Reminders Of Him by Colleen Hoover: Book Review

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Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover is a story about guilt, grief, forgiveness, and whether one terrible mistake should define the rest of a person’s life.

At the center of the novel is Kenna Rowan, a young mother trying to rebuild her life after serving time in prison and desperate to reconnect with the daughter she barely knows. What follows is emotional, complicated, and very much about second chances – both the ones we give other people and the ones we allow ourselves.

I had already read several Colleen Hoover books by the time I picked this one up, so I was curious to see where Reminders of Him would fall for me. I liked parts of it quite a bit, although not everything worked equally well.

My Take: Reminders of Him had an emotional premise that really worked for me, especially the themes of forgiveness and motherhood. I liked Kenna and wanted things to work out for her, but the romance didn’t feel quite as strong as the family side of the story, and some parts moved more slowly than I expected. My Verdict? Read – especially if you like emotional contemporary fiction centered on redemption and second chances.

What It’s About

After serving five years in prison, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where everything went wrong, hoping to reconnect with her four-year-old daughter, Diem.

The people raising Diem have no intention of letting Kenna back into her life, and nearly everyone in town sees her only through the lens of the tragedy that sent her to prison.

The one person willing to look a little closer is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and the former best friend of Diem’s father. Ledger has every reason to distrust Kenna, but the more time he spends with her, the more complicated the situation becomes.

As Kenna tries to rebuild her life, she must somehow convince the people who hate her most that she deserves a second chance – without destroying the fragile life her daughter already has.

Reminders Of Him by Colleen Hoover – What I Liked

The strongest part of this book for me was Kenna’s situation. It’s difficult to imagine trying to rebuild your life while everyone around you already believes they know exactly who you are.

I liked that Hoover didn’t make Kenna perfect. She has made serious mistakes, but she also clearly loves her daughter and wants the chance to become part of her life again.

The theme of forgiveness also worked very well. The book asks whether one terrible decision should define a person forever, and it looks at that question from several different viewpoints.

I also liked the contrast between Kenna and Grace. Both women love Diem fiercely, but they are coming at that love from completely different places. That gave the story more emotional depth than the romance alone would have provided.

Reminders Of Him – What I Didn’t Like

The beginning felt a little slow to me, and there were times when I thought I knew exactly where the story was going.

I also didn’t feel as strongly about the romance between Kenna and Ledger as I expected to. Their relationship moved more quickly than I would have liked, and I sometimes felt more invested in Kenna’s relationship with her daughter than in the romantic storyline.

The emotional moments were there, but a few of them stayed more on the surface for me than I wanted.

Reminders Of Him – Read, ReRead, or Reconsider?

Read.

This wasn’t my favorite Colleen Hoover book, but I still think it’s worth reading.

If you enjoy emotional stories about forgiveness, motherhood, grief, and second chances, there is plenty here to pull you in.

Frequently Asked Questions About Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

Is Reminders Of Him by Colleen Hoover Worth Reading?

Yes, I think Reminders of Him is worth reading, especially if you enjoy emotional contemporary fiction built around complicated family relationships and second chances.

For me, the strongest part of the story wasn’t the romance at all. It was Kenna’s attempt to rebuild her life and find a way back to her daughter while confronting people who had every reason not to trust her.

It didn’t hit quite as hard for me as some of Colleen Hoover’s other books, but I still found the central question compelling: how much forgiveness does a person deserve after making a life-changing mistake?

What To Read Next

• Colleen Hoover Books in Order – See all of Hoover’s novels and series in publication order.
• It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover – Read one of Hoover’s most talked-about emotional novels about love, difficult choices, and breaking cycles.
• It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover – Continue Lily and Atlas’s story in the sequel to It Ends With Us.
• Verity by Colleen Hoover – Try Hoover’s much darker psychological thriller if you want to see a completely different side of her writing.
• Authors Like Colleen Hoover – Find more authors who write emotional, relationship-driven contemporary fiction.

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