BOOK REVIEW & GIVEAWAY ~ MAYBE SOMEDAY BY COLLEEN HOOVER

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance—and the enchanting music that inspires one young woman to put her life back together.

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, This Girl, and Losing Hope, Maybe Someday is destined to become another bestseller and long-lasting fan favorite.

Without a doubt, this book dealt a powerful blow to my feels and is one of the most emotionally charged stories I’ve read this year! Whenever I see a Colleen Hoover book, I know to brace myself for a story that builds up in intensity and showcases unique plot twists. Her stories are always so well-written (at least for me) and she knows how to make the little things count. She doesn’t trivialize. She doesn’t exaggerate. She delivers.

Sydney Blake has the perfect life: an attentive boyfriend Hunter, doing well in college, BFFs with Tori, etc…but on what should’ve been a fantastic, special day for her turns into her worst nightmare as she discovers Hunter has been cheating on her with Tori.
****MINOR SPOILER****
Okay so this is where I had a little problem. From the blurb I expected Sydneyto be connecting with Ridge on a musical level after she finds out about Hunter and Tori, but she actually knows and chats with him beforehand. Not a bad thing, but the way it was introduced into the story i.e. the book structure (present, then flashback) cut my reading flow a little. ****END OF SPOILER****
Sydney has this special connection with Ridge that goes beyond their mutual love of music. There’s no name to it, but it’s a feeling you’ll experience when you read it because it’s so passionately and tenderly palpable.
Now you’re wondering okay, so what’s the story? Is it just them falling in love over making music? No it’s not, and normally I’m inclined to disclose details but this is one of the rare times I feel you should go into the book as blind as possible. But for those that just need a little more to go off of, this next section is for you.
****DETAILS IF YOU NEED MORE****
There’s no way to fluff it so I’m just going to say it: there is a love triangle so this story is essentially a forbidden romance. However, it was impossible for me to NOT appreciate the love triangle aspect as it’s so real and heartfelt and there is no bad guy. I’ll admit, it was a damn struggle to read 75% of the book because what these characters were going through wasn’t contrived or added in as a filler, but sensational and honest. It was how they felt and their natural response to these feelings. For me, reading this book was like opening a Pandora box full of emotions and letting those emotions smack me in the face over and over again.

While I actually enjoyed the love triangle aspect, it was the conclusion/ending of the triangle that brought down my rating. For me, the magic of Colleen Hoover’s writing is its spontaneity and unpredictability, and the fact that I can never really pinpoint what will happen next. Somewhere along the way, the unpredictable became predictable and that took away from the originality and thrill of reading Sydney and Ridge’s story. I’m not saying I hated the way Ridge “chose” one of the two girls, but it ruined the uniqueness of the love triangle aspect and no matter how well-written it was, I was left feeling underwhelmed. From this point of the book to the ending, I was pretty much done and felt the book should’ve ended, but it dragged on instead.

While I actually enjoyed the love triangle aspect, it was the conclusion/ending of the triangle that brought down my rating. For me, the magic of Colleen Hoover’s writing is its spontaneity and unpredictability, and the fact that I can never really pinpoint what will happen next. Somewhere along the way, the unpredictable became predictable and that took away from the originality and thrill of reading Sydneyand Ridge’s story. I’m not saying I hated the way Ridge “chose” one of the two girls, but it ruined the uniqueness of the love triangle aspect and no matter how well-written it was, I was left feeling underwhelmed. From this point of the book to the ending, I was pretty much done and felt the book should’ve ended, but it dragged on instead.  

Another thing I’m starting to notice in many NA books (and in this book too) is the slut-shaming of practically every female character but the heroine. I don’t usually point this out unless it really bothers me and it did. I genuinely liked Sydney but the time where she calls Tori a bitch (which she deserves) and then immediately after sees another girl in a Hooters uniform and thinks “I don’t know why she’s complaining about getting wet, when there isn’t much clothing to get wet.” and calls her a bitch annoyed me. Putting the name of “Barbie” on Tori I think was supposed to be humorous, but I felt like it was used as a distinction between our good girl heroine and bad girl, punishment-deserving female characters. Quite honestly, the book could’ve omitted that part because Sydney is a great heroine; I never felt the need for any justification to why I shouldn’t like her.
I had originally planned on giving this book 3.5 stars because the problems I stated above were a raging forefront in my mind, but after a night’s sleep I realized that the emotional intensity and good writing quality were what stood out to me more than any of the problems so it’s a 4 star read. Though I can’t say I fully enjoyed the book, it’s truly an unforgettable story; that point is undeniable.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.