Confess by Colleen Hoover

ISBN-13: 9781476791456
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 2015
Format: Paperback, 320 pgs
Source: Purchased

I have to admit I chose this book because it is the Winner of the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance. Since I rarely read romance nowadays I tend to rely on reviews and book highlights for my picks, especially authors whom I am not familiar with. I have definitely heard of Colleen Hoover's but just never got around to reading her books so I figured this is the time to dive into Confess. 

Twenty-one year old Auburn Reed is trying to put away her sad past and to rebuild her shattered life. She had lost her first love to a sickness in Portland when she was fifteen and till now she still misses him. But life has to go on and she's moved to Texas where she got herself a job as a hairdresser. A chance leads her to enigmatic artist, Owen Gentry, after she's seen his "Help Wanted" ad and a series of confessions pieces left by anonymous people displayed outside his art studio. Owen gets his inspirations from these confessions and he expresses them to his paintings. Auburn is not only attracted by his creativity but him as a person as well. 

Owen's painting means the world to him. After losing his mother and brother to a car accident a few years back, he is sure life wouldn't get better until he meets Auburn. Auburn is like a ray of sunlight into his dark life; and for the first time Owen feels he has a life besides painting. As much as Owen likes Auburn, there is something which he couldn't tell her because if he does, not only it would destroy their relationship but it would also destroy what is important to Auburn, too. 

I can see why Confess is chosen for Best Romance because it is quite an intense love story with lots of emotions. The things Auburn and Owen have gone through make one's heart ache. Then unforeseeable circumstances challenge their love and there are some choices and sacrifices to make. While there are times I knew what would be coming, I still found myself getting caught up with the wave of emotions through Ms. Hoover's writing. She managed to capture the voices of Auburn and Owen and make you care for them; and in this novel she has two narratives so the reader is able to understand more about each protagonist and the feelings they are experiencing. I couldn't say the story is new, but it was moving and made me think about fate and second chances. I have added Ugly Love to my to-read list as I have heard it is another great read by Ms. Hoover. I shall see how that book goes when my reading moment arrives.