Scan barcode
A review by thebiglittlelibrary
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
3.0
3 ⭐️ I genuinely don’t know how to rate this….
The first 50% was an absolutely beautiful love story that made me smile and feel giddy. But the last 50% was a fucking nightmare where all good things come to die.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
What I loved:
The premise of the story. I love the idea that two strangers who have instant chemistry decide not to exchange information but meet up every year on the same day. And even though I've seen the plot compared to One Day by David Nicolls, I thought it was different and offered a fresh, exciting take - considering they legitimately don't talk any time throughout the year except that specific day when they meet again.
I loved Fallon and Ben's relationship during the first 50% of the book. Fallon's scars are her biggest insecurity, and I absolutely adored how Ben was constantly building up her self-esteem with kind words and loving touches. I also found their playful dynamic to be so fucking sweet. From the moment they met, it's apparent they're basically soulmates, so it broke my heart / made me mad to learn about all the secrets, lies, and betrayal . . . More on that later.
This story really did its job of making me feel. I don't know if I've ever experienced such an array of emotions while reading. From start to finish, these were my feelings: sad, happy, love, excitement, pain, grief, betrayal, heartbroken, hopeful, anger, horror, understanding, confusion, acceptance, and disappointment. As I'm writing this review a few days after finishing this book, I honestly still feel most of these things whenever I think about certain moments. Mostly anger and disappointment because of the Jordyn thing and Fallon's forgiveness, but still, at least I felt something, right?
What I hated:
Ben was amazing until he wasn't. For the first 50% of the book, Ben was my new favorite book boyfriend. But the moment he started shacking up with his recently-deceased brother's widow, my respect for him went right out the window. HUGE ICK! I get both Jordyn and Ben were hurting and grieving together, but there are just some lines you DO NOT cross. This was such a disrespectful thing to do to his brother. Also, this situation cheapened his 'love' for Fallon. The year before, he was begging her to be with him, saying she was the love of his life. But somehow, less than a year later, he's with someone else. Personally, if I loved Fallon the way Ben says he did, I would not have started a relationship with someone new so soon - maybe fucked around with randoms - but not dated my recently widowed sister-in-law.
THEN, we learn he omitted truths to Fallon about his involvement in the fire. I get why he did it, though - once he started talking to her, he fell hard and didn't want to hurt or lose her - but it was so wrong for him to keep that from her for so many years. Poor Fallon already was hurt enough by the fire.
I felt like this story features Ben fucking up time after time, yet Fallon somehow keeps forgiving him and misplacing blame on herself. Now that pissed me off. I'm convinced CoHo only writes books where the men do horrible shit, only for the women and readers to justify, sympathize, and forgive them.
Fallon ended up being such a weak character. By the end of the story, Fallon's justification of her father's horrid behaviors and Ben's deceit was so disappointing.
Let's talk about her father first. He is an ABSOLUTE piece of shit - a terrible father. But when she learns her father didn't start the fire, and he was grieving the death of a lover, she goes soft and starts to blame herself for their strained relationship. Girl, no! He is a vain man-child who only showed interest in Fallon when she was a rising star. And once she got her scars, he never supported her dreams! But Fallon writes all this off by saying,
"I need to remember that there's more than one way people show love. And even though his way and my way are completely opposite, it's still love."
Basically, Fallon is saying she will accept the scraps of love she can get from her father - someone incapable of giving her the love she deserves - because that's the best he can do. No way. Not good enough. It's time to cut ties with your dad. And maybe go to therapy.
Now let's talk about Ben. I'm not even mad about the fire. In fact, I do understand that what he did (burning down the house and almost killing Fallon) was not intentional. It was the actions of a heartbroken son who was in shock after finding his mother on the floor of their home after committing suicide. HOWEVER, I cannot get over how Ben blamed Fallon for starting a relationship with Jordyn and how she asked HIM for forgiveness for being afraid of him when she found out about his involvement in the fire that led to her scars. Fallon's initial fear and hurt were totally justified, so I don't get why she's acting like she was completely out of line.
Even though I loved the premise of this book, I'm annoyed by it at the same time. So many of the problems between Fallon and Ben only happened because they didn't have each other's phone numbers or social media to sort out their issues and hurt. Again, I get why they did this, but CoHo definitely wrote the story this way to force the drama and make things more intense.
The story had such unreal plot twists that it felt overdramatized. I LOVE a good plot twist, but there were just soooooo many shocking revelations, and it was too much in the end. It seemed like the traumatic moments or reveals were forced into the story instead of letting things happen naturally to the characters. As a reader, I felt emotionally manipulated, and I hate it.
Overall, even with the things I didn't like, this story is unique, entertaining, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, hence my struggle with the rating. I honestly think this is a 4-star book if I’m basing it on writing, plot, and the characters. But a lot of the ‘conflicts’ were added to dramatize the story, and it was obvious because no one’s life is this fucking complicated and heartbreaking, and a lot of these things pissed me off, so my emotional rating is 2-stars.
So would I recommend it? Probably not. The direction things went just pissed me off so much that I don't want anyone else to experience the same rage I did.
Favorite Quotes:
Whoever said the truth hurts was being an optimist. The truth is an excruciatingly painful son of a bitch.
——————————————
"You'll never be able to find yourself if you're lost in someone else."
——————————————
"One of the things I always try to remind myself is that everyone has scars. A lot of them even worse than mine. The only difference is that mine are visible and most people's aren't."
——————————————
"To waking up on November 10th and having no memory of the 9th."
——————————————
It took four years for me to fall in love with him.
