I solved my NOVEMBER 9 Mystery - Colleen Hoover's most unhinged book yet?

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Thanks again to Incogni for sponsoring! The first 100 people to use code AMANDA at incogni.com/amanda will get 60% off! I still have a headache from the mental gymnastics this book tries to pull

[@KeybladeMasterAndy]

But do the data brokers actually go through with removing it?

[@zoegallagher6739]

@@KeybladeMasterAndy😊

[@raeburnoliver6334]

"I dont want to be your first, Fallon. I want to be your last." That sounds like a death threat....

[@jessieladipo9272]

I had the exact same thought. Eun Fallon; else you are going to end end up chained up in a basement.

[@strawberryfox8819]

Legit. I've read the "I want to be your last" in many fanfics and it's romantic, but not when Ben's the one saying it.

[@blaisetelfer8499]

Seriously. That sounds like something a femme fatale would say to James Bond before she attacks him

[@Azura-wo8fm]

Klaus Mikaelson said something similar to Caroline in the Vampire Diaries series, I just thought it was cool when it was Klaus saying to Caroline, this from Ben and Fallon seems like a threat or whatever

[@P0rk_Sinigang]

Ben Kessler heard "'Til death do us part" and though, "Bet."

[@jessieladipo9272]

I hate this book. I thought it was coded horror. He literally ruined her whole life, and she apologizes to him? WTF!

[@Gchildwarrior]

This should have been horror, not romance

[@valentinegonsalves7322]

Haven't read the book. But I've seen it on shelves at the bookstore in my neighborhood. Now, I'm not American. And I didn't know what genre Colleen Hoover wrote. I saw the cover and assumed it was an account of fictional people on a day that a real life event took place. Because in Asia we write dates differently. So November 09 is 09/11.😂😂

[@martinsriber7760]

Colleen Hoover definitely seems like a person who wouldn't look up what fourth degree burns are before giving them to the main character of her book.

[@userabby17]

FRR! Omg the way Fallon was throughout the book like no way did she have 4th degree burns. She would've literally gotten her arm amputated, and serious years of rehabilitation, the disrespect to actually burn victims is insane

[@WowUrFcknHxC]

Wait, hold up. Not one of her editors made her change it either. 4th degree burns have 30% or more total Surface area burned and a 20% risk of fatality. And if you survive, you'll have an insanely high risk of infection while you're healing. And healing will require incredibly painful skin grafts over the coming months. Not to mention the lifelong PTSD.

[@ammie886]

​​@@WowUrFcknHxCActually, the classification 4th degree burn means it goes very deep, into the tissue underneath the skin. It doesn't say anything about how much surface area is burned.

[@easolinas1233]

I imagine her thought process was not unlike Nigel's from "This Is Spinal Tap." These burns go to eleven!

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

@@WowUrFcknHxC the 20% risk of fatality is acutely, meaning right after the burn. After that, there's very very low risk. The burn itself is actually painless since the nerves are destroyed, too.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

If it's popular on booktok, it's automatically a red flag for me. Also, fourth degree burns literally reach the bone so she'd have far more than scars.

[@DuelistKoi93]

Maybe the scars were on her soul all along (?

[@Kris-wo4pj]

Its popular for them to rip apart. Esp since the dude is harassing his most popular critics on booktok. He sounds as unhinged as his "lovr interests".

[@emackenzie]

​@@Kris-wo4pj Am I just not reading right or did you mean for this to be a reply to a different comment

[@starlight8554]

@@DuelistKoi93maybe the real scars were the friends we made along the way

[@Air_Serpent]

skin graphs?

[@trinaq]

So, Ben basically ruins Fallon's entire life and acting career, keeps her in the dark for ages, and violates a restraining order, yet she's goaded into forgiving HIM, for no discernible reason?!

[@daniellavaladez7820]

I just can’t believe how popular this trash book is, the red flags are so huge they might as well be blankets. Colleen Hoover is bad and she should feel bad. The fact that her books are so popular on TikTok seriously makes me want to lose my faith in humanity.

[@nont18411]

There’s another character who also got burned alive by a character named Ben. But unlike Fallon, this character had a rational mindset of seeking vengeance against Ben and made a rational decision by killing Ben off when he met Ben again. That character is Anakin Skywalker.

[@Oobs212]

By her own mother, no less..

[@thefriesofLockeLamora]

When you get a chance, a booktuber called a clockwork reader did an omnibus video of Colleen's most popular books and Ms Hoover's storytelling is as unpleasant as you imagine

[@justwonder1404]

I believe she also ended up apologizing, if the retellings are true.

[@skyestinson6499]

Someone told me they believe colleen hoover is in the wrong genre and should actually be a horror novelist and I can see that.

[@AmbassadorKat]

I agree, she could be writing actually good psychological thrillers or horror with just a little bit of appropriate editing

[@gulcecicekbalak783]

I believe she is, she just hasn't realized yet lol

[@emcaco]

Just looked up CH in Libby and they are recommending thriller/horror books in the Books Like This list, they know what's up

[@nonoticarly8778]

Fourth degree burns literally affect your muscle tissues, tendons, and nerves. I haven't read this but I would assume that her burns are not THAT debilitating

[@AmandaTheJedi]

oddly enough that is never mentioned or at least not a current problem she's facing, it really is the appearance aspect that it's focused on

[@charischannah]

@@AmandaTheJedi Ideally an author should double-check when they use medical terminology or other specifics that they may not have in-depth knowledge of, but it's also the editor's job to fact-check stuff like this. I once had to explain to an author why they couldn't just put people in induced comas for a day or so because there is, in fact, a very distinct difference between induced comas and sedation.

