Genre: Romance
Publisher: Montlake
Pages: 335
Release Date: January 18, 2022
A troubled young mother yearns for a shot at redemption in this heartbreaking yet hopeful story from #1 New York Timesbestselling author Colleen Hoover.
After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself.
The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them.
The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing.
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Maybe I’m getting softer the older I get, but Reminders of Him is a difficult book to read in that it’s a heavy story about grief, forgiveness, and guilt. Hoover’s writing, characterizations, and the overall plot are what you’d expect from her, however Reminders of Him is my least favourite Hoover novel.
I went into Reminders of Him without reading the synopsis. I haven’t read a Hoover synopsis in awhile, so I wasn’t expecting the story I got. I’m not a fan of these types of stories just like I’m not a fan of pregnancy tropes or single parents. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I dislike kids. Would I still have read Reminders of Him had I read the synopsis? Yes.
As I mentioned previously, Reminders of Him focuses heavily on guilt, forgiveness, and grief. I can usually read a Hoover novel in one sitting, but Reminders of Him took me a few days because I had to keep putting it down. Hoover’s writing makes everything feel so real as the emotions bleed off the pages making readers sympathize with everyone in this impossible situation.
Kenna is an easy character to sympathize with since, the moment she’s introduced, Hoover breathes life into this complicated character stuck in an impossible situation. As easy as it is to sympathize with her, it’s just as easy to feel bogged down by her. To put it simply, she’s sad. Her emotions are overwhelming and most of the time it feels like everyone is out to get her. For this reason, it’s not an easy headspace to occupy. Again, this is a testament to Hoover’s writing.
Slight spoiler…
I could say that Reminders of Him ends abruptly and that things are wrapped up too neatly, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. Everyone processes grief and pain differently.
Overall, Reminders of Him showcases Hoover’s strengths as a writer as she takes readers on an incredibly emotional journey full of pain and suffering. Reminders of Him may be my least favourite Hoover novel, but not because it’s poorly written but because it’s the opposite.
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Have you read Reminders of Him? What did you think?
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