The Book Bump

First Published: 2016
Author: Colleen Hoover
Language: English
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
My rating: 1/5

It’s hard to write a review for this book… I have mixed emotions about it. The story had loads of potential. It opened a doorway to discussing sensitive topics and perhaps gaining understanding.

This review reflects my personal reading experience; many readers connected deeply with this book, even though it didn’t work for me.

For a start, the book seems to be marketed as a romance, which isn’t wrong. There is a strong romantic plotline, with an awkward love triangle between the main characters. However, there is no mention of the domestic and spousal abuse that fuels the plot’s conflict.

Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

This is the only mention, and it is only after reading the novel that you realise that the word “hurt” is used literally, not figuratively. I have nothing against darker topics, but the hype and marketing for this book don’t accurately reflect its vibe.

The major problem I had with this book was the characters. I feel harsh saying this, but I found them unconvincing as adults. The plot hinges on their inability to communicate. This book wouldn’t have happened if all the characters had communicated clearly from the beginning.

There are loads of “secrets” kept in this book; to be fair, they weren’t even very good secrets. I understand that communication and trust are complex, but there were many instances in this book where a character chose not to do the “adult” thing. If the characters had acted like the mature adults they were meant to be, many problems would never have occurred.

Ryle and Lily’s relationship should never have happened. They had no chemistry. Lily is still in love with Atlas, her first love, but doesn’t tell Ryle about him. Ryle didn’t really want to get into a relationship and has a traumatic past, which he only reveals after being forced to. Tell me how this isn’t doomed to fail?

Atlas is still in love with Lily and has built his entire business around her, but he cannot tell her this. Instead, when he sees her again, he tells her he’s in a steady relationship. Great!

Alyssa, Ryle’s sister and Lily’s best friend, seems to know what her brother can be like because of his traumatic past, but fails to warn her best friend.

And I won’t even start on Ryle’s behaviour, which I found disturbing rather than romantic. He is the most unrealistic book boyfriend I have ever come across. Who begs a complete stranger who has already told you she’s not into one-night stands to have sex? Deeply uncomfortable to read.

The book’s only redeeming feature is the ending and Lily’s evolving relationship with her mother. Through her own experience, she comes to understand her mother’s position. The reader might come away with a little more understanding of abuse victims than before. We are all so convinced, as Lily is, that we’d never let ourselves get into such a situation, but no one can be sure. It isn’t a black-and-white situation; it’s grey and shady. The author tries to highlight this, albeit it could have been executed better.