[@nonoticarly8778]

@@AmandaTheJedi Maybe it's a metaphor~ (just kidding, it's for plot and not even really that)

[@tonyyao4785]

Yeah… I’m sure given how in this book focuses more on the aesthetics of the burns means that this author really did not do research on what fourth degree burns really are(basically anakin on mustafar times 10 in the horror department)

[@johnbell1222]

My money is she was thinking of second degree burns but got the scale the wrong way around and never bothered to check.

[@molly-katebritton9414]

Every time I see a CoHo book being horrendous I remember that her son assaulted a girl and when the girl told her, Colleen blocked her.

[@0MelleJune0]

I beg you pardon!? 😮

[@molly-katebritton9414]

@@0MelleJune0 Yup. She did eventually respond to the allegations by posting a thing on facebook, but in her statement she basically said that her son didn't do anything wrong and the girl was lying, but also said she made her son take accountability for his actions, which... either he didn't do anything *or* he needs to be held accountable, not both.

[@0MelleJune0]

@@molly-katebritton9414 That's making things even worse of what I knew about her and her work...

[@slimkt]

@@molly-katebritton9414it was private fb group, to boot. Not a great look.

[@tmntaddict]

Never say "the WORST" because there's always the next thing that could make it look like a Care Bears novel.

[@bigbearkat2010]

I remember learning that lesson from Twilight. It gets real awkward when that bad thing gives birth to an even worse thing.

[@nont18411]

@@bigbearkat2010 Twilight opened the pandora box of the romance genre

[@bigbearkat2010]

@@nont18411mostly what I was getting at. I remember commenting on one of Amanda's videos once that we declared it the worst thing in pop culture and fanfic writers took that as a personal challenge

[@Butterfly-ql4pg]

​@@bigbearkat2010Seriously. I remember thinking Twilight was the worst romance ever written for the longest time, but then I discovered book couples that made Edward and Bella look perfectly functional by comparison

[@TarisLuna]

I remember when people said "still a better lovestory than twilight" about a lot of bad romance stuff. I want that back, there's too much way worse now.

[@PerpetualJoy]

Call me old fashioned, but having "consensual" relations with someone under false pretenses (like concealing the fact that you are the one who set their house on fire and disfigured them) is still a form of SA in my book. like sure maybe you dont wanna just tell someone that but like stay away from them maybe if you arent honest about it

[@poetrymafia27]

Absolutely, thanks for commenting on that. I hate how normal that specific type of sex crime is so normal in books movies and TV

[@impposter560]

I don't think thats old fashioned, really. I DO think its... cheapening?? the seriousness SA to call it that. Would she have noped out of the situation if she knew about it? Yes. Is that fact that he withheld that information disgusting? YES. But she wasn't coerced or forced into sleeping with him. It was absolutely reprehensible, but it wasn't criminal and it wasn't assault. Like if you were comparing severity from a legal standpoint it would be civil rather than criminal, or something??? (I understand where you're coming from emotionally tho👍)

[@RightsForZombies]

@@impposter560 But it’s using deception to get sex, which is still SA. It doesn’t have to be coercive in the sense you’re talking about.

[@PerpetualJoy]

@@impposter560 I agree that I wouldn't class it as r***, which is horrible and definitely should be criminally prosecuted, but if something like unwanted groping is still considered SA, I would consider this at least as bad as that. Idk, something is very wrong with the situation, it would be hard not to feel violated but maybe it would fall more under harassment or emotional damage/abuse rather than SA

[@coolsenjoyer]

I would call you the opposite of old fashioned. Aside from what's popular in shitty romance novels, we've been progressively getting better about what counts as actual consent

[@elsam7720]

The issue with CH books isn't even the content, it's the fact that the conversation about the behaviors being unhealthy doesn't exist in the framework of the books. It would be FINE if there was even a SINGLE page at the beginning acknowledging that it's a work of fantasy which shouldn't be aspirational. But the positive conversations around the books show absolutely NONE of that self awareness (especially since they were popularized on tiktok which is too short for any nuance)

[@AmandaTheJedi]

Considering how Colleen reasons out character behaviours (especially in this book) I genuinely don't think she understands how bad half what she puts out there is. For me it really is the content - you can have abusive characters, but when you're using other characters as 'voices of reason' to explain away those abusive traits, or even make them seem good, that's where the bigger issue is.

[@elsam7720]

Oh god I just finished the video and I really forgot how awful it gets. Yeah I think you're right about this one lol Thank you for continuously putting your sanity on the line for our entertainment by reacting to toxic waste like this

[@weirdweebwanja6813]

My brain just lagged because since i am from switzetland, i read CH as the shortage of my country and i couldnt figure oyt why swiss books were bad or what they had to do with this video🤦🏻‍♀️😂

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

@@elsam7720 In my opinion. While I agree people can have conversations about this book and a terrible part about it is how the author portrays horrible behaviors as good, I don't believe it needs to be pointed out with a disclaimer be made in the book. It's obviously a work of fiction. I think we need to be smarter and not have these things spoonfed to us. That's why we go to school and have classes on literature and reading.

