Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Review: Confess by Colleen Hoover

22667115Release date: March 10th 2015
Publisher: Atria Books
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:
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…


*Publisher provided eARC in exchanged of an honest review.




Whew! I don't even know where to start. Confess is definitely my second favorite Colleen Hoover book since I've started reading her work. This one is right up there with Hopeless. If I had to describe Confess in one sentence, it would have to: an emotional roller-coaster. Everything about the story was so intense. I was pulled in from start to finish. The characters and plot were well-constructed, and the writing (as always) was dead-on. I felt like I was actually inside the story; like I was experiencing every single moment of it. I saw things through the characters' eyes and I could even feel their pain. This book was just that gripping. 

Okay. Let me collect my thoughts. Let's talk characters. I have to admit that initially, I didn't warm up to Auburn. I felt like she should have been stronger in how she lived and when it came to certain people. But once the story progressed, I realized that Auburn was indeed strong and very selfless. She'd sacrificed so much to keep someone so precious and I started to root for her when that became apparent. I couldn't imagine putting aside my love like that, but when your life changes in the way that it did for Auburn, you do what you have to no matter how it hurts. I mean, this girl tried so hard to prove that she could provide a good life. I applaud her for her strength because Heaven knows I would have snapped a long time ago. And I'm glad she found her voice in the end to take a stand and speak up.

Owen! OMG! Loved him. Love artists. Love art. And I loved the concept of intertwining art with confessions. That's pure genius. Artists put a lot of emotion into their work so it was interesting to read about someone who painted based on the inspiration of confessions made by others.  And I loved how in the end Colleen uncovers where Owen got his first inspiration from to become an artist. It cleared up several questions and it certainly makes one wonder about fate. 

This man... Owen... oh my... he's amazing. He protected Auburn so much. She didn't even know about the many ways he looked out for her until everything came to light. Owen is the kind of man that should be in more books. I liked his honesty and willingness to set his feelings aside for Auburn. All he wanted was for her to be happy and if that meant that Owen shouldn't be with her, then he was more than ready to let that happen. Throughout the book, he kind of waited for Auburn to figure stuff out, all the while giving her space but always letting her know it should be her decision and no one should pressure her. Like, there are no words to fully describe the awesomeness of this guy and it was mind-blowing that he could still remain so strong for Auburn when he himself was going through so much with his father and the guilt he carried from the loss of his mother and brother. 

One thing I liked most about the characters is that they were flawed. They weren't cookie cutter at all. Individually, they had a lot of issues to deal with and together, their love was tortured and threatened. In a sense it made the story that much more interesting and made Auburn and Owen very relatable, because they were truly new adults finding themselves. 

So overall, I enjoyed Confess big time. There were fireworks. Hair-twisting and nail-biting moments when I became frustrated about something and someone (Trey), and even moments where I wanted to pull out a certain character's hair (Lydia). There were a lot of sweet moments and of course, the gut-wrenching scenes that made me wanted to cry. I invested my heart in this book and I honestly loved the story. Like I don't know how else to describe my feelings and how it impacted me, but Confess truly touched my soul. And I cannot wait to see those artwork. The descriptions in the book will intrigue you and leave you anticipating. So yes I'm going to pick up a copy just for that, and the fact that this book is worth spending your money on, not to mention it's deserving of a nice spot on your bookshelf. I highly recommend!





Credit: molliekh + toughcriticbookreviews

6 comments:

  1. Great review. This sounds like an amazing read. I hate when characters are perfect. I like them to have some flaws. Glad it's release day for this one. I need to read it. NOW!
    Kristin @ Book Sniffers Anonymous

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kristin. Yeah this one really is good. I enjoyed it a lot!

      Delete
  2. I love me some unique characters. seeing a lot of cookie-cutter ones lately.

    ReplyDelete
  3. YESSSSSS!! This book was amazing. Our tour stop is tomorrow. We loved it SO MUCH!! No surprise, since it's CoHo, obviously. LOL And I'm loving the trailer too. So happy to see you enjoyed it too! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you did too, Lisa. It really is a great story. Colleen is an amazing storyteller.

      Delete

Share your thoughts. I respect them. Leave a link to your blog and I'll stop by.

Related Posts