postcard 39: on colleen hoover, her bibliography, romance books, and i truly mean this when i say, nobody is more qualified and justified to do this than me
Genuinely - this is the essay I have been WAITING for someone to write. I read It Ends With Us after ALL of my students were reading it (I’m an English teacher) and goodness it was baffling to me that any respectable editor ever gave it the green light. At best, it’s some of the worst writing I’ve ever come across - and again, as an English teacher, I’ve read my fair share of appalling writing. At worst, it romanticises abusive dynamics, and honestly I think it’s quite dangerous that she is so very popular - particularly amongst young women and girls. What a spot on essay - I’ll be sharing it far and wide amongst all of those who try to convince me that her books are worth a second’s thought! <3
thank you so much! i thought the girls and i on wattpad cancelled and buried her in 2016...was horrified to see her reincarnation through booktok in 2020
Oh my god, thank you for this! When Colleen Hoover launched onto the scene like one of those alien warships in War of the Worlds, I felt like I was losing my damn mind. Booktok has become a poison. Like Jesus. I keep seeing arguments about these conveyor belt novels like, "reading has become so elitist and we should just be happy that someone is reading and passionate about it, regardless of the book." To a certain extent I agree with this, but I also think that if I saw a child crouched on all fours in a dumpster eating wet garbage, I wouldn't be jumping for joy because "at least they are eating something."
Never read her stuff, never planned to read it. Was not prepared for the mental scarring I now have from reading the mere snippets you’ve posted hahaha. This was awesome, I hope your brain heals one day from the burden reading her work on our behalf.
i want to be friends with you so bad, it's not even funny. Brilliantly written (also...very funny, which is hard considering the very well pointed critique you're making) as usual. Let's hope 2025 is the year Hoover retires and never come back and also the world has a mass amnesia and forgets her books ever existed
the fact that blake lively didn’t face more backlash, and that cohos work getting put on the big screen didn’t attract more criticism is incredible to me. i worry for other girls in my generation that consume this kind of media…i worry that despite dv, especially physical dv, being punishable by law, people still see nothing wrong with it. i also worry for the people who have the time to be adamantly defending her and tearing someone down for expressing their opinion. your writing is wonderful, and i can’t wait to send this to some (honestly scary) coho defenders i know. thank you for sharing!
your utter spite for this woman is so beyond relatable you hate on her the exact same way i hate on her and other authors who drive me to my wits end and i have to applaud you just for that
Yeah I tried a few and I felt like a snob but they just weren't for me. I have dove head first into Emily Henry (despite my fear that they were similar authors - I regret this thought haha) due to your posts on here and I love her. It's a disservice to authors like her to praise Colleen hoover lol
I just want to preface that I'm being 100% genuine when I this: reading you go on full hater mode is so fun especially when it's 100% justified. Its like, "you're favorite substack writers are just like you!!" (Which... duh, considering you're taste in literature I never would have even considered you'd be a CoHo fan but it's always nice to get confirmation. There's a satisfaction that comes with knowing you and a complete stranger vehemently hate the same author). I am very happy/fortunate to say I never read a CoHo book but one of my favorite pass times is watching hour-long rant review of her books on YouTube and then telling my best friend how ridiculous every book CoHo publishes is. Ironically I actually just watched a rant review of Finding Cinderella last night. So even though I technically never read her books, I'm pretty familiar with her work.
With all that being said this was critic was very fun to read and in my opinion a take that is necessary, especially if it deters even one young person from reading her books and being influenced to believe the average CoHo romance is swoon worthy or something they should strive for.
Side note: When my younger sibling asked me if they should read her books I very passionately said "fuck no" so, from one eldest sister to another: I get it.
Genuinely - this is the essay I have been WAITING for someone to write. I read It Ends With Us after ALL of my students were reading it (I’m an English teacher) and goodness it was baffling to me that any respectable editor ever gave it the green light. At best, it’s some of the worst writing I’ve ever come across - and again, as an English teacher, I’ve read my fair share of appalling writing. At worst, it romanticises abusive dynamics, and honestly I think it’s quite dangerous that she is so very popular - particularly amongst young women and girls. What a spot on essay - I’ll be sharing it far and wide amongst all of those who try to convince me that her books are worth a second’s thought! <3
thank you so much! i thought the girls and i on wattpad cancelled and buried her in 2016...was horrified to see her reincarnation through booktok in 2020
coho is the drake to your kendrick and that is so fucking iconic lmao
can’t believe u ended her career with this essay
i can't keep doing this like at one point she just has to go away right
it ends like this
thank you for making this free! <3 much appreciate your work
of course!
Oh my god, thank you for this! When Colleen Hoover launched onto the scene like one of those alien warships in War of the Worlds, I felt like I was losing my damn mind. Booktok has become a poison. Like Jesus. I keep seeing arguments about these conveyor belt novels like, "reading has become so elitist and we should just be happy that someone is reading and passionate about it, regardless of the book." To a certain extent I agree with this, but I also think that if I saw a child crouched on all fours in a dumpster eating wet garbage, I wouldn't be jumping for joy because "at least they are eating something."
every word of this comment is fucking gold
haha thank you
the nail polish ad on a book about abuse is insane. she needs to be stopped lol thanks for spreading light on it
no literally !!!
Never read her stuff, never planned to read it. Was not prepared for the mental scarring I now have from reading the mere snippets you’ve posted hahaha. This was awesome, I hope your brain heals one day from the burden reading her work on our behalf.
i want to be friends with you so bad, it's not even funny. Brilliantly written (also...very funny, which is hard considering the very well pointed critique you're making) as usual. Let's hope 2025 is the year Hoover retires and never come back and also the world has a mass amnesia and forgets her books ever existed
biggest compliment, thank you!!
the fact that blake lively didn’t face more backlash, and that cohos work getting put on the big screen didn’t attract more criticism is incredible to me. i worry for other girls in my generation that consume this kind of media…i worry that despite dv, especially physical dv, being punishable by law, people still see nothing wrong with it. i also worry for the people who have the time to be adamantly defending her and tearing someone down for expressing their opinion. your writing is wonderful, and i can’t wait to send this to some (honestly scary) coho defenders i know. thank you for sharing!
“IT ENDS WITH HER” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
knowing that so many people hate colleen hoover with the same burning passion i do makes me feel so validated. thank you for this.
The part about people thinking REBECCA was a knockoff of a fucking Colleen Hoover book is just devastating on so many levels
it's like people thinking the wuthering heights quote "whatever our souls are made out of, his and mine are the same" is from after
your utter spite for this woman is so beyond relatable you hate on her the exact same way i hate on her and other authors who drive me to my wits end and i have to applaud you just for that
i've hated this woman since 2014 and witnessing her resurgence has been devasatating
a diss-ertation (ill leave now)
This is so spot on thank you - and thanks for adding the reviews/texts because I got a good laugh at my desk today
my friends are so funny i had to!! they've hated her for as long as i have
Yeah I tried a few and I felt like a snob but they just weren't for me. I have dove head first into Emily Henry (despite my fear that they were similar authors - I regret this thought haha) due to your posts on here and I love her. It's a disservice to authors like her to praise Colleen hoover lol
I just want to preface that I'm being 100% genuine when I this: reading you go on full hater mode is so fun especially when it's 100% justified. Its like, "you're favorite substack writers are just like you!!" (Which... duh, considering you're taste in literature I never would have even considered you'd be a CoHo fan but it's always nice to get confirmation. There's a satisfaction that comes with knowing you and a complete stranger vehemently hate the same author). I am very happy/fortunate to say I never read a CoHo book but one of my favorite pass times is watching hour-long rant review of her books on YouTube and then telling my best friend how ridiculous every book CoHo publishes is. Ironically I actually just watched a rant review of Finding Cinderella last night. So even though I technically never read her books, I'm pretty familiar with her work.
With all that being said this was critic was very fun to read and in my opinion a take that is necessary, especially if it deters even one young person from reading her books and being influenced to believe the average CoHo romance is swoon worthy or something they should strive for.
Side note: When my younger sibling asked me if they should read her books I very passionately said "fuck no" so, from one eldest sister to another: I get it.
oh i don't really publicly hate but when i do i make sure it's thorough and bulletproof lmao, and colleen hoover is worth it