Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Title: Maybe Someday
Author: Colleen Hoover
Narrator(s):  Zachary Webber, Angela Goethals
Series: n/a
Length:  10 hrs 40 mins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

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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 #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.

Includes a free original soundtrack by musician Griffin Peterson.



Like so many of Colleen Hoover's fans, I was eagerly anticipating Maybe Someday. And while some were disappointed by the turn the romance took in this book, I rather enjoyed the story as a whole. It's also reaffirmed my need to read the Slammed series because if she can so beautifully weave music and lyrics into this story, I need to see what she does with poetry.

I went the audio route for this book, and I think it paid off for me, except maybe when I was listening to the narrator read the lyrics from the book at the same time that I was listening to the soundtrack for the novel. In that respect, it might have been wiser to simply listen to them separately because while I was listening to the audiobook and the actual song, I also found myself reading the lyrics on the website for the soundtrack. A little confusing, but that was totally my fault for not experiencing the three formats separately.

Angela Goethals narrated Hopeless, so I knew I could trust her to do a fantastic job with this novel. And since it's been awhile since I listened to Hopeless, I didn't have to worry about separating the two main characters in each of those books even though they are voiced by the same person. Zachary Webber, on the other hand, is a new-to-me narrator. The first chapter he read had me second-guessing my decision to listen to the audiobook because he sounded a bit monotonous, but as the story went on, his narration grew on me. Webber no longer sounded flat but rather subdued, and as the narrative progressed, it became evident why. And I may be making undue assumptions with that statement, but it worked for me, so I'm going to leave it at that.

As far as the actual story goes, it was frustrating at times to watch these two characters develop such intense feelings for each other and be unable to act on them, but it was also rather seductive. I couldn't turn away from it, even knowing that it might end in catastrophe. The synopsis for this novel is a little lacking in that it doesn't depict a very realistic picture of what the story really seems to focus on. Fair warning: some may find what I'm about to say spoilery, so don't click the button if you want to go into this book knowing next to nothing.



As frustrating as the romance was, the characters were equally as perturbing at times. I feel like Sydney should have realized the situation was precarious to begin with and removed herself from it. Likewise, Ridge should have taken matters into his own hands, but ultimately, he should have never invited Sydney into his life to begin with. They both played it safe for as long as they could, but it was still like playing with a lit match. And I loved that Warren never hesitated to point this out to either of them. It was kind of crazy that Warren was the voice of reason in this case, especially since he was falling for the frosty Hooters waitress at the same time, but I liked how realistically his character dealt with it all. And then there's sweet, understanding Maggie. But I still have to wonder if she was only as kind and wonderful as she was because of her own situation.

Colleen Hoover's Maybe Someday is a very engaging story -- at least, if you can overlook the immorality of the situation these characters are facing, and even then you may still find yourself reading to the end before you realize what's happened. I felt like I was playing Devil's Advocate the entire time I was listening. I can't say that I condone everything that occurred in this story, but I did find it entertaining. It was one of those stories where you cover your eyes and shake your head, dreading reading the next line of text because you think you know what's about to happen and you don't want it to happen, but at the same time, you do. You so do.

GIF it to me straight:
Because seriously, this book is really going to piss some people off,
but others are going to love it, and I'd just really like for us all to be friends.
Also, I have a lot of feelings, and cake would help.



About the author:

Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, and This Girl. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.

Find Colleen:

WebsiteTwitter | Facebook | Goodreads


12 comments:

  1. So I just ordered this book yesterday. I really wish I'd read your review first because I'm a staunch hater of love triangles. Ugh. It doesn't really matter how anyone justifies it; if a person you claim to love doesn't make you feel like the person you feel attracted to, then it's not love.

    This is really disappointing. I expected more from Hoover. :(

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    1. I'm sorry...I know a lot of people who will inevitably feel the same way, but by the end of the book, it didn't bother me so much anymore. But I don't loathe love triangles the way some do. I actually think the writing was pretty on par for Hoover, though, if that helps.

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  2. I've never read anything by Colleen Hoover. I know that a lot of my friends really like her, but her books never really sounded all that interesting to me. I've looked a couple of times to see if my library has this one in stock as I've heard some good things, but it doesn't. If it ever does, I'll check it out. IN RESPONSE TO SPOILER: I don't automatically hate love triangles, but I do think very few are well-written. I rarely, however, enjoy stories that deal with cheating. The idea of whether or not emotional cheating is more damaging is certainly an interesting topic.

    I'm glad you enjoyed this one...and I'll take some cake. Great review!

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    1. Agreed, very few love triangles are well-written, but they don't make me want to hurl all the things at the wall if they come into play. Cheating is definitely a bigger issue for me. I've discussed emotional cheating versus physical cheating with my husband, just as a hypothetical, and it was definitely an interesting debate. :)

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  3. ahhhhh. I have been seeing GOOD reviews and then some.. NOT so good reviews with this one. I can't decide if I want to read it or not.

    **SPOILER** I don't mind a love triangle (I read your spoiler because someone had already spoiled it for me) so, I know that wouldn't bother me so much. But I agree with your about the cheating thing. SO much worse.

    Glad you enjoyed this one! :)

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    1. I think that if you don't mind love triangles, this book could be very enjoyable. I had fun reading it, as frustrating as I found it at times. :) It pains me that people would let a silly thing like a love triangle ruin an otherwise good story for them, but to each their own, right?

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  4. I love you Jen, but I just skipped right over this review. This book makes me angry. I disliked it immensely, except for the end, which I thought was okay. But I need to move on from it. Anyway, it appears that you enjoyed it, which I'm glad of. I really loved the concept of being able to listen to the music the characters were writing as the story unfolded. Unfortunately, that amazing feature went with a story that I couldn't stand behind. Just thinking of this guy Ridge makes me upset. I should have known! Love triangles and I are a toxic combination.

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  5. I actually haven't read it yet and your review is making me want to listen to it. I recently bought Hopeless on Audible for $2.99 and had been talking about CH to my coblogger so much I ended up having to listen to it. At first I did not like the narrator, but it didn't take long for me to enjoy her work. She is great at different voices (guys, girls, etc.) and I liked how Sky sounded a little detached at the beginning of the narration. So, I'm glad to hear she does a great job on this one too.

    As for the book, I hope I'm one of the ones who likes this one, because I've yet to dislike a CoHo book and it would make me sad if I didn't like it. Slammed was SO good, I hope you get to listen/read soon!

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    1. The audio turned out great...I think I enjoyed it even more than Hopeless because of the dual POVs. I really do need to get my hands on Slammed soon...I'd like to read her earlier books and compare them to this newest read.

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  6. Thanks for your review! This will unfortunately be the first Colleen Hoover book that I'll skip, but I just wouldn't be able to handle that love triangle. :( I'm glad you were able to enjoy the book despite the frustrating romance though!

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    Replies
    1. Sorry, Danielle...there's really so much more to the story than just a love triangle, though...

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