I feel silly even reviewing Colleen’s books, because all I can say is that I absolutely love them all. But this one may just be my new favorite…it is up there with It Ends With Us. I got so angry at everyone involved in this totally awful situation, and my heart broke for them all. All the stars!!

Colleen-freaking-Hoover man. She gets me every damn time. The second Reminders of Him hit my Kindle one Friday evening I promptly waved goodbye to my husband, poured a glass of wine the size of my face, and retreated to my special place (my bed). I only emerged to refill that big ass glass and to retrieve a roll of toilet paper for my tears because somehow in a house full of dudes there are never any tissues, like what are you guys even using them for?

CoHo writes another beautifully complex story of love, loss, grief, and redemption. You will find yourself rooting for Kenna from page one. In the vein of It Ends With Us, Ugly Love, and All Your Perfects you will cry and want to throw the book at the wall, but somehow in the end we all end up thanking Colleen for putting us through the emotional ringer while reading her books like a bunch of masochists. If you haven't read any of her books, what are you waiting for? Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

Kenna Rowan returns to her hometown after serving five years in prison for an accident that took the life of her boyfriend Scotty. She is back hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter, Diem. Diem is being raised by Scotty’s parents Grace and Patrick. Kenna ends up meeting Ledger Ward, Scotty’s best friend, and they instantly have a connection. He knows Kenna is sorry for what happened. Can he help reunite Kenna and Scotty's family and keep Kenna in his life too?

This was another unputdownable book by masterpiece writer, Colleen Hoover. I couldn't get through the pages fast enough to see where this story was headed and I was not disappointed. Be prepared for a very emotional read, you may want those tissues close by. I will definitely be recommending this one to my friends.

Many Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Sensitivity thy name is Colleen! Creator of a Captivating story line that encompasses all the aspects motherhood and redemption. Master of Evocative and compelling prose skills, she manages to keep every story fresh even after a spectacular catalogue in her kitty. Colleen writes with simplicity and stark honesty which resonates with every reader heart all across the globe crossing language & age barriers, her omnipotent power is writing deeply empathetic tales that speak to all of us on a subconscious level.
All the emotions I felt were new, I saw them with new eyes, felt them in a new corner of my soul. this remarkably profound story touched me deep on every level, Being a mother, this story was especially effectual for me.
One remarkable thing to note here is that Colleen didn't turn the story in a favourable direction out of sympathy. She starkly lays out the time line of events, highlighting the imperfections that make human but also manages to elicit sympathy for the characters. All of whom are stuck in the quagmire of debilitating loss.

"It is what it is. A fucked-up situation, with no evil people to blame. We’re all just a bunch of sad people doing what we have to do to make it until tomorrow. Some of us sadder than others. Some of us more willing to forgive than others."

The main story revolves around Scotty whose presence looms large over the left behind people.
His parents, his girlfriend Kenna and his best friend Ledger.
Kenna is THE MOST tragically unfortunate character I've come across in recent years. She is still living the repercussions of a horrendous mistake that wiped out 5 years of Her life and snatched EVERYTHING from her hands. Following her only connection to life, she still returns to a town that has Reminders Of Him at every Nook, cranny & corner. I was in awe of her courage, her bravery, her mettle.

"The girl who smoked the cigarette and didn’t close her eyes during dinner prayer and moaned too loud in your quiet house.
Unremorseful. Uninvolved. Uncaring. Unworthy"

The biggest sentiment front & center is remorse. It effects and shapes each character of the book.
Remorse for actions taken, of being irresponsible, of not closing your eyes at prayer, of not trying hard enough, of just being young, naive and scared. Nothing prepares you for tragedy and everyone grieves differently, is the motto that Colleen hammers home. A lesson to not preconceive any notion about anybody in life, for we don't know how many broken people are breathing amongst us, trying to stay alive one sobbing gasp at a time.

"I think there’s room in a tragedy this size for everyone to be both right and wrong."

