At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She's in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori -- and she is left trying to decide what to do next.
Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there's something about Sydney that Ridge can't ignore either: he seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one...
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance -- and the enchanting music that inspires one young woman to put her life back together.
BUY: Amazon
I have never given a Colleen Hoover novel anything less
than 5 stars. Until now.
Now, before you start throwing tomatoes at me, let me
just say this: Maybe Someday was
ultimately a good story. Honestly, it was. It would have probably been
4-5 stars if the love triangle had been handled a different way, but I'll get
into my thoughts on that later.
When Sydney finds out that roommate Tori has been messing
around with Hunter, her boyfriend of two years, she has no choice but to move
out. With nowhere to go, Sydney is given refuge by the guitar playing musician,
Ridge, who lives in the apartment across from hers. The catch? Sydney can live
there, rent free, if she agrees to write songs for Ridge's band. Through the
songwriting process, the two of them develop overwhelming feelings towards each
other, but they can't act on those feelings. Ridge has a girlfriend he loves,
and Sydney refuses to be "a Tori." But the truth always comes out –
and when it does, Ridge and Sydney's maybe someday becomes a very real
possibility.
So, why was this book not a 4 or 5 star read in my
opinion? The love triangle. I like certain
kinds of love triangles. For anyone who hasn't read one of my previous
reviews involving a love triangle, here's the short of it – I like triangles
where the person they should be with is very obvious. If it remains up in the
air for the majority of the book, I start getting frustrated because 9 times
out of 10, I end up rooting for the person they don't choose in the end. That's
super fun for me, right?
I'm sure some people are thinking "Well then why the hell do you even
read books with love triangles?!" First of all, I didn't know going
into this particular novel that it contained a triangle; if I had, I probably
would have asked around and found out a little bit more about it before I
decided to read it. Second of all, I continue to read books containing love
triangles because the ones that I do love, I
really love. Some of my favorite books ever
contain love triangles; how the author presents the situation and handles it
will make or break a love triangle for me.
The issue I had with this triangle was the fact that
Sydney and Ridge continually crossed the line to inappropriate; not in the
traditional way you think of someone crossing the physical line of infidelity,
but they did things someone in a relationship shouldn't be doing with the
opposite sex. Look, I understand why those
scenes were there, and they serve a purpose as far as Ridge's character goes,
but that doesn't mean it sat any easier with me. It made me uncomfortable. I
felt bad for Maggie. It planted some dislike for both Sydney and Ridge in my
heart. There is also the little thing called emotional cheating; it's still cheating in my eyes, and this
book is full of it, unfortunately. It seemed as though Sydney and Ridge
justified their actions because they weren't crossing a line sexually, but if
you are doing something you wouldn't want your girlfriend/boyfriend to see you
doing with someone else, you shouldn't be doing it. Plain and simple. The other
problem I had with the triangle was the way it ended. I can't really go any more into it without spoiling something, so I'll just leave it at that. I didn't like the way it ended.
As far as character likability, I don't have a lot of
issues. Colleen has always done a wonderful job creating unique and loveable
characters, and Maybe Someday follows
suit. While Sydney and Ridge grated on my nerves from time to time, they had quite
a few redeeming qualities as well. It wasn't even necessarily that I disliked
them, it was more I disliked their actions. There is a lot of turmoil and grief
regarding their friendship/relationship, and I did get the sense that they wanted to do the right thing…they just
didn't always follow through. *Cue frustration* Besides Maggie, the only secondary
character that we get a firm sense of is Warren, and I adored him. He might be
my favorite person in this book. His humor was refreshing on so many levels,
and you can see how much he cares about Ridge as a best friend. Nothing like a
good bromance on the side of a romance!
Colleen's writing is top notch as usual, and by the time
I finished the book I was okay with the way things ended, I guess. It was
inevitable. I felt a little like Gretchen Wieners during parts of this book,
only instead of trying to make "fetch" happen, I was trying to make
"Maggie and Ridge 4-Ever" happen. I kept hearing Regina George in my
head… "Ashley, stop trying to make Maggie and Ridge 4-Ever happen. It's
not going to happen."
So what it boils down to is that it was a good book…it just wasn't
great for me. I still positively adore Colleen Hoover and will continue to read
anything and everything she gives me. I think anyone who loves a triangle
romance will eat this up with a spoon. But triangles are really hit or miss for
me, and unfortunately, this one wasn't a direct hit.
3.5 STARS
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