Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
First off I read the free excerpt on the new Crave app that has little videos embedded in an ebook version of the book and loved that. I was torn as to whether to continue that route or buy the book and ended up buying a paperback edition since it had been so long since I've held a good book in my hands. I still am struggling whether to try the app again because I did love the idea of it, but isn't some of the fun of reading using your imagination to dream up how the characters looked and interacted. My one try on the Crave app was awesome and I wasn't disappointed with who they chose to portray Ben, but I'm hesitant that a book hunk might fall short of how I imagined him to be and it would distract me from the story. This cover was simple and not covered with the typical sexy half-naked character romance novels usual portray, so I wasn't embarrassed to whip this out on my travels and read this in the airports. I love how captivating her novels always are this one does not disappoint. It's been the most refreshing novel I've read in a long while. I love how it feel like it has so many punch lines. There were so many times throughout that I wanted to stop and post a quote that I had just read from it. It was catchy and relatable. I love how real and vulnerable she makes the characters. I've read reviews that hate how weak Fallon is, but to me I relate to that so I enjoy reading a character who to me needed Ben to help her initially pick her head up from looking at the ground and from there she blossomed on her own. The extent of her doubts and insecurities were dramatized through her accident, but I still could relate to how easy it is to just give up and live below the radar avoiding peoples gaze.
The characters were full of life and heartbreak and I built a connection to all of them. The only one that seemed to play a large part in Fallon's life that wasn't brought much into the story was her mother. She had her memories of lectures at the beginning, but for being the reason Fallon was as strong and grounded as she was, her mother didn't make much of an appearance. I loved the twists and how many things connected in the end, but realistically it's hard to see how you can love someone that almost killed you, be it accident or not. Also how he got away with it and how awkward family get-togethers must be after that reveal. I can't imagine spending time as Ben with my dead mother's boyfriend and also the father will sooner or later connect Ben as his late girlfriend's son and that should raise enough questions that might get him caught for his past criminal acts. I also can imagine that every time they would get into a fight down the road Fallon would have the trump card that "you almost killed me" and to know he is the cause every time she looks in the mirror and might still feel uncomfortable with any part of my body. I don't like the intensity or how Ben tells her she is not allowed to ever not love her appearance. Everyone has their bad days and to get a lecture from him and not be able to open up about concerns she might have with her appearance because she is not allowed to be self-conscious would irritate me. Anyways, I love Colleen's work in November 9 because she makes me feel like I could have lived her stories. I relate to their relationships and struggles and am already trying to figure out what's next and what this couple might face past the epilogue. I will say that I love how she constructs her stories. I love how much thought and detail she puts into every aspect of them. I'd highly recommend this book to the young adult audience as well as romance lovers everywhere. You become apart of this story as you read it and that is my favorite part of all Colleen Hoover's work.