November 9 by Colleen Hoover on November 10, 2015
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / New Adult, Fiction / Women
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
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“When you find love, you take it. You grab it with both hands and you do everything in your power not to let it go. You can’t just walk away from it and expect it to linger until you’re ready for it.”
“It took four years for me to fall in love with him. It only took four pages to stop.”
This novel follows two teenagers, Fallon O’Neil and Ben Kessler. Fallon used to be a teen actress, until one day an unfortunate fire causes her face and body to be scarred, limiting her opportunities in the acting world. Ben is an aspiring writer in college who hopes to one day publish a book. The two of them meet randomly on November 9, with Ben swooping in and helping Fallon out with her father. From that first day they met, there was undeniably attraction to each other. With their lives moving in different directions, they decide to meet again every year on November 9 for the next 6 years until they’re both 23. Every year they meet until they eventually fall in love with each other. However, things get messy when Fallon discovers a secret Ben has been hiding from her.
I loved the premise of November 9. Two strangers who are instantly drawn to each other, plan to meet up on the same day and time for the next six years. Colleen Hoover tends to write love stories that have to revolve around trauma, death, and pain, and this novel is no different. Love demands no reason, for love never ceases to exist once it appears. And for those who love for reason, it ceases to exist when the reason ceases to. The two decide to meet every year on the same day, without any contact in between.
I gave this book a four-star rating. I enjoyed following along with their love story, but did find the theme to be very unrealistic. Especially with technology these days, there would be no way that they could avoid contacting each other for a year in between. I just don’t find it believable. Though, if you can get past that thought, the novel hits you again in all the feels like all her other novels have.