Trending bestselling author Colleen Hoover is known for her collection of romance novels that each illustrate a unique story that never seems to disappoint.
You may have heard of her bestselling novels “It Ends With Us,” “Ugly Love” or “Verity.” The question is: how will her newest release compare to her best novels that remain top sellers years after publication?
Anyone who has already read a “CoHo” book knows how Hoover consistently delivers a romance story with a writing style that keeps readers invested and for the more emotional readers, leaves them in tears over fictional characters.
In “Reminders of Him,” main character Kenna was just released from prison due to a tragic accident that cost her 5 years of her life and custody of her daughter she has yet to meet.
Kenna spent the last 5 years attempting to come to terms with her tragic mistake and wishing to rebuild her life in hopes of reclaiming her daughter. But when she returns to the town where she is only known as a villain, the preconceived notions people have of her leave her last hope to appear completely out of reach.
“It’s either going to complete me or destroy me. There is no in between,” Kenna says.
Photo by Hanalei Potempa | The Arbiter
At first glance, the storyline of this book seems nothing but dark and depressing, but it wouldn’t be a Hoover book without an unsuspecting love story tied in, and a whole lot of empathy for broken characters.
Ledger, the only person who has not completely shut Kenna out, happens to be the only connection Kenna has left to her daughter. Ledger battles with the attraction and hatred he feels for Kenna and questions whether he must continue protecting this little girl that means so much to him, or if he is keeping her away from someone who loves her just as much.
“Maybe it’s harder to think with a level head when they have such broken hearts,” Ledger says.
Hoover does a brilliant job creating empathy and perspective for the feelings of all the characters in the face of great tragedy.
In “Reminders of Him,” Hoover tells a heart-wrenching story of forgiveness and love.
Stereotypically, romance novels are quite predictable, and I was shocked to see that this story lacked the classic Hoover plot twist that puts those suspicions to shame.
Despite this, the ending is definitely not what you would think at the start of the book, and what Hoover lacks in epic plot twists she makes up for in tearfully happy moments, exercised through letters Kenna writes throughout the book that end up being a whole lot more impactful than the reader or even the main character suspect.
“Whoever was the first person to say they fell in love must have already fallen out of it. Otherwise, they’d have called it something much better”
Hoover yet again ties in the title of the book to the ending and the only way to truly understand the heartwarming meaning behind the title of the book as well as the last line, “Hi, Scotty,” is to read the whole story.
