1. It Ends With Us

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up — she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business.

So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

My rating: ★★★★★

This was probably the book that broke the internet. It was the book that got the whole world reading again and delving into the world of Colleen Hoover. I really enjoyed It Ends With Us, but firstly, I think this is more young adult fiction than adult fiction and secondly, if you changed the characters in this to members of One Direction, it would just be like reading fanfiction back when I was 13, so I can see why it’s very hyped on TikTok. Definitely one to read if you’re in a slump or want to start reading again.

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2. It Starts With Us

Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil co-parenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.

But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life – and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life. Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off.

My rating: ★★★★★

When I saw this in Stansted Airport when flying to Copenhagen, I had to pick it up because having read It Ends With Us, I was as obsessed as everyone else in the world, so had to know what happened next. I will say that It Starts With Us is much more tame than the first book. We see what happens next for Lily and her love life and ultimately, this book is the closure that we were all looking for to see Lily live her happily ever after with Atlas.

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3. Reminders of Him

After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.

My rating: ★★★★★

I think this may just be my favourite Colleen Hoover novel. I went in quite apprehensively as the blurb was showing a storyline/trope that I had never read before and that I didn’t have very high hopes for. However, the book evokes a lot of questions and discussion, as well as making me think what I would do if I was the main female character, or the love interest, or the family. How would I react if I was in any of their shoes? The story is told incredibly well and is one that I’ll remember for a long time. 

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4. Verity

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started.

What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity’s recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, but as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.

My rating: ★★★★★

Verity is in a completely different realm to the usual Colleen Hoover books I’ve read. I struggled to put this down, reading it in 48 hours. I have to give this book 5-stars as it was excellent. It was also very hard to read at times as the book featured some moments of child abuse, but the creativity of the plot line itself was something I’ve never read before. Chilling, haunting and at times a little scary, I can’t wait to read more thriller-type books from CH.

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5. All Your Perfects

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

My rating: ★★★★

I wouldn’t say this is my favourite Colleen Hoover book. As each chapter alternated between then and now scenarios, going back to the past and then to the present. The scenario where the love interests met was strange to say the least. And the relationship just felt quite toxic throughout. An enjoyable Colleen Hoover novel, but like I said, it definitely wasn’t my favourite. 

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6. November 9

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. Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

My rating: ★★★★

I really liked the concept of this book. However, I will say that once again this felt very fan-fiction/ young adult style of writing. It was extremely cheesy, and at times I did almost gag at some of the lines in the book. But isn’t that classic Wattpad-style writing for you? I mean, the book was incredibly easy to read. And I did read it all in one sitting, so I did ultimately enjoy it.

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7. Slammed

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbour with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humour.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

My rating: ★★★★

I spotted this in our hotel in Koh Phangan, Thailand and since we’d be spending three days here, grabbed it to read. Plus, I hadn’t held a physical book in months so that was partly the reason too. I’ve read quite a few Colleen Hoover books by now but was very excited to discover this was her debut novel. It wasn’t her best work and lacking in characters, but still highly enjoyable.

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8. Ugly Love

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her. Never ask about the past. Don’t expect a future.

My rating: ★★★★

I feel like Colleen Hoover is the Danielle Steele for the younger generation, churning out books as quickly as teens are running to the stores to buy them. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Ugly Love and Colleen Hoover does write very well to make you want to keep reading, it just had me retching at some of the gooey lines which I don’t think I will ever hear uttered in real life (or would want to).

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9. Heart Bones

After a difficult childhood, Beyah Grim is set to escape her past with a full scholarship to Penn State. But when an unexpected death leaves her homeless, she’s forced to spend the summer with her estranged father in Texas. There, she meets Samson, her brooding, wealthy neighbour. Despite their intentions to keep things casual, their intense connection grows, unaware that their lives are about to be upended.

My rating: ★★★

This is Colleen Hoover’s most recent novel. I had seen many five-star reviews for this, so had high hopes. There were so many trigger warnings in this book, which is the main theme across many of Colleen Hoover’s books. I felt like a lot of the trigger themes were unnecessary and because there were so many, made the storyline a little unrealistic. I guessed the plot twist at the end quite early as I think most people would have. Not my favourite Colleen Hoover book.

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10. Too Late

Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.

When undercover DEA agent Carter enters the picture, Sloan’s surprised to feel an immediate attraction between them, despite knowing that if Asa finds out, he will kill him. And Asa has always been a step ahead of everyone in his life, including Sloan. No one has ever gotten in his way. No one except Carter. Together, Sloan and Carter must find a way out before it’s too late… 

My rating: ★★★

I was expecting a dark thriller, similar to Verity but that’s not what I got. Instead, it was the plot to 22 Jump Street. Undercover cops in a college trying to find the source of drug dealings on campus. It felt a little unrealistic and the book was set in the drug dealer’s home for 95% of the book.

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11. Without Merit

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, the once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement. The father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun. And the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit. Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable.

My rating: ★★★

Definitely not my favourite Colleen Hoover book, and at times I found it a little triggering and insensitive. Colleen Hoover seems to write about a lot of trigger-warning subjects and this book was no different. Like some of her other books, I felt like she glamorised some issues that definitely shouldn’t be.

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