Synopsis:

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. 

Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon – and simultaneously his novel – be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak? the cover of the article may vary

Genre: Contemporary Romance Fiction 

Tropes:

• Long Distance
• Fake Dating

My Thoughts:

November 9 was my seventh read by author Colleen Hoover and wasn’t anything short of Colleen’s classic storytelling style with a shocking revelation. With the book being named November 9, I thought it was only fitting to start the book on November 9th. Something about a themed book title, whether that be a date, place or event, makes me link to the fiction world a whole lot more than non themed book titles. What I mean by this is I feel like I’m apart of the fiction world more, as I’m able to understand when the events take place. 

When beginning November 9, I had no idea what the theme of the book was about; like the majority of the books I read. I was also going into reading November 9 having previously read Colleen’s Reminders of Him, which had left me bawling my eyes out *spoiler alert: 5 stars*. Reminders of him set another high expectation for Colleen, so I was expecting November 9 to overachieve the thoughts I had on Reminders of Him. 

November 9 follows Fallon O’Neil, daughter of famous Hollywood actor Donovan O’Neil and former actress, who is battling life following a horrific tragedy from a house fire that left her permanently scarred on November 9. The day we meet Fallon is the day she’s meeting with her father, whom she has a rocky relationship with, where she informs him of her plans to move to New York to pursue a career in theatre. Being the unsupportive father he is, Fallon’s father attempts to deter her away from moving to pursue theatre, as he believes her time in the spotlight is finished due to her being scarred and therefore no longer being deemed ‘Hollywood pretty’.

After overhearing the conversation between the father and daughter duo, in steps writer Benton James Kessler in his attempt of portraying Fallon’s fake and supportive boyfriend. The meeting between the two starts a special tradition following an agreement the pair develop. The tradition is that the pair agree to meet at the same place at the same time, every year – November 9 for the next 5 years. The rules are: no contact in between – no social media, no texting and no meeting – until November 9. This agreement comes following Fallon’s revelation of her mums advice to not invest in love until she’s 23 and Ben’s plans to be a writer. This sets in motion the agreement to meet every year on November 9 until the age of 23, where Ben can write about the pairs romance. 

Despite the rules, the pair manage to adhere to them and successfully meet up only on November 9. The story then follows the two characters every year on November 9 in their journey of becoming more than friends, but not before reaching the 5th November 9. 

The first November 9 – The pair meet in the coffee shop and embark on their tradition. 

The second November 9 – Fallon flies back to LA for the first time following their agreement. She arrives at Ben’s house and meets his family in their preparations for Kyles wedding to partner Jordyn. There she witnesses an attack on Ben from his brother Kyle, but the reason is unknown. 

The third November 9 – Fallon prepares an eventful visit in New York for Ben but is disappointed when he doesn’t arrive. Fallon quickly learns of the sudden passing of Ben’s brother Kyle, which is the reason for his absence. Fallon jumps on a plane and arrives in LA to surprise and support Ben through his grief. The death of his brother gives Ben perspective on life and he calls for his and Fallon’s agreement to come to an end so they can start their life together in New York. Fallon realises that Ben is needed in LA more to support his sister-in-law in her grief and to support her in her pregnancy. Furthermore, she realises that moving to New York would mean that Ben wouldn’t finish his book to become a writer, if they end their tradition before the agreed five years are done. Therefore Fallon leaves Ben after denying being in love with him, leaving him devastated in order for him to follow and achieve his dreams. 

The fourth November 9 – Despite the ending of the previous November 9, Ben meets Fallon in LA at their usual spot with his nephew. Ben accidentally reveals to Fallon that he’s dating Jordyn, Ben’s brothers widowed wife. This leaves Fallon devastated, where she picks up and leaves to return to her life in New York 

The fifth November 9 – After moving back to LA, Fallon attempts to move on with her life but struggles massively when the 9th comes around. Out with her friends, she ‘accidentally’ bumps into Ben, who reveals that he’s desperately in love with Fallon and has ended things with Jordyn. The pair unite and plan to live their lives together. However, it’s stopped short when Fallon discovers Ben’s manuscript and is ultimately intrigued by the events that happened on the day she met Ben’s brother Kyle. Upon reading, Fallon discovers that Ben was responsible for setting the fire that left her permanently scarred. This results in the pair to devastating go their separate ways.

The sixth November 9 – On their anniversary, Fallon attempts to forget the day and avoid meeting Ben after discovering the truth. She receives a box with a letter and a manuscript. Having no intentions of reading it, Fallon is encouraged to by her mother and discovers an explanation to the events that lead to her scarring. It is revealed that Ben set fire to Donovan’s (Fallon’s dad) car after finding his mum dead from suicide. Ben assumed Donovan left his mum heartbroken and decided to take revenge by setting a fire to his car. Only he did not realise that Fallon was inside the house. After reading this, Fallon decides to forgive Ben and meets him at the same place on November 9. 

