Book Review: Confess



Author: Colleen Hoover
Published: 2015
Publisher: Atria Books
Number of Pages: 306
My Rating: 3

Summary from Goodreads.com:
Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.
For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.
The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…





I have something to confess- this was not one of my favorite Colleen Hoover novels. Now before you chase me with pitchforks, let me reiterate that I LOVE CoHo and have really enjoyed all of the books by her that I've read, but this one fell a little flat. Let me explain.

The story starts off with an interesting beginning about two young lovers, one about to lose his battle to cancer. Auburn, the main character, is crushed and is simply trying to be strong for her dying boyfriend, Adam. Even though she is only fifteen, she loves him with all of her heart and doesn't know if she'll ever be able to pick up the pieces and move on.

Flash forward a few years and Auburn has mysteriously moved to Texas where she is alone but determined and focused on her goals. Nothing can mess that up… until she meets Owen. Owen, the perfectly imperfect artist who is so flawless and gorgeous yet cracked under the surface. Owen, who is dark and mysterious yet completely attracted to this awkward stranger who literally stumbles into his studio. Owen, who is interested in pursuing Auburn and yet remaining emotionally unavailable at the same time. Catch what I'm throwin’?

Auburn is her own mess of a character. She is clumsy, innocent, and essentially a victim in need of rescuing. I understand that the point of a romance perhaps is to have a bland main character so the reader can project themselves into the story, but I'm tired of protagonists that need a man to save them. It also bothered me that as soon as Auburn started flirting with Owen, she basically called herself a slut and couldn't believe what she was doing. Okaaaay. I'll admit, there were some plot twists that I didn't see coming that were truly shocking, so that alone would be a reason to pick this one up.

The romance between Auburn and Owen was enough to pique my interest and get me to keep reading, but overall there were just too many cliches in this book to make me really like it. Clumsy girl. Hot yet jaded man. Douchebag trying to steal the girl. Something keeping them apart… You get it. Maybe I'm a love hater and need to take a break from romance for awhile, but I'll save that story for another confession.




-Busy Brunette



Labels: ,