Colleen Hoover has written 19 novels, and is only 40. Apparently, they are aimed at the “new adult” category, which is for those aged 18-30. Regretting You has some adult themes, but also feels like some combination of romance, young adult, and pop psychology. It is about a mother and 16-year-old daughter, Morgan and Clara Grant. It is quite a long book, at over 11 hours in audiobook and 365 pages in print. Chapters are alternately narrated by Morgan and Clara. The unabridged audiobook is performed competently.

*Spoilers from here!* It starts with 2 deaths: Morgan’s husband Chris and her sister Jenny die in a car crash. So Morgan has a lot of grieving to do. So does Clara. Here is where the story gets bizarre. It turns out that Chris and Jenny were having an affair. So Morgan has plenty of anger too, at her husband and sister. And she gets help from her sister’s husband, Jonah. The two of them keep the secret from Clara. But Clara has her own drama going on: she has a crush on a boy, Miller. It is not long before both mother and daughter are working out their grief issues through romance.

There is a lot of drama. Morgan does not want Clara messing around with Miller. But she is falling for Jonah, and Clara cannot understand why her mother is fooling around with her sister’s ex-husband. Mother and daughter are fighting all of the time. Jonah is angry at his dead wife but he has to look after their baby son. Money is an issue for Morgan. Everyone is stressed and on edge. There is plenty of fighting and miscommunication. But we also see people rise above difficult situations, and solve problems. 

Judging from the many reader reviews on Amazon, Regretting You satisfies Hoover’s fans. The writing has energy and there is even emotional power at various points, even if the drama is often ludicrous and the plot implausible.

© 2020 Christian Perring

Christian Perring teaches in NYC

Categories: Fiction, Grief, AudioBooks

Keywords: Fiction