When I started reading November 9, I was apprehensive because I’ve loved pretty much every book I’ve read from Colleen Hoover. I feel uneasy reading other books by authors I’ve loved because I never want to be disappointed. I always expect the next book I read of theirs to be better than the previous, which isn’t going to sustainable depending on how many books the authors writes. There will come a book that doesn’t live up to the previous book I’ve read. I can’t say November 9 is my favourite book of Colleen because the top 3 spots belong to Verity, Reminders of Him and Ugly Love (no particular order – I can’t choose!), but it was an enjoyable book that had a very good storyline, with an equally jaw dropping build up. 

The start was very slow which made me slightly apprehensive and scared I’d be disappointed at the end. I felt like in comparison to Colleen’s other book characters, I struggled to form an emotional connection with Fallon and Ben. However, the more I read, the more I began to enjoy the story and not be scared I wanted to DNF or be disappointed. 

Colleen earned a cheesy grin and smirk from myself when Ben arrived at the airport and acted out a cheesy book line in an overly dramatic tone. 

Colleen did have me questioning whether I’d find out why Kyle attacked Ben, as sometimes authors skip over the answers to questions they’ve presented in their books. This scene was a key part in the book and played a crucial role, which I didn’t realise until later on when Fallon is still reflecting on it like the reader. Looking back now, it was an obvious sign to what will happen later on in the book. These signs I tend to miss because I’m too focused on the events currently unfolding, that I don’t stop to make many predictions – takes away the shock factor for me. 

I did enjoy the appearance of Tate and Miles from Ugly Love. Ugly Love was the first book I read by Colleen Hoover, so it holds a special place in my heart. Seeing those characters made me smile and happy that they’re happy in their world. It was an unexpected appearance as I didn’t realise that November 9 was in the same fiction world as Ugly Love. I didn’t even make the connection between Ian and Miles being friends, then ultimately having a link to Ben. During the appearance of Tate and Miles, it is mentioned that Tate is pregnant with a girl and they know of the gender. This made me realise November 9 takes time during the ending of Ugly Love, as Tate is pregnant towards the end of Ugly Love. Although I did question the timeline because I didn’t realise Tate knew the gender of their baby in Ugly Love, unless I missed it or it’s actually their second pregnancy? 

I sort of preempted the Jordyn and Ben storyline as it was mentioned during Fallon and Ben’s initial rule agreement that they could see other people between the meetings. I had a feeling someone would fall in love, it just had to happen – for the drama and plot. 

There’s always side characters to books that make you love them more than the main characters. Glenn was a favourite of mine, just the way he had Fallon’s back despite him not being as involved with her. Loved that he sided with Ben because he’s the only guy of Fallon’s that he’s liked and because he found him funny. I second this when he followed Ben’s punch to Theodore with his own. He added comedy that was definitely needed and also at the right time. 

“Glenn is giving me puppy dog eyes and Ben’s bottom lip is protruding.” – I can see Ben and Glenn just being the absolute best of bros and sidekicks to one another. 

When Fallon discovered the reason for Kyle’s attack on Ben I was shocked, my jaw literally dropped and I stared at my screen for around a minute just processing it. I couldn’t believe he started the fire but now that I’m reflecting on it, I can see now it makes sense. It’s a cliche – insecure girl falls in love with someone who has a secret that impacts her, yet I still didn’t put two and two together to realise it. I do think it was a predictable storyline, but I didn’t predict it so I enjoyed it because I didn’t see it coming. The revelation lead me to so many questions – how/why. 

“It took four years for me to fall in love with him. It only took four pages to stop.” – Fallon. Can always rely on Colleen for a good highlight worthy quote. 

Along with the revelation of how the fire started, I was equally shocked when Ben found his mam. Initially I thought she’d been murdered, then I was relieved when Ben said she was gone because I thought there was hope she was still alive and just not in her room. Then I was shocked when he said she’s gone, but her bodies on the floor. This part of the story made me think that Fallon’s dad was the reason for her death and that’s why he started the fire – for revenge, but in a different context; like murder not suicide. At one point I did think that the poet Ben and his mother quoted had something to do with it, as it was mentioned he wasn’t a nice person. The letter Ben’s mam left didn’t have me welling up, but it was emotional regardless – how she was selfless and didn’t want her children to suffer like she’d seen others had with cancer. 

With the premise of the story being that the characters meet on the same day every year, I expected the content of the book to be extremely short, but I was surprised that the story had a decent amount of depth to it. I think my lack of emotional connection to the characters stemmed by the fact we only knew of them on one day of the year and not what happened in their lives in between that day. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading November 9. I do think the ending was slightly rushed, but I don’t think it made me not like the book. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite or least favourite Colleen Hoover book. I think it potentially might be a book I could re read if I wanted to because I didn’t not like it. 

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia 

♥