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Monday, June 1, 2015

Book Review: Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover

Hey, guys! Happy June. :) I have a review for you today of Colleen Hoover's book Maybe Someday, so let's jump right in.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!! DON'T READ BELOW THE RED LINE IF YOU HAVEN'T YET READ THE BOOK AND DON'T WISH TO BE SPOILED!!!

Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover




Synopsis

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She's in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her--and she's forced to decide what her next move should be.


Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there's something about Sydney that Ridge can't ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.


A passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance, Maybe Someday will immerse readers in Sydney's tumultuous world from the very first page.




Ridge works from home, and writes songs for his and his brother's locally successful band, Sounds of Cedar. He is in a five year relationship with  Maggie, a beautiful and sweet girl, and shares his home with two quirky and amusing roommates, Warren and Bridgette. He and Maggie are currently doing  semi-long distance for their relationship, and she comes to visit him around every other weekend or so. 


"I can't deny it, though. Anyone who watches how passionately this guy plays would crush on his talent."

Sydney is a college student, rooming with her best friend Tori, and in a two year long relationship with her boyfriend, Hunter. 
Sydney and Ridge are neighbors, and connect through a mutual love of music. Ridge plays the guitar on his balcony nearly every night, and Sydney tentatively starts writing songs to his melodies. When it is reveled that Hunter has been cheating on Sydney -with Tori, no less -, Ridge opens his door to Sydney until she gets back on her feet.


"It's not so easy when you're trying to win the war against the heart."

From there, we are swept away on a very slow-building romance between the two, with a heavy emphasis on the characters' connection and dealing with feelings for someone else while already being in a "committed" relationship. There are brilliant highs and staggering lows, and it's even more complicated than you'd think. We learn something monumental around 60% of the way into the book, and that puts an entirely new spin on this almost three way relationship (no, not like that, you dirty ho ;)). 


"For her I bend, for you I break."

As usual with Hoover's writing, I breezed through Maybe Someday. Her writing is effortless and completely absorbing. She has a real gift for story telling and absorbing the reader that I've only ever seen in a few other authors.




"I want you to hear me love you."

In a very unusual turn of events for the New Adult genre, Ridge is deaf.  I found this to be interesting and refreshing to see, and it made Ridge's inner voice so compelling. It put a unique perspective on all of his relationships and the way he saw life altogether, and that was beautiful. I love a hero that isn't perfect. 
The connection between Sydney and Ridge was beautiful and intense, and aside from the issue I'll be talking about in a second, this would've been a 4.5 star read for me. I loved seeing them together, I loved their interactions and banter, and I adored how they just got each other. 

I really, really enjoyed the lyrics throughout the book. This is sort of a theme with Hoover's writing; her books Slammed and Confess both had art elements in them (poetry and painting, respectively) and as an artist myself, it's something I appreciate seeing. 
The book actually has its own original soundtrack done by Griffin Peterson, and it's really good. It adds an extra element to the book that made it come alive. You can find it on iTunes under either Griffin Peterson or Maybe Someday, and of course it's on YouTube. 

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------------SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!-----------------SPOILERS!!!!!!!------------------SPOILERS!!!!!!----------

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Seriously, you will be spoiled if you read any more.




What almost ruined this book for me was surprisingly not the love triangle, but the way Ridge handled Sydney. As we learn a little more than halfway into Maybe Someday, Ridge's girlfriend, Maggie, has a life threatening and life shortening genetic condition. While Ridge admits to being in love with Sydney, he adamantly refuses to leave Maggie, citing her condition as the reason. Not only is the beyond unfair to Sydney, it's wrong to Maggie. "Hey, babe, so I've met this other girl. She's amazing, and I'm completely in love with her. But don't worry, I'm staying with you because you'll probably be dead by the time you're 30, and I feel bad leaving you. Soooo, I'll stay with you while constantly thinking about and missing this other girl. M'kay?"
That rankled me beyond belief, and he only went to Sydney because Maggie cut him loose. In my eyes, Sydney will always be second best, and that is not something I'd want to be in a relationship. God. I'm getting pissed all over again just talking about it. It says something about Hoover's talent that I was able to finish and mostly enjoy the story after reading that.  Ridge did redeem himself a bit towards the end, though.



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"It's you. My heart wants you."

Aside from that, I really enjoyed this story. The ending was beyond sweet, and their sex scene was tasteful and beautiful. It wasn't my favorite Colleen Hoover book, but I did like it and it was well written and engaging.

STATS:

Rating: 3.5 stars
Genre: New adult, contemporary romance
Series: Standalone, with a spin off of another couple
POV: Dual 1st person
Steam/sexual content: Some steam, mild/non-explicate sex
Cliffhanger: No
HEA: Yes
Warnings: Cheating, mild sex, mild language 
Length: 384 pages
Published: March 18th, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
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- The Bibliophile Babe




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