The true hero of the story is Ledger. His generosity and compassion is as big as all outdoors. His kindness and reluctant forgiveness form the backbone of the story as he becomes the catalyst for change of perceptions. I mean he did have to bear two jaw knocking punches, a split lip and a proverbial boot in the ass from Roman, but at least he took the first step...thats what counts.

“Sometimes I wonder what Scotty would think if he could see us. It makes me hope that an afterlife doesn’t exist, because if it does, Scotty is probably the only sad person in heaven.”

The entire story is steeped in sadness. I cried from first page to the last. I couldn't read a it fast enough with blurry eyed vision and grieved the loss of these endearing characters when I finished the book.
I remember all the fables and tales I'd read in childhood came with moral at the end.
This tale of unconditional love, sacrifice and absolution comes with a strong one.
Moral : "It proves that time, distance, and devastation allow people enough opportunity to craft villains out of people they don’t even know."

There's a very thin line between Villains and Victims and real maturity is when you can differentiate between the two.
At least 10 Stars for Carpe Diem

i dont think i can adequately describe how quickly i flew through this book. colleen hoover is as reliably good as it gets. she never misses and this is no exception. it was interesting to see how female prisoners experience life after prison and all that comes with it. i also loved lady dianas character and the fact that her role was not simply about her disability but about her personality, which is so important. loved this one so much.

There is not a single Colleen Hoover book that hasn't brought me to an absolute meltdown at some point during the book. The last page of this book unraveled every bit of me, leaving me a blubbering mess. There were a handful of other times my eyes were full of tears, but those didn't come until around 60%. This book was excellent overall, but there was a minute where I wondered if I was going to like it at all.

Obviously I was so eager to dive immediately into this book, so needless to say, there were some pretty high expectations going into it. For the first half of the book or so, it didn't really live up to my CoHo expectations. There were moments I was worried I wasn't connecting to any of it, wasn't enjoying it and wasn't sure if I'd be able to add this to my favourites list. Well, of course, CoHo doesn't fail and doesn't let me down with this one either. I spent most of the book wondering if I even liked the main character, but I realized Colleen Hoover set up the book strategically like that on purpose. She is simply a genius when it comes to writing emotional breakdown inducing stories.

Basically, this is another masterpiece that needs to be read immediately. I would have given it 5 stars, but the first half of the book didn't capture me the way I wanted it to. Bravo, CoHo, for another masterpiece.

This book !! Wow , it left me dehydrated from crying so much. All the emotional strings are pulled and the story is so perfectly crafted. I mean I didn’t think Colleen Hoover could do more but wow I was corrected. It’s crazy that in her acknowledgments she apologizes for not being able to write a romantic comedy! Ma’am never apologize for not being able to pull our hearts and recalibrate them with words.
This book will definitely be a best seller.

Thank you Montlake Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc.

Synopsis- Kenna Rowan is a mother of a four-year old. She is just out of prison after a tragic mistake, at the hands of which she lost everything. She is yearning for her daughter and hoping to reunite. 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.

The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.

Colleen Hoover never fails to touch the deepest emotional strings of your heart with her stories. A beautifully written. heart-wrenching story. The plot touches and breaks your heart right away. I was deeply involved with the story from the very beginning and could not put it down. This story will make you smile, make you cry hard and at the same time make you swoon. A heart-warming story that deserves to be read by everyone. A well-deserved five star read.

This is Colleen Hoover at her absolute best! This book was so raw and painful to read, yet I couldn’t put it down. Kenna is a mother looking to reunite with her 4 year old daughter, Diem, when she meets Ledger. He may be her only connection to Diem, but he doesn’t know her secret. My heart was broken again and again, as Colleen weaves this story of heartbreak and agony to redemption and forgiveness. This is one that will have people talking for years to come!

