Layla Book Review

January 01, 2021

Title: Layla

Author: Colleen Hoover

Genres: Romance, thriller, paranormal fiction

Published: December 2020

Length: 301 pages

“There is no better feeling than being loved for who you are rather than what you're worth”

For fans of Verity

Book Summary

Leeds was playing bass for Garrett's Band when he first noticed Layla, a girl who danced very badly to the band's mediocre music. Leeds approached Layla and from that moment, they instantly fell for each other. Things escalated quickly, their relationship is intense. Their feelings for each other is irrevocable. Everything fell into place until a horrendous event rocked their world. Layla suffered severely from that event, both physically and mentally. Hoping to reconnect with the "old" Layla, Leeds took her to the bed-and-breakfast in Kansas, the place where they first met each other. Once he arrived at the currently closed B&B, he realized that they aren't alone. He met Willow, another guest of the B&B. While he was helping Willow to solve her puzzles, he found that he was part of them.

Review

The story is told from Leeds's point of view. It starts with Leeds leaving his girlfriend, Layla tied up in the room upstairs. For that reason, I dreaded that the story would reveal that Leeds as a masochistic psychopathic boyfriend who held his girlfriend hostage. I was so badly hoping that this book wouldn't be another "girl with Stockholm syndrome tangled in abusive relationship", but then again it's a very-not-CoHo-thing. Clinging to the belief that CoHo is an effing genius who won't disappoint her readers, I continued flipping through the pages. Indeed, CoHo is as brilliant as ever. No one has Stockholm syndrome and Leeds is not the villain here. As the story progresses, you might feel tremendously betrayed by Leeds's actions, but don't give up on Leeds! if you manage to flip through just a few more pages you will understand why he made those decisions. The way CoHo narrates the story is fast-paced and compelling. I was completely blown away by the storyline, it was like every time I thought I had figured out how the story would progress, CoHo kept surprising me with another unexpected twist. As someone who read a paranormal fiction for the first time, I was glad that this book didn't spook me out. All those creepy events was more of a page turner rather than straight-up scary.

ENGAGING, INTENSE, AND THOUGHT PROVOKING

My rating

Plot: 4.7⭐

Characters: 4.5 ⭐

Quotability: 3.7 ⭐

Ending: 4.2 ⭐

Overall: 4.3 ⭐