queen cohi – Zakiya N. Jamal

Synopsis:

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

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Review

I wanted to love this novel. Everyone told me I would love this novel. I was sure I would love this novel. I did not love this novel. That being said I think Colleen Hoover handled the subject matter really well and I could tell this was a very personal novel for her. Still, this is my second least favorite book I’ve read by her, followed closely by November 9.

The truth is my issues with this novel really comes from the fact that there was too much of Ryle (who hated) and not enough of Atlas (who loved). However, I don’t think Hoover could’ve written this book any other way to get her point across so I feel bad faulting her for this but it’s truly how I feel. I wanted to see way more of Atlas than what was given and that drove me crazy. I was not satisfied at all with how this book ended and I desperately wanted more than what I was given. Moreover, I really liked Lily but I didn’t really love her or any of the other characters in this book. I can’t even remember the name of Ryle’s sister (I checked, it’s Allysa) and her husband (Marshall) right now because they left no impression on me.

I’m not sure what I was expecting going into this novel. I guess I was expecting to cry like so many people said they did and that didn’t happen until I finished the book and read the note from Colleen, where she talked about how her mom inspired this novel. That brought me to tears but this novel did not. Again, I really wanted to love this book but for me this is definitely not a book I’ll be reading again. If you disagree feel free to tell me in the comments. I’d love to discuss this one.

Also, please note if you plan on reading this book it deals heavily with physical abuse so if that’s triggering for you please read this book with caution.

Stars: