Review: Confess – Colleen Hoover

Posted 17 March, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 17 Comments

Review: Confess – Colleen HooverConfess by Colleen Hoover
Published by Atria Books on 10 March 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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4 Stars

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…

While Confess was sometimes heartbreaking and always well written, I found the ending to be a little bit ‘too easy’ after everything that was going on…

My Confess review:

Colleen Hoover is an expert at tugging at my heartstrings, I always feel all the feels when I read one of her books, and Confess was no exception to the rule! Auburn and Owen were great characters to follow, but they didn’t touch me as deeply as other characters have done. And I have to admit that I felt anger both towards Auburn’s parents, and towards Lydia! As always, the story started out a little mysterious, as a reader, I had no idea why Auburn would have ever wanted to move back to Dallas after the hardship she had lived through there in the past, but little by little, I realized I would have done the same thing as her.

The cast of characters in Confess is pretty small, but I still didn’t really feel like I truly got to know any of them all that well, I loved the beginning, when Owen and Aubrey first met, I was sure I was going to be blown away for the whole story, but I wasn’t… I think part of the reason why is that it actually too quite a long time for Owen and Aubrey to reveal themselves to me, the tease of knowing they both had confessions was better than actually knowing what it was.

The artwork used in Confess is beautiful! Really, really beautiful, and it brought one aspect of Owen to life in a way that was very special. The way he was holding so much back when he was talking made me think his secrets were much more dramatic than they were, though. The romance is well done, Owen and Aubrey do have a tangible connection, and it made me sad for both of them that Aubrey didn’t dare trust her feelings, both when it came to Owen and when it came to Trey.

Confess is written in dual points of views, chapters from both Owen’s and Aubrey’s perspectives, and I’m sure it will be an amazing audiobook! As the story unfolded, and I came closer to the end, I felt like it had fizzled out a little before the puzzle came into place a little too conveniently.

Some of my favorite Confess quotes:

It’s a strange feeling when you know at fifteen that you just lived through the harshest words you’ll ever hear.

It’s impossible to defend yourself against inexperience and age. And maybe they’re right. Maybe we don’t know love like an adult knows love, but we sure as hell feel it. And right now, it feels imminently heartbreaking.

The worst scenario I can come up with is one that would end with my murder. Sadly, that’s not enough of a deterrent, considering the month I’ve had.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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17 responses to “Review: Confess – Colleen Hoover

  1. Hoover sounds like a win author in all cases! I haven’t read a book by her yet but I confess that I’m quite curious after hearing so many wonderful things about her! One day I’ll try! In fact I have an ebook by her but I’m long with my ebooks. Great review!

    Melliane recently posted: Fire by Kristin Cashore
    • Her books are very well done, Iza, the characters very credible, with flaws and all 🙂 I hope you’ll take the plunge and be happy about it 😉

  2. I feel as though any book by Colleen Hoover will never disappoint and while I’ve seen some mixed reviews for this one…I feel she’s a good contemporary author. I’ve enjoyed several of her books and need to read this one (eventually). And the more I think about it, I might want to try this one on audio when it becomes available (it would be my first!). Fabulous review Lexxie!

    • I agree, Cristina, I have really enjoyed all of her books so far, even if some are even stronger than others. What I enjoy with her audiobooks is that there is a male and a female narrator, so it brings the story to life in a big way!

  3. I definitely love Colleen hoover’s stuff but i have noticed a change in her recent books. It seems almost as if she’s going for ‘easy’ now. Rather it be an ‘easy’ romance or a ‘easy’ ending. While I did enjoy Confess, i know what you mean about the ‘easy ending’. I expected something more…something more…complicated. It just seemed a bit silly that the answers to their problems could be so easily fixed when they were the main issues in the entire book.
    Lovely review Lexxie

    • Ah, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one to find that there is something ‘easy’ about some of her later stories, Lily! I still love her writing, but when things start off being complicated, then finish by simply falling into place it kind of makes the whole story feel a little less realistic.

  4. So what do you think made the difference, Lexxie? I mean, what made this one different from her others? What do you think she could have done differently to help you connect with Owen and Aubrey more quickly and more deeply? I’m sorry this story didn’t hit all the buttons you’re used to Hoover hitting for you. I know you enjoyed it overall, but it’s interesting that some elements fell flat.

    Anyway, I hope you’re having a wonderful week! Tomorrow is our 20th anniversary so I’m spending the day with James. Yay! Hopefully, I can find you online on Thursday for a quick chat. Only 56 more days and we’ll be together for looong chat sessions! Over drinks. 🙂 Have a wonderful Wednesday! **BIG HUGS**

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: Teaser Tuesday ~ #60
    • I think I might have felt more connected to Owen and Aubrey if I had been privy of at least part of their secrets before they shared it with each other. The fact that I only knew what the other character knew made them feel distant to me.
      I hope you and James had a fantastic 20th anniversary yesterday, my dear. *BIG HUGS*

  5. jennifer k

    I am completely obsessed with Colleen Hoover. Everything that she writes is brilliant.

    I thought that Confess was very original. I loved the artwork and the confessions.

    At first I could not connect with Owen. But as the book went on and we learned more of his secrets I found myself liking him more and more. And the last chapter was brilliant. I think that Coho has an amazing way of tying things together. I could not recommend an author more highly. She is amazing.

    • I love Hoover, too, Jennifer. I did like Owen a lot, but I would have enjoyed getting to know more about him earlier. I recommend Hoover’s books left and right, too, her writing always hits me in some way 🙂

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