Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

35 reviews

ranyaakguen's review against another edition

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challenging fast-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? It's complicated

1.0

i never hated something more than this book. everything could've been avoided if the men in this book ceased to exist. this will be my last colleen hoover book.

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capybooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Characters like this are what makes people believe they can treat women however they want and get away with it. 

I started off really enjoying this book. I liked the concept, the romance and the chemistry the characters have together. 

I hate how it is written to make it sound like anyone with scars/disabilities should be embarrassed about it. I hated the assault scene and how it was just brushed under the carpet. I hated the
“I have never wanted to pin a girl to the floor before now” comment.
I hated the ending and how she forgave him for doing something so unforgivable. Fuck this book.

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meluhnie's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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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starbrightreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

1.0

this book discusses sexual assault and i wouldn't recommend 

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meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-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

1.5

Okay I'm going to try to keep my review as spoiler free as I can because the reason why my review is as low as it is, is due how the book ended & the last section of the book. Going in, and as I was reading I knew it wasn't going to be a five star read (or 10/10), but this book was really hyped up so I wanted to read it through it's entirety. The concept of the book was intriguing. And as I was reading I found myself gaining interest but I honestly wanted to stop at the beginning due to how much I dislike the male main character/love interest. The behavior that he displayed throughout the book made me feel uneasy and the ending didn't make it better. Honestly the ending made me so upset and I've never been this upset over a book before. Probably one of the few things I actually enjoyed was the commentary that Colleen's includes throughout the first couple sections of book bout romance novels. Overall I honestly did not like this book which sucks because It Ends With Us is one of my all the time favorites. I'm about to go read Verity after this and hope it gives Ms. Hoover redemption because November 9 was not it AT ALL. 

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maddiie046's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes
what the fuck 

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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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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.
 


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mae555's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

2.0

i really liked this book when i first read it 8 months ago but it’s been brought to my attention that ben SA’s fallon like multiple times, and i dont like this book anymore

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wandering_heart_reads's review against another edition

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

2.0


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bella_47's review against another edition

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challenging sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I HATED THIS BOOK OMFG 

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