Layla - Is she worth the hype?

I know everyone in the bookish community has read or at least heard of the author Colleen Hoover. I have heard varying opinions on her writing, so I wanted to take things into my own hands and FINALLY read one of her books. Layla.

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To be completely transparent, I wasn't sure about the Colleen Hoover hype. But after reading Layla I confidently say, I 100% know what the hype is about.

It took me a couple of days, to fully get into the book. Once I got to about the tenth chapter, I felt I couldn't put it down. Unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of downtime lately, so it took me a while to read this book. I honestly didn't know what to expect. Without really knowing the genre of the book, I dove in blindly. I wouldn't change the fact that this was the first book by Hoover that I have read. This book definitely makes it in my top 10 favorite books list (which I will share soon).

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What the Blurb

"When Leeds meets Layla, he's convinced he'll spend the rest of his life with her - until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in live with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla's behavior takes a bizzare turn. And that just one of the many inexplainable occurances.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow - another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers put him in direct conflict with Layla's well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can't have both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it oculd be detrimental for all of them."

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Hello Emotional Panic

I cried. I laughed. I was hella anxious. Hell, I even made my Fiancé read some of it with me (he doesn't read and even he said holy crap). Seriously, what an unexpected twist. I have never read or heard of any book that has a plot like this (if you do know a book that has a similar plot, let me know. I wanna read it!). At the beginning of the book, I was thinking, "oh, just a regular, same old, romance book" but I was SO wrong. Starting out the way Hoover did you would think that same thing.

Layla started out as a diverse character, in my opinion, and ended up being an even more diverse character. How Hoover characterizes her, to where we can tell when it is and isn't Layla in her body, amazes me. I need all of her writing secrets. Layla was such a strong character as well. How she could and did take a punch. How she ended up the "victor" if you will. Definitely a major part of a movie (Hint, Hint - oh my goodness I'd pay $1,000 to see that movie).

Willow. Layla. The same person. Definitely didn't see that one coming. How Leeds came to find this out was a turning point for me, and from then on out, I couldn't put the book down and finished it right then and there. I like how Hoover made Willow her own character, instead of instantly converging Willow and Layla as one character. To understand one's soul would be amazing.

Leeds. Um hello. You kept a woman tied up against her will and you still get what you want. I mean, don't get me wrong, he was and is a great character but eww. the story is basically told from his perspective, so I do think that his character was well developed, but just some of the things he did wanted to make me punch him.

Sable. No thank you. Just no thank you. She shot Layla, overtook her body, starved her, and caused so many problems. Her character was revolutionary though. The characteristics. It was like a movie in my mind while I was getting to know her through Layla's body.

"Randall" or the other soul in another's body wasn't really a. big part of the book, but he was a well-rounded character as well. Him being a soul in a random person's body as well, was also a big shocker. I definitely didn't see that coming like Leeds and Willow didn't see it coming.

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Now, back to the topic of, if the hype for Hoover is real. It most definitely is. More Colleen Hoover books to come!