Reminders of Him

I will start my review with a confession. Before I read Reminders of Him, I was a Colleen Hoover virgin. I am glad I picked up this touching story of a mother’s yearning, love, loss, and forgiveness as my first CoHo book.

Reminders of Him is a poignant story of a woman who is trying to arise from the ashes. It’s a story of sad events, but not really a sad story.

The story’s starting point is Kenna’s return to the town where a horrific incident had led to her spending five years behind bars. She has spent the last five years in repentance and now has only one aim in life — to reunite with her daughter, Diem, who lives with her grandparents in this town. To the townsfolk, she is a villain, and those perceptions leave her with little hope. A chance meeting with Ledger Ward, an ex-NFL player and local bar owner, kindles an instant spark in her life. But, once she comes to know of Ledger’s ties with her past, present, and future, the cloud of fear and uncertainty looms closer than ever. Will she ever escape from the past and find happiness as a mother?

The blurb seemed dark and depressing, but once the story began, I realised it was much more. A mother’s love, neatly tied romance, loyalty, friendship, care, and grief made this a tearfully memorable read.

The story (42 chapters and an epilogue) is narrated alternatively by Kenna and Ledger, and Hoover’s writing style brings out both the characters to life while depicting the emotions of the pivotal leads distinctly.

The alternating viewpoints helped me understand both the characters. Kenna’s strength is visible in her actions. Her imperfections, regret, loneliness, and determination to reach out to Diem are quite clear and make for an emotional read. Ledger’s conflicting thoughts, loyalty, and feelings towards Kenna, Diem, and the other characters are etched well.

The central plot revolving around romance is sweet and the progression in the relationship is quite convincing.

I loved the letters written by Kenna. An absolute tear-jerker! They truly give us an intimate insight into Kenna’s character.

Grace & Patrick Landry, supporting characters, play an important role in the story. Hoover has done a remarkable and in-depth character portrayal. But Lady Diana and Diem are my absolute favourite co-characters here. I loved their sense of humour and sass.

The plot is quite predictable, which is quite standard for this genre.

I am quite bothered by the random pacing and rushed ending. There wasn’t much of a plot advance in the middle part, and the resolution (in the last 50 pages) just happened out of nowhere. I feel the harrowing journey the characters faced required a more solid and detailed resolution. The abrupt climax was not as heartfelt as the plot deserved.

As much as I loved the secondary characters and appreciate the role they played in the story, sometime I felt as if the focus was moving a lot from the MCs.

Colleen Hoover fans will definitely love Reminders of Him, and I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good melodramatic romance story. It is a warm and beautiful story of redemption and healing at the end of a heart-breaking turmoil.

“People say you fall in love, but fall is such a sad word when you think about it. Falls are never good. You fall on the ground, you fall behind, you fall to your death.

Whoever was the first person to say they fell in love must have already fallen out of it. Otherwise, they’d have called it something much better.”

Wordsopedia Rating 3.25/5

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About the author

Colleen Hoover is an author of young adult fiction and romance novels. She published her first novel, Slammed, in January 2012. In December 2012, she published Hopeless, which rose to the top of the New York Times bestseller list.

Get in touch with the author on her website.