[@strawberryfox8819]

​@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommeNo, it definitely needs to be pointed out because her books are marketed towards impressionable teens. And even then, a lot of content in her books is triggering (such as mentions of graphic injuries, SA or su*cide), all of which should require a trigger warning. People should know what they're getting into and when you know a large part of your audience consists of teens who often base their expectations of romance around fiction, you need to make at least one disclaimer that this behavior isn't okay in real life. Literally fanfic websites have a better tagging system. And school unfortunately doesn't cover YA books and the dangers of its portrayal of romance and relationships.

[@aaroncollins7514]

"HE PUT HIS SCARS ON DISPLAY FOR YOU." "Mom, he set me on fire."

[@some1namedno1]

"A genuine misunderstanding of how humans work." - This should be quoted on the cover of every one of Colleen's books.

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

Love this comment

[@nont18411]

Actually, the real WORST one is a book “Maybe Not”. The male protagonist of that book is a violent rapist who has no redeeming quality what so ever. At least Ben in Nov 9 has some little guilt for his actions. The bar is in hell here.

[@katherineeaster5799]

I just finished posting the same thing. I can't believe more people don't talk negatively about that book.

[@ErieMaxwell]

Oh god, agreed. It's one of the few books that has made me physically ill tbh. Like VC Andrews if all of THAT was somehow treated as a healthy relationship instead of genuinely cut from a horror story.

[@bishakhanandimajumder]

Hell? The bar is where even satan can't reach it.

[@TheBonkleFox]

The bar is below the bedrock layer.

[@SatanicPizza-fo2ei]

Damn. I read a book where the female protag raped a man in the shower 💀 AND NOBODY speaks about this book. I feel so bad for that guy 😭 He was meant to be that evil government guy that is threatening the protag, but the whole book long I was only able to root for him and then he got screwed over in several ways

[@ceilinh6004]

I *love* it when the main characters of books have a deep dark secret that they actively avoid thinking about in detail so that they can string the reader along. 🙄

[@rebeccajesse4604]

lol it’s done really well in one of my favorite series but it’s not super dark and isn’t a romance book at all. It’s more of a heist story and the reveal is really satisfying because when you reread it you see that through the entire book, which is told from this character’s point of view, he’s keeping this secret while also not lying. It’s pretty impressive writing in my opinion.

[@FallingBloodrain]

I literally laugh/snorted when Amanda went and bought the book just to throw it. The little "Neh!" killed me.

[@koivunen2489]

On the scale of book-throwing, Dan Olson's chucking of "Grey" is still my favourite, but we have a strong contestant here!

[@ColeAndPhoebeForever]

Oh, that's what you did, Amanda? Wow, that's dedication, right there, I just would've picked up any random book and thrown it, but you bought the real one? Amazing, keep it for the next Colleen Hoover book you're going to review because you'll probably need to throw it again; that should be you're throwing prop book for when something really ticks you off! BTW, I bought the November 9 on Audible because I really liked the narrator for Benton, and, after listening to your review, I just had to see for myself!

[@Spagoooterman]

I thought she borrowed it from the library simply to throw it

[@RightsForZombies]

As someone who has some who has very deforming scars due to lifesaving surgery as an infant, if someone told me I don’t have the right to feel negative emotions about them I’d want to deck them. I’m lucky that mine are on my abdomen so they’re easy to hide, but I literally had my internal organs in the wrong place when I was born and they were re-arranged so it’s not just a massive, ugly scar across my whole abdomen, my abdomen is lumpy in multiple places due to my organs being in the wrong place. It means my waist doesn’t go in as much on one side as the other as well. I had a killer body as a teenager and would never wear a bikini because of it even though I really wanted to. It is ugly and even after partial corrective plastic surgery it’s still bad and the lumpiness is permanent and has nothing to do with weight. It might be less obvious if I were heavier, but I think even then it would be noticeable in anything too clingy. I’m grateful to the doctors who saved my life, because my situation was extremely serious and I had to be resuscitated twice. I have lifelong health issues as a result. But no, I have the right to want to hide my weird lumpy scarred abdomen if I want to. Piss off, Colleen. Ironically I used to be an actor when I was a child/teen and it was never an issue. Costuming would find a way around it on the rare occasions it came up. Body doubles are a thing and so is styling, shitty dad.

[@rebeccajesse4604]

Your relationship with your body is your own, it doesn’t matter how others see it. Thats like saying “my body is worthless if he/she/I done feel a certain way about it. No one else should think they have the right to control that narrative. Especially after knowing he set the fire, he just didn’t want her to not like her scars to make himself feel better.

[@sneakysnek572]

I feel like Colleen has never spoken to a burn victim in her life. Or a doctor for that matter, or anyone who’s been in the medical field, bc 4th degree burns would’ve gone to Fallon’s bones, and scars would be the least of her problems

[@Khenfu_Cake]

No shit. If one of her arms has suffered 4th degree burns (as the book implies) it would have been amputated, because it's very unlikely it would ever become useable again. It's possible Colleen Hoover confused 4th degree burns with 3rd and 2nd degree. But that might be a tad too generous of me to assume.

[@marshalhammel5065]

@@Khenfu_Cake that or she thought 4th degree burns sounded more severe and added to the drama and didn't bother with research. This is the video I've seen of this author, but she seems to excel at junk writing. Where the story doesn't have to be good, just impactful. Like with Stephanie Myers and E. L. James.

[@sneakysnek572]

@@Khenfu_Cake I’m of the mind that Colleen didn’t do any research, and it lowkey pisses me off. I’m a licensed PCT, and I had to learn this stuff, but it’s not that hard to do a quick google search. It’s disappointing that such a popular author doesn’t even put a little effort into her books

[@Khenfu_Cake]

@@sneakysnek572 I agree. A quick Google search would have the description of the different degrees of burns on the first page of the search results. It's pure laziness on Hoover's part. She definitely needs a new editor who can actually do the fact checking for her, when she clearly doesn't want to.

[@sneakysnek572]

@@moon-moth1 oh definitely. Not to mention the “her boobs, both of them” line. She wouldn’t HAVE both boobs if one got 4th degree burns

[@mels1918]

The way my mother would have beaten my ass for taking him back after the reveal. She’d be like did I teach you nothing!?!?

[@pusheenqueen519]

Oh man I still haven't recovered from watching KrimsonRouge's review. Also (SPOILER) gotta love how the ML, who’s directly responsible for the FL's burns and her resulting trauma, inner monolgues about how it's a shame she covers up her body so much and she ought to wear sexier clothes.

[@Ashbrash1998]

It really gives me the idea that he's fetishizing what he did to her

[@TheGoofy1932]

She should also smile more too. CoHo is trash 🗑. Any of the books on Tik Tok are generally glaring red 🚩 for me. So disappointing that books like hers sell so many copies when good authors have a hard time even getting published.

[@poetrymafia27]

🤮🤮🤮

[@tonichan89]

KR reviewed CoHo?! I gotta--

[@Cheetahgirl_Studios]

Yep… WHAT A CHARMER… Honestly idc if this is what CoHo sees as romantic. If someone gave me bone deep burns, I don’t care how dreamy they are. They’re getting sued.

[@sarag9572]

Jokes on me because I already suffered through it. I hate that so many romanticize this toxic and abusive relationship, just because he doesn’t physically hit her doesn’t mean it’s not abusive. Ben is a walking red flag and that people make him out to be the victim and basically guilt Fallon to take him back even though he had done nothing to earn her forgiveness is so annoying. I just hate this book with such a passion.

[@abrilmolina5012]

This is literally the plot of a thriller and Colleen doesn’t seem to realize that. How many times we have seen the plot twist that the husband/boyfriend turned out to be the bad guy?

[@AmbassadorKat]

Pretty much all her books, if rewritten as a thriller or horror novel, would make much more sense and be of much higher quality

[@ResidenceSkater]

I’m a skateboarder but “Hardflip into horror” sounds like a banger skateboard horror film haha

[@mariesummers.]

Lol. I'd watch.

[@emcaco]

Would also watch that movie.

[@Keznen]

Sounds like a fun B-movie horror from the early 2000s. Maybe even with a cameo from Tony Hawk. lol

[@digapygmy70]

Everything I learn about Colleen Hoover and her novels is baffling, including her decision to name her female protagonist Fallon. I’m only picturing Jimmy Fallon this whole time and I can’t be the only one.

[@Hana9916]

You are not

[@cureidolsmile9820]

I'm picturing Fallon from Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princess, and now I'll picture Jimmy as well

[@tonichan89]

70% of her name choices are baffling... and embarrassing 🥴

[@azbedel]

Jimmy Fallon but he's wearing that blonde wig from the "Ew!" skits

[@shoujokadyan5502]

Fallon from Dynasty

[@nataliaalghul3526]

I just immediately knew the twist was gonna be that he set the fire. It's just right up Colleen's alley. Literally every time I get asked if we have Colleen Hoover books at my work, I just start side eyeing whatever customer asked because I cannot imagine why anyone reads this toxic trash lol

[@twentywordsorlessYT]

The more I hear about Colleen Hoover and her works, the better I feel for not being on TikTok. EDIT: Excellent use of _Before Sunrise_ clips, by the way!

[@twentywordsorlessYT]

@@fdrez The only ones I watch are either ones on Tumblr or talked about by other KZbinrs such as Chad Chad. Also, I'm too old for the app anyway, haha.

[@fmalovegirl98]

I see enough booktok content here on youtube and CH's name appears effing everywhere but I'm glad that people make content about her so then I know to avoid her books irl lol. Also I watched other CH related vid recently and in the comment section someone said they have never heard of CH before and I wish I could be like that too lol.

[@apollolewis]

I already watched an over 3 hour video about this book and I’ll happily watch Amanda now talk about this book for another 36 minutes.

[@scottpilgrim920]

Did the 3 hour video happen to be by KrimsonRogue?

[@apollolewis]

Perhaps

[@arienbates2996]

Alizee and WithCindy cover this book too!

[@xxDeeMmmVeexx]

I love nothing more than deep dives roasting Colleen Hoover books for how awful they are. Let’s go besties.

[@qiqisupremacy3716]

Colleen Hoover is one of TikTok’s most detrimental mistakes to humanity

[@Pandatege]

ive essentially developed a rule regarding two things when it comes to tiktok 1) dont trust any recommendations regarding horror movies 2) dont trust any book recommendations, especially and specifically romance or fantasy

[@Huntress4455]

Every single one of her books had a toxic romance with an abusive male lead. It's horrifying that so many young women today view this as "romance" when this is straight out of the horror genre! He burned down her house too; that man needs to be jailed!

[@nont18411]

Someone should make Sam Levinson and The Weeknd adapt Colleen Hoover books starring Boogie2988 as a main character.

[@twinkle_doubtyt]

Why would you throw that into the world?

[@DuelistKoi93]

​@twinkle_doubtyt if it's put into words, it MAY be robbed of it's power.

[@TarisLuna]

Take that back! We do not need to conjure that amount of horror into this world😨😫

[@tonichan89]

I think starring an unconventionally looking man like Boogie is the only way to put off potential new fans of these books 💀They got a severe case of "hot privilege"

[@GreatBooker]

This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard take my money

[@Rhaifha]

I swear, there's not a single normal, non-abusive ML in any of Colleens books. I really don't see the appeal. Like, I understand that she probably wants exciting and interesting romance novels. But you have to at least *consider* what your story is implying, right? What it might normalize or even romanticize.

[@sleepysadpoet]

The only one I can think of is ledger from reminders of him lol. And maybe atlas from it starts with us

[@strawberryfox8819]

It's also weird that she recognizes the behavior of the ML in the It starts/ends with us series as abusive and horrible, but not the behavior of any of her other MLs who are exactly the same if not worse.

[@strawberryfox8819]

​@@sleepysadpoetEven Atlas is a bit iffy, still got a bad taste in my mouth at the fact that he asked her when she'd turn 16 to make sure she's legal.

[@awetistic5295]

It's 100% a kink. She has this thing for abuse, control and also unprotected intercourse (leading to pregnancy). The problem is, these is not fanfiction with clear labels and warnings, it is marketed as romance. Colleen probably considers it to be romance herself.

[@RedSpade37]

A Jedi must be brave, and you have proven it!

[@apollolewis]

I enjoy reading a lot of messed up “romance” books but there’s something about Colleen Hoover’s work from what I heard about it puts me off. It’s a bit weird because I’ve read and loved books where the main characters are more toxic or more outright abusive than the couples in the Colleen Hoover books I’ve heard about. It could just be that the books I like with those themes outright show how toxic these couples are instead of pretending they’re perfectly healthy.

[@AmandaTheJedi]

yeah I think it really is the framing and how someone always comes in to justify the worst stuff

[@apollolewis]

When framed and done correctly books with a toxic main couple can be really interesting. It’s just that a lot of the more popular books with toxic couples aren’t. Not just Colleen Hoovers books are guilty of this.

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

Toxic people and dysfunctional relationships can make for great stories-as long as the writer knows they’re toxic and dysfunctional. I don’t think Colleen Hoover knows what constitutes a healthy relationship and what constitutes a toxic one.

[@TheGoofy1932]

CoHo writes bad trauma porn. Choosing a "worst one" is truly like Sophie's Choice. I forgot that she uses ellipses almost as much as Sarah J Maas does. 😂 Coincidence?! I don't think so. 😏It's one of the hallmarks of poor, lazy writing. And they both graduated from that writing school. 😉🤣

[@KathleenMcGinnis]

I read It Ends With Us and wanted to put my head through a wall. Thank you for reading these awful books so i don't have to.

[@purpleberry3564]

"We both laugh at our son's big balls"

[@sheridanfrancis4814]

As someone with self harm scars I felt myself crying so hard when you were talking about the way he talked about her scars. Though definitely not the same, the one thing I want in someone is to look at me like I don’t have any scars. Not necessarily like they don’t exist, but just not different to anyone else. So him hammering at how her scars are some beautiful life affirming thing makes my stomach turn.

[@stevegeorge6880]

I'm biting my lip in anticipation of what the significance of the date in the title might be, but I also know that Amanda will see us through

[@RB-vo4gi]

The worst Colleen Hoover book? You mean… all of them?

[@wingracer1614]

A vaguely remember reading one of her early books and liking it, can't remember which one. I've tried twice to read something of hers since then and wanted to burn them.

[@inroom108]

I was a CoHo girlie when I was in my early 20s when I thought love had to be painful and dramatic. Gave a lot of her books 5 stars but now I look back and cringe, the toxicity of it all lol.

[@kayleeb6301]

​@@wingracer1614was it "Hopeless"? that was popular when i was in middle school and that's the first and only book ive ever read from her 😂 i liked it at the time but ill probably never read it again

[@jennifervasquez]

​@@inroom108 i feel genuine concern for girls n women who love these books bc i cant help but feel that they either are/have been victims of abuse n dont realize it or are at high risk of becoming victims of abuse

[@roxirock5455]

​@@jennifervasquezfr, the fact that "the bad boy" trope is often used to promote to young female readers that people can change by, most of the time, justifying abuse and not addressing it properly is disgusting. It sells this idea that "you can be the one to save, to change him", it prays on their desire to be special and it's disgusting.

[@Hana9916]

Her books have never been romance, they've always been horror. I haven't read anything of hers since she traumatized me with Hopeless a decade ago.

[@lillyrichter3383]

I like the way your videos are edited a lot. But when movie scenes are used to illustrate what's happening in the book, it would be cool to have the source indicated somewhere on the screen. During the first few scenes I legit thought they were part of an official movie adaptation of this book. Rock on :D

[@AmandaTheJedi]

oh sorry! I used: Hannah Montana Up in the Air for the conversation between her and her dad (Clooney and Anna Kendrick) Before Sunrise for a lot of them talking (Ethan Hawke) Twilight for packing Not Another Teen Movie for the airport run Garden State for the airport kiss Good Will Hunting for the choke out scene NERVE for the tattoo scene Fifty Shades of Grey for the virgin moment After Ever Happy for the manuscript and him starting the fire and some Dear Evan Hansen

[@UzUMaK1-Lee]

Im about 10 minutes into the video but i find it *hysterical* that Ben hits EVERY SINGLE POINT FOR RED FLAGS when he talked to her for the first time, but the whole novel is about *Fallon forgiving him*

[@awetistic5295]

So she's not allowed to be traumatized by the fire, she's not allowed to struggle to accept her scars and she's not allowed to be mad at her father, let alone the person who started the fire in the first place. Great message.

