November 9 by Colleen Hoover

My Rating of November 9:​

November 9

Summary of November 9:

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?

Length:

307 Pages

Reading Speed:

5 hours and 5 minutes

My Opinion of November 9:

Coleen Hoover has caused some controversy as a writer. People describe her books as either the best book they have ever read, or the worst.

But we are not here to talk about Colleen Hoover herself. We are here to talk about November 9, so let’s get cracking.

Plot:

There is a certain unreal-ism in this book. Meeting every year on the same day to see if they could still be a good match after 5 years. Especially since they meet so young and the attention span usually doesn’t last that long.

But if this plot were ever to be written, it would be like this.

By forcing a difference of a year every time we see our main characters interact again, we get to see what that year has done to them.

And it hasn’t always been easy, for either of them. Each year we see a change, some years go by smoothly, others end in tragedy. And it is so realistic, it makes me cry. What do you know about next year? Where will you be next year today?

None of us know and yet these characters jumped onto the uncertainty. Why? Because they were certain of each other. Of what could be. The characters don’t stay exclusive over the year and at times, they were at odds with each other. But that is just what real life is about.

And you might be thinking, I don’t want real-life. I want a romance book.

What is more romantic? These characters spent years apart. They grew as people and they still ended up together.

Not to mention, the plot perfectly wrapped up the book in a neat little bow. It was both achingly painful and beautiful at the same time.

Fallon’s Character:

It started off with Ben trying to help Fallon in front of her father, by pretending to be her boyfriend. He listened in to the conversation and jumped in to ‘save’ her. Fallon, being incredibly insecure over her looks because of her burn scars, had not believed Ben to be attracted to her as wildly as he stated. Fallon’s scars sparked some conversations. People were raging over the fact that the scars were given to her as a character trope and she was made insecure over them.

I’m sorry, when was the last time you met a girl so emotionally mature that she was not affected by the status quo that described her as anything but beautiful? Especially one, that was still hanging on her father’s opinion on her. I wonder why her having scars is such a burden to people. Don’t you want people with ‘imperfections’ in books?

She moves on. She grows. She becomes confident in herself and in her career ambitions. That is the type of representation we need. She both holds onto silly notions she had as a teenager and matures to let go of the ones that were damaging her. What more can we want?

Ben’s Character:

He was a little pervert in the first few chapters. Let’s admit it, he spent an entire chapter sitting across from Fallon and wishing she had shown a bit of cleavage.

Here is why that is important.

The character development in this 300-something pages book is written so slowly and yet set so perfectly. We can see him mature from a teenager to a young responsible man. He wasn’t perfect at the start of the book and he was still far off by the end of it. Making him imperfect allowed us to sympathize more with him. Allowed us to see him as a real person instead of just a book character.

Writing Style:

One scene I could read over and over again. It’s after one of their meetings, and Fallon runs to the bathroom to gather her thoughts. The pause in the conversation, the slow realization the feeling as if time both sped up and slowed down simultaneously. Her description of the deep emotions of both our characters were written to utter perfection. This book made me pause more than once to take a deep breath because I didn’t want my tears to blur my eyes and stop me from reading.

Recommendation for November 9:

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who wants something deeper from their romance books. Anyone who wants their books to move them so much, they end up crying. The writing style in this book was professional and had struck gold.

Is November 9 not for you?

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Do you agree with the rating? Were you able to read November 9 faster than the average speed? Don't be afraid to share your opinion in the comments section below!