November 9 Review

Annie
Sep 12, 2021
4 min read

A story that spans over 7 years on one day.

Quick rundown:

📖title: November 9

✍🏼author: @colleenhoover

🗓genre: contemporary romance

🔢pages: 304

🏆rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day, Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?

Beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with an unforgettable love story between a writer and his unexpected muse.

My Review

I swear, at this point, I think Colleen Hoover has taken days off of my life. First off, from the suspense. Second, I can’t seem to shake the issue of always having to finish the same day... It's an addiction, but I'm not complaining.

Hoover has perfected her craft of creating a compelling storyline that provides enough to trap you in but leaves you wandering enough to continue until you are fulfilled. Fallon and Ben have both been affected by tragedy. Both in different ways, yet equally intimate. Ben is a student who has undoubted talent as a promising author. Fallon lived a life of fame and glory until an accident left her scarred in more ways than one.

When the two cross paths the day that Fallon is set to move across the country. However, a palpable bond between the two sets a tone neither of them has ever experienced. For the first time, Fallon meets a boy who can see past her scars. With this, he can reach in even further in trying to unmask the insecurity that has plagued Fallon ever since the accident. For the first time, she feels beautiful. For Ben, he sees a girl so beautiful that he cannot see himself living a life without her beyond that moment. As they make the most of their day together, they become so intertwined that they know that there is no means that this can be an end. Instead of accepting that they would never see each other again, they decided to meet the same day the following year. Between that, no communication, no reaching out, nothing. November 9th comes to hold much significance to both in the past, present, and future.

Over the next five years, we revisit Fallon and Ben. Over time, many changes in both of their lives changed the paths they thought they were bound to follow. Yet, one thing is unchanging, and that is their undeniable love for one another. Obstacles get in the way, and love gets hard. Their agreement of meeting once a year gets plagued, and it sometimes seems as though it will not be as easy as they first thought. It becomes even more triggering when Fallon begins to wonder if Ben keeps coming back for her...or his storyline.

These stories fill me up so entirely. I just can never put them down. This one just really tugged at my heart. The story can seem so fast-paced, yet it depicts a love story that blooms slowly. Hoover does a perfect job of bouncing back and forth between the two characters, allowing us to see how they have changed in the year since they last met. This allows for a true relationship to be formed between the reader and the two main characters. You'll find yourself overwhelmed by the love and then questioning everything, then somehow looping back again. But that is what Hoover is known for. You'll leave her works a different reader than you were when you started. It is poetic and beautiful. The characters are so different from one another, yet so rich. Have tissues handy — per usual!

Also, if you read Hoover’s Ugly Love before this, you’re in for a special treat! Not required, but recommended!

And now I find myself in that place wondering when I have another straight 24 hours free so that I can devour another Colleen Hoover book! & more importantly, which is next?!

Some of my Favorite Quotes

“You’ll never be able to find yourself if you’re lost in someone else.”

“When you find love, you take it. You grab it with both hands and you do everything in your power not to let it go. You can’t just walk away from it and expect it to linger until you’re ready for it.”

“If we’re going to kiss, it has to be book-worthy.”