[@shevanz1589]

ive thought of an alternative name for the book, "Gaslighting: How women should think and behave in a patriarchy"

[@jessilynallendilla5014]

fourth degree burns are down to the bone if Fallon had fourth degree burns on her face she'd look like The Dark Knight's Two-Face why do I get the feeling Colleen does less research for her books than Stephenie Meyer

[@AlexandraUtschig]

Books like these are so concerning because young people read them and then romanticize toxic relationships because toxicity=drama = passion. It's dangerous. Normalize picking the "boring" relationship!

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

Too many people don’t seem to understand that healthy relationships aren’t necessarily boring. You can still do fun, exciting things with someone you’re in a healthy, stable relationship. Happy, healthy couples can still have adventures. Heck, healthy relationships still have conflict; they just resolve it without hurting each other.

[@Grace-ms7un]

Yea it took me a while to realize that "boring" men were actually unstressful men.

[@Keznen]

@tsifirakiehl4250 Exactly. Take Tommy and Tuppence from Agatha Christie's book series by the same name, for example. They solve crimes together; that could hardly be called boring and lacking adventure!

[@shy2infinity]

yeah, the romance is often shitty in these books, but a personal issue I have with her books is how terribly she treats physically, or mentally ill characters. For instance, many people with fourth degree burns are often in unimaginable pain LONG after the incident caused it. It won't just be scarring.

[@ItsAPugLover]

I'm so stressed just by listening to Amanda describe the sequence of events that takes place in this excuse of a book

[@Rognik]

The only disappointment is that this review wasn't also posted on November 9. Would've really tied it all together nicely.

[@leahlang7454]

I honestly can't stand her. As someone who has experienced abusive relationships, I don't understand romanticizing them. I've read two of her books and I just can't even. She just craps these out constantly.

[@critormiss6084]

"Jesus, Fallon, you're so wet," said Colbert.

[@river8142]

😭😭😭🤮🤮

[@Morgue0fStories]

I remember seeing a review where a person said Collen Hoover writes her books like they are supposed to be thrillers and then realizes it has to be romance and puts that in last second

[@kimmiintechnicolor2694]

If you think this is a wild read, Colleen Hoover went completely unhinged with Verity.

[@tonichan89]

And "Maybe Not"... oh my god... that fucking book istfg

[@CardSearcher911]

"Too Late" is also pretty unhinged too.

[@strawberryfox8819]

We finna ignore "We both laughed at our son's big balls"? Before the child dies?

[@SarahL9568]

I honestly think this is worse than verity. At least verity was marketed as dark

[@scz1770]

Every single book of hers is unhinged and terrible TBH

[@stefanmilicevic5322]

Normalizing boundary violation: Check Normalizing non-consensual sexual advancements: Check Yeah, definitely a classic "Modern Erotic Fantasy for Women" genre.

[@saraf5455]

KZbinrs who do deep dives on Colleen Hoover books are my heroes. Not only do they put themselves through that torture, they have saved me from ever making thr mistake of picking up one of her books. And I thank them for that.

[@kaitlynpapaya8909]

I feel like "ew come on, a woman wrote this???" Sums up how I feel about every excerpt I've ever read from a Colleen Hoover book lmao

[@pyrosianheir]

The speed with which my head whipped around when she said "Benjamin." Man, that childhood training of only hearing your full name - even only full first name - when in trouble runs deeeeeeep. Also, big ol' YIKES to this book. Seems like every time I hear about some new booktok book (typically here), there's only like a 1 in 4 chance that it's not super messed up somehow.

[@gabby3036]

14:22 Back in college, I had a tumor that only 1% of the population ever gets - it's super rare and super random. It was benign, but by its sheer size it was about to kill me so I had to have emergency surgery. And because it was so big, they had to essentially give me a c-section to get it out. I was so insecure about the scar - it was big and made my stomach look weird, it was just really ugly and I hated it. So I was very nervous about letting my first boyfriend following the surgery (now my husband) see it. But he was so gentle and sweet about it - he told me the scar is beautiful because it saved my life. He didn't try to invalidate my feelings about it, he just tried to help me see the scar differently - to change my perspective about it - and let me know that he doesn't see me any differently or think I'm any less beautiful because of it. Now *that* is how you support your loved one when they feel insecure about traumatic scars.

[@julhall1564]

When Amanda said that if this book was about a stalker then people wouldn't romanticize it as much. I just kept thinking obviously she hasn't heard of Haunting Adeline

[@alexroy5854]

Okay.. but the line "Your hands touch someone who isn't me. Your lips make promises against anin that isn't mine." goes HARD! Sounds like an early Silverstein line hahah

[@roxirock5455]

Yes, but when it doesn't match the context of the book, it sounds corny as heck. If it was in a novel or a period book it be fine, but a romance that is suppose to be relatable? What..

[@alexroy5854]

@roxirock5455 Oh absolutely, the story is a total stinker and would be cringy and melodramatic at best it weren't also so horrifically toxic and problematic

[@chiguru99]

it would look better if she typed it or wrote it in a letter or something. who even talks like that? and especially when they're so upset to find that the love of their life is with someone else, no less?!

