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love_chloe_c's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.25
Sometimes CoHo books feel like she came up with the characters she wanted to be in love first and wrote the plot around them. That's how this book feels. Don't get me wrong, I really loved and enjoyed it, it's just an observation I feel the need to point out. She uses the word "Roll" WAY too many times. Like WAY too many. And often times, the things that are "rolling" don't even roll?? Like they're just not rolling. Anyway, this is a sweet, heavy novel about a journey of forgiveness, acceptance, and love and learning to move on from the things that have hurt us. It's a sweet story with a lovely conclusion ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Car accident
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Blood
saraavowlerr's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Grief, Sexual content, Alcohol, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
gellyreads's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I wish I the characters were more complex. The idea is interesting, but I just struggled to stay compelled. I only finished this because I was reading this for my students.
The more I think about this book, the more I hate it. It’s slow and boring as fuck. She wrote it to be crying emotional porn for money. I just can’t. (Originally 3 stars, and my rage keeps making me rate it lower).
The more I think about this book, the more I hate it. It’s slow and boring as fuck. She wrote it to be crying emotional porn for money. I just can’t. (Originally 3 stars, and my rage keeps making me rate it lower).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts
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
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
gabriella_'s review against another edition
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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Grief, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction
pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction
violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Cursing, Death, Child death, Grief, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail