Book Review: Reminders of Him

The latest Colleen Hoover novel, Reminders of Him, came out early this year and it’s been staring at me on my bookshelf for months, but I just read it over the past few days. Everyone I know who has read it said that they sobbed reading it so I was prepared for emotional damage.

The novel follows Kenna Rowan, a young woman who has spent the last 5 years in prison. When her boyfriend, Scotty, was killed in a tragic accident, Kenna plead guilty believing she was entirely responsible for the accident and because she felt she needed to be punished. Unbeknownst to her at the time of the trial, Kenna was pregnant and had now lost all rights to her daughter, Diem.

After being released from prison, Kenna heads back to her boyfriend’s hometown to try to get her life back together and hope that his parents, who are now raising her daughter, will allow her to meet her daughter. During this whole heartbreaking time, Kenna meets Ledger. Ledger is a local bar owner, former NFL player, best friend to Scotty, and uncle/father figure to her daughter.

Though he had never met her when Scotty was dating Kenna, he has hated her for the past 5 years along with Scotty’s parents. They blamed her for taking Scotty away from them. But when she arrives back in town using her middle name, Ledger doesn’t initially know who she is. It doesn’t take long for him to realize who she is, but now that he knows her can he still hate her? There’s a part in the book where Ledger asks Scotty’s mom if it’s fair to take the most horrible moment of a person’s life and using that to define their whole life.

The novel isn’t just about forgiving others, but also about forgiving yourself. Even if the people in Scotty’s life forgave Kenna, can she forgive herself? She plead guilty because she thought she deserved jail time and more.

I really loved this book and it’s been stuck in my head since I finished it the other day. I didn’t sob though I did cry a little bit here and there. However, my heart was aching and I had this heavy feeling on my chest the entire time I was reading. I loved Kenna and Ledger. Even through any mistakes Kenna may have made, it was hard to be mad at her or anything. I felt for her through it all and ached for her when she was going through such painful situations. I loved that Ledger (after the initial shock of her return wore off) stuck by her. It was just such a beautiful relationship to see blossom.

I highly recommend this book especially if you’re in the mood for an emotional read.