Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Paperback, 308 Pages
Published March 2015
Summary: Auburn Reed is determined to rebuild her shattered life and she has no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to become deeply attracted to the studio’s enigmatic artist, Owen Gentry. For once, Auburn takes a chance and puts her heart in control, only to discover that Owen is hiding a huge secret. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything Auburn loves most, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it—but can she do it?
I think it's safe to say that it's official: Emily and I are officially hooked on Colleen Hoover. Every single one of her stories seems to make me fall in love, swoon, gasp, and cry at all the right times. There's just something about her books -- I devour them in days, and I'm always eager for more by the time I get to the acknowledgements, and my co-blogger, Emily, seems to feel the same way.
What I really liked about this book was, as usual, the romance. Hoover is excellent at creating a believable story, with a main character like Auburn, struggling with her past and some present-day secrets that we don't find out until later in the book. She then goes on to meet Owen, who is, of course, in classic CoHo fashion, a sensitive, sweet, brooding, sexy guy with a dark past, which you don't completely understand right away. Auburn has had to deal with some things that no human should ever have to experience, and it's safe to say that life has been hard for her up to this point. All she's looking to do is make things right again, and although sparks fly between her and Owen, reality eventually begins to catch up with her, and she's reminded of why the two of them will just never work, and all of the sacrifices that they'll both have to make to protect the ones they love. I really, especially enjoyed that one. Because it's such a true, heartfelt pledge of love to somebody, even (and especially) when you know you're about to lose them, or when you know your body physically won't be capable of loving them anymore. (I'm tearing up just writing this right now, guys.)
I really enjoyed the romance between Auburn and Owen. While it certainly wasn't perfect, it was raw, and it was real. (Minor spoilers ahead, so please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) I also really enjoyed some of the really interesting and shocking plot twists that keep you on the edge of the seat and wanting more. The entire idea of Owen's painting studio where people submitted confessions seemed like a totally unique and amazing idea to me -- and then finding out that every confession used in the book was real was even more baffling, especially because some of them contain some pretty heavy stuff. There were several times while I was reading this book where I stopped to bother my poor boyfriend (who was just trying to enjoy the sunshine on the beach!) to share some of the confessions with him. At times, he was just as shocked as I was.
Side note: I also really, really enjoyed the printed artwork that was included in the book. The pieces were all so beautiful, with their diverse and abstract colors and compositions, and they all really took my breath away. That's why, when I met Colleen and got a book signed by her at BookCon, I chose to buy Confess -- because I wanted to keep those heartfelt confessions and that artwork on my bookshelf forever, so I could go back and look at it whenever I wanted to. (Colleen was also super friendly and nice, by the way. I loved meeting her! Here's a pic of us!)
Also, she said that every confession used in the book was a real, anonymous confession from some of her fans and readers -- so that makes me wonder: is the I'll Love You Forever, Even When I Can't one real as well? If so, that's a pretty deep and important confession, and it really stuck with me, and I have a feeling that it will be sticking with me for years to come.
(Minor spoilers ahead here too. Please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) The only thing that I wasn't crazy about with this book was the ending. I just felt like it was definitely rushed, and there were some aspects of the story that seemed to come totally out of nowhere, such as the recording scene. I went back and reread the scene from the book where the footage was supposedly taken, and I couldn't seem to find any indication that that was what was happening. And that Trey, supposedly an intelligent police officer, didn't catch on to any of it. And that, with the footage, there were still no repercussions for his vile actions. Those parts of the story just didn't sit well with me, and seemed to take away from it a little bit. But other than those few things, I really did like the book.
I really enjoyed the romance between Auburn and Owen. While it certainly wasn't perfect, it was raw, and it was real. (Minor spoilers ahead, so please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) I also really enjoyed some of the really interesting and shocking plot twists that keep you on the edge of the seat and wanting more. The entire idea of Owen's painting studio where people submitted confessions seemed like a totally unique and amazing idea to me -- and then finding out that every confession used in the book was real was even more baffling, especially because some of them contain some pretty heavy stuff. There were several times while I was reading this book where I stopped to bother my poor boyfriend (who was just trying to enjoy the sunshine on the beach!) to share some of the confessions with him. At times, he was just as shocked as I was.
Side note: I also really, really enjoyed the printed artwork that was included in the book. The pieces were all so beautiful, with their diverse and abstract colors and compositions, and they all really took my breath away. That's why, when I met Colleen and got a book signed by her at BookCon, I chose to buy Confess -- because I wanted to keep those heartfelt confessions and that artwork on my bookshelf forever, so I could go back and look at it whenever I wanted to. (Colleen was also super friendly and nice, by the way. I loved meeting her! Here's a pic of us!)
Also, she said that every confession used in the book was a real, anonymous confession from some of her fans and readers -- so that makes me wonder: is the I'll Love You Forever, Even When I Can't one real as well? If so, that's a pretty deep and important confession, and it really stuck with me, and I have a feeling that it will be sticking with me for years to come.
(Minor spoilers ahead here too. Please skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet!) The only thing that I wasn't crazy about with this book was the ending. I just felt like it was definitely rushed, and there were some aspects of the story that seemed to come totally out of nowhere, such as the recording scene. I went back and reread the scene from the book where the footage was supposedly taken, and I couldn't seem to find any indication that that was what was happening. And that Trey, supposedly an intelligent police officer, didn't catch on to any of it. And that, with the footage, there were still no repercussions for his vile actions. Those parts of the story just didn't sit well with me, and seemed to take away from it a little bit. But other than those few things, I really did like the book.
Overall, I enjoyed Confess. While I feel that it may not have been one of my favorite books by Colleen Hoover, it definitely had a good story line and had me swooning and crying at all the right parts. I'd recommend this book, along with any of Hoover's previous books, to anybody looking for a quick, steamy romance to read that will keep you blushing while on public transportation. (I speak from experience.) Hats off to another adorable romance from Colleen Hoover, and I'm now anxiously awaiting her new release in the fall!
If you haven't read this book yet, I highly encourage you to give it a chance!
Read Emily's Review!
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