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With Reminders of Him, Colleen Hoover cements her status as queen of the emotional read.

You'd think having read so many of Hoover's books, I would be better prepared. One, always have a box of tissues ready. Two, never read it in public. But I haven't learned my lesson. This time, I was in the doctor's office, sitting in the waiting room, when I got walloped with the feels. I tried to pass it off as allergies, but sobbing and allergies don't exactly look the same, you know?

Kenna has just been released from prison, where she served her time for an accident that had forever altered the course of her life. She returns to the town where it all went wrong, in the hopes of being reunited with the daughter she's never known. But old grudges die hard, and the town isn't so ready to welcome her back. The only ally she may have is Ledger, owner of the local bar, who has his own ties to her past.

This book sure packs a punch. I don't know if it's just where I am in my life currently, but reading about Kenna's separation from her daughter was particularly painful and heartbreaking. It was hard not to cry through most of it, if I'm being honest. The other thing that really struck a chord with me is Kenna's hope for a second chance after having done her time. It's still pretty rare for literature to include this important theme, and I'm always so heartened to see it.

There are so many sides to this story, so many different ways of looking at it. There's no real right or wrong, just lots of gray in the middle. It wouldn't surprise me if a lot of readers felt strongly that Kenna's situation is too harsh or too lenient. And I certainly wouldn't be surprised if those two groups ended up overlapping, with the same readers feeling both. This is exactly the sort of story that balances on an edge, tugging your heartstrings one way, then another.

If I had one quibble, it's that the pacing of the story felt a little bit off. The middle part dragged on for longer than necessary without much in the way of plot advances. Then when we get to the end, the resolution happens seemingly out of nowhere, without any of the anticipated pushbacks. After the odyssey that was the journey, the ending felt a bit abrupt to me.

Still, Colleen Hoover is known for delivering eminently readable stories, and this is just as riveting as the rest. Though she puts so much emotional toil into them, they never make me want to turn away. I want to continue flipping the pages. I want to feel whatever emotional punishment she has in store for me. And that's what makes her stories so special.

Just don't forget my two tips if you're going to read this. And maybe I'll even remember them myself one day.

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See also, my thoughts on:
It Ends with Us �� It Starts with Us
Verity
Regretting You
Ugly Love
Layla
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