4 Stars
“And you wonder why you have no friends.”
“Actually, I don’t wonder that at all.”
You get two reviews today (sorry) because I read this and Turtles All The Way Down both on Saturday and everything went sideways because I thought there was a better chance I wouldn’t dig this one but then I ended up loving it and they were both kinda a little bit about the same thing with 100% different deliveries and I couldn’t put either of them down but the Green one was because I wanted to end my suffering and this one I actually ended up being bummed that I read so fast because I just loved the dang thing and . . . .
Let’s start over. Okay so I was notified it was my turn for both Without Merit and Turtles All The Way Down on Friday afternoon. I even made a status about it because WTF library?!?!?! How can I be like 900,000,000th on the list for each of these and then get them approximately 27 seconds after release date? Crazy. Anyway, both of these had been on my TBR since they were basically just an idea since I am a pretty loyal follower of both authors. Green being Green, I assume you have to donate a kidney or present your first-born for an ARC so I didn’t even bother looking, but I did ask for Hoover’s - if for no other reason than shits and grins to see how quickly Atria could provide me this type of response . . . .
Now don’t get me wrong. I get that there’s like a 50% chance of me 1-Starring her stuff so I don’t really blame them. Buuuuuuuuuut, when the blurb says this one is “different from all her other stuff” – that’s the one that might end up being for me (or maybe not since It Ends With Us said that too and I thought it was a big steaming pile). Buuuuuuuuut, when it seriously is different (like Too Late), that’s the one I’m gonna eat with a spoon.
As was the case here in Without Merit. This one is 100% unlike anything Hoover has ever written before – which is probably why so many of her superfans aren’t feeling it. Let it be known to anyone thinking about reading this – DO NOT GET IT TWISTED THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. It’s not “NA” or “YA” either. Instead it is the story of the Voss family and all of its dysfunction. It’s contemporary fiction and it’s done remarkably well.
I think this is a story where the less told the better, so I’m just going to give you the basics. Merit is our MC. She’s a high school senior who collects thrift store trophies and has decided she’s going to stop attending school. Honor is her identical twin sister. She’s a little obsessed with dating terminally ill dudes ever since her first boyfriend died unexpectedly. Utah is their brother. There’s a couple of things you’ll find out about him as the book progresses. Barnaby is their dad. He’s married to Victoria who started out as their mother’s in-home nurse when she had brain cancer, but ended up as his new wife when she got knocked up with Moby. Moby is perfection. Mainly because he’s only 4 so the family hasn’t had a chance to really f*&^ him up yet. I can’t forget mom – her name is Victoria too and she lives in the basement while the rest of the Voss family lives upstairs. Oh yeah, let’s talk about the house too. It used to be a church, but when Barnaby got in a feud with the pastor over a dog that barked incessantly he figured out how to buy it. Now they use the marquee out front to pass their own “good words” . . . .
The result is a story that answers the question . . .
“Is it normal for a person to hate their own family this much?”
While presenting the lesson that . . .
“Peace doesn’t come to everyone in the same form.”
It nearly earned 5 Stars from me, but the last 10% got a little “beat you over the head” with the message which is a tad offensive because hopefully Colleen Hoover doesn't really think readers are so stupid that we won’t get it. Obviously being a Hoover, this is a selection that probably earned hundreds of 5 Star ratings upon its announcement. For those fangirls who actually read it, this one will probably bat about .500 (look at me and my post-season speak). The good news is there’s a whole new fanbase full of weirdos like me out there who will end up being totally surprised that she had this in her. To that I say . . . .
Dear Colleen Hoover: If stuff like this and Too Late are the result of writer’s block, I apologize in advance for hoping that you continue to suffer from it. Sorry not sorry.
“Actually, I don’t wonder that at all.”
You get two reviews today (sorry) because I read this and Turtles All The Way Down both on Saturday and everything went sideways because I thought there was a better chance I wouldn’t dig this one but then I ended up loving it and they were both kinda a little bit about the same thing with 100% different deliveries and I couldn’t put either of them down but the Green one was because I wanted to end my suffering and this one I actually ended up being bummed that I read so fast because I just loved the dang thing and . . . .
Let’s start over. Okay so I was notified it was my turn for both Without Merit and Turtles All The Way Down on Friday afternoon. I even made a status about it because WTF library?!?!?! How can I be like 900,000,000th on the list for each of these and then get them approximately 27 seconds after release date? Crazy. Anyway, both of these had been on my TBR since they were basically just an idea since I am a pretty loyal follower of both authors. Green being Green, I assume you have to donate a kidney or present your first-born for an ARC so I didn’t even bother looking, but I did ask for Hoover’s - if for no other reason than shits and grins to see how quickly Atria could provide me this type of response . . . .
Now don’t get me wrong. I get that there’s like a 50% chance of me 1-Starring her stuff so I don’t really blame them. Buuuuuuuuuut, when the blurb says this one is “different from all her other stuff” – that’s the one that might end up being for me (or maybe not since It Ends With Us said that too and I thought it was a big steaming pile). Buuuuuuuuut, when it seriously is different (like Too Late), that’s the one I’m gonna eat with a spoon.
As was the case here in Without Merit. This one is 100% unlike anything Hoover has ever written before – which is probably why so many of her superfans aren’t feeling it. Let it be known to anyone thinking about reading this – DO NOT GET IT TWISTED THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE. It’s not “NA” or “YA” either. Instead it is the story of the Voss family and all of its dysfunction. It’s contemporary fiction and it’s done remarkably well.
I think this is a story where the less told the better, so I’m just going to give you the basics. Merit is our MC. She’s a high school senior who collects thrift store trophies and has decided she’s going to stop attending school. Honor is her identical twin sister. She’s a little obsessed with dating terminally ill dudes ever since her first boyfriend died unexpectedly. Utah is their brother. There’s a couple of things you’ll find out about him as the book progresses. Barnaby is their dad. He’s married to Victoria who started out as their mother’s in-home nurse when she had brain cancer, but ended up as his new wife when she got knocked up with Moby. Moby is perfection. Mainly because he’s only 4 so the family hasn’t had a chance to really f*&^ him up yet. I can’t forget mom – her name is Victoria too and she lives in the basement while the rest of the Voss family lives upstairs. Oh yeah, let’s talk about the house too. It used to be a church, but when Barnaby got in a feud with the pastor over a dog that barked incessantly he figured out how to buy it. Now they use the marquee out front to pass their own “good words” . . . .
The result is a story that answers the question . . .
“Is it normal for a person to hate their own family this much?”
While presenting the lesson that . . .
“Peace doesn’t come to everyone in the same form.”
It nearly earned 5 Stars from me, but the last 10% got a little “beat you over the head” with the message which is a tad offensive because hopefully Colleen Hoover doesn't really think readers are so stupid that we won’t get it. Obviously being a Hoover, this is a selection that probably earned hundreds of 5 Star ratings upon its announcement. For those fangirls who actually read it, this one will probably bat about .500 (look at me and my post-season speak). The good news is there’s a whole new fanbase full of weirdos like me out there who will end up being totally surprised that she had this in her. To that I say . . . .
Dear Colleen Hoover: If stuff like this and Too Late are the result of writer’s block, I apologize in advance for hoping that you continue to suffer from it. Sorry not sorry.
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