Hoo boy. In my review for “Without Merit” I spoke of “low lows” related to Colleen Hoover. This is a super low low. I was so angry after reading this book, I typed out my review on my phone probably the minute I was done reading it. Here it is:
Let me summarize this book quickly and (very) spoilery:
Two people meet semi cute (their current partners are cheating on them with each other), they fall in love, and it’s a fairytale. Like seriously they’re perfect for each other and soul mates and all that crap. Then they try to have kids. It doesn’t go well. They NEVER EVER EVER speak to each other about it. Quinn despises sex with Graham because it means devastation when she’s not pregnant. Graham eventually cheats on her (kinda), and then Quinn has a miscarriage from an ectopic pregnancy. They wonder if they should divorce. Quinn reads all the love letters he wrote to her over the years. They decide they still love each other. I decide I need to stick to murder books.
I read this succinct review on Goodreads, and it’s actually perfect: This entire book could’ve been 10 pages if they just COMMUNICATED
Ok I get it. I’m not insensitive. Some people want with all of their hearts and souls to have a baby. I’ve seen it with best friends and family. I know it’s devastating and soul crushing. But just fucking talk to each other. I hated this book. I wished everyone blew up at the end. I feel so cheated and angry. These people acted like stupid assholes.
Quinn is characterized as this kind-hearted and caring woman. But she isn’t. Her behavior is selfish and uncaring. I get that she is hurt and grieving because she can’t have children, but she is basing her entire self-worth (and at one point EVERY person’s entire self-worth) on having children. She is constantly going on about how she and her body are broken and how she is failing her responsibilities to Graham by not being able to give him children – which he has never said. Quite the contrary. He TRIES to make it clear to her MULTIPLE TIMES that he is with her because he loves HER and while he may want to have children, he’s ultimately okay with not having them, because he is with her because of HER and NOT because of her ability to give him a child. Quinn definitely needed a caring therapist to talk to and maybe some medication. She shouldn’t have been dealing with all of this alone, and she didn’t have to.
Also, there are like six instances where I rolled my eyes so hard I almost pulled a muscle. There are out of context overheard conversations that make everything worse. Quinn’s sister gets pregnant and she’s scared to tell her, and Quinn is offended that her sister is scared, but her sister being pregnant does make Quinn mad! There’s a blanket made of their ripped off clothes from them having sex.
I give it two stars because of 2 things. 1. They do one of my favorite things. They say the title of the book in the actual book. It’s so cheesy, but I love it. 2. I actually put in the effort to finish the book, unlike the last one I hated. It was on 1.5x speed, and it sounded a little like the Micro Machines guy read it, but I listened. If you’re obsessed with Colleen Hoover and don’t care if you hate the characters- read this book! But if not, save yourself and leave it to torture some other unsuspecting sap.