[@mst3kharris]

The statute of limitations on arson in California is, if I remember right, about six years, meaning Fallon finds out he started the fire a year too late to press charges. You’re damn right I looked it up.

[@AntiquatedPixels]

I totally called the "he set the fire" from the start of the video! I clearly read too much of this twisted kind of novel and am unshockable now 😅

[@GA_131]

I’ve watched like four separate reviews of November 9 and it simultaneously gets worse and better (more entertaining) each time

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

I write 1930’s mafia noir, researched shit where trauma and abuse isn’t treated like fun and games and the victim’s fault, and there’s zero chance my books will make many sales because shit like Colleen Hoover’s keeps romanticizing abuse. Pisses me off so much and makes me want to give up sometimes.

[@Oswald-no4mi]

You should share a link here! I'm sure there are plenty of people who will watch this and crave a better depiction of a romance

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

Please share a link, I’d love to read your writing!

[@roxirock5455]

Let's count here. He: scared her for life, both mentally and physically, sexualized her scars, insulted her on the way she deals with her trauma, THAT HE caused . Lied to her, used her for his books. In the original he assaulted her, but the author cut that out on newer books. Committed a crime and never got the punishment, ruined her career. And she apologized to him?? Boy, i dont give a f that your mom died, your whole family could have committed su'cid in front of you and that still wouldn't justifie anything you did.

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

He did WHAT in the original?!?!? Why would she write that and then call it a romance????

[@kiryn5977]

@@geekgirl_luv4262 it's bc CoHo is genuinely one of those (awful) ppl who would argue, "well, she may have SAID for him to stop, but deep down she loves him and totally wants it, so it's fine that he didn't listen to her and kept going!" 🤢

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

@@kiryn5977 Personally I think even having that opinion should be a jail sentence 🤢🤢🤢

[@mst3kharris]

A dumb question that just occurred to me: does Ben not have the same last name as his mother? Otherwise, how does Fallon’s dad not immediately suspect something hinky when a boy with the same last name as the woman on whose grave he puts flowers pops up as his daughter’s boyfriend?

[@indiefairy09]

You need to read Hopeless. It’s the most dark/insane book she’s written that NO ONE mentions. I read it in 2014 back when I discovered her. I read several of her books pre book tok explosion and that one has never left my brain. You would do it justice!!

[@impposter560]

Why???? 😭 There's A Difference Between SOCIOPATHY And COMPLEXITY!!! Theres a difference between empathy/forgiveness, and being gaslit into accepting the unacceptable. Where is the romance in this??? This is a psychological horror with a bad ending. Gross! Icky! I spit upon this genre listing

[@jellogirl2010]

I do think that, from what I've heard, Colleen Hoover is a pretty toxic "boy mom" and that's why the boys are always let off the hook in all her stories. But that could just be hearsay too.

[@ShadowJester88]

This date is my birthday, i feel attacked. Not by you, but by this lady writing this book.

[@SEReina-gk1kx]

I’m here making my best Janice from Friends impression on every fucked up thing this guy did “Oh my GOD!!!!!”

[@to1xy]

If someone tells me they want to be my last, my immediate thought is "oh...so this is how I die" 🙃

[@jiminssi1014]

29:58 I KNEW IT!! I FRIGGIN KNEW IT!! I will never read this book so thank you for your sacrifice, Amanda, but omfg how she describes him avoiding the topic and then how it might not have been an accident that he ever bumped into Fallon and her dad, I had a feeling it was because his secret was the fire!

[@sarahingreen9734]

I KNEW IT TOO!🔥 Like...it had to be! The way Amanda said it was worse...had to be! What a shtshow of a book, omg...

[@wildwesley9328]

You are much braver than I am… or maybe the right way to put it is more masochistic? I appreciate your sacrifices and I salute you

[@CaitlintehCat]

"what in the nice guy fanfiction is this" is one of my favorite lines ever

[@BookmarkChronicles]

CoHo is not romance and so many of her stories are toxic but people do say they are bingeable

[@jacquelinelugo5518]

I know I follow good creators when they all trash Colleen Hoover. BookTube trashed her years ago for her terrible writing. It was Tiktok that brought back. Justice for Caleb, he was 16 when CoHo. The terrible woman that she is, tried to online bully him about the consent in her books. We will never forgive you, Also her writing gives, If Salt was a Spice

[@_chrshcmps]

After finding out that It Ends With Us is based on her parents relationship explains a lot why she romanticized and normalized toxic and abusive relationship in her books

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

So we know that it really doesn’t end with us….

[@justwonder1404]

Amanda is a better person than me, I read precisely 0 CoHo books before deciding to dislike her. From all the excerpts I've heard so far she just gives the vibes of a woman who would brush off her daughter's SA claims as 'being dramatic'.

[@BladeRedwind]

The more I hear about the Hoover books, the more I believe she doesn't actually know what abuse and not abuse looks like. Kinda scary, tbh.

[@alyssiacoty3408]

i’m sorry “he shant be charged” took me OUT

[@harasnicole]

Not Amanda buying a physical copy of the book just to throw it. 😂 That's commitment. 👏🏾

[@natalieking2497]

This reeks of the emotional double standard that leading men have their reasons for any number of incredibly stupid and harmful things (bonus points for managing to both slut shame and kill his mom before painting her as posthumously negligent in his firebug ways). Meanwhile, women and girls in those same books are expected and encouraged to grow through forgiveness by playing detective about the hidden pain of the men who lied to them and hurt them. Because it's always a woman's fault for making a man feel uncomfortable emotions he won't work on coping with in healthy ways. Thanks for the video, and please read something you like to erase this from your mind.