After serving five years in prison for her role in a tragic accident, Kenna returns to the town where she lived, hoping to connect with Diem, her four-year-old daughter. Although she has worked very hard to get here, she knows it will be an uphill battle because she will not be welcomed with open arms. On her first night in town, she meets Ledger and they have a very intense and fiery first encounter. But Kenna knows when Ledger realizes who she is, she knows he will hate her, just like everyone else in town. With seemingly insurmountable circumstances, Kenna is willing to risk everything to see her daughter.

After I finished this book, I had to sit with my thoughts on this book for a bit. I didn't know how I could put into words how much I loved it and how much it devastated me. I didn't know how I could express how much this book shook me to my core. I would say I was crying for about 80% of the book. Some of it was just quiet crying, with my eyes watering. Some of it was that really ugly crying, with tears and snot streaming down my face and me gasping for air. I felt so much for every single character in this book and I couldn't contain my emotions.

As she does with many of her books, Hoover has written about a f*cked up and impossible situation that makes you rethink how you would react if you were in that situation. This is a book about overwhelming grief and the anger tied to that grief. It's also about forgiveness. It's about the idea that we should not be defined by the worst thing we have ever done. This is something I have believed for a long time, and this book has reinforced that for me.

How did Hoover pack so many meaningful and beautiful relationships into this book??? Every character played an important role in how the story played out and I am in awe of Hoover's ability to paint their strong connections to one another. Kenna and Ledger's relationship was complicated and doomed from the start, but I wanted them to end up together anyway. I had no idea if or how Hoover was going to make it work until pretty much the end of the book.

Colleen Hoover has outdone herself with this book! This is now my favorite book of hers to date and will be added to my all-time favorites list. THIS IS A MUST-READ BOOK and you need to order it now!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: grief, suicidal thoughts, car accident, death of a loved one, child neglect, driving under the influence

This isn’t going to be a typical review because I truly don’t want to say anything about this book because I know how many people are excited for it’s release but I have a few thoughts to share.

1. This book was absolute perfection. Colleen Hoover holds nothing back when she writes and I respect her for that but dang - did I have to cry MULTIPLE times, Colleen?? 😉😭
2. I think all you CoHorts are going to absolutely love this book. From start to finish this story wowed me. Kenna and Ledger were perfect and as their stories intertwined it broke my heart and brought it back together over and over. I could see this being the next It Ends With Us. It was that good.
3. Is that a fucking pigeon??? 🐦

This book releases January 18th so make sure you pre-order because you need to read this book as soon as possible!

I was given an ARC from NetGalley. I cannot tell you how much I absolutely adored this book. This story was heart wrenching, it was beautiful. I loved every character, but I felt so protective of Kenna. I felt all her emotions while I read her letters.

I don’t want to say too much and give any spoilers but I cannot wait for this book to come out and for everyone to realize that Colleen writes THE MOST beautiful stories… and THAT SHE LOVES TO MAKE US CRY LIKE BABIES. ;)

Reminders of Him was somehow both wholesome and soul crushing. It was so fucking good! Colleen is out there doing the lords work as usual. I *almost* cried at my desk while I was reading the second half of this at work today.

I don’t want to say anything about the plot of the book because I hate spoilers so I wouldn’t do that to anyone else. Check out the synopsis for the basic premise. I loved Kenna and Ledger and the whole heartbreaking story that this book is. I don’t really re-read books but I really think I might when my paperback comes in the mail in January.

Verity is the first book I read this year (March 29th!) and it got me back in to reading (thanks TikTok) and I’ve somehow gone completely unhinged and read over 200 books since. CoHo books will always be an absolutely yes read automatically situation for me. The books have a special place in my heart. Reading her books also connected me with my book bestie Lexi @booksandcoffeewithlexi 😁

I preordered my paperback of this the day it was announced but I’m literally over the moon that I got the opportunity to read a ebook of it early. Thanks to Amazon Publishing/Montlake/Colleen/NetGalley for the ARC. Expect a photo of me holding the book crying a little when it comes out lol

It's past 1am and I'm sitting here having finished this book not that long ago most likely with puffy eyes from having cried so much the whole time I was reading it and just completely blown away because CoHo did it again. Of course, was there any doubt she wouldn't? I've been following her books since late 2013 and I said it best to someone this last week but diving into her books always feels like coming home. Although, perhaps that's odd considering her books always emotionally destroy me before putting me back together. BUT - I stand by it!

That aside, this book was beautiful and heart wrenching and honestly hit kind of close to home in a way that is a bit too personal to include in a book review. But that is the beauty of Colleen's books and her writing, that they can hit close to home. I spent probably 80% of this book crying my eyes out and it was worth every minute for where it ended.

I always find it hard to put into words how much I love her books or why in reviews because I want everyone to have the joy of going into it blind like I do. I will say Kenna, the main character, I spent this whole book just rooting for her, heartbroken for her, angry for her even when she refused to be angry herself, and she's become one of my favorite characters Colleen has written to date. Ledger, he had so much character development from beginning to end it was incredible and I loved him. How much of this story was wrapped in family and forgiveness for not just others but yourself just completely captured my heart. It was an emotional roller coaster I would take all over again just for the chance to experience this book for the first time again. That is how much I loved it.

I don't want to go into much more detail than that but if you have loved any of her other books you are for sure going to love this one. And if you haven't yet read any of her books - what are you waiting for?

Reminders of Him is an emotional contemporary romance. But honestly it is so much more than that.

Colleen Hoover is my favorite romance author. Her books bring out so many emotions in me. So to say that I was excited about Reminders of Him would be an understatement.

I went into this book completely blind. And I am so happy that I did this as it definitely had more impact on me this way.

The female narrator is 26 year old Kenna (1st person POV). She is an unbelievably amazing narrator. Her first chapter was so powerful. I knew from the first page that this would be a 5 star read (and this never happens to me).

When I started this book I was so curious about what the title could mean. Honestly after reading it I am in love with this title.

This story was so mesmerizing and beautiful. This book will make you think. This book will make you feel. This book will make you cry. Kenna is damaged and broken and Coho writes a heroine like we've never seen before.

This book was my most anticipated read. I adore Colleen Hoover and have read every book that she has written. And I have loved them all. This book will not disappoint you. If you are looking for a book to make you feel THIS IS YOUR BOOK.

Classic Hoover with the need for a full box of Kleenex. Fortunately there are a few giggles in it to break up the sobbing. A perfect story.

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover, for release Jan 19, 2022
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“A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover.”

How does CoHo always manage to tear my heart open? As usual with her books, I read it compulsively. In fact, it was nearly impossible for me to tear myself away from such a moving, heart wrenching yet hopeful story. She never fails to write characters who jump off the page and feel like real people. I felt for Kenna so badly and the other characters as well ❤️

I highly recommend this one to all Colleen Hoover fans. Massive thank you to Amazon and Netgalley for this ARC.

We all know Colleen Hoover just has it. She could write a grocery list and I would happily read it and love it. This book had my heart wrenching through my whole reading journey. This book is beautifully written, the characters are well-versed and the story is beautiful. Colleen Hoover will never disappoint me and she definitely hasn't in this book. The journey Reminders of Him will take you on will have you heart broken but she will heal you in the end, as she always does.

I am so thankful and beyond grateful to have had an ARC for this book. If my teenage self could see me today, she would not believe it. I discovered Colleen in 2015 and her books have been comfort reads ever since. I cannot wait for you guys to go on this journey because it was beautiful to say the least.

HONESTLY THOUGH.

Are any of us the least bit surprised that Coho has brought the heat AND the tears with this one?
I read Reminders of Him three times. Three. Usually I find something in a book that really irks me but I couldn't find one thing in this book that drove me crazy.

It's emotional, it's endearing, it's moving-- honestly this book was the whole package to me.

How Colleen Hoover manages to keep us all on our toes and writing unique, original stories-- I will never know. It's probably her ghost-writer or wizard sorcery or one of her sons or something ;)

Coho is the BEST! This was one of my favorite books of hers - so emotional and so good! Highly, highly recommend.