Review: Never Never

Never Never by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 0 of 5 stars



I'm still undecided on an actual starred review on this book, so I'm skipping that part for a bit until I can decide.


My initial thoughts on Never Never is a kind of apathy. I think that the writing was flawless, but I'm just not sure how I actually feel about the story itself. I think right now my biggest issue is with the fact that it did not come across as a book within a series, but it felt more like a volume in a serial. I knew going into the book that TaCo decided that they weren't just going to be able to complete this as a standalone like the initial plan was. So, I was expecting a cliffhanger. My problem is that the end didn't have a cliffhanger feel. I don't think we made it to the top of a cliff to hang off of. I have more of a I found a pretty right at this nice little plateau so I'm going to play with that and then take a nap before I continue up this cliff. Does that mean that I didn't enjoy the book? Nah, I think it will probably end up being freaking awesome when it's done. Which means, that I'm holding off on an actual rating until I finish up the series. That's probably a bit of a cop out, but I don't like to read serials until they are done because I don't feel like I can get a full idea on the scope of a story after just one volume to warrant a proper rating. So, even though this book is technically listed as a part of a series according to the authors, that's just not where I am at with it as a reader.



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Another case of Plagiarism

From Show No Mercy

"Sophie, I'm not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I've never wanted to kiss a girl more. So stop thinking I'm not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am. you can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight. And probably not when I come back, either. I need this. I need to know for sure that you're feeling every single thing that I'm feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses."

From Hopeless by Colleen Hoover 

"Sky, I'm not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I've never wanted to kiss a girl more. So stop thinking I'm not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am. You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight. And probably not tomorrow, either. I need this. I need to know for sure that you're feeling every single thing that I'm feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses.”

Also. From Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

"Okay. Would you rather I looked like Hugh Jackman or George Clooney?” 
“Johnny Depp,” she says. 
She answers a little too fast for my comfort. “What the hell, Lake? You’re supposed to say Will! You’re supposed to say you want me to look like me!” 
“But you weren't one of the options,” she says. 
“Neither was Johnny Depp!” 

And this book..

"Okay. Would you rather I looked like Leonardo Dicaprio or Justin Timberlake" 

"Ryan Gosling,"  she says. 

She answers a little too fast for my comfort. "What the hell, Sophie? You're supposed to say Mitchell! You're supposed to say you want me to look like me!"

"But you weren't one of the options," she says. 

"Neither was Ryan Gosling!" 

I did find it hilarious that I picked this up directly from Colleen's Facebook page where she tagged the author in the post.  Her fandom is about to bombard that author. 

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

My rating 4/5 stars. 

Before I start with anything, I just want to say that Colleen Hoover gives good sidekick.  Really. My favorite characters always end up being the secondary characters. 

Maybe Someday wasn't my favorite book by Colleen Hoover, but I do think it is one that is really starting bring her talent to the forefront. She has a talent for making uncomfortable situations more palatable.  I can't say if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but it does make it immensely readable and because of that more relatable.  She always give me that happy feeling when I reach that last page. 

However, at the same time, it also kind of does a disservice by making everything seem... understandable? Okay? I can't think of the proper word for it.  Sugarcoated.  She adds something in there to sugarcoat the situation so you can willingly and excitedly accept what happens. It's the same thing as killing off a side of the triangle. It's a cop-out. That said, I think that it is what should happen in this genre so I can't really fault her for it if I go into the book knowing what type of book I am reading.  So maybe I have more of a problem with the New Adult genre in general more than anything else. 

Based on those two completely different views, I'm obviously kind of torn with my opinions. I didn't care for how the situation between Sydney, Ridge and Maggie resolved itself. For that matter, I didn't really care for Syndey in general. I did not dislike her, but rather I was ambivalent toward her.  However, I loved a lot of this book. I loved Ridge and Warren. They both cracked me up. 

"Sydney: SQUEEEE! Me: If those letters really make up a sound, I am so, so glad I can't hear it."  <-- Totally.  I've made that noise.  It's not pretty. 

I loved the love-triangle aspect of it. I know that I tend to be in the minority in that, but I love the emotions brought out because of them. I loved the idea of the music, even if I didn't care for the music itself. And I loved that even despite the stuff I didn't love, I still finished feeling that I read a good book.  

So, was it a good book? Yes, definitely. Especially for the genre. Colleen Hoover is one of the reasons that NA is readable for me.  Did I wish that I could have gotten more? Yes. Thankfully, she has continually gotten better with every book, so I know that I'll get that more from her soon enough.  So, maybe not someday.  Definitely someday.