Confessions

Confession #1:  Although I love, love love Colleen Hoover, I did not love, love, love her newest release, Confess.  Now, before you boo me and throw things at me, please know that while I wasn't head-over-heels-in-love with Confess, that I still enjoyed it quite thoroughly.  I just don't know that I can say that I was as enamored with it as most everyone else who has read and reviewed it. Do you hate me now?  Please don't.  Please?  

Confess is a stand alone novel about Auburn who loses her boyfriend at the tender age of 16.  This affected her so profoundly that she basically swears off all males and refuses to get close to any of them.  Fast forward to age 21 and she meets Owen who seems to come into her life just when she needs him the most.  She needs a second job, he has a job for her.  She needs someone just to care about her, and Owen (oh Owen) is there for that too. Is their meeting just a coincidence?  Maybe...maybe not.  Owen deals in confessions every day of his life, but he's not going to tell Auburn his own deepest secret.

For some reason, Auburn is feeling those same familiar feelings for Owen that she felt with the boyfriend that she lost.  This is the first time she's ever felt like this since him and it scares her, yet excites her too.  The only problem is that Auburn has her own secrets, or confessions, that she's yet to reveal.  Then, add in Trey who has an obvious crush on Auburn (and happens to be the brother of the deceased kid) and we've got quite the wicked web of love.  Unfortunately, Trey isn't willing to play by the rules either.  He's determined to make Auburn his.


So there's the synopsis of the novel in a nutshell.  Although I liked the concept of the story with the anonymous confessions and how they inspired beautiful art work by such a young, talented artist, I still felt like this wasn't a typical Hoover novel.  Was the connection between Auburn and Owen not there?  Were all the twists throughout a bit over-the-top?  Well, maybe and maybe.  All I know is that something clearly defining this as a Colleen Hoover novel was missing for me.  I wish I could say what it was exactly but I've racked my brain over the past two days and come up with nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  Just something.  

Confession #2:  I'm a Co-Hort and very pleased and proud of that...but I'm terrified to let the others know how I feel about this book.  I'm a little afraid to hit the publish button on this. I've been hyping the hell out of it on my Facebook blog page for months.  I've done nothing but pimp the crap outta this title.  Is something wrong with me because I'm not "5-staring" Confess,  and it appears that the majority of those reading and reviewing it are absolutely l-o-v-i-n-ging the heck out of it.  

I'm happy for Colleen and the overwhelming support and love for her newest release.  I hope she continues to churn out more fabulous work.  For me though, this was a 3.5 star book.  I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something good to read...but I'm not going to hound you about it.

(and now I'm nervously going to hit publish)