Regretting You by Colleen Hoover

Regretting You

by Colleen Hoover

From #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us comes a novel about family, first love, grief, and betrayal that will touch the hearts of both mothers and daughters.

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.

Reviewed by Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading on

5 of 5 stars

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4.5 stars

This book left me breathless. This is my fourth time reading Hoover, and she is a word maestro. Her stories, which I have read so far, elicited a wide range of emotions, which varied from screaming, crying, laughing and smiling. Her latest novel Regretting You had the same effect.

The story started out with a glimpse in the lives of four teenagers two of whom were related by blood. They appeared to be happy, but things were not as they seem. A life-changing event occurred that changes the whole dynamics of their relationship. Fast-forward seventeen years later, two of the four teens, Morgan and Chris were married and they have a daughter named Clara. Everything thing appeared to be going well, but then tragedy struck and Morgan and Clara’s life would be forever changed.

One moment I wanted to scream at Morgan and Clara and next I found myself sympathizing with their plight. Morgan refuses to be forthright with her daughter, and Clara’s rebellious streak reared its ugly head. This led to a breakdown in their relationship. Their actions, however, were a product of the tragedy that had invaded their lives. The situations they faced daily proved more than they could handle and they ended up making choices, which hurt each other.

Told from alternate POVs the story propelled me into the minds of Clara and Morgan. Their pain resonated within me, which allowed me to understand the reasoning behind their actions, not that I agreed with them all.

The author introduced an element of romance, which I enjoyed watching develop. However, I took issue with Clara’s actions in navigating her new relationship. There was one particular thing she did that made me angry, all because she wanted to get back at her mother. I found her actions irrational and irresponsible. Regarding Morgan’s relationship, I am glad she got her second chance.

Morgan was the epitome of what a good mother should be. Everything she did was out of love for Clara. She sacrificed her happiness to ensure that her daughter never made the mistakes she did.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Regretting You is a poignant story of infidelity, betrayal, grief, sacrifices, love, healing, forgiveness, honesty, friendships and family. It was beautifully written and one I would recommend to adults and young adults.


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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 12 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 12 December, 2019: Reviewed