Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. The story contains themes of depression, custody, and re-entry programs.After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father. I think there is an understanding that time will unveil more of these but I think they could have started that hard work between these pages. I would have liked to see into the minds of the grandparents or even Diem to hear what these recent events have done to them (knowingly or not).

That kind of processing and reflecting takes a lot longer with some hard conversations. With this type of grief and emotions on high, I felt it was way too clean and fast. What I felt lacking was the climax and resolution. There is more to the story of Scotty’s death and I think Ledger knew that when he finds out who she is. Between protecting Diem and her grandparents (still grieving the loss of their son) and wanting a mother to see her daughter who is doing everything right but made one mistake. I loved seeing the internal conflict Ledger dealt with the entire book. The novel starts with Kenna beginning this process and I was immediately heartbroken for her, on top of not knowing how or if she’ll meet her daughter. Hoover dove in to the struggles of that process whether it is looking for a job, affording a place to live, or other everyday simplicities we don’t often think about like a cell phone or transportation. The topic of re-entry from people released from prison was a driving force in this novel. Kenna must find a way to absolve the mistakes of her past in order to build a future out of hope and healing. The two form a connection despite the pressure surrounding them, but as their romance grows, so does the risk. But if anyone were to discover how Ledger is slowly becoming an important part of Kenna’s life, both would risk losing the trust of everyone important to them. The only person who hasn’t closed the door on her completely is Ledger Ward, a local bar owner and one of the few remaining links to Kenna’s daughter. Everyone in her daughter’s life is determined to shut Kenna out, no matter how hard she works to prove herself. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild.

The internal conflicts were superbly crafted.Īfter serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. Colleen Hoover hits on a different kind of heart-wrenching experience. I don’t usually pre-order but for Colleen Hoover, she is an auto-buy author for me. When I heard Reminders of Him was coming, I immediately pre-ordered a copy.

Reminders of him colleen hoover