Review: Maybe Someday - Colleen Hoover

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Colleen Hoover draws you in to this passionate tale of music, love and betrayal . . .

Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble - she's a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from her balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life.

But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, the bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin to write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope . . .

Maybe Someday . . .

Featuring music from Griffin Peterson.

For more information check the following sites:
Colleen Hoover's website
Griffin Peterson's website
Maybe Someday website

Review:
Sydney's life falls down around her when she discovers her long term boyfriend has been cheating on her with her best friend & room mate. Suddenly she is homeless, friendless and doesn't know where to turn. Help comes from an unexpected corner when her neighbour Ridge offers her the use of his spare bedroom. Her only contact with Ridge previously had been listening to him play his guitar from across the courtyard, she loved his music so much that she'd even started writing lyrics to go along with it but they've only ever spoken by text until now. Ridge is working hard to write a new album for his band but he just can't find inspiration for the lyrics so when he saw Sydney singing along to his music he just had to know what words she had come up with. As soon as he saw her lyrics he knew how perfect they would be so while she is staying with him he asks her to help him finish the rest of the album. Working closely together on the album they find themselves getting closer and closer. It is impossible to deny the attraction between them but there is one major problem - Ridge already has a girlfriend, someone he loves and would never, ever leave.

I have to admit that I was nervous about picking this book up, cheating is a major hot button for me and I would never usually knowingly pick up a book about it (in fact I usually end up DNFing books where I come across it unexpectedly!). However, I am a HUGE fan of Colleen Hoover's so I knew I had to at least try reading Maybe Someday, especially since I'd already listened to some of the songs from the story (recorded by Griffin Peterson) and had loved them enough to buy the whole album the day it was released. I'm glad I gave it a chance because this book was beautiful, it's also heartbreaking, gut wrenching and raw but that doesn't make it any less beautiful or addictive to read. I absolutely loved both Sydney and Ridge and I was desperately rooting for them to end up together but at the same time I didn't want to see Maggie (Ridge's girlfriend) hurt because she was lovely too and didn't deserve to be betrayed.

I think the reason that I was able to get on board with Sydney and Ridge's story is because they were both so determined to do the right thing by Maggie. Sydney knew what it was like to be cheated on and she didn't want to do that to another person and although Ridge had feelings for Sydney he never stopped caring about Maggie too. This definitely isn't your usual cheating story where characters go around betraying each other casually as if it isn't one of the nastiest things you can do to your partner. I can't lie and say I was completely happy about how things went down all the way through but I was glad that Sydney and Ridge didn't easily fall into bed together without a thought to who would be effected by the fallout. In fact, there is very little (apart from one kiss) in the way of physical cheating in this book which probably made it a bit easier for me to read. There is a whole lot of emotional cheating going on, which in some ways is probably worse, but I was completely invested in these characters and I was feeling their emotional connection right alongside them so I found it very hard to be too angry with them.

I don't want to say much about how things play out so you're just going to have to read the book if you want to find out more but I do want to talk a little more about how the music plays such a huge part in the story. If you've read Colleen Hoover's other books you'll know that she often includes poetry or lyrics from her favourite bands in her stories but I loved the fact that she worked together with Griffin Peterson to create the songs that Sydney and Ridge write together in Maybe Someday. Writing lyrics together is such a huge part of their relationship, it's the way they tell each other the things they're afraid to say out loud, so being able to not just read but also listen to the music added a wonderful new dimension to the story. If you go to the Maybe Someday website you can actually listen to all of the songs for free which I think is wonderful but like I already said I enjoyed the music so much that I bought the album and I'd say it's well worth it.

I just loved everything about Maybe Someday, it has everything Colleen Hoover fans have come to expect and then some - her beautiful writing, wonderful characters, lots of humour and incredible emotion plus gorgeous songs to go along with it. I'm so glad I didn't let the cheating put me off because I'd have been missing out on a wonderful read but there aren't many authors who can pull off what Colleen did and make me feel invested in this kind of story! Maybe Someday works perfectly as a stand alone story but I'm really hoping that Colleen decides to write a book about Ridge's brother Brennan - especially if it means she collaborates with Griffin Peterson again to create another album!

Source: Received from S&S The Hot Bed in exchange for an honest review

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