Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover Book Review!

"Love is a lot like water. It can be calm. Raging. Threatening. Soothing. Water will be many things, but even in all its forms, it will always be water. You will always be water. I think I might be yours, too." - Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

I chose the quote above specifically because the quote alone would remind me of this book, years from now, after I've forgotten smaller details of the story. The reminder of the water/ocean will always make me think of Samson and Beyah from now on. They may be fictional characters, but their stories will be stuck with me for the long haul. 

Below is the blurb from this book to give you an idea of what to expect: 

Life and a dismal last name are the only two things Beyah Grim's parents ever gave her. After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself. With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan. Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface. She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intesne for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea. 

Now tell me you aren't curious!! 

Colleen Hoover is such a genius at reeling you in to the worlds she creates. To be honest, I've now read most of Colleen's books and at this point, I don't even read the blurb before I buy her book. I just get it. Because I know I won't be disappointed. Her ability to truly make you feel like you are a part of this book, a part of this world, that she creates is incredible. I always find myself enamored with her characters. There's always something relatable in every one of her characters, even if they lead a completely different life than I do. Heart Bones is no exception. She's done it again, tearing my heart apart and making me cheer for love more than I have in a book in a long while. I love everything about this story. Usually, my reviews come with at least one thing I wasn't crazy about- I wish the book was longer, there wasn't enough character depth, I didn't feel the connection between the main characters. Nope. Nada. Nothing. There is nothing I would change about this book. It made my heart hurt for these characters. It made me think about others who this is more close to their true reality and my heart hurts for them and feels compassionate about finding ways that maybe I could help relieve a little of that sadness. But this book is so good, written just how it is, I can't imagine anything being any different. 

Beyah is a badass. Plain and simple. She has had to take care of  herself for a really long time and it has created this fiercely independent person who takes crap from no one and allows her to always say what is on her mind. I am so freaking proud of her by the end of this book because she allows herself to be vulnerable, to open up, to be willing to accept help when it's needed, and man, when she lets herself love. Ahh, chills.

Samson is gorgeous, kind, loving, and mysterious. Throughout the book, you are constantly wondering what he's really thinking, what he's feeling, and what he's not saying. It's rare that you have a character, or person really, like Samson that just puts up boundaries on what they are and are not willing to talk about and discuss. I feel like most of the time, you either answer a question how you truly feel or people lie to make themselves or others more comfortable. For the most part, that's not really the case here. I don't want to get on a tangent about this because I want this review to stay spoiler free, but you'll know when you know what I'm referring to. Regardless, Samson's character just has this energy about him and this force where you just feel...pulled to him for whatever reason. 

The side characters in this book are great as usual. I love Sara. I was so happy to watch the relationship with Beyah's dad grow and develop. And the ocean. Oh, the ocean. It is a supporting actor in this story to me as well and bravo to it's role. I love you, you big, beautiful, scary, calming blue sea. 

As we come to the end of the review, I want to leave you with another quote that just sums up this book for me and the love between our characters. 

"You can fill your life with nice things, but nice things don't fill the holes in your soul."

"What fills the holes in your soul?"

Samson's eyes scroll over my face for a few seconds. "Pieces of someone else's soul."

Heart Bones Amazon Link

P.S.- It's free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription!! 

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher Book Review!

"But I know that as humans we want to be heard, and so when someone does the hearing, we feel a connection to them." - Tarryn Fisher, The Wives

Y'all, I don't even know where to start with this book. I have started and stopped writing this review multiple times because my brain is just mush after reading this one. 

The Wives is different than a lot of books I have been reading and reviewing lately. It is a psychological thriller and will keep your mind thinking the entire time you are reading this book. You are constantly looking for something, some clue, some new piece of this very twisted puzzle. 

Below is the blurb of the book:

Thursday's husband, Seth, has two other wives. She's never met them, and she doesn't know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she's so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different- and horrifying- story about the man she married. 

What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you'll ever read. 

You'll have to grab a copy to find out why. 

The book is written from Thursday's point of view, so you are constantly in Thursday's mind, which can be a confusing, exciting, scary place to be. There are so many things that Thursday thinks and does that is similar to how I would feel in the situation she is in, but there is a lot that I would do differently too (one would hope at least). I would hope that I would never find myself in the situation she's in to begin with, but it doesn't surprise me that things get a little sideways. How would you handle being married to a man who was married to two additional women? That you know nothing about? Is it better or worse that you don't know anything about the others? I don't know, and I don't think Thursday did either until she found herself in a situation she couldn't get herself out of. 

So much of me feels so bad for Thursday. There are SO many different theories and thoughts to this book from readers who've finished reading it. I will be anxious to hear from anyone else who reads it what their thoughts are. Due to the nature of the book, I don't want to go into any more detail on this story because you NEED to go in with a completely open mind and I want you to decide what you think and how you feel about all of the characters, but especially Thursday. 

What I will leave you with though? That ending. I can't. I don't even know... how to finish this sentence. The ending is crazy. It's just...crazy. If you're game for a psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes and you'll speed read to get to the end, you have to check this one out. 

Here's the Amazon link below.

Amazon

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover Book Review!

"If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim." - Colleen Hoover, All Your Perfects

Y'all, this book got me! How I let a Colleen Hoover book slide by me is a shock to begin with, but to let this book go unread since it was published July of 2018... I'm beside myself. Thankfully, I have since rectified that situation and devoured this book within 24 hours.

Due to the nature of this book, this review is going to have SPOILERS!! 

I will try to keep it mostly spoil free, but there is something I feel the need to point out before any potential reader dives in, as I was made aware of it ahead of time and am so glad I knew. 

STOP HERE IF YOU'RE ANTI SPOILERS!!

Before I get too deep into this review, I want to say that there is a potential trigger warning for anyone struggling with infertility. If you are in the throes of how heartbreaking an infertility struggle can be (and I say that with empathy as I have struggled with it myself), this book may be a hard read for you. It is the main theme of the couple the book centers around so I just want to give warning that it can be an incredibly sensitive topic to read about, especially if you are or have struggled with infertility. 

The nature of this book and the emotions the couple face as they go through it are what I love and hate about it. I hate how heartbreaking it is. As I mentioned, I know the feelings well and I could see myself in Quinn's shoes every time she took a pregnancy test and saw negative, or felt like crying every time someone asked her when she was having a baby, or started to resent sex because ultimately it became a means to an end to an ending she may never be able to have. I loved this book though because it detailed her feelings so well and the feelings of so many others who have had this struggle. This is a book of fiction, but there are so many parts of it that I personally have thought or experienced or just felt. The struggle in their marriage. Her struggle with herself as a woman. Her mixed feelings for her husband.

Let's stop right here and address one key piece of this book. Graham. Quinn's husband. Quinn's patient, loving, fiercely fighting for her, husband. His character made me love this book. It was also a good perspective for me, because while I tried to understand how our struggle with infertility effected my husband, I don't think I could really see it from his perspective just because I wasn't in his perspective, you know? Our struggle was/is very similar in that it is me that has the difficulty to conceive, not him. It was interesting getting to hear how he felt some, especially towards the end of the book. Ultimately, Graham made it known that Quinn would always be enough for him, whether they had a child or not. She was enough, and isn't that something that we all long to hear and keep hearing? There is one part of the book where Graham falters from the pedestal, but even with what happened, I couldn't really stay mad at him because of the situation they are in. Thinking about that part of the book reminds me about one of my favorite quotes from it...

"Apologies are good for admitting regret, but they do very little in removing the truth from the actions that caused the regret." 

What a gut punch, right? It's so true, though. And I loved that quote in regards to the aforementioned faltering of Graham's awesomeness, and Quinn's ability to see past it. 

Anyway, the book follows this couple from the day they met through the harrowing struggle of marriage, infertility, and all the other things that come with joining your life with someone else's. It's so good. Colleen Hoover's writing is on par with all of her other books and constantly keeps you captivated and invested in these fictional characters' lives. Like I said, this was a 24 hour read for me and it would've been done even faster if other normal adulthood duties didn't get in the way! One of those distractions would be spending time with my precious 2 year old that I am so grateful we were able to have after a long time struggling to bring her into the world <3 For any who are still reading this and who are going through the struggle, I'm here for you, I'm hoping and praying for you, and sending all the baby dust I can! 

One last thing before I close this review up. I know this has been a different review from what I normally write. There aren't any funny gifs or other random pictures. There's not a typical sequence of the story and a deep dive into the characters. I wanted to write this review about the heart of the book and my heart after reading it. I didn't want fluff for this review because this book doesn't deserve fluff, it deserves grit and heart and truth. I hope that makes you interested in the book. I hope I've enticed you enough to check this book out and see how it ends, because you need to know how it ends! I'm going to leave you with one final quote from it that just speaks so much of their relationship and their love. This quote was said during a time when the couple were strongly considering the future of their marriage and these lines just gutted me!

"And I promise...I swear... that if you choose to end things between us, I will love you more as you're walking out the door than on the day you walked down the aisle. I hope you choose the road that will make you the happiest. Even if it's not a choice I'll love, I will still always love you. Whether I'm a part of your life or not. You deserve happiness more than anyone I know. I love you." 

Okay, one gif.