Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 365
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Hi friends. I'm back with another hot take on the latest books I've read. I am actually in a group on Facebook (surprise, surprise) that is devoted to Colleen Hoover books. It's called CoHorts. I find it amusing how hard they ride for her. I've seen posts talking about how excited they were to meet her and her mom. I've seen posts about tattoos dedicated to some of the quotes from her books. You name it, the CoHorts have probably done it and gushed about it. It's fascinating to watch and I can only hope to have such a loyal fanbase one day. That has got to be an incredible feeling.
Anyway, I was looking for something else to read, something that wasn't so dark. I had read a few darker, heavier titles recently so I wanted something that would be a little kinder to my increasingly fragile mental state. As much as I love books that aren't afraid to get dark, sometimes I need a little light after a particularly heavy few books. I saw the CoHorts gushing about this one, so I figured why not check it out. I don't even think I read the synopsis on it before reading it. I just grabbed it and jumped in. That's how much faith I have in Colleen's writing apparently. So yes. I read it, and as you can see from the rating up top, I absolutely loved it. Let's get after it.
Excerpt from Amazon
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.
Okay so yes, I am adult enough to admit that this one was more of a Young Adult fiction than an Adult Fiction, but you're only as young as you feel right? Like I said, the stories I had read before this one were a little dark so I needed something different. Apparently I unintentionally skipped over to the Young Adult section. Hi. Hello. Have we met? This is pretty on brand for me. If it's not one extreme, it's another.
The story starts off with a group of teenagers and then splits into a story about a mom and then a daughter. The first switch to the daughter's point of view confused the crap out of me. Honestly, truly, I was lost. I thought I had downloaded the wrong book for a second and was about to close it and go find the real "Regretting You." Thankfully, I keep reading and realized that we were now looking at life through the eyes of the teenage daughter. From there, the story flip flops between Morgan's point of view and Clara's point of view as they navigate their tragic loss.
The story was so cute. Like sickeningly cute. To the point where I wanted to stick my finger in my mouth and pretend to barf. It was hallmark movie cute. Lifetime movie at Christmastime kind of cute. Fluffy little puppies in bowties kind of cute. You get where I'm going here, right?
There were twists, to keep it interesting but not so many that it took away from the story. It was well written and easy to follow. I was actually reading this in the car dealership while they were sucking my bank account dry to fix my car, (that's another post for another day) and my mouth literally dropped at one particular scene. The realization about their son. Whew. Honey. I was shooketh. The nosey old lady in the chair across from me wouldn't stop staring. Clearly she wanted to know what I was looking at, but I refused to give her that satisfaction. Maybe I should have. Could have converted her into a fellow CoHort, if she wasn't one already.
This book was like a warm hug after an unbelievably stressful week. You just want to sink into it and forget all about your own life's problems while you read about Morgan, Clara, Miller, and Jonah. I even loved Gramps, Miller's grumpy grandpa. Reminded me a little of my own grandma and grandpa. They were never the happy-go-lucky old people that you see in movies. They were gruff and blunt and sometimes I loved it, but most of the time, my teenage mind was annoyed by it.
I honestly think Regretting You is my favorite Colleen Hoover book. Right behind Reminders of Him. I could definitely see this one being made into a movie and I'll be right in the front row swooning with the best of them. This was a feel good story even if it didn't have the happiest of moments. Everything worked out in the end. Sometimes it's comforting to read about a happy ending. Especially since life doesn't always offer that same luxury.
The lack of communication was irritating. Honestly, this book probably wouldn't have been half as long had Morgan just been honest with her daughter from the jump about what was going on. I understand the parental need to protect your children in theory, but the girl was old enough to be able to comprehend and process what was going on. By keeping her in the dark for so long, I think Morgan actually delayed Clara's healing. I can't even count how many times I wanted to reach into the book, shake Morgan by the shoulders, and yell: "WOMAN JUST TALK TO YOUR CHILD!!!" It was frustrating.
Clara's behavior was a bit ridiculous. Okay yes, I know she was grieving an incredible loss and teens can be selfish sometimes, but I just find it hard to believe that as smart and as intuitive as she was, it didn't occur to her until the END of the book that maybe she didn't have all the facts. The whole teenage angst, "my mom is the worst" mindset really got annoying. Morgan constantly talked about how smart she was. Jonah and Morgan were terrible at hiding the fact that they were struggling. So I don't get how she didn't see or understand any of that until the end. But maybe that's me looking at the situation through an adult perspective. Who knows how I would have handled it had I been through it as a teenager? I probably would have been just as dense.
Just in case you weren't paying attention during this lesson, Regretting You by Colleen Hoover is 100% Booky Babe Approved! It's so cute, how could I not recommend it? Maybe I am biased. Maybe I am more of a CoHort than I realized, either way, this was a pleasant read. Every now and then, when life gets a little heavy, it's good to be able to turn your brain off for a while and escape into a good book.
If you're looking for something to take your mind off of your bills or your kids are irritating you for the millionth time or maybe you just want to take a day and indulge in some much needed self-care, this book is a pleasant distraction. Shimmy on over to Amazon and grab it. I'll even be nice and give you the link to click on it here:
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So there you have it folks. Go grab a copy of Regretting You. I am pretty confident that you won't regret it. When you're done, please make sure to come back and let me know what you thought. Did Clara and Morgan's relationship irritate you as badly as it irritated me? What'd you think of the book as a whole? Did it seem like more of a young adult fiction than an adult fiction to you too? I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Be sure to check out my short stories page. It is full of stories written by yours truly. Also, be sure to
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Until then..
Happy Reading Babes!❤