Book Review – November 9

November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Narrator: Angela Goethals, Zachary Webber
Published by Simon and Schuster on November 10th 2015
Length: 9 hours 46 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.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?

Julie’s Review:

If you want to read a book that will destroy you from the inside out, read November 9. 

But really, there was so much right and oh so much wrong with this book.

I LOVED the banter. I loved the dialogue – COHO is the best with dialogue! I loved that the book is a book within a book. I loved that the characters talked so much about book boyfriends and rating kisses, and instalove, and audiobook narrations! I thoroughly enjoyed them laughing at themselves for their instalove.

I loved that they were both supporting each other and pulling themselves and each other out of their insecurities to pursue their dreams.

The book though got dark and ugly and awful and just WTF-y. Like seriously, by the end I wanted to punch them both in the face. Hard. It’s a lot effed up, it’s a little bit stalkery, it’s got triggers out the wazoo, but in the end, it is satisfying.

 

Lynn’s Review:

Colleen Hoover must be one of those authors who thrives on the tears of their readers. That’s the only way to explain the emotional turmoil of reading one of her books. One a scale of Hopeless (LOVED) to Ugly Love (LOATHED), November 9 falls somewhere in the middle Definitely didn’t love it or loathe it. I also made it through without crying at my desk. So bonus for me!

Loads of clever quips and comments. I totally agree with Julie’s comments about great dialogue. Especially love the comment by Fallon’s father degrading her for narrating audiobooks. While I’m listing to an audio book. At the beginning, I started thinking to myself, wait, is this a happy romance by CoHo? Does she even write that kind of romance? Oh no, she does not. There is definitely the foreboding feeling that this romance is not going to go well. And indeed, it does not.

I like the premise of only seeing the characters when they meet each year on November 9. I also really like how we get both points of views, especially towards the end. Overall, a satisfying, if emotional, read. I liked it. Probably more than Julie.

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