I'm really disappointed in this one. I was looking for some awesome epic drama and romance that made me feel right along with the main characters. But it didn't do it for me. Not at all. I disliked the main characters and did not swoon. Also instalove.. Ugh, too bad..
“Whoever said the truth hurts was being an optimist. The truth is an excruciatingly painful son of a bitch.”
I was very unsure when I started this book if I would even finish it because it is in the New Adult genre and I’m not a fan of the majority of books in this genre due to how explicit some of the content can get. So when I started listening to this I was a bit apprehensive. Thankfully though there weren’t any explicit scenes that I can remember.
Fallon is a young woman who has been badly injured in an accident and because of this accident, she has lost almost everything that she used to be. With her cross-country move planned she’s hoping to start over and find herself.
Ben is a young man who is lost because of several things that have happened in his life that have caused him to spin out of control and turn into this person who he doesn’t even know anymore.
These two make an unlikely friendship that most likely seems won’t stand the distance and time that will happen in between them seeing each other. But somehow they both follow through on only seeing one another only one day a year with no other contact. With Ben having been challenged to write a book about what happens each year, they decide to give one another tasks to complete and then tell the other person about once they meet again. This lasts for four years and then it all goes horribly wrong.
“It took four years for me to fall in love with him. It only took four pages to stop.”
Overall I thought this book was okay, this genre still isn’t one I really enjoy reading yet, but I do see why it is so popular. I did really like seeing things from both of their points of view and how they felt about the situation and what was happening in their lives throughout the year. I really enjoyed the banter that would happen between Ben and Fallon and how there wasn’t really much awkwardness between them when they would meet up again. Yet I never really felt anything for either character besides when it all went horribly wrong and I wanted Fallon to stand her ground. But that’s beside the point. I can see why Hoover is such a popular author and I do plan on reading her YA books before I read another NA by her.
“Goals are achieved through discomfort and hard work. They aren’t achieved when you hide out in a place where you’re nice and cozy.”
This really was a pretty good story, I’m just disappointed. I liked the concept of seeing each other once a year but that romance felt pretty unrealistic even for an insta-love relationship. The plot had enough to keep me entertained the whole way through though since there was a lot going on.
I loved the character development we saw with Fallon! She turned out to be so much more confident by the end of the book!
What I Didn't Love
“For the sake of the ultimate plot twist”? Really? You mean the EXACT same plot twist I’ve seen in at least TWO of her other books? Can you tell I’m a little bitter? When I see plot twist I want some serious plot twisting! Instead, once this plot twist was revealed I’m pretty sure I groaned out loan. It’s not even a little bit different from Confess or Hopeless! The same thing happens! I honestly really liked Colleen Hoover but I think I’m done with her now. If I wanted to read the same thing over again, I’d reread the same book. This dropped my rating by two whole stars because it was actually pretty good up until this.
Who I'd Recommend To
I’d recommend this to anyone who knows that they love Colleen Hoover. If you didn’t like her other books then skip this one for sure because it’s the exact same thing. If you’re planning on reading a bunch of Colleen Hoover all at once then I recommend you throw that idea out the window because you’ll be easily bored like I was. I don’t think I’d actually recommend this one to anyone other than a current fan of hers.
Colleen Hoover has done it again! She made me feel all the feels. This was the second book of her's I read and I loved it just as much as the first one I read! She definitely has an obsessed fan out of me!
I read my first Colleen Hoover book this week and bonus! I already had a second one from my new favourite place, the library. Colleen is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. I absolutely adored Confess, and November 9 was just as enthralling. It’s quite a good idea actually, that two people meet only once a year, on November 9th. It was interesting year on year to see how Fallon and Ben’s life had moved on since their last meeting; to see what had happened in their lives and I thought that was quite an interesting aspect of the novel.
I really liked Fallon. She’s the kinda girl I could be friends with, and I admired her spirit. It takes absolute courage to move to New York, from LA, especially after all that happened, but she did it. She knew she couldn’t be an actress any more, at least not in Hollywood, so she took herself to New York, to try something new and that was pretty freaking amazing. And Ben! Ben is legitimately the perfect book boyfriend. I loved how he made Fallon feel about herself, how he didn’t let her get down about anything, and it was just so beautiful to see their relationship develop over the years.
This was such an uplifting book. It’s amazing to see how a relationship can develop and flourish year on year, when you only see someone once a year. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Fallon and Ben. What they had seemed so special, and although I knew there was going to be a sting in the tale, and it was quite surprising and devastating, it was also kind of beautiful, which is so weird to say, but it’s true. This was a really beautiful read, and I just love Colleen’s books. Now, which one do I read next?
Another solid CoHo book. She never disappoints me. I always love stories, where peoples lives are intertwined. It was quite a gasp-worthy moment when I came to the realization of why Ben and Kyle had that falling out. (Yes, I predicted it, but only a page or two before it was revealed.)
As Hoover often does, she throws in a big plot twist. I gasped audibly, and, I believe, shouted something to the like, "Curse you CoHo!", when I was reading the 4th November 9th (I think). My heart broke, and I was mad at everyone! It's the emotional roller coaster I expect from Colleen Hoover, and she always delivers.
A lot of drama, a lot of sadness, but also a lot of funny, sweet, and lovely moments. I loved how this one date, November 9, could hold so much significance, and I love the idea of turning your worst day into your best day.
Read in one day...I started because I was supposed to have it read by today, I finished because I couldn't stop reading 3
--
Colleen Hoover has done it again! She's somehow managed to do, yet again, what other authors try and fail to make me do. Tear up. I don't even get misty at those really sad animal commercials, I'm a metaphorical stone wall when it comes to emotions. And yet, November 9 had me utterly at it's mercy for an entire day. I was late getting around to reading it, so I popped it up on my kindle app just so I could get started and read it in bursts over a few days...instead I ended up devouring it while sitting behind the counter at my store.
I was a bit worried at first because November 9, sounds a lot like One Day and I think I've watched the movie of that. It was cute, but mostly the sort of fluff I don't really find myself dying to read. The parallel is there, but it just doesn't compare. November 9 has so much depth and raw emotion surrounding it's characters making the connection between these two irresistible, my heart ached for them and the damn thing even fluttered a few times. I really love that books played a big part in their relationship, and the way some of the romance book ideas are put into play are just too cute. We need more book loving characters because I could get use to this. And so many twists!
Fallon and Ben come together on her last day in L.A. and those few hours together were enough to push them into becoming who they want and they make a pact to meet up every year for five years on November 9th. I really love that we only get to see them on November 9th. We get to see who they've become in the year they were busy, how much things can change and how much things can truly stay the same. And it's not an easy road for either of them as they learn to stretch their wings on two sides of the country, have new experiences and grow separately as people. I really loved Ben and Fallon, separately and together. Ben has a lot to work through on his own, but he's such a damn romantic that he had me hooked. I think every book loving woman wants a guy who will read a book simply because it's something she loves. Instant swoon. Plus he's beyond adorable and a definite dork, so it's a win all around. I really liked that while we are given Fallon's story almost right away, Ben's story is one that slowly reveals itself over the course of those five years.
November 9 was everything I was hoping it would be. Romantic, heart breaking, and funny all in one not-so-neat but damn near perfect binding.