“Reminders of Him” is a standalone novel by Colleen Hoover. You might think it’s just another basic love story, but trust me, it is so much more than that. 

Prior to the main setting, Kenna accidentally killed her boyfriend, Scotty. She was sentenced to five years in prison. While in prison, she discovers she is pregnant with a baby girl. Kenna was promised that she would have a few days alone with her daughter until Scotty’s parents would get custody of her. The baby was born premature, so she had to be sent to the NICU right away. Tragically, Kenna was not able to spend any time with her baby before she was sent away. 

This story is told from two points of view: Kenna and Ledger. I really liked hearing from both sides. The author did an amazing job making sure you could understand both sides of the story. I think it made the story so much more interesting to read. 

After serving five years, Kenna comes back to town on a mission to see her daughter. She knows this will be almost impossible because Scotty’s parents want absolutely nothing to do with her. Before she goes to their house, she stops at a local bar and meets Ledger. After talking for a while, Kenna makes the connection that Ledger was Scotty’s best friend. Her new mission is to make Ledger trust her so that she has a better chance to see her daughter. After figuring out who Kenna is, Ledger despises her. Over the years, Kenna has written letters to Scotty as a way to cope with the loss. In these letters Kenna really opens up about the accident and how much she loves and misses him. Ledger gets ahold of one of these letters and his opinion of her instantly changes. This puts Ledger in a tough position because he doesn’t want to betray Scotty’s parents, but he knows deep down that keeping a mother away from her child is the wrong thing to do. 

I really enjoyed seeing Kenna and Ledger’s dynamic grow. It added up to a very happy ending that I enjoyed. 

This book absolutely broke my heart and mended it at the same time. At first it seems that Kenna is an immature woman who only cares about herself, then you realize that she just made a terrible mistake and she is trying her best to fix it. 

I think the most emotional part of the book was reading Kenna’s letters to Scotty. In these letters, you get to see the level of grief Kenna goes through. I really felt for Ledger’s character, he knew whatever choice he made, he was going to betray someone he loved. This book really kept me on my toes, and I did not want to put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed this emotional rollercoaster of a book. 

I rate this a 5 out 5 cardinal heads.