november 2022

it starts with us by colleen hoover

alex’s rating: 9.5/10

i feel this needs no introduction! the highly anticipated sequel to it ends with us has been hyped up since before it was released, much to the thanks of booktok! if you’re unfamiliar (and live under a rock) it starts with us follows the love story of lily & atlas, two seemingly star-crossed lovers who find their way back to one another after incredibly difficult life circumstances. i won’t give too much away but it’s everything i hoped the sequel would be. i was itching to know more about their story after the conclusion of it ends with us and this next installment delivers. it’s sweet and emotional and fulfilling. any coho fan will enjoy!

this time tomorrow by emma straub

alex’s rating: 8/10

if you didn’t realize the importance of telling your friends & family you love them, after finishing this time tomorrow you will. alice lives an okay life — she has a job she really enjoys but there’s no real room for growth, she likes her relationship with her boyfriend but it’s not really going to go anywhere, and her father is dying. she visits him so regularly at the hospital that all the shift nurses know her name. on the night of her 40th birthday she gets plastered and falls asleep at her dad’s apartment. when she wakes up, she’s 16 and her dad is at the peak of his health. dumbfounded, she gets to spend a bit more time with her father; time that is not promised. it’s a somber and sentimental novel but one very worth the read!

travels with charley by john steinbeck

alex’s rating: 7/10

while traveling in california this month, i had to pick up a classic from salinas-native, john steinbeck. travels with charley is the quintessential road trip across america to find answers — to life, to yourself. steinbeck sets off from long island, new york and journeys across the country through maine to chicago to the pacific northwest and down the coast of california, trudging through texas and eventually ending back in new york. he meets a variety a people along the way: canadian border patrol who gave him trouble when he wanted to make a shortcut through canada, a kind auto-mechanic who helped get him tires when his trusty steed named rocinante broke down and a myriad of others. he learned the different nuances of each state and the struggles that everyone faces. far from the typical rom coms i tend to dive into, i did enjoy this american classic!

november 9th by colleen hoover

alex’s rating: 9.5/10

two coho books in one month, i couldn’t stay away. i’m sure you’ve already seen reviews for this colleen hoover book but hear me out — this was such a good read!!! the plot is simple: fallon and ben meet on november 9th, a day that’s a little tough for both. in some outlandish thought, they decide to meet up every year on november 9th for the next five years. they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder (and i can personally attest to this, lol hi eth) and it’s super evident here as fallon & ben begin to fall hard. the honeymoon phase quickly turns when secrets spill out that threaten the relationship — can true love stand through all?

i’d love to see netflix make this into a series!!

text for you by sofie cramer

alex’s rating: 9/10

i won’t lie and say i wasn’t drawn to this book because of the $5 price tag but after reading the back cover i was hooked. clara is grieving over the loss of her fiance who tragically fell off their balcony. was it an accident? were there warning signs? all questions clara asks herself as she tries to get back to normal. but it feels impossible really because ben was her normal. she finds it silly at first but she’ll try anything to deal with the grief so she begins to text ben’s old number. she pours her feelings and emotions into the simple texts and it brings her comfort. what she doesn’t know, is that the number has actually been reassigned, so someone else is receiving these love letters. sven is blown away at the tender messages and begins to wonder who the sender may be. sofie cramer is impeccable in her writing and crafts a very realistic story. it’s a slow burn and i found myself tearing through the pages to get to the end. it’s soon to be a motion picture too and i can’t wait to see how it plays out on screen.