting world, I still find it hard to agree the stupid decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated. There's not really any excuse for that and I can understand why people hated her in the aftermath.
Another thing that disappointed me was how quickly people's opinions and moods changed. Realistically, acceptance and forgiveness is more of a slow burn thing, but this happened way too quickly, without a middle it felt like.
All this negative stuff really affected my enjoyment of the reading. However, I can admit the writing style has really improved since Maybe Someday. And I actually did like Ledger, though he seemed a bit too perfect for a character, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't have minded seeing more flaws in him. But the romance was good, and I mostly enjoyed that aspect.
In the end, I think the book could've been improved with more of a slow burn to forgiveness--even if that meant the book had to be longer. It would've also given me more time to come to terms with the mistake Kenna made.
That being said, this is a highly rated book and I know I'm in an unpopular opinion here. I would rate the book between 2.5 stars to 3 stars, and probably wouldn't recommend it, but that doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't like it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
shontae16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
abbyycadabbyy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I enjoyed this book and didn't at the same time. I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I feel like colleen has a tendency to make all her characters like characters you don't want to root for.
I loved Kenna, I thought she was such a good character with a lot of depth and an interesting story to tell. She was everything I wish my own mother was. She cares so much about getting her daughter back. It made me so upset how she wasn't able to see her daughter, everyone took her at her worse moment in life and judged her for it.
I thought the romance was a little weird... Like I felt like I wasn't really rooting for them. Obviously, the fact that Ledger hated Kenna but didn't really know her was realistic. I don't believe in love at first sight. Personally, I felt like the romance was rushed and all came too fast for a sensitive topic like this.
Ledger made me mad, but I also couldn't hate him. He took care of Deim when Kenna couldn't, that made me like him. I felt like other than the fact he was taking care of Deim he was pretty self-absorbed. I felt like he had no idea what he wanted, and he was way to confused the whole book. I don't know I hated him and loved him at the same time.
I have mixed feelings about the accident. I liked how it went into detail about the accident. I hate when book promote, or really even talk about driving under the influence. It shines a light on driving under the influence, a light that by no means should be shined. We can all sit here and say what we would have done differently, but we will never truly know unless it is us. I felt like the accident was just how I expected it to go which was good for this book.
Like the rest of the book, I had mixed feelings about the ending.We all knew they were going to get together but like naming your kid after your death best friend/ ex-boyfriend is a little weird....
I loved Kenna, I thought she was such a good character with a lot of depth and an interesting story to tell. She was everything I wish my own mother was. She cares so much about getting her daughter back. It made me so upset how she wasn't able to see her daughter, everyone took her at her worse moment in life and judged her for it.
I thought the romance was a little weird... Like I felt like I wasn't really rooting for them. Obviously, the fact that Ledger hated Kenna but didn't really know her was realistic. I don't believe in love at first sight. Personally, I felt like the romance was rushed and all came too fast for a sensitive topic like this.
Ledger made me mad, but I also couldn't hate him. He took care of Deim when Kenna couldn't, that made me like him. I felt like other than the fact he was taking care of Deim he was pretty self-absorbed. I felt like he had no idea what he wanted, and he was way to confused the whole book. I don't know I hated him and loved him at the same time.
I have mixed feelings about the accident. I liked how it went into detail about the accident. I hate when book promote, or really even talk about driving under the influence. It shines a light on driving under the influence, a light that by no means should be shined. We can all sit here and say what we would have done differently, but we will never truly know unless it is us. I felt like the accident was just how I expected it to go which was good for this book.
Like the rest of the book, I had mixed feelings about the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pregnancy
maryreadstoomuch27's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Minor: Suicide attempt
nevs_library12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death
carsonmkayle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Possible trigger warnings for this book : suicidal thoughts, detailed scenes of a car accident, grief of losing a loved one, child neglect, parent incarceration.
This book was so sad at several points but honestly such a good read. I want to start by saying I went through a million and one emotions during this book and that’s how I know Colleen Hoover’s writing is phenomenal! I began this book hating Kenna. And I was so angry at her but I wanted to like her. As the book went on, I realized that Kenna was actually such an incredible character. She was so mature in so many ways. And I am ended the book loving her and was so happy she got a happy ending. Ledger was amazing and perfect for Kenna. I loved him. I am also so happy she was allowed in Diem’s life in the end. Diem deserves a mother who loves her and only wants the best for her in her life. And after everything she’s been through, Kenna deserves to be able to spend time with her daughter. The amount of character development in this book was crazy. I loved every single character of this book, including the small ones. I feel like nothing I say could do this book enough justice. If you had any doubt about reading Reminders of Him and are reading this review (even though I gave spoilers) READ it! Ps. Is that a fucking pigeon?!
This book was so sad at several points but honestly such a good read. I want to start by saying I went through a million and one emotions during this book and that’s how I know Colleen Hoover’s writing is phenomenal! I began this book hating Kenna. And I was so angry at her but I wanted to like her. As the book went on, I realized that Kenna was actually such an incredible character. She was so mature in so many ways. And I am ended the book loving her and was so happy she got a happy ending. Ledger was amazing and perfect for Kenna. I loved him. I am also so happy she was allowed in Diem’s life in the end. Diem deserves a mother who loves her and only wants the best for her in her life. And after everything she’s been through, Kenna deserves to be able to spend time with her daughter. The amount of character development in this book was crazy. I loved every single character of this book, including the small ones. I feel like nothing I say could do this book enough justice. If you had any doubt about reading Reminders of Him and are reading this review (even though I gave spoilers) READ it! Ps. Is that a fucking pigeon?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail