Without Merit by Colleen Hoover

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is me waiting for Colleen’s Books…

This is me finding out Colleen’s book is out…

This is me one hour after reading Colleen’s books…

This is me two hours after reading Colleen’s books…

This is me five hours after reading Colleen’s books…

“Stares shouldn’t have weight, but knowing his eyes are on me makes my steps feel heavier.”
― Colleen Hoover, Without Merit

In case you haven’t noticed, I have a serious condition that remains to be diagnosed. I’ve been quiet about it so far because I honestly feel embarrassed to admit that I have it, and the fear of being called crazy is very real to me.

But now, I’m done hiding it.

And so, without further ado, I must tell you that my condition is called Obsessive Compulsive Author Fan Disorder. Yes, it’s debilitating. It means that sometimes I can’t function when I’m under the spell of a book. It means that there will be nights when I won’t sleep and days where I will be going around like a zombie lost in the characters and of the author’s creations. It means that sometimes I will go on for days, not getting anything done because I must get to the last page even if life is coming in the way and nothing will stop me.

It also means that sometimes when I read an author’s words, I’ll be prone to get teared up, even just looking at the sheer beauty of the words, even if the story hasn’t gotten emotional.

And so when someone uses words like

“Not every mistake deserves a consequence.
Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.”

I know what’s waiting in store.

And so, with absolute dread, I opened the pages of Colleen Hoover’s Without Merit and spent the whole night up reading a book that I knew was going to break my heart and that’s exactly what happened.

So, kindly disregard any errors in this post because I have been missing sleep for this story and it was WORTH it. I mean this book!!! Jeez. How do I explain what I feel right now because I don’t think I can speak coherently still after several hours have passed. This book is a shot of morphine. You know it’s going to hurt you but you still need it because you’re masochistic that way.

Merit was a character that you connect with because at the end of the day you realize that in some way you can relate to her. The Voss family was so brilliantly depicted and the heavy topics of depression and suicide were handled with the sensitivity these subjects deserve.

There was nothing superficial about this book. I love the metaphorical visualization of Colleen’s Books and this was no exception.

The story of a girl who doesn’t think she fits anywhere. Her large, dysfunctional family makes it impossible for her to have a normal life.

But when she meets Sagan everything changes…

And I don’t have to talk about Colleen’s men, do I? I can never stop falling for them. Sagan is no exception. Dammit, Ms. Hoover, I think you’re the reason I’m still single

The underlying message is to love yourself. The growth you see in the main character forces you to think and you will suffer through her but you will also find salvation.

So, thank you, Colleen, for encouraging my habit and giving me my dose of wild emotion and extreme sentimentality.

To the people who say romance is ‘formulaic’ and for fools, they don’t know what they’re missing and it’s good because I honestly want snobs to drown in the very misery they bring to the world.

“Having depression is no more out of your control than Sagan’s intolerance to milk, or Utah’s pale skin, or Honor’s bad vision. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. But it’s not something you can ignore or correct on your own. And it doesn’t make you abnormal. It makes you just as normal as these idiots,” he says, waving toward everyone else.” 
― Colleen Hoover, Without Merit

Let us have our beautiful, sentimentality and love and romance.

Love is the only thing that can bring change, that can move mountains. With all that hate going on in the world right now, let’s take a moment to thank the people who show bravery and courage in demanding times and don’t let us forget about hope.

There is good in this world.

We just have to let it in.

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