[@tonichan89]

They'll also be *severely* villainized for doing anything even three levels less fucked up than what the male characters do 😭

[@natalieking2497]

​ @tonichan89 If you can't love me from the burn ward where I put you with my thoughtless arson, you don't deserve me during my years of careful lies to cover it up! Boys need self-esteem, too, and women are so damn shallow. He just lost his mother. Ugh! Absolutely right about the judgement for a lady villain though. Too cute to judge only works for pets. Humans need accountability.

[@coreymoore2572]

When I read college hoover I ask myself "who hurt you?"😂

[@jacquelinelugo5518]

Wait til you find out she use to be a Social Worker

[@coreymoore2572]

@@jacquelinelugo5518 that explains a lot

[@Kalleron]

My only exposure to Colleen Hoover has been through Alizee, so I am interested to see another opinion.

[@arienbates2996]

Love her takes on CoHo books and The Wives by Tarryn Fisher!

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Nov 9 feels like Colleen got the urge to write a thriller halfway through a romance.

[@fee6362]

No that one is far from the worst. It's bad but not the worst. Spoiler for colleen hoover book: . . . She finds justification to murder twice!^ In one the woman was " crazy" ex who pretended to be paralyzed. Even though he could have reported her to the police. Instead they make her sufficed from her own vomit. Another time, he chained her on the bed, was ready to drug prior, manipulated her and used her body, Turned out his girlfriend died and her body got Possest by the crazy ex. But neither the Ex nor the ghost of the girlfriend knew. And every time he goes back with her were they met the first time the girlfriend can retake control for a short time, like when goes so sleep. The male lead than falls in love with the girlfriend again, but at no point, even though he is thinking that the other woman the Ex, who usually has control is his girlfriend. He buys the place were they met, without telling her why, he tries to get her tried, even thinks about drugging here, even trying, but the girlfriend-ghost stops him, and was thinking about sleeping with her while the presumed stranger-ghost/girlfriend was inside his presumed girlfriend/ now ex. In the end they kill the ex so his girlfriend could retake the body. He chains her up on the bed, doesn't tell her what going on, and strangles her until she dies. Keep in mind this is framed as a good thing. Also, in the first story I mentioned the guy stealth booth women. The go to method of contraception was to pull it out ( it is never mentioned that this isn't a great method), But he simply doesn't sometimes. Just because h doesn't feel like to. No consequences for him, of course.

[@lopezcarmencecilia]

It feels like you're retelling true crime and not a romance novel. I can't.

[@heatherbocks]

The random footage is so good. Billy Ray? Excellent.

[@Prelooker]

I think this kind of story points out something worse than the books themselves: that's what editors and publishers ask from authors, because there's a huge market for toxic masculinity. That's the true horror, at least in my own small experience as an online writer with a couple of awards under my belt. However, I have a lot of readers who literally THANK me for not writing that kind of toxic cliché. So it's the egg and the chicken quandary. This kind of sh*t sells, so editors ask for more, so everybody writes this genre and it eventually becomes the top-selling one.

[@fionaklyne7115]

oh, I bet your reaction to this will be fantastic 😈I feel so bad that we have foisted this on you… 😂😂😂

[@TarynRMartin]

“THE guy” who, despite having been around many blocks, puts female virginity on some creepy, pseudo-Christian ownershippy pedestal (but every subsequent sexual encounter is valueless) fucked me up for probably an entire decade. I have not read this book and now I really never want to.

[@oneshasimon2242]

Everytime Amanda says Benjamin instead of Benton I howled. 😂😂😂

[@sunnypupbarks]

im so happy to see you read this, since i watched the Alizee video I've wanted to know your opinion on it, ok I'll be back when i finish the video edit: okay yeah no, Colleen absolutely has a personal connection to the idea of being destroyed and rescued by the same person. it comes up so often across her works but this one is egregious. she seems to have this idea in her head that the most romantic thing that can happen to a person is coercion, both physical and emotional. she loves a man who thinks highly of himself and thinks of a woman sexually first and caringly second, and she loves a woman who needs a man. it's like she read a skeleton explanation of BDSM dynamics and the concept of aftercare and decided it was those were the fundamentals of all aspects of romantic relationships.

[@Vexarax]

How do you fit in watching movies, reading books, making videos?? Been watching for years and am always so impressed by how some people can accomplish so much so quickly!! ^_^

[@thatonedude9744]

Honestly it’s probably cause it’s her job at this point. Frees up a lot of time I’d imagine haha

[@BlueMerStudios]

The bit of you buying the book to throw was EVERYTHING! (I do hope it was a fake out so you didn't waste money on the book)

[@lusaminefushiguro5332]

This author using 4th degree burns and think they would just cause some scars has the same energy as 12-year-old me writing on wattpad how my protagonist keeps absolutely 100% surviving stabbing no problem and moving just fine the next day with zero explanation

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

I bet even at age 12, you were a better writer than Colleen Hoover.

[@HaileyAndTheArt]

This is the video I didn't know I needed today. I need you to watch the Confess TV show, its a blast.

[@stellas4033]

That book throw 😂 Thank you Amanda for reading it so we don't have too! ❤❤