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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover: Review & Giveaway

Maybe SomedayTitle: Maybe Someday
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books 
Buy This Book: Book Depository / Amazon
Buy The Soundtrack: Amazon

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.
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 the author of the New York Times bestsellers Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, This Girl, and Losing Hope, Maybe Someday is destined to become another bestseller and long-lasting fan favorite. (Goodreads summary.)

FYI:
I shall break all the rules now!!! Muahahahahahaha
Okay, I am mad right now! No, not just mad but really damn infuriated (I really wanted to swear right then - starts with f and rhymes with ducking - but I shall refrain!). Colleen Hoover is clearly the tricksy woman I always knew she was. Do you want to know why blogosphere? Well, if you don't look away now because I am about to (For just the review, scroll down a whole bunch, past all the ranting.) She has made me come back and redo a review. This is almost despicable and something I have never done but I need to do it. It would be wrong of me not to do it. I read this book almost THREE WEEKS AGO and I still can't get it out of my head or off my mind.
I joined the discussion group because I needed to see what other people were thinking about this book. Were they still obsessively thinking back on it weeks later? Had they listened to the soundtrack over and over again? I realised I have a serious Maybe Someday addiction when I bought my ticket on StageIt to watch Griffin Peterson and his band sing live at the book launch. Now it might not sound too crazy but you have to consider the fact that started at 3:30am here. I feel like she may have actually ruined all new reading experiences for me. What, just a book? No soundtrack to go along with it? No music that perfectly sets the scene and describes how the characters are feeling? I don't think so, try again. Why don't you come back and see me when you are willing to give me a reading experience like Maybe Someday. Damn it, I think I am ruined! *weeps* No, I have not been ruined people, I have been Hoovered. I know I am not the first and I won't be the last. We should really get a support group up and running. In light of this, I'm breaking all the rules and redoing a review because reading back on it, it doesn't in any way, shape or form express what this book has done to me.


Review



I want to start out by saying that this was one of the greatest reading experiences I have ever had. Colleen Hoover explains on her website why she wanted a soundtrack to go along with her book, so you can read that if you want more information. She got the help of Griffin Peterson, who I believe was on the US American Idol, and who had previously been on the cover of her book Losing Hope. He recorded eight songs for an album that you can listen to online for free if you have the book. I decided to download it and pay for it because I got the eARC for free and wanted to support the album. It turned out to be one of the greatest decisions of my life or the worst depending on how you look at it. I have spent the last three weeks listening to that ONE album on repeat. I have listened to it so much I know all the lyrics. I've listened whilst trying to fall asleep, whilst brushing my teeth, walking to work, walking home from work, while blogging and so on. It added so much more to this book and to the experience as a whole. I want to send Colleen Hoover a truckload of chocolates, flowers, kittens and, depending on how well my kidnapping abilities are, The Avett Brothers as thanks. Maybe Someday was so much more than a book, so much more than a soundtrack; it was a truly unforgettable experience.

After finding out that her best friend and boyfriend are sleeping together, Sydney is devastated and in need of a place to stay. This is where it's Ridge to the rescue, the mysterious neighbour who she has watched from her balcony from quite some time. He offers her a place to stay in exchange for help writing lyrics to go along with the music he has been writing. As Sydney and Ridge begin writing together, their relationship grows and they realise they are developing feelings for one another. This would all be simple if it wasn't for the fact that Ridge has a girlfriend. A girlfriend that he has been with for five years and who he is madly in love with.

I know some may not like the fact that their is another girl involved in this story, but I honestly believe that it's handled so well. It's not just another pointless love triangle. It's used to show how complex love is, that it's not always easy and not always so simple. It's not just boy falls in love with girl followed by The End. It doesn't always work that way, in fact it rarely ever works that way. I applaud the fact that I was given two amazing women that I couldn't help but fall in love with. Yes, I picked a side but I could completely see and understand why Ridge would want to be with or choose either of these women. It was refreshing to find that I was struggling with the fact that I wanted Sydney and Ridge to be together so much. Wanting that meant Maggie would get hurt and that I actually struggled with.

Ridge was probably one of the most extraordinary male leads that I have come across in fiction. I won't spoil anything because there might be people out there who haven't read this yet. I will only say that it was a pleasant surprise to find that he wasn't your typical romantic love interest. There's more to him than meets the eye and I couldn't wait to find out more about his life. He plays guitar, writes songs, is attractive and super sweet and you would probably really struggle to find a guy like him in real life. But isn't that what fiction is for?

Music was such an important part of this storyline. It's the whole reason that Ridge and Sydney even come into each others lives. I loved being able to stick in my headphones and listen to the song they had just written together and hear it for myself. It helps that Griffin Peterson is really talented and has a beautiful voice. I am now a fan and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any new releases by him. I can't even thank Colleen Hoover enough for introducing me to his music. I honestly believe that the book wouldn't have been the same without the music. It's clear to see why she was so keen to get songs to go along with this book. They actually add so much more to the story than I originally thought was possible. When I heard this had a soundtrack I was intrigued, but I honestly didn't really know what to expect. It blew me away just how much the soundtrack and book worked together to make one amazing experience.

I honestly believe that Colleen Hoover is a tricksy ninja when it comes to writing New Adult. If you've seen most of my reviews of romance books or NA books, than you'll know that we aren't the best of friends. Most things other people find really romantic actually make me want to vomit up into my own mouth. (Seriously! I get it from my family. We never buy each other the overly sweet cards, we always find the funny yet insulting ones.) I don't really like sickly sweet kind of romance but Colleen Hoover does it in such a way that I actually crave more of it. How she does it, I do not know but she is far too good at it. I was rooting for these two the whole time.

I got really sucked into this story and I actually wasn't sure how this one would end. It kept me guessing which most NA doesn't because it usually seems pretty obvious to me where everything will end up. The secondary characters were really great, mainly Sydney and Ridge's other room mates. I think some romances can revolve too much around the main characters and it doesn't leave time for you to get to know and love anybody else. It was nice to see that there was so much more to this book than just Ridge and Sydney. Warren and Bridgette were the perfect secondary characters and gave me some much needed laughs. Bridgette was so hilarious at times that I snorted on public transport, that's not a good thing - people looked at me like I was crazy!

My one complaint is that Sydney is far too emotional for my liking. It felt like she cried almost non-stop throughout this book. I just wanted to give her a bit of a slap at times and tell her to get over it. At times she was completely justified in her weeping, but others... not so much. And this complaint about crying is coming from someone who can tear up at adverts, sob at Disney and become a weeping mess when a book kills off one of my favourite fictional characters.


 5/5 Butterflies

The music element of the book really added to my experience and it was honestly one of the greatest reading experiences I have had. I read this really quickly and couldn't concentrate at work because I wanted to go home and be able to finish it. I recommend doing what I did and not skipping ahead on the songs, I only listened to them when they came up in the book. Ahhhh thinking back on how much fun this was to read makes me wish I could do it all over again. I seriously want every book I read to come with it's own soundtrack! I know when I was reading this that I had a few complaints, but now weeks later I can't even think of them any more.

READ. LISTEN. ENJOY.





*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.



Giveaway

I gave away two pre-orders of the book just after finishing it because I wanted to share the experience. Now I want to give two more people the chance to win this incredible book. The giveaway is international, as long as Book Depository ships to you. I shall let the winner's choose which cover they want: UK or US.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

51 comments:

  1. Ohh, incredible review. I'm desperate to get my hands on a copy of this one, anything by Colleen Hoover is a must on my bookshelf. She's one of the very few new adult authors that I can stomach. Can't wait to see how the soundtrack goes, I've seen a few books with playlists, but this one sounds really unique.

    My Latest Post: Stacking the Shelves

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    1. She's definitely one of my favourite NA authors, I haven't found many that I have enjoyed. The soundtrack worked really well, especially since it was written for the book. I hope you get to read it soon, it's really great =D

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  2. That's so interesting about the soundtrack to go along with the book, I don't know if I've ever heard of an author doing that before. I feel the same way about NA, it just seems like it's the same thing over and over again, but I'll still read this one.

    As far as the girlfriend, there's got to be something keeping them apart. Usually in NA one (or both) of the characters has some sort of trauma that has damaged them and that's the issue, so I guess it's got to be something. Sort of like Anna and the French Kiss. I still loved St. Clair even though he had a girlfriend, and you hate it, but you just find yourself rooting for them to get together even though you wouldn't do that in real life. But as you point out, it's fiction! Glad you enjoyed it. ~Pam

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    1. I know, I was just really surprised that the girlfriend wasn't mentioned at all on the blurb. Maybe they were worried it would put some people off =/ The soundtrack really worked well with the book and it made for a really unique reading experience! Ha I definitely rooted for Anna & St Clair... I didn't even care about the girlfriend.

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  3. This sound like it would be great! I'm not much into straight romances but the tale being told here is not what I normally find in a blurb.
    I love that it's told with music, as I write pretty much all of my stories to music, but I don't normally share this. Say I got published, I'm unsure about whether I would share the music I wrote to as my electric taste in music might make it a weird rather than magical reading experience. I'm pondering this now. Oh well c:
    Thank you for sharing this great review! It's really made me want to go and check out this book. *sigh* As if I didn't already have a hundred+ books to read. Literally. Oh well! Onto the TBR pile. :3

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    1. Electric? *sigh* I meant eclectic. That's the last time I ever let Google correct something for me.

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    2. It's a really fun read because of the soundtrack, it worked so amazingly well. If it works really well with the music than I say share, share, share away! It really added to my experience and I loved it. I know what you mean about the hundred+ books. my TBR pile is embarrassing!

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  4. I love the idea of a soundtrack to a book. This sounds like such a great book experience. :)

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  5. Great review! This was a great reading experience for me too. I didn't know there was a soundtrack to go along with it. Makes me want to reread with the soundtrack to get the full experience.

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    1. I definitely recommend going back to reread whilst listening to the soundtrack! :)

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  6. The idea of a soundtrack for a book sounds amazing! I wonder why there aren't more authors doing this! I've never read a book my Hoover, but I'm dying to read this one!

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    1. More authors need to do it. It added so much to the experience :)

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  7. I always love the gifs you're using. ^_^

    I'm afraid I haven't yet read a Colleen Hoover book. I once started Hopeless but other books came in the way. Story of my life... le sigh.

    Thanks for the giveaway, girl! :D

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    1. Thanks! She writes some really amazing YA. Good luck for the giveaway! :)

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  8. I have read Maybe Someday! It's my favorite one so far, but I still don't own a physical copy :( My favorite part in the book is when Ridge spoke for the first time after not speaking for so long.

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    1. That was such a brilliant moment! That really got to me. Good luck! :)

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  9. Hopeless is my favorite :)
    Thank you for this awesome opportunity!
    You rock! :D :)

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    2. And great review! :)
      Thank you!

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    3. Thank you and good luck for the giveaway! :)

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  10. Hopeless was my favorite read. I can't wait to read Maybe Someday. Love Colleen! Thanks for the chance.

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  11. It sounds really amazing! I love music in books and written by Coleen Hoover means it will be perfect. My favorite was Hopeless. Thank you for the giveaway :)

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    1. The music added so much to the experience! Good luck and thanks for taking part :)

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  12. Hopeless is the only one of hers I’ve read so far , so Hopeless is my favorite! It’s SO GOOD! Can’t wait to read Maybe Someday.

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  13. point of retreat is my fav book

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  14. I havent read any of colleen hoovers books but heard they are fantastic and i recently bought hopeless excited to read it!!!

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    1. Me too! I have read the Slammed series, but still need to get to Hopeless. Have heard great things :)

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  15. I havent read any of colleen hoovers books but heard they are fantastic and i recently bought hopeless excited to read it!!!

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  16. WOW I feel like I lose half of my reading life experience! I haven't read any of her books and I decided that I should! So yeah!!! Thanks for the very straight-from-the-heart review! :)

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  17. So far Hopeless is my favorite!

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  18. Hopeless and Slammed !! Love those books

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  19. I haven't gotten the chance to read any of her books yet. Here's hoping this will be my chance.

    Thanks for it!

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    1. I hope you get to read one soon, Maybe Someday would be a great one to start with :)

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  20. Favorite part Syd had the guts to ask him to leave when she needed time :)

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  22. Unfortunately I haven't read the book, but it seems so good!! Everyone says it's amazing and I can't wait to read it

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    1. It really is an amazing book. Good luck for the giveaway! :)

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  23. I loved Hopeless and Losing Hope (haven't read any of her others) but I have this one on my shelf and can't wait to read it! (need to finish a few books first!) Great review and I'm glad you loved it. I'm excited for the music/reading experience as I'm a huge fan of creating soundtracks for stories!

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    1. It works so unbelievably well, I definitely recommend. I have Hopeless and Losing Hope, I just need to find time to get to them both.

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  24. I have just read this book, like the other day. I have no idea how the hell I'm going to review it. I also, because I'm a noob like that, didn't know that there was a soundtrack. So I'll go listen to that now.

    Great review though Charnell, I think my favourite thing about this book was the surprise with Ridge, you know? it just made it that bit more different and god did I fall for him.

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    1. The soundtrack added so much to the experience! I LOVED IT!!! :) I know... RIDGE <3 I didn't see that coming but I think it added so much to the story. Beautiful book.

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