It only took four pages to stop.
——————————————
The first 50% was an absolutely beautiful love story that made me smile and feel giddy. But the last 50% was a fucking nightmare where all good things come to die.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
What I loved:
The premise of the story. I love the idea that two strangers who have instant chemistry decide not to exchange information but meet up every year on the same day. And even though I've seen the plot compared to One Day by David Nicolls, I thought it was different and offered a fresh, exciting take - considering they legitimately don't talk any time throughout the year except that specific day when they meet again.
I loved Fallon and Ben's relationship during the first 50% of the book. Fallon's scars are her biggest insecurity, and I absolutely adored how Ben was constantly building up her self-esteem with kind words and loving touches. I also found their playful dynamic to be so fucking sweet. From the moment they met, it's apparent they're basically soulmates, so it broke my heart / made me mad to learn about all the secrets, lies, and betrayal . . . More on that later.
This story really did its job of making me feel. I don't know if I've ever experienced such an array of emotions while reading. From start to finish, these were my feelings: sad, happy, love, excitement, pain, grief, betrayal, heartbroken, hopeful, anger, horror, understanding, confusion, acceptance, and disappointment. As I'm writing this review a few days after finishing this book, I honestly still feel most of these things whenever I think about certain moments. Mostly anger and disappointment because of the Jordyn thing and Fallon's forgiveness, but still, at least I felt something, right?
What I hated:
Ben was amazing until he wasn't. For the first 50% of the book, Ben was my new favorite book boyfriend. But the moment he started shacking up with his recently-deceased brother's widow, my respect for him went right out the window. HUGE ICK! I get both Jordyn and Ben were hurting and grieving together, but there are just some lines you DO NOT cross. This was such a disrespectful thing to do to his brother. Also, this situation cheapened his 'love' for Fallon. The year before, he was begging her to be with him, saying she was the love of his life. But somehow, less than a year later, he's with someone else. Personally, if I loved Fallon the way Ben says he did, I would not have started a relationship with someone new so soon - maybe fucked around with randoms - but not dated my recently widowed sister-in-law.
THEN, we learn he omitted truths to Fallon about his involvement in the fire. I get why he did it, though - once he started talking to her, he fell hard and didn't want to hurt or lose her - but it was so wrong for him to keep that from her for so many years. Poor Fallon already was hurt enough by the fire.
I felt like this story features Ben fucking up time after time, yet Fallon somehow keeps forgiving him and misplacing blame on herself. Now that pissed me off. I'm convinced CoHo only writes books where the men do horrible shit, only for the women and readers to justify, sympathize, and forgive them.
Fallon ended up being such a weak character. By the end of the story, Fallon's justification of her father's horrid behaviors and Ben's deceit was so disappointing.
Let's talk about her father first. He is an ABSOLUTE piece of shit - a terrible father. But when she learns her father didn't start the fire, and he was grieving the death of a lover, she goes soft and starts to blame herself for their strained relationship. Girl, no! He is a vain man-child who only showed interest in Fallon when she was a rising star. And once she got her scars, he never supported her dreams! But Fallon writes all this off by saying,
"I need to remember that there's more than one way people show love. And even though his way and my way are completely opposite, it's still love."
Basically, Fallon is saying she will accept the scraps of love she can get from her father - someone incapable of giving her the love she deserves - because that's the best he can do. No way. Not good enough. It's time to cut ties with your dad. And maybe go to therapy.
Now let's talk about Ben. I'm not even mad about the fire. In fact, I do understand that what he did (burning down the house and almost killing Fallon) was not intentional. It was the actions of a heartbroken son who was in shock after finding his mother on the floor of their home after committing suicide. HOWEVER, I cannot get over how Ben blamed Fallon for starting a relationship with Jordyn and how she asked HIM for forgiveness for being afraid of him when she found out about his involvement in the fire that led to her scars. Fallon's initial fear and hurt were totally justified, so I don't get why she's acting like she was completely out of line.
Even though I loved the premise of this book, I'm annoyed by it at the same time. So many of the problems between Fallon and Ben only happened because they didn't have each other's phone numbers or social media to sort out their issues and hurt. Again, I get why they did this, but CoHo definitely wrote the story this way to force the drama and make things more intense.
The story had such unreal plot twists that it felt overdramatized. I LOVE a good plot twist, but there were just soooooo many shocking revelations, and it was too much in the end. It seemed like the traumatic moments or reveals were forced into the story instead of letting things happen naturally to the characters. As a reader, I felt emotionally manipulated, and I hate it.
Overall, even with the things I didn't like, this story is unique, entertaining, and will keep you on the edge of your seat, hence my struggle with the rating. I honestly think this is a 4-star book if I’m basing it on writing, plot, and the characters. But a lot of the ‘conflicts’ were added to dramatize the story, and it was obvious because no one’s life is this fucking complicated and heartbreaking, and a lot of these things pissed me off, so my emotional rating is 2-stars.
So would I recommend it? Probably not. The direction things went just pissed me off so much that I don't want anyone else to experience the same rage I did.
Favorite Quotes:
Whoever said the truth hurts was being an optimist. The truth is an excruciatingly painful son of a bitch.
——————————————
"You'll never be able to find yourself if you're lost in someone else."
——————————————
"One of the things I always try to remind myself is that everyone has scars. A lot of them even worse than mine. The only difference is that mine are visible and most people's aren't."
——————————————
"To waking up on November 10th and having no memory of the 9th."
——————————————
It took four years for me to fall in love with him.
It only took four pages to